Slow Down! Take a closer look!

AN INDONESIAN ADVENTURE

Well folks, it has been a  long time since my last post! The last couple of years have been filled with family and working on Happy Lappy, the business I run with my friend Angela. In this time, I haven't abandoned my photography by any means but many of my subjects have featured in earlier posts and I didn't want to get too repetitive.

BUT! Here I am again with another adventure under my belt. Gerry and I recently returned from an unforgettable trip to Indonesia. We did get back to find a cloud on the horizon, hence the delay in doing this. But, onwards and upwards and here we go!

 Looking towards Komodo Island (Too far away to see in this picture)

Indonesia was a wonderful experience. An amazing variety of wildlife, simple but tasty food, stunning scenery and wonderful people who, despite living in harsh conditions, are proud, friendly and happy.

Two of the meals prepared by the boat crew! Who needs a Michelin Star!

But of course, we are here for the wildlife. With around 2000 pictures to choose from it was hard to decide which to include. Hope you like the few I have selected!

Among the photos we have are everything from Ants to Alpha male Orangutans. Our two main objectives were to have close encounters with Orangutans and Komodo Dragons - and BOY did we get to see both! Here are a few highlights:

We saw butterflies and moths everywhere - from large to massive (OK, and a few small ones as well) as the pictures below show. 

 This one we found at Singapore Airport of all places!

 This beauty was sleeping above the door to our cabin on Borneo and was still around for a photo shoot the next morning!

 How's this for a monster! Of course, I had to go one step further (next picture).

After I allowed her to settle on my face I was warned that they are prone to weeing on people! Fortunately not this time!

There were some bugs that we knew we probably would not be able to find in the wild, so for the next few shots  we did cheat a little by going to a park where we knew we would see them. This did have the advantage though of letting us both see and handle some of them (not for the squeamish)!

Giant Leaf and Stick insects. These were by far the biggest we have ever seen. As you can see, gerry is as crazy as I am and is not averse to handling anything nature can throw at us.

 This Rhinocerous beetle was incredible! So heavy it felt like it was made of marble - and those feet sure can grip tightly!

I just had to do it! Another 'Must Do' experience to cross off my list!

While many of the dragon and damselflies we saw did not beat our own, some were nonetheless quite stunning. When this one caught the sunlight, it was amazing!

These millipedes were among the most numerous creatures we saw (Much to our surprise) and they were everywhere from the rainforest floor to inside our bedrooms!

 

Only a small and unremarkable cricket, but just look at the markings!

It was the web rather than spider that caught our eyes here. The whole web was enormous, about 4 feet across, with just the small central area showing clearly.

Probably not too dangerous if it follows the 'Large Claws, Small Poison Sack rule, but we were miles from anywhere so I didn't risk picking her up!

Most of the VERY large spiders we have seen have been of the big, brown, hairy tarantula type. This baby (Pictures above and below) was in a web that spanned about 10 feet or more from anchor to anchor and was larger than the pictures give her credit for. Stunning!!!

Another 8 legged friend while on the subject!

 

 For the next 2 pictures we had to travel inside the hillside. No concrete paths or electric lights and railings like you would find in this country. The only concession to modern times was the hard hats.

This is the baby we had come to see. We had heard tales about the 'Black Cave Spiders' from our guide and others (and our guide was terrified of them, standing well back shaking his head while we crouched down to get some pictures). However, they turned out to be 'Tail-less scorpions' and are actually quite harmless despite their appearance.

 Well, you can't go into a cave and not get mobbed by bats!

Praying Mantis. This proud lady flew in one evening while we were eating our late meal. I must have looked odd to the locals as I rushed around trying to get a good picture. Not keeping still for more than a few seconds at a time, this was the best picture I could manage. At least she graced me with a classic 'Praying' pose.

I love the clarity of this shot, but taking it was far from pleasant! We were in a water treatment plant that has been transformed into a bird sanctuary. One corner though, had a stench that had to be experienced to be believed! And all around - these flies. MILLIONS of them covering every inch of leaves, fences, ground. But even they have a sort of beauty.

While in a populated area.... a few town shots....

 The view from the one eco-lodge we stayed at that was close to a built up area. This was an early morning shot taken as the world was waking up.

 Cooking plays a big part in our lives, so this food market provided a wonderful distraction from our normal pastime of crawling around looking for creepie-crawlies. Needless to say we came home well stocked up with spices!

Quick-Fit comes to Indonesia!

 ...and just down the road, IKEA!!!

 A Kentucky Fried Chicken delivery lorry!

 and of course, Happy Lappy sets up in Indonesia!

...Back to Borneo!
With a lot of island hopping to do, we had 10 flights in total, so spent a lot of time travelling.

 

None of the flights could be called boring though! Indonesia is on the famous 'Ring of fire' and is a hotbed for earthquakes and volcanoes. Although we did not pass any eruptions, we saw an impressinve number of sleeping volcanoes. A reminder of how turbulent the area is!

Our 'Home' in Borneo. Built on a swamp, you had to be careful to stay on the boardwallks if you didnt want a muddy swim. This lodge was a LONG way from anywhere with the only access being by river. From where Gerry is standing though, during the few days we were there we took pictures of moths, millipedes, monkeys, frogs, monitor lizards and more - heaven!

The small room that we could use for making coffee was well guarded by this chap! There throughout our stay. Plenty of spiders etc around for him though!

Proboscis monkees are an endangered species around the world, but in this one area they are doing well, and we had lots of chances to get close! Had quite a scare one night when we wandered off down a boardwalk in the dark to find the river so we could look at the moon! Suddenly there was a huge roar and a noise like a bulldozer crashing through the bushes! We thought it might be a wild boar, so made a strategic retreat. Later on we were told we probably disturbed a large male Proboscis monkey!

We had to make lots of river trips to get to various places (no roads) and saw lots of locals catching their evening meals! This is how they fish for Catfish at the river edges.

This is not a very common sight! the river is crocodile infested so the monkeys have to have a very good reason for swimming across! Great photo opportunity though!

After a long boat ride up the river we arrived at Camp Leakey. The famous Orangutan research centre. Providing a safe haven for these wonderful apes, they regularly come out of the forest and there is always a good chance of getting close up.

The guy above is a gibbon who just happened to pass through while we were there. The gymnastic display he put on was nothing short of miraculous! Sorry about the hazy picture but it was very humid and condensation was a big problem for the camera!

Plenty of Macaques around - full of mischief but fun to watch. No problem unless you are silly enough to get your sandwiches out!

Pitcher plants and spiky things! Plenty of both on Borneo.

... and here THEY are - when you look into their eyes you can see feeling and intelligence. They are incredible.

Mother and baby. The baby is just 6 days old and is the fourth born to this female. The previous 3 all died and she is the last of her line.All eyes are on the baby as she is so important to the gene pool.

In comes a large male. We thought at first that this must be the alpha male as he seemed enormous and so powerful. When he decided to come down and walk right past me, almost brushing my side, it was an amazing moment and I must admit I held my breath.

 No, you cannot outstare the males!! What is essential is to make sure you do NOT get between a male and female, so you need to be aware of where every single member of the group is!

After a while, all of the Orangutans around us, males and females moved off with a purpose and we suddenly heard him approaching. The real alpha male. All others defer to him. I cant really describe the size and power of this guy. We just stood there holding our breath!

Now a few more pictures from Borneo.

 

  Lucky shots, and the only reasonable two of over 20 taken of this eagle. It was really too far away and very difficult to track it with the camera on full zoom.

 Sat on a boardwalk enjoying the sun. This monitor lizard was small, about 18 inched long. Impressive enough, but nothing compared to what would come later!

Doing our bit for forest preservation. Near Camp Leakey we planted 4 trees. One each for Gerry and I and one each for our Grandchildren, Ewan and Olivia. Only a drop in the ocean, but we left a bit of ourselves in a forest far away!

 Two very different types of fungus. One of my favourite 'non-wildlife' subjects, these were both very diferent to  any we had seen before.

A REAL stroke of luck! Very rare, and not often spotted, we saw 3 Rhinocerous Hornbills in one tree (one flew off before I got this picture). Our guide had only ever seen single individuals before, so was as thrilled as to see this!

The pictures are not too good. The tree was a LONG way off and these pictures were only possible with the camera resting on a tree, on full zoom and the pictures then cropped into close up on the computer. With the naked eye we could only see 3 distant black spots!

And then another two plane flights and a four hour boat ride to Komodo and Rinka Islands in search of the legendary Komodo Dragons. On Komodo, we only saw dragons around the ranger station. Still wild and extremely dangerous, but we wanted to see them in their natural habitat. This we achieved on Rinka where we got almost too close to 2 fighting females and came across several others in the forest. Despite their size they move with frightening speed when they want to. We even saw one chasing a  monkey, and catching it up! Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) they run out of our sight so we did not see the outcome.

Here are a few things we saw while searching for dragons:

 

 This Kestrel was feeding on a small fish. He was only about 6 feet above us and did not seem at all bothered by our presence.

 A flying lizard! A stroke of luck as we really didn't expect to see one. The ranger was incredibly fast and gently caught him so that we could see him extend his wings (while walking up the tree trunk, he looked just like a normal small lizard).

Now we found out that our guide was terrified of snakes as well as cave spiders! while I was getting my camera within inches of this little beaut, he was backing away, shaking his head and saying 'Nooooo'! Just look at the snakes striking pose though - stunning! I THINK I was just of of range!

Now on to the Komodo Dragons, something I have dreamed of seeing since my childhood.

When we think of lizards, we think of little creatures that eat spiders, slugs, worms etc.

What is a Komodo Dragons favourite food? Well, we came fact to face with one in a dried up river bed.....

Yes, Komodo Dragons eat wild buffalo! This gives an idea of their size and power. While they will chase and savage smaller prey, they are aware that buffalo can be dangerous, so they are too smart to take them on directly. They will spend hours, or even days (they are very patient) waiting for the right moment to strike.

While taking the above shot, the ranger told me to be careful and look behind me...there was a massive Dragon slowly advancing towards the buffalo (or me??? I was between the two - but not for long!).

When that moment presents itself, they 'nip' the buffalo on the ankle. It was long thought that a potent mix of bacteria made a dragon bite so deadly. Recently however, it has been discovered that they also possess venom. Even the slightest bite will result in a slow, painful death. The dragon will then follow the buffalo until it succumbs to the bite. This can take about 2 weeks. Not a nice way to go! and yes, this applies to people as well. When we were in the middle of the fight between 2 females, I have never been so nimble on my feet. Our little video clips show this quite well as you see really wobbly film of the rocky ground as we jump around trying to stay out of range!

I have heard all sorts of descriptions of these, the largest lizards on the planet. But I think they are beautiful. The top of the food chain, they fear nothing, including man. Something of an enigma, they can only be found on 4 islands and have never existed anywhere else.

Look at those claws!!!!!

So, that is an abridged version of our Indonesian adventure with just a few of the 2000+ photos I bought back with me. I have maybe rushed this a little, but life is very busy and I am a little distracted at present and I really wanted to bring these memories to you all.
Hope you enjoyed it and can find time to leave a comment or two.
And remember, don't swat it, squash it, spray it, shoot it or otherwise hurt it. It is alive and deserves to be left that way!

Until next time......