Well this day will certainly turn out to be a highlight for many on this expedition. We spent the day at Tanjung Puting National Park and visited Camp Leakey. It truly was an expeditionary day, starting early in Zodiacs heading up the Sekonyer River. As we first left National Geographic Orion we were surrounded by smoke from the immense “burning off” throughout Borneo at the moment. As we travelled up the Sekonyer the smoke cleared and the beauty and diversity of the Bornean jungle was revealed.  

After a trip up the river we reached our destination, Pondok Tanggui. We had a short hike to our final destination to achieve our ultimate goal, to see wild orangutang come out of the jungle to the feeding station. We were able to see a large male orangutan, an adult female, and her young. It was amazing to see such a large animal come out of the jungle almost silently and even more impressive to just simply be in their presence!

When leaving Pondok Tanggui we changed our mode of transport and boarded traditional klotoks. We travelled along the river in our new smooth travelling vessels with the aim of getting to Camp Leakey. Camp Leakey has a special place in the hearts of orangutan fans, as this is where Dr Birute Mary Galdikas started studying the wild orangutans in 1971 and one might say it was from this very location the world found out how amazing these animals actually are! We were able to walk through the camp, the beautiful jungle and end up at the feeding station where the famed alpha male Tom came to visit! 

We wrapped up our expedition with a cruise all the way down the Sekonyer River looking for proboscis, other monkeys and fireflies along the banks, and cruising all the way back to National Geographic Orion!