Orangutan islands with Wow Borneo

Orangutans! Cruises on board the Rahai'i Pangun on the Rungan River, away from the better known  tourist centre at Tanjung Puting National Park, provides an ideal opportunity to observe this beautiful and endangered species. Stay on a comfortable live aboard for a chance to enjoy the natural rhythms of forest river life. It is amazingly accessible by a short flight from Jakarta and only minutes to the boat on arrival for the trip of a lifetime.

Framed by the dense riverside vegetations, this group were observed by guests. These orangutans were rescued and rehabilitated through the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) program and are on these river islands to adapt to a more independent life before being released into the wild.

As part of the agreed guidelines for observing these magnificent creatures in the last phase of their rehabilitation, we stay 15 meters distant, do nothing to disturb them, or feed them, and by remaining quiet and still. On the beautiful river, undisturbed by crowds, is the perfect place to see them in a natural setting.

The Tiwah season!

21-23 October is planned for a massive communal tiwah in the upper Rungan area in the longhouse village of Tumbang Malahoi and another in an adjacent village.

These sababuka or masked, anonymous village guardians are protecting the village of Tewang Rangas during its tiwah ritual last year. The colourful masks and imaginative costumes are part of many such rituals in Borneo in a variety of forms. I have seen guardians swathed in fresh lake weed, giants in colourful batiks and others with huge fierce masks. You could join us 21-23 October to experience the unique Rungan tradition.

Many of the activities will be centred around the traditional ironwood longhouse, where totem poles and a bone house or sandung, already stand. The ancestor bones are generally placed in family sandungs at the end of the ceremony, removed by families from the main site of the events to their own sandungs, sometimes overgrown with vegetation.

Our program will cover the 3 days, and will provide simple accommodation and food in the village. We will follow the activities as they unfold giving plenty of opportunities for learning about the meaning of each part of the ritual and for photographs. This will include animal sacrifices, communal cooking, shaman led ceremonies and parades.  Our normal village visit is covered at this link http://www.wowborneo.com/tours/longhouse-culture-and-trekking/dayak-cultural-and-longhouse-tour-malahoi-longhouse-3d2n/ and our special tiwah event will follow a similar overall time schedule. Get more information at info@wowborneo.com

Images of a memorable day on the Rungan River

At the very beginning of 2017, we had an idyllic cruise downstream on the Rungan River, the heat and languid stillness of the day as it waned combined to give these memorable images.