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| Canoeing from the Rahai'i Pangun |
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| An orangutan in the branches on the river bank |
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| Longhouse at Tumbang Malahoi |
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| Meeting villagers & sharing a locally grown, roasted and spiced coffee |
Palangkaraya, the capital city of Central Kalimantan province, is where Gaye Thavisin and Lorna Dowson-Collins have located Kalimantan Tour Destinations, a travel agency that is pioneering ecotourism in a part of Indonesia where the potential is high yet to date little has been achieved.
The city is situated two thirds of the way up Central Kalimantan's largest river, the Sungai Kahayan, which has its genesis up near the border of West Kalimantan in the Northern Mountains and winds its way 600 kilometers south emptying into the Java Sea near to the border with East Kalimantan and Banjarmasin.
Jungle River Cruises provides travelers to Central Kalimantan with minimal impact viewing of its rainforest, wildlife and riverside Dayak villages from the vantage point of a traditional river mode of transportation. It also benefits local communities by generating alternative livelihoods and teaching new skills that contribute to the development of a sustainable local eco-tourism economy. From my perspective, it is also an easily accessible and effective weekend wind-down from the stresses and strains of living in fast paced Asian metropolises such as Jakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
The Rahai'i Pangun is a traditional river freighter converted by Kalimantan Tour Destinations into a comfortable river cruiser, perfectly designed for viewing the impenetrable walls of jungle passing by on either side, whilst protecting its passengers from the fearsome stinging hot Borneo sun and lashing rainstorms often hitting the river hard at dusk.
The deck is covered by a protective canvas that unobtrusively allows three hundred and sixty degree views yet can be extended further when the rains hit to keep you dry. It also has very comfortable rattan furniture covered in soft cushions perfect for snoozing away the cruising hours, exactly what I was escaping Jakarta to do.
A highlight of a Rahai'i Pangun river cruise is the delectable local cuisines, my favorite being the giant freshwater prawns farmed down the river close to the sea, and the river fish cooked in a variety of forms. Local coffee is on call but if your pleasure is downing a cold beer while soaking up the atmosphere as time slowly passes you by then it's bring your own and the crew will keep it ice cold. Sleeping two, cabins are comfortable. Screens over the windows keep mozzies at bay, important as malaria is present. You have to be careful to shut the windows before the inevitable afternoon storm hits as soggy mattresses tend to detract from the deep sleep you'd expect when surrounded by jungle serenity.
Just north of Palangkaraya the smaller black water Sungai Rungan joins the brown water Kahayan. Interesting features of the Rungan are the plentiful lakes and islands, and the flooded forests. Natural obstacles and the flatness of the land cause the rivers of Central Kalimantan to follow a course that weaves back and forth like a wriggling earthworm. Over time the river tends to revert to the shortest route leaving loops of water cut off from its main flow and creating what are known as oxbow lakes or leaving islands around which it continues to flow.
The Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Project uses these river islands as halfway houses for over 600 orphaned orangutans. The orphans are first taught skills they need to survive in the wild and then placed on these islands where they can be observed. Passengers can view them as they congregate on wooden platforms near to where the Rahai'i Pangun anchors for a night. We also saw hornbills flying slowly in the jungle foliage, eagles and kingfisher. Proboscis monkeys and the common macaque also made appearances. We didn't see any gibbons although their throaty call could be heard at dusk and we passed a gibbon sanctuary where access is strictly limited due to gibbon susceptibility to disease.
George Soros & party aboard the Rahai'i Pangun, moored in Tundai Village
Indonesia contains a great many areas of natural rainforest within its borders, however the famous island of Borneo remains perhaps the most iconic and evocative of these. Despite the environmental pressures on the region, Borneo (the Indonesian half of the island is known as Kalimantan, which translates as ‘River of Diamonds’) still offers tourists one of the world’s largest natural wildernesses.Palangkaraya and its beautiful surrounding rainforests are relatively quiet places next to the hectic hurly-burly of Java. The city itself has a mere 250,000 residents whilst the huge sprawling expanses of Kalimantan as a whole contain a mere 2 million people, compared with Java’s 120 million. The majority of the population are Dayak, the original indigenous tribes people of Borneo.
The city of Palangkaraya itself is a pleasant place and many of its residents still practice the indigenous Dayak animist religion of Kaharingan, which is related to Hinduism. Increasingly however, the population is turning to either Christianity or Islam. Palangkaraya still sports many Sandungs though, traditional Kaharingan shrines to the dead that most closely resemble Native American totem poles. Elaborate purification ceremonies are held to honour the Dayak dead and these involve the ritual exhumation and cleaning of the bones some time after the initial burial of the deceased.
Palangkaraya is also a city steeped in more recent history, as well as ancient tribalism. Sukarno, the republic’s first president, was a big fan of the city and even considered making it the Indonesian capital. Indeed, pay a visit here and you will be confronted with wide, impressive boulevards that are at odds the town’s modest population and which were built by the Russians when Mr. Sukarno was flirting with the red menace. Indonesia’s first president also had a fancy woman shacked up in town and her house is an infamous tourist spot. Sukarno’s successor, Suharto, came up with the idea of making Indonesia self-sufficient in rice and his mega-rice project drained the peat swamps in the huge rainforests around the town. Alas the rice failed to grow due to the acidic, peat soil and Indonesia has now become the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases as the now dry peat dumps its carbon into the atmosphere.The problems of illegal logging, slash and burn agriculture, forest fires, illegal gold mining, palm oil plantations and endangered species currently face the delicate eco-systems here, however the area remains one of outstanding beauty.
Into the Heart of Darkness...
One tour company is now attempting to raise environmental consciousness whilst offering a terrific holiday to boot. Lorna Dowson-Collins and Gaye Thavisin, in a bid to open up Kalimantan to ecotourism revenue whilst raising awareness of the area’s problems, set up Kalimantan Tour Destinations a few years back. This pair of adventure lovers have truly revolutionised tourism in the area and have successfully navigated the often tortuous waters of Indonesian bureaucracy to come up with something truly special. Having sunk a lot of their own money into the venture, this intrepid pair’s project literally took float in the form of The Rahai’i Pangun, a magnificent converted river barge that they offer once-in-a-lifetime luxury tours into the jungles on.
The boat can house up to ten paying holidaymakers in comfort and is a truly magnificent vessel on which to head down the region’s huge rivers into the upper reaches of Central Kalimantan. The staff is attentive and treats the guests to some truly tantilising local food, including enormous prawns and super fresh local fish. The cabins are modern and all feature bathrooms, fans and comfortable beds. You’ll be spending most of your time up on the spacious deck though, sprawling on the comfortable sofas, enjoying the 360 degree, panoramic jungle sweep and taking simply gigabytes of photos.
Tours run from two days up to a week in duration and offer the chance to see a beautiful natural wilderness, as well as many wild orangutans which can be observed and photographed frolicking and feeding on the river banks. Jakarta Java Kini had a marvellous time on its three-day cruise as the Rahai’i Pangun gently pottered up the river from Palangkaraya.
The rivers are between 50 and 100 metres wide in nearly all places and are flanked by a dense green carpet of swampy rainforest on either side. These forests are absolutely teeming with life, although there’s not much of the human kind. As well as orangutans, proboscis monkeys, hornbills and many other species can be spotted. As dusk draws in, the combined sounds of nature emanating from the verdant vistas that flank the boat offer true transcendence from the day-to-day grind. There is also the opportunity to head up some of the rainforests smaller channels in a tiny fishing boat on an exciting hour long diversion from the main cruise.
Lorna and Gaye are driven by a vision to protect the area’s fantastic jungles and to create new sources of income for the local rainforest dwelling communities. Poverty is a large threat to biodiversity and so hopefully, by introducing ecotourism to the region, new sources of income can be generated for the Dayaks and some of the chainsaws will fall silent. The tour has already attracted a whole host of admirers and representatives from the United Nations as well as Australian and European parliamentary delegations and even the Prince of Denmark have all had their eyes opened by this truly special journey.
Jakarta Java Kini can’t boast the highfalutin pedigree of these VIPs, however we hope that this article may sway you towards supporting this fantastic adventure and, let us not forget, enjoying one of the most memorable holidays that you’ll ever have. Indeed, as you gently glide along the crystal clear, ultra-calm mirror surfaces of the jungle rivers and humanity recedes behind you, it’s hard to recall that you ever had a care in the world. On our final night, an amazing electric storm illuminated the skies around us for hours whilst the sound of a million species blanketed us like a soothing echo of humanity’s pre-urban past. Why not take a jungle river cruise yourself and dine on some of the biggest river prawns you’ve ever seen in your life whilst you watch orangutans at the riverside chomping down bananas? It’ll be one lunch date you won’t forget in a hurry!
PRESS RELEASE
NEW FLIGHTS TO TAKE YOU DIRECT TO THE HEART OF BORNEO
Palangkaraya 25 May 2010 -
Indonesia’s Borneo, known as Kalimantan – is now easier than ever with Lion Air’s new flights.
Weekends from Singapore are now possible and what better way to escape the Metropolis than to head for the primal experience that only this part of Borneo can offer.
Kalimantan Tour Destinations introduce their unique Rahai'i Pangun Jungle River Cruise in Central Kalimantan, a pioneering eco cruise in the heart of raw Borneo where rivers remain the highways.
The Rahai’i Pangun offers guests a comfortable and safe journey, which engages with villagers en route and supports local communities develop alternative livelihoods. Passing by emerald green river islands now home to rehabilitated orangutans made famous by Animal Planet’s
Imagine sitting on a comfortable chair, eating a delicious meal, and watching orangutans peacefully in their natural environment. Knowing that by being here you are supporting the growth of eco tourism that will impact on the conservation of this rare animals' habitat.
Operating now for 2 years and already doubling our occupancy, our cruise has recently hosted amongst other well known dignitaries, Henrik, HRH Prince Consort of Denmark, and Harry Jenkins. Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Australian Parliament.
We differentiate ourselves from the already well known Tanjung Puting National Park, by being able to offer comfort and a well rounded cultural as well as nature experience.
Adding on to our boat cruises; we have a range of Longhouse Tours and other jungle adventures, including speedboat safaris and simple village Homestays. We are able to tailor design tours for guests who want an individual service focused upon particular interests.
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To find out more - a short film of our cruise can be seen on www.youtube.com/thevaughnbrothers (see Rahai'i Pangun) or contact us Kalimantan Tour Destinations. Jalan RTA Milono, KM 1,5, Kevin Maulana - 2nd Floor, Palangkaraya, Central
