Borneo & Beyond: Indonesia’s Big Three – Orangutans, Whale Sharks and Komodo Dragons

Our crew welcomes you aboard Paspaley Pearl on this island paradise where Hindu traditions unique to Bali have created a distinctive cultural landscape amid the terraced rice fields dotted with ancient temples. There’s time to get your bearings before we cruise through the harbour, past traditional fishing communities. Tonight, join our expedition team for a briefing about the remarkable volcanic landscapes, wildlife and cultures we’ll encounter across Indonesia’s vast archipelago.

While we cross the Java Sea to southern Borneo, our naturalists will prepare you for the wildlife encounters ahead with talks about orangutan conservation, Dr Biruté Galdikas’ groundbreaking primate research, proboscis monkey behaviour and the remarkable “bird lakes” in Tanjung Puting National Park – seasonal wetlands that attract endangered waterbirds such as white egrets.

Two days on the rivers of Tanjung Puting National Park allow us the time to explore this 415,000 hectare UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar wetland, home to nine primate species, the greatest concentration of primates in any park on earth, along with 38 mammals, and more than 230 bird species. We travel the Sekonyer by klotok, the local timber riverboats named for the knocking of their engines, past nipa palm and pandanus into peat swamp forest, stepping ashore to follow boardwalks from the bank to several orangutan feeding platforms, among them the world-renowned Camp Leakey research station, established by Dr Biruté Galdikas in 1971, where we observe endangered orangutans in the wild. Our Zodiacs take us into additional river systems we have been granted exclusive access to and that few people ever see.

Roughly 120 kilometres north of Bali, the Kangean archipelago gathers three main islands and some 60 mostly uninhabited islets. Its people call themselves Orang Kangean and speak a language close to Madurese, but the archipelago has been taking in arrivals for centuries, above all the seafaring Bugis, Mandar and Bajo families who came across from Sulawesi and whose languages are still spoken in the eastern islands today. Life is set by the sea: low forest and mangrove behind the beaches, seagrass and coral in the shallows, fishing boats drawn up in front of the villages. Ferries from Madura are slow and infrequent, which is much of the reason the Kangeans see so few visitors at all.

As we travel east past the islands east of Java, enrichment sessions about marine conservation and traditional fishing practices prepare us for the extraordinary wildlife encounters ahead. Learn about whale shark behaviour, “bagan” fishing platforms and conservation efforts while scanning the sea for marine life during our approach to Sumbawa.

Swim in crystal-clear waters alongside endangered whale sharks that congregate around traditional wooden fishing platforms called “bagans”, while supporting sustainable tourism initiatives protecting these remarkable creatures. The largest fish in the world, whale sharks can reach 18 metres in length and weigh up to 20 tonnes, and have been recorded as living to 130 years of age. Elsewhere in this region whale sharks are known as “gurano bintang” (star shark); in Saleh Bay they’re called “pakek torok” (deaf shark) because of their apparent indifference to engine noise on the bagans.

Step ashore at this UNESCO World Heritage Site between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores, the only place in the world where you’ll find as many as 3,500 wild Komodo dragons roaming free. In Komodo National Park, established in 1980, join park rangers for guided walks through dry savanna searching for the world’s largest living lizards while learning about conservation efforts protecting these prehistoric predators.

On Padar Island, part of Komodo Island National Park, we’ll have a chance to swim at Long Beach, its salmon-pink sand coloured by fragments of red organ pipe coral (Tubipora musica) and the shells of single-celled foraminifera organisms that inhabit the nearby reefs, which are also teeming with tropical fish and ideal for snorkelling. Continue dragon-tracking while learning about the Wallacea biogeographical region, which straddles the famous Wallace Line, named after British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. This line marks a natural border between Australasian and Asian flora and fauna, making it one of the world’s most important sites for evolutionary biologists.

Step ashore at Badas, part of Sumbawa Besar, a town known for its historic Dutch colonial buildings and an elaborate sultan’s palace built in 1885 without using a single nail. Experience ceremonial events rooted in ancient agricultural traditions while observing traditional rice pounding and weaving demonstrations and a possible wedding procession.

Disembark Paspaley Pearl with memories of your close encounters with wild orangutans, ancient cultures, living dragons, whale sharks and one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes. An opportunity to explore Bali’s traditional arts and crafts provides a fitting end to this expedition through one of the most biologically diverse regions on Earth.

Itineraries are subject to change.