Travel plan idea blog

Interview with conservationists setting up an ecotour in Indonesia

I recently got an email from some environmental group that Force for the Forest needs money. I immediately decided not to send money. I'm cheap and I don't trust people who email me.

But I was interested in the part that said there would eventually be ecotours in the jungle of Indonesia. I've written before about safaris and a national park in India and I dream about doing some more nature-related travel. Here is a picture of 2 people walking in the jungle where the tours will be. I have more pictures to share later.

I emailed them and found that they had already done one ecotour and they agreed to an interview which I'm posting below:

What about the July trek persuaded you that eco-tours would be worth the considerable effort and expense you seem to be undertaking to set them up?

In SE Asia the rain forest is gone. All that is left is marginal or oil palm plantation. Except here in Aceh, where you can still walk through virgin rain forest, and it is an unforgettable, wonderful experience. There are many people throughout the world who want to see the forest, and there are very few places left where you actually can see it, and know that it is as it should be full of wildlife.

How long would a trek have to be for one to have a reasonable chance of seeing one of the big animals (rhino, elephant, tiger).

The chances of seeing these three are very, very low. They are nocturnal and shy. You WILL see tracks of elephant - you have to use either their paths or forest stream beds, except in the swamp where we have built a board walk. Actually, when I was walking about the camp at night to get some water, having woken up with jetlag at 3 in the morning, I suddenly realised I didn't want to see a tiger!

What wildlife would you be pretty much guaranteed to spot?

All sorts of birds, including rhinoceros hornbill and black eagle, various frogs and lizards, siamang, gibbon, wild boar, deer, Thomas Leaf monkey, orang-utan (at least heard), many insects and fish. Seeing wildlife in the forest is not easy, and really you need to be in place by a fruiting tree at dawn, quiet and silent to watch them come to feed. As we increase tourism, wildlife will get to realise that we are not hunters and more will be seen. In the swamp there has been an orang-utan research centre for 25 years and the animals are not bothered by people and it is easier to see them.

If you are interested in the smaller animals, you will see some you cannot identify and they may well be new. I am still very excited about a large green frog with red legs that made a noise like a chicken laying an egg - no idea what it was! Unfortunately it was too shy to permit a photo.

What might the cost be (approximate)?

Probably US$100 per day, which includes licences and internal transfers, some of which will be by chartered airline, some by helicopter. We have to work on this, as getting there is expensive, staying there isn't! So it may well come to an access and transfer fee and a residential and guiding fee, so it becomes cheaper the longer you stay.

What would the food be like?

We loved it! Rice based, with great flavours and sauces - local food that you pay a fortune for in restaurants! Can be as hot as you like, lots of different fruits, the meat is mainly chicken but also fish. Great vegetables and lots of eggs in different forms - usually some sort of omelette.

How would the guides be trained?

We will select guides from active forest rangers who speak English. They have been working in the forest clearing oil palm plantations and surveying. Our main expert is an American who has thirty years experience running white water rafting trips in various parts of the world, including several years in Sumatra. He will be responsible for training all guides. However at present we have no medical facilities - obviously we can work on this for the future.

We are talking with a company that currently takes bird watching tours into Papua New Guinea, and they are enthusiastic but their guiding requirements are very different - the guides need to be able to recognise birds at great distance. This is a skill we need to work on.

Would the mosquitoes kill us wimps?

Mosquitoes are not a problem - there aren't very many and even in the swamp surprisingly hardly any at all. You WILL be bitten by two types of leeches - and after a while you will find it really doesn't bother you and they are far, far preferable to mosquitoes! Leeches give you the shudders at the very thought, but after a while you discover that they don't hurt and they cannot pass on disease. We found that wearing Wellington boots completely foxed them - they don't get up the boots - and tiger balm drives them away. They love croc shoes though - all those lovely entrances! Wellington boots and crocs are not suitable for walking though - your footwear will be permanently wet as you walk in streams.

Posted by James Trotta at September 23, 2009 8:03 PM