Sei (sungei) Gohong, Kaja Island, Palangkaraya

Location : Pulau Kaja, Kelurahan Sei Gohong, Kecamatan Bukit Batu, Kota Palangka Raya, Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia.

Soon after we checked into Bukit Raya Guesthouse our guide Kornelius Agustinus arrived and briefed us on the trips we could do during our stay. He was quite eager to whisked us to see orang utans as we did not have many hours of sunlight left. Besides, the motorbike ride would take us about 45 minutes. But I quickly warned him that I was not going to pay for a lot of money to watch orang utans. I explained that from where I come (Kuching) it would only cost me RM5 and 20 minutes drive away. He smiled understandably and said we would only have to pay for the boat rental, i.e. Rp200,000. Boat rental fees depend on type/size of boat. As it was only the 2 of us we had the smallest boat.

Just 5 minutes into the boat ride around Pulau Kaja (Kaja Island) we caught sight of our first orang utan followed by a troop of macaques.

While the orang utans looked so cool and relax the monkeys were far from it, nervously running away as out boat got near. Despite the fact that we came in late which was well after the feeding time we could still see many orang utans, feasting on bananas. At one spot we noticed a macaque dining together with a group of its bigger cousins.

Half way round the island the sun was setting fast and thanks to the smog, light was getting poor. At that moment a pied hornbill flew across the river in front of us. Too bad we could not catch it on camera.

After the one hour tour I must admit that watching orang utans from a boat is anytime more exciting than from the stand in Semenggoh Kuching.

Pulau Kaja : Orang Utan Pre-release Island

Kaja, Bangamat, Palas, and Hampapak are pre-release islands run by the BOS Foundation in Nyaru Menteng. These small islands are situated within the Rungan River close to Sei Gohong village in Palangka Raya. Just like a university, on the island the orangutans will receive the final stage of learning in order to live independently. (More info on Orang Utan outreach, please click here)

We ended the day with some quick shooting in near darkness of the altars of the Dayak Ngaju which they called ‘pasah patahu’ in their original religion Kaharingan.

Also please check out our posts on

• Bukit Raya Guesthouse
• Dayak Ngaju Native Village, Bukit Rawi
• Taman Eden, Danau Lais
• River cruise along Kahayan River
• Taman Wisata Kum Kum
• Kereng Bangkirai Jetty
• Bandara Udara Tjilik Riwut Airport

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