Responsibility

Every participant shall be regarded in every respect as carrying his/her own risk with respect to loss or injury to person or property. We do not accept responsibility for losses or expenses result.

Accommodation

All participants will stay in small hotels, guesthouses, lodge, and local house and on house boat. In some cases you have an option to stay variety of finest hotel. These will vary from place to place but in all cases the accommodation will usually be owned and operated by local people. This way, your money will be directly reaching the local people of the place you are visiting and not large corporations. Your money will also support us to gain alternative income for the local people and helps to protect their tradition.

Meals during the trip

You will receive daily breakfast and refreshments en route. You will accompanied by a cook  Orangutan House Boating Tour who will serve fresh food for you as for lunches and dinners are all include.

The Tour guide

Our guide’s knowledge about spots is profound and experienced. Our guide team is a local people as our main goals to helping in contribution of their income.

Insurance

Due to our packages are not covered with insurance, so we suggest you to take out your own insurance to cover yourself and to cover importance goods such as camera and others. We highly recommend that you have to purchase your own travel insurance, prior to trip departure.

Liability

We acts as intermediary for transport carriers, accommodation, restaurant and other component that use during the program, assumes no responsible for any delay, change of schedules, Cancelled flight, miss flight connections, loss, damage, injury, theft, accident, and irregularity. Luggage allowances in several aircraft such as Kalstar Aviation Balikpapan- Berau & Pangkalan Bun only 10 Kg and Jet plane will be 20 Kg. Due to all causes beyond the program, we reserve the right, without penalty, to alter itineraries or program.

What to bring

Health and fitness

All our trips are designed for a gentle adventure level, even suitable for young families. If you prefer to do more strenuous or adventurous trekking, then our guides can also make sure you are happy too. No specific skills are needed to join our trips – just a desire to see new and interesting wildlife, experience true adventure, and are spectacular of the forest and its inhabitants!

For Orangutan tours most of the food is Indonesian food which is prepared hygienically, and is wholesome and delicious.

To protect your skin from the sun and mosquitos, you should use high factor suntan lotion and insect repellent. Repellents containing ‘Deet’ work best, but are very strong on your skin, so alternative more gentle and natural products such as ‘Mosiguard’ can be used instead. Kalimantan is malarial, so please seek advice for antimalarial or protection from bites before you come. Both suntan lotions and repellents can be purchased in Pangkalan Bun, and sometimes in Kumai, but they can be difficult to find – so best to bring them with you if you can.

For standard klotok trips, no special equipment or clothing is required, but you may like to bring some of the following: Sun glasses, a head torch, binoculars, light coloured long-sleeved tops and long trousers (for insect and leech protection), a rain poncho (for sudden downpours in the forest!), old trainers/comfortable footwear for forest treks, camera with extra batteries and film/memory, a day sack for taking on treks, some high energy snacks like nuts/dried fruit/flapjacks for if you need them in between meals while trekking, a light weight hammock for resting on treks, a towel; a sarong (multiple uses!).

Climate

Our trips run throughout the year, but the most popular time to travel is from June through to September when there is less chance of rain. However, being a rainforest, short storms can be expected at all times of year but are most prevalent from November through to May. Temperatures in the rainforest are warm and the humidity is high. You will need to get accustomed to the humidity and drinking plenty of water is necessary at all times of year.

Reading ideas: Here is a list of some popular natural history books you may like to bring with you

Reflections of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo by Birute M. F. Galdikas (Aug 1, 1996)

The Intimate Ape: Orangutans and the Secret Life of a Vanishing Species by Shawn Thompson and Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (Mar 1, 2010)

Tanjung Puting National Park, Orangutans and Their Habitat – Published in 2007 by Orangutan Foundation and Yayorin.

A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo (The Sabah Society). J Payne and CM Francis (1998)

A field guide to the birds of Borneo (New Holland). Susan Myers (2009)

A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali: The Greater Sunda Islands (OUP). J MacKinnon, K.Phillipps (1993)

Fascinating insects of South East Asia (BBooks). (2010)

Butterflies of Malaysian Borneo – a pocket guide (BBooks) (2010)

Among the Orangutans: The Birute Galdikas Story (The Great Naturalists) by Evelyn Gallardo (Mar 1, 1993)

Guidelines

When viewing Orangutans the following guidelines MUST be followed:

•NEVER INITIATE CONTACT: Never approach an Orangutan. If an Orangutan attempts to make contact, retreat slowly. If an Orangutan grabs you; stay calm and avoid sudden or jerky movements. If you can’t gently twist your arm free – call for help. Never travel alone in the forest. An Orangutans may seem gentle, however they can bite so do not be tempted to initiate contact.

• NEVER FEED ORANGUTANS: Do not eat or drink near Orangutans. Do not give Orangutans food. If you see anyone feeding Orangutans, politely ask them to stop as it this encourages the Orangutans to steal food and can lead to confrontations.

• AVOID ORANGUTANS IF YOU FEEL UNWELL: Colds, flu or any respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases can be passed on to the Orangutans (and vice versa). Avoid coughing near Orangutans. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.

• LEARN TO RECOGNISE MALE ORANGUTANS: Sub-adult and adult males are much larger in size, have large cheek pads and beards. Unlike wild males, ex-captives are less afraid of humans. If, on a rare occasion a male ex-captive charges – run.

• BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR BELONGINGS: Brightly coloured bags are particularly attractive to Orangutans (fruit is often brightly coloured). Keep water bottles and plastic bags in your backpack. If an Orangutan takes something from you – let them keep it (ask a guide or a member of staff to negotiate its return). No belonging is worth fighting over with an Orangutan.

• VIEWING THE FEEDING OF EX-CAPTIVES: Do not approach the feeding platform. Keep back from the Orangutans – as this can cause unnecessary stress to the Orangutans.