Jungle Fever in Bukit Lawang

Bukit Lawang is a small tourist town, right next to Gunung Leuser National Park, home to a whole number of monkeys, apes and other wildlife. We came here in the hope of spotting a wild or semi-wild Orangutan (there's a sanctuary here where rescued Orangutans are reintroduced back in the jungle) and we weren't disappointed.

We were informed that the best way to see as much wildlife as possible whilst in Bukit Lawang is to spend a night in the jungle, so we booked ourselves onto a two day jungle trek. The night before we embark on our jungle trekking, Sam could barely sleep due to his over-excitement. I too found it difficult to sleep, filled with anxious thoughts about our upcoming adventure.

We were in a group of six trekkers, with two official park guides accompanying us. As soon as we met the group, it was clear that Sam and I were completely unprepared for what was ahead. Everyone was kitted out in trekking gear - appropriate walking boots and convertible, light-weight walking trousers. Sam and I on the other hand were sporting white converse and shorts... Fifteen minutes into the trekking I was struggling to not slip over as we were scrambling up and over the wet jungle floor, so much so that the guide offered to swap shoes with me. Great news for me, as I got to wear his rubber jungle shoes that had football-like studded soles for gripping more easily. 

Even with my special jungle shoes on, the trekking was pretty hard going. Seven hours of crawling up and down hills trying not to trip over tree roots or skid down sheer drops, with sweat literally dripping from every pore and the excruitating pain it left my muscles in was all worth it. We got to see so many incredible sights, including about ten or so Orangutans, a Thomas Leaf Monkey, a Black Gibbon and plenty of Macaques. All of the animals that we saw seemed to be pretty fearless and came really close to us, just going to show that they must be well accustomed to tourists.

The overnight stay in the jungle wasn't as bad as I had feared either. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night with a spider crawling across my face, in fact, we didn't encounter that many creepy crawlies at all. The only thing that made it difficult to sleep was the uneven ground we were sleeping on. We were also treated to some first class Indonesian evening entertainment from the guides, who taught us how to play a mutitude of seemingly hilarious games with cups (Bali crew, you're in for a right treat). In case you were wondering about the food, this was also top notch - loads of freshly cooked Indonesian food and a fruit-filled breakfast. Sam was introduced to Passion Fruit for the first time (how could this be possible?!) and loved it so much that he ate four whole ones for breakfast, along with a mandarin, a couple of bananas and about ten pieces of watermelon.

As we were so exhausted from our previous day's trek, we were saved from too much walking the next day and instead visited a waterfall not far from the campsite and then floated back along the river to our hotel on huge rubber inner tubes.

Such an incredible experience, although, it's been four days since our trek and my legs are still really stiff. I Katie Tazzyman, vow to get fit, and you can hold me to it.