First of all: this post is a bit longer and has lots of photos. Our wish was to spend days in the Borneo rainforest, far from the tourist trails. There were moments when we thought: “Fuck, what have we got ourselves into?” Looking back, the beads of sweat and the fear of heights are forgotten, and even the bite of a supposedly deadly snake into our guide’s shoe makes us smile today. The nature, the animals and the soundscape when wild camping are hard to describe. We had chosen two places in eastern Borneo: Loksado and the Meratus Mountains in the south-east, and the village of Merabu with its mountains in the north-east.
Loksado & Meratus Mountains:
The Meratus Mountains tempted us with beautiful limestone formations densely covered in primary and secondary forest. Our starting point was Loksado. On the way we passed through small villages that can only be reached on foot or by motorbike. Across rice fields we went deeper and deeper into the rainforest, and early on we met a snake that made us feel rather uneasy. Our goal was the Haratai waterfall, where we camped. With a thin sleeping mat the nights were hard, but the way back to Loksado on a home-made bamboo raft was a real adventure. After three nights in the wild, the run-down hotel felt like luxury, and even the cold shower was a treat.
To be continued further down…
A stilt house beneath palms and a blue basket on the wooden wall – villages reachable only on foot or by motorbike.Across the suspension bridge, ever deeper into the rainforest of the Meratus Mountains.The hut among dark trunks on the left, and only a dry palm frond on the right.Bamboo leaves against the light, packed tight.The yellow tent at the Haratai waterfall, a stick insect on the fabric.At the stove at night, head torch and candle – the nights on the thin sleeping mat were hard.A hut on stilts among palms and bamboo.A rusty roof among palms by the river, nothing but forest around it.A large ribbed leaf on dry tendrils on the left, a patch of ferns on the right.A green snake on the path, kept at a distance with a stick – that made us a little uneasy.A bare trunk rises above the dense green.Limestone formations, densely overgrown – the Meratus Mountains from above.Tall crowns above dry leaves.Tall trunks on the slope to the left, thick roots on a trunk to the right.A black beetle on an open hand, rock and forest floor behind, Meratus Mountains.Two hikers in the undergrowth, the one in front carrying a basket, Meratus Mountains.Pale, tall trunks rise above the undergrowth.A rocky stream beneath the canopy.The sun sinks behind the ridge – after three nights in the wild.Two dogs on the village street under large trees, wooden houses beside it.Children and a dog on the village path, smoke among the trees, Meratus Mountains.Ochre strips of bark drying on a bamboo rack.Epiphytes in a treetop, seen from below.Suspension bridge with a yellow railing over the stream, a wooden tower in front, orange blossoms.Bamboo rafts on the quiet river – on one like these we went back to Loksado.Planks and ropes of the suspension bridge between palms.A wooden house with a rusty roof among trunks, a satellite dish on the left.
Merabu Village: At the end of the world
After two flights and five hours in the car we felt as if we were at the end of the world: Merabu, deep in the rainforest in north-eastern Borneo. The drive painted a sad picture, with battered lorries full of palm oil coming towards us again and again. Merabu is surrounded by plantations, but the village stands firm and protects its forest. The inhabitants are seeking UNESCO World Heritage status, a process that takes years. Meanwhile they have won the right to decide for themselves over an area of more than 8,000 hectares. Curious about these people, we let the village welcome us, and straight away we set off on the first hike.
Our goal was a stalactite cave with ancient cave paintings and even coffins. The next day a bigger challenge awaited: by boat deep into the rainforest, camping by a deep blue lake, swimming and, at four in the morning, the climb for sunrise. Good grief, that was sweaty – but the view from the summit was worth every drop. The aerial shots with the drone were then the icing on the cake.
Festive dress at the welcome in Merabu: feather fans and a stick between the teeth.A ball of orange and black rings on an open hand.Pale buttress roots on the left, a knot in a thick strand on the right, near Merabu.In the forest near Merabu a trunk lies across the stream and the water runs beneath it.From a thick trunk the buttress roots run far into the ground near Merabu.Red cave paintings: an animal figure and handprints.Stalactites and a wooden coffin with skull and bones – the goal of the first hike.A toad sits on the rock in the beam of light, otherwise it is night near Merabu.A thin insect on a dark leaf on the left, a blue damselfly on the right near Merabu.Tendrils and leaves hang between tight buttress roots, forest near Merabu.A leaning tree above dark green, smooth water – camping by the lake deep in the rainforest.A dark river between pale and green crowns.A narrow river through an evenly green canopy near Merabu.A winding river in the canopy, with small wisps of mist between, near Merabu.A limestone peak with pale walls above the forest.A long limestone chain with white cliffs, more ridges in the haze near Merabu.Wisps of mist over wide forest, a narrow river running through it, near Merabu.Up at four in the morning – the gorge in the first light of dawn.Narrow limestone spikes on the left, and on the right they push through the sea of clouds near Merabu.Wooded knolls rise out of the white mist near Merabu.Forest and rock in the mist on the left, almost only clouds on the right, near Merabu.Wooded limestone ridges one behind the other, haze in the hollows – worth every drop of sweat.A sharp limestone ridge rises from the sea of clouds, distant ridges on the horizon, Merabu.A wooded limestone ridge above a dense field of clouds, pale mountains far off, near Merabu.Near Merabu a dense white wall of mist lies on the forest, with only one tree sticking out on the left.White mist fills the gorge between steep forested slopes near Merabu.In the haze near Merabu stands a tall leaning tree, with limestone cliffs and forest behind.Nyatoh, Palaquium lucida – a labelled tree among ferns.Near Merabu a small banded lizard sits on the leaves at left, while a hand holds the millipede at right.Boats on the riverbank in Merabu, palms and wooden houses behind.In Merabu three cats sit among pots by the pink wall, with blue water tanks above them.Night in Merabu: a street lamp above the path between the houses.
