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Orangutans: People of the Forest

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Just finished up a 2 week volunteering stint at Samboja Lestari, an orangutan sanctuary in Borneo, Indonesia operated by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS).  Definitely one of the most fascinating and gratifying segments of our trip, and a great way to finish up our travels! In Indonesian, the word "orangutan" means "person of the forest", and they are remarkably human-like in many respects - not surprising given that they share 97% of our DNA.  They are one of the 5 Great Apes, alongside chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and........humans.  Recent studies have concluded that they are the most intelligent of all the Great Apes (aside from humans - and given what's going on in the world today, one could make a reasonable argument that humans aren't in fact all that smart...). Found only in tropical rainforests on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, orangutans are classified as "critically endangered", just one step away from exti...
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Indonesia: Dragons and Wobbegongs

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  My first impression upon arriving in Indonesia:  I've got 1,000,000 Indonesian Rupiah in my wallet....life is good!  Oh wait, that's about $65 US..... Our first stop in Indonesia was Komodo National Park.  We stayed at a dive resort in the Park and did 6 dives in 2 days.  The visibility was awesome, the water was 80-82 degrees, and the coral reefs and abundance of marine life were like nothing we’ve ever seen.   On our last day in Komodo we took a trip to see the famed Komodo Dragons.  About 1500 Dragons live on Komodo Island, along with roughly the same number of people.  The villagers have to be on the lookout constantly, as the Dragons come into their village almost every day looking for goats and chickens to eat (though not frequently, Dragons have been known to kill people too).  Their favorite food is the deer (Javan rusa) which are native to the island (they can even eat water buffalo!):   Seems improbable, I know, until yo...
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Western Australia Part 2: Swagging Across The Kimberley

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Resting up for a few days in Darwin after a spectacular 10 day "swagging" trip across the Kimberley region - the northernmost region of Western Australia.  I am going to concede defeat right up front here - it is impossible to reduce the Kimberley to a short highlight reel.  Without a doubt it is among the most beautiful areas we have ever visited! Thankfully, this leg of our camping trip only involved about half the distance as the first leg from Perth to Broome - "only" 2200 km (1,375 miles). Our group of 18 included 4 holdovers from the first half of the trip, and 14 newbies (mostly Aussies this time).  The days were bright and sunny and in the 80s (I don't think we saw a single cloud the entire trip), and the nights were cool and clear in the 50s, so we could sleep in our swags under the stars:   The Kimberley is quite remote, with a population of about 40,000 people, about half of whom are aboriginal, in a land area just slightly smaller than California....
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