Jungle Trip

We spent four nights in the jungle in Sumatra, Indonesia, seeing wildlife, learning about the natural environment and cooling off in some beautiful, fresh rivers. We pushed ourselves in ways we hadn’t before on this trip, but were greatly rewarded.

The start of the trip was a bit rocky. We had a long car drive in the evening/night through the city of Medan and then along bumpy, partly washed out roads as we headed inland toward the mountains. At least one of us got carsick. By the time we arrived at our accommodation, about 15 minutes from the town of Bukit Lawang, we were pretty haggard and a bit skeptical of this ecolodge in the middle of nowhere where we were the only guests. Two guys with flashlights greeted us on the road and walked us down a narrow staircase to our small bungalow, outfitted with a large bed, a set of bunkbeds and a rudimentary bathroom with geckos wandering the walls. It was hot and sticky and the cicadas and other nighttime critters were deafening. 

Here is the view looking down the stairs in the daylight. Much more inviting than in the dark!

By the morning, our perspective started to shift. We had a good sleep and were treated to a delicious breakfast of thick crêpes and a huge plate of fruit — the first of many we would have in Sumatra.

We settled in and caught up on some homeschool in the morning.

Our amenities started feeling a bit less rugged and a bit more like we were living with the Swiss Family Robinson. In the afternoon, our host took us on a walk to the river close by, pointing out jackfruit trees and beetle nuts along the way, along with leaves that recoil when you touch them. We cooled off in a beautiful river that gave us serious Jungle Book vibes, and took turns jumping off the rocks.

The kids outdid us, barely hesitating as they launched themselves in, from more than three metres high.

On the way back, we spotted long tail macaques jumping in the trees. We were starting to relax and to appreciate being so far away from other tourists and distracting amenities. Here is what our bungalow looked like:

The next day, we geared up in our jungle attire, covered from head to toe, and headed deeper into the jungle with our two guides. We embraced the “jungle chic” look, and the kids and I agree that Jon rocks the adventure jungle man look the best.

It was hot and humid, at least 30 C, but all the clothing to cover us was necessary to avoid the mosquitoes and leeches. One of our guides dabbed our ankles and shoes with tobacco water to keep the pesky blood suckers away.

But still, we found several leeches on our clothes, yet no one freaked out (externally, that is), when we discovered them embedded in our socks and shoes. They were actually very small and quite easy to remove. One got Ella on the arm though, causing her to bleed for a few minutes. She took it like a champ. 

We walked across the river into the Gunung Leuser National Park, saw a woodpecker and termite nests, among other things.

When we stopped to take a break, one of the guides whispered that there were gibbons (a type of monkey) in the trees. Sure enough, we saw them making their way through the trees high above us. They were too far to get any pictures, but we could see them swinging from branch to branch as we stood quietly below, just the six of us.

We stopped for lunch at another lovely river where we cooled off and had a swim in a cave below a waterfall.

We ate warm stir fried noodles and fruit, then continued on to our campsite, beside another small river, spotting a tiny gecko with wings and hearing hornbills in the distance.

We all cooled off yet again, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and looking for wildlife.

We started watching the branches in the treetops in the distance. Any movement helps indicate if there are monkeys moving about. We spent quite a while watching a macaque, which settled into a tree above our campsite for a while.

We slept in a shelter on firm camping mats and were awoken in the night a few times by monkeys, but managed to have a decent enough sleep. We had a leisurely morning by the river sipping coffee and having breakfast.

Then we hiked out 20 minutes to the road.

We stopped to appreciate a beautiful view…

… before we hopped in the back of a truck toward the next part of our jungle tour. 

We started the next hike in the town of Bukit Lawang and headed back into the national park, this time through an official entrance.

Unlike the day before, we weren’t the only ones on this trail. We were around lots of other groups, all hoping to see the elusive orangoutans. We saw tons of macaques and a few Thomas Leaf monkeys.

These ones are clearly used to being around people and didn’t mind getting close to us, even with their babies.

After over an hour of hiking, we came upon a couple of orangoutans. They stay high in the trees shielded by the leaves, but are easy to spot once you know where to look, thanks to their massive bodies and red fur, but too far to get a good pic. This was still very cool, although not as authentic as being alone in the depths of the jungle the day before, as you can see by the crowd of people huddled together to get a good view. 

Still, everyone was very respectful and quiet. The park is extremely clear that you need to have a guide and keep your distance from the animals. 

Later on in the hike further in the jungle, we found two more — a mom and her baby, and this time there were much fewer people around and the baby put on a little show, hanging and swinging from the trees. We were able to get some decent pictures and videos.

By this time, we were hot, sticky, dirty and very smelly. We hiked for another couple of hours and I was starting to hit my wall. I don’t often brag about my kids, but I have to say, they were amazing throughout. They barely complained despite the bugs, the heat, the leeches, the food they didn’t love and not to mention all the walking. By the end, I was struggling to keep up with them. We capped off the hike at yet another river and went for a swim. Water is so therapeutic.

Then we boarded a few large rubber tubes, with our backpacks in plastic bags, and rafted down the river through small bumpy rapids, toward the town.

The truck met us there and took us back to the ecolodge, which felt downright luxurious after the night in the jungle. We dried out our wet and dirty clothes before having dinner and packing up. We left early the next morning with tons of bug bites and a bag full of filthy clothes, but feeling a huge sense of accomplishment and gratitude for our amazing guides as well as an appreciation for the simple things, like a cold shower and gathering around an iPhone to watch the highlights from Game 6 of the World Series.