Our
4-day journey to possibly see Javan Rhinoceros started in Yogyakarta
and included an air flight to Jakarta, a 3-hr afternoon car ride to
Anyer, a 1/2 hr morning car ride to Carita, and a 4-hr motor boat ride
to Handelem Island with boatmen Ndoy & Cushnadi. We didn't see the
Javan Rhinoceros, as our tour guide
Maman later told us they had moved
south due to the November wet season.
We did see Child Krakatoa erupting many times as we stood on the beach
at Anyer, and again from our Anyer room in the morning. This new island
is a tower of volcanic ash, growing at 6+meter a year and rising up from
the undersea caldera left from the 1883 explosion of Krakatoa. In
reading about this and other volcanic activity on the planet, we learned
that local folklore suggests a volcanic explosion around 500ce that
created the Sunda Straight and separated Sumatra from Java, and that
recent European research suggests that the 500ce start to the Dark Ages was possibly caused by
the outfall from a massive volcanic explosion, possibly from Indonesia.
Bob saw some fish on his snorkel outing en route to Handeuleum Island. On
a walk in the woods on Handelem Island we saw coral torn from the ocean
by the 1883 Krakatoa tsunami, and Bob later got some good shots of
birds around the camp, with his new peahen pal following along.
A highlight of our Handeuleum Island night was the delicious seafood en
plein aire dinner- made by the boatmen. As we were finishing dinner on
our out-door bamboo platform, a gecko egg dropped down on Yolanda's pant
leg. The egg surprise made up for the iffy accommodation.
We were up early for our canoe trip up the Cigenter River.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to paddle. We think Manan was concerned
that we would not be able to control the canoe or read the river. The
dug-out canoe wood was heavy with water and bailing was frequently
required. The paddle lasted about 1 1/2 hr, or so, including the quick
paddle down river back to the ocean. We usually go slower when wildlife
viewing, and stop when we hear something. Quite a few times, we saw a
bird to photograph, but because we were not the paddlers, it was
difficult communicating to stop and by then we had drifted out of sight
for photography. Bob was pleased to did get a shot of a Stork-billed
Kingfisher and a Blue-eared Kingfisher.
Our third night was on Peucang Island, where we were checked into a
lovely beach hut, with bamboo walls that had open slits vented to the
out-of-doors, a curtained bed, and out-door w/c and cold-water shower.
We imagined a trip that included two nights in that lovely beach hut.
After check-in and a late lunch, we went for a 12Km hike on the mainland
of West Java (Ujung Kulon). In addition to Maman, a park warden and
two Environmental Studies Vocational School Students (Sri utami and Sri
rahayu) were along. The students were on day two of a 15-day trip on the
Islands of Ujung Kulon. The pace of the hike was set by the warden and
he was always ahead, sometimes clearing fallen branches and bamboo with
his machete. The students were laden with clothing and oversized boots,
so often fell behind. Bob missed getting a photograph of the Small Blue Kingfisher and Javan Surili due to the pace, but did stop a while to get
great photos of Wreathed Hornbill.
At dinner, another one of the students (Riska noviana) sat with us and
she and a pal (Silvi agniya) had a nice chat with Yolanda on the beach
in the morning, while Bob went with Maman for a jungle walk and
photographed other flora and fauna.
The return trip was a bee-line boat ride from Peucang Island to Carita
and relatively quick drive to Jakarta - about 6 1/2 hours total. At one
point as the boat sped through the waves, Bob saw a large swordfish
leap three times along the starboard side - exciting, but no picture. The overnight in Jakarta was to enable a visit to the Indonesian textile museum.
Our tour guide Lia (Julia) was on a two-month placement as part
of her her final undergrad year in arts management in Yogyakarta. She
spoke about wishing to study textile conservation and that her family
home was in Ponorogo, East Java. Bob told Lia about our niece Lia, whose
father was born in Indonesia. Lia's 2-mo placement was helping with the
current exhibition on textile embellishment. She asked to keep in touch
so we exchanged contact information.
We're a bit tired with an unexpected 2-hr wait at the airport, and we've
agreed to think about our final week in S.E Asia once we'd caught up
with sleep at home in the K.L. apartment. We head back to Victoria in 10
sleeps, so might do one more jungle or mangrove outing (but no more air
flights). Bob also wants to do some K.L. tourist activities, such as
Batu Caves and a city bus tour, and our Indian dinner out with Devan and
family.
