It was time to 'dry out my gills' and head for the Jungle. Tangkoko is a Nature Reserve that has many endemnic species. I thought that sounded like a nice break from diving, and it is not far from Lembeh Straits.
Two Fish Divers took me back to the mainland at 2pm and arranged for a Driver to stop at the ATM and take me to Tangkoko. WoW, those were some winding roads, narrow winding roads through the volcano mountainside. But we arrived safely, in a little over an hour.
Accommodations, or Homestay as they are called here, are very basic. But i booked a room at the Tangkoko Ranger Homestay, with the entrance to the park, right across the road. I had my own bath-shower, and a/c. I thought a/c would be necessary considering we were in the Jungle; and i was right. The room had an air conditioner, but it had difficulty keeping the room cool, so i asked for a fan. i love fans, they make a huge difference. I set up my mosquito net and i was happy. There isn’t much to show, but this is the ‘entrance’ to the rooms.
and the Homestay
I met my Guide Frankie. The general plan is an early morning tour and an evening tour. The park fee is per day; so it’s wise to do them both in the same day. In talking, he mentioned that 4 people were arriving and might join us. i asked about these 4 people. Two adults and 2 children. i was going to be there for 3 nights, and i would be happy to wait until the next day if they wanted to go tomorrow. Now that i’m turning 70, i’ve finally found my ‘voice’ and decided i should speak up. He agreed. As it turned out, they didn’t arrive.
One of the reasons i chose this Homestay is that was one of the closest the to ‘village’ … and the beach. Maybe i could do some snorkeling there. So i walked towards the beach. This was a black beach; not dark brown or gray... it was BLACK. I was so mesmerized by the contrast of the black beach and the white foam from the waves.
there were big roaring waves … there would be no snorkeling for this girl.
I spent a lot of time photographing the waves and the boys playing in the them. A wave would come in and all you could see where heads. Great memories of playing in the waves of Lake Michigan, although i don’t think they were ever that big. Or maybe the black sand just made it more ominous
People, especially the young kids, are very curious about us tourists. I always smile and say 'hello' and they always smile back. They ask where you are from and how old you are. These girls were very sweet
Homestays usually include meals since there is really no where else to eat. Mine included free breakfast: unhealthy white bread and something that was supposed to be jam; or processed cheese. i had toast and cheese. I could order lunch/dinner for an additional $2-3 :)
i had also originally thought that i might venture into the village and eat there ….. but the only thing of interest was this big SunFlower. There were no 'restaurants'
i finished the evening with the Philippine Tanduay Rum i brought with me; wishing my friends were here to join me
Frankie gave me a booklet to read. It cautioned against the ‘gonone’, and i quote “Tangkoko is brimming with microscopic mites called 'gonone' which love to squirm past your clothes and onto your body, especially the warmer parts including your armpits and crotch’. I hated to do it, but in the morning, i covered myself with Deet: armpits, crotch, wrists, ankles, neck and face. Of course, long pants and shirt, wrapped my head in a shirt because i didn’t have a hat. I was ready to go at 5:30am.
These are along the entrance wall
Those little guys are the Tarsiers ... more on them later.
We got on his motorcycle and headed into the park. I am thinking, this is weird .. a motorcycle on a nature walk to see wild animals. But down the brick road we went and our first stop was a family of Black Crested Macques, who didn't seem to mind the bike. Frankie said there are 2 ‘families’ here. My trusty TG5 underwater camera obviously was not happy being out of the water, and almost all photos are blurry. Obviously i had some settings wrong.
They are all black
Here is a Momma grooming her ‘child’, … they are so human-like … or i should say, we are so ‘monkey-like’
They were cute to watch, as all monkeys are. These are ‘wild’ monkeys, they are not fed. We did see several students monitoring their activities.
I made a video. Towards the end, you will hear Frankie saying something about a 'hurt leg'. I had to clarify, the Monkey got caught in a trap that was set for chickens, not intentionally. At least that's what i understood. Even though they are protected, there is evidence of people still eating them :(
The last part of the video is just of the sounds of the Jungle, ... including a large spider web, ...and a large spider wrapping up a Cicada. or: https://youtu.be/5Lk7qdMhhkc
A little further on the bike and we arrived at the ‘entrance’. Here is a monument that was just completed 21 February of THIS year. It celebrates the establishment of the Reserve in 1919…. 100 years ago. With this declaration, it became protected. The famous British anthropologist, biologist, etc., Alfred Russel Wallace conducted research in the park from 1854-1862, collecting 125,000 fauna specimens and identifying zoological differences, now known as the ‘zoogeographical line’. This is the dude, and me
From Wiki-travel: Tangkoko Nature Reserve protects at least 127 mammal, 233 bird and 104 reptile and amphibian species. Of these 79 mammal, 103 bird and 29 reptile and amphibian species are endemic to the island. Threatened mammals include the Celebes crested macaque, of which about 5,500 remain on the island, the Sulawesi Bear Cuscus.
This is my dude, Frankie
From here, we got off the bike and walked … ok, that’s more like it. He pointed out lots of little insects up high on trees, how does he see these things; reminded me of my Dive Guides. But he was born here, and grew up in this jungle. There were these large white butterflies in the trees overhead. he asked me if i had a kleenex. i fished one out of my bag and he stuck it on a stick and began waiving it around in the air. The butterflies came to investigate.
We walked this pathway for awhile then he went deep into the Jungle. I followed right behind so he got all the spider webs instead of me. I’m not stupid!
The spiders were big, here is one with his Cicada catch of the day. I have no idea what that purple spot is… i could not get rid of it, unless i used the flash.
It was a great walk, …hot and sweaty, but great. The trees were huge, reaching for the sun. We were looking for the Cuscus, and they are up in those tall trees where they feed on leaves and fruits.
And he found them, ...twice. But, i could barely see them. Again, i aimed my camera, or he took it, and these are the photos. You can kind of see the tail. ok, i saw one.
We traipsed around more, and he found 3 of them in a tree together. Again ….
Tiny little mushroom cluster among the fallen leaves
i loved these trees with their massive roots out of the ground
Frankie knew a lot, but i was surprised he wasn’t more well-equipped. He was wearing shorts and no bug repellent, but borrowed mine. And, it seems binoculars would be mandatory to see a Cuscus that lives 60ft in the tree tops. That would have been really helpful :( Then again, this is Indonesia and these people live from day to day counting on tourists for their next meal; and this is Low Season.
We returned from our ‘morning’ walk at 11:30. That’s over 5 hours! and … my back was killing me on the walk back down the trail. i think it was because Frankie was walking so slow. i’m a fast walker. i was really happy to see that motorcycle. It would have been another 15min !
I got back to my room and i laid down to rest my back and took a nap. We were on again at 5:30p. This time our goal was to see the Tarsiers. Kevin took me to see them in Bohol, but that was a ‘park’. They were ‘captive or semi-captive’, free to come and go, but they were being feed, and easily seen during the day. In the wild, they are nocturnal animals.
For whatever reason, we were able to take the motorbike all the way back to where you leave the path and enter the forest to look for the Tarsiers. I felt a bit guilty; as we passed people walking; but grateful actually. It would have been over a 30min walk one way :(
Into the Jungle we went. This is Frankie following a ‘trail’ that only he can see.
One of the major trees here is the Strangler Fig. The trees grow by wrapping around a host tree. For awhile they live a symbiotic relationship, but eventually as the Fig tree grows, it slowly strangles the host. Then the tree is kind of empty in the middle, with huge vines covering the outside.
This makes a perfect little home for the Tarsiers.
Some Tarsier facts:
-are called tarsiers because of their elongated tarsal region in which their tibia and fibula bones are fused thus allowing their great leaping ability. did you follow that?
-tiny animals (their head & body) about 4 in
-weighing a little over 3.5 ounces
-ears and eyes are enormous
-tail is much longer than the body and nearly naked except for the last third portion of the tail that is tufted.
-nails like humans except for the 'toilet claws'? on the second and third digits of their feet. These toilet claws are used for grooming...strange
-nocturnal animal hunting for insects like katydids grasshoppers, crickets, roaches
-often cling to a tree trunk and use their highly sensitive eyes and mobile ears to detect their prey, then pounce with their grasping hands
We finally came across a group of 5 people who had already found the Tarsiers. I’m pretty sure they live in this tree, so should be easy to find them. There are 3 of them in this photo, safely tucked inside that Strangler Fig Tree.
We played ‘ring around the rosy’ as they moved from place to place inside the tree and occasionally out on a branch. Everyone trying to get a photo with not much luck since they were so far away and the evening was growing darker. Eventually everyone gave up and left … but not Frankie. He wanted me to see them up close, and he knew they would be coming out and he could find them. And he did.
...the long tail
... big ears and big eyes
... kind of creepy fingers and nails, so human like
So, Frankie redeemed himself with the Tarsiers
On the way back we needed to see the Tarantulas. He easily found two. I’m sure their pretty blue color is due to the flash.
And that was the end of my Jungle Tour. It was good !
I had kept in touch through FaceBook with Okta, a young responsible Driver from our trip here last year. I sent him a message and asked him if he wanted to come pick me up at 10am, and take me back to Manado to catch my flight. He lives in Manado and it’s a 2+hr trip to Tangkoko, and then 2+hr back. I said i wanted to give him the business if he wanted it. He was right back with a big YES. It was nice to see him again. He referred to me as his 'mom' :)
I made a reservation at Mel’s Inn for one night since my flight left at 7am, and i didn’t want to leave Tangkoko at 2am. I felt like a queen at Mel’s. It was a proper hotel, WoW.
I got checked in and took a walk looking for somewhere to eat an early dinner. I walked a bit on the loud busy street, with little Indonesian food places, but wanted to get away from the noise. I saw a sign with ‘restaurant’ and .....‘golf’ ??????? … pointing down a dirt road. I took it. I walked and walked and almost gave up, ...just up to that bend in the road, ...just over that hill. Finally i saw a golf course!
It was a really nice resort named Ponduk Hijau. It had lots of ponds full of fish you could order for your meal, with tables right over the water
but i chose the most expensive thing on the menu, Satay Tuna, it was $5 and it was wonderful. But this Avocado Smoothie with Chocolate Ice Cream was more expensive!
When i got the bill , it said i was customer ‘2 HOT AMERICANO’ hahaha
I was very proud of myself for finding this place and for not giving up walking down that long hilly road, seemingly in the middle of no where.
Okta, my driver, picked me up at 5:30a and took me to the airport, headed for Denpasar, Bali. You gotta love Bali, it is so welcoming.
This is at our arrival gate, it was a beautiful garden.
In the Airport i was greeted by Barong who moved his head from side to side.
Barong is a lion-like creature in Bali mythology. He is king of the spirits, leader of the host of good, and enemy of Rangda, the demon queen, and mother of all spirit guarders in the mythological traditions of Bali
I had a short layover here. But enough time to find my favorite Custard place that i remembered from last year.
Do you know of anyone in Kzoo that would like to buy their franchise? I think they would make a killin’. The are truly addictive !
Then back on the plane for a short 1 hr flight to Komodo Island.
" Komodo? Komodo? I thought you were on a diving adventure. "
You’ll hear all about it in my next blog.
on
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