the best rush i had in 2009 was seeing an orangutan
i was in a long boat
not much freeboard
on the Kinabatangan river in Borneo
sitting between my two girls
it was hot
we had been pouring water on our hats
and our necks were sore from looking up all the time...
and then Gofanm, the guide turned the boat,
and i scanned the treetops - another eagle? more proboscis monkeys?
and then i saw the burnt orange moving in the trees
and i grabbed the girls hands
and tears filled my eyes
an orangutan
one of the few left in the wild
eaking out an existence on the sparce trees alongside this once mighty river and rainforest... palm oil trees sometimes only one tree back from the river....
and if he lurked onto the plantation he will likely be shot
but today he is there
in front of us
calmly picking figs off the tree
and looking for all the world like someone i would love to get to know
and all the begging and hassle and saving for this trip are instantly worth it...
that was my rush for 2009!
What a lovely experience & memory!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a precious gift.
ReplyDeleteI felt both happy and tearful reading that, faerian.
thankyou you two lovelies - it made me tearful remembering that moment - Eila had so wanted to see one and she had studied palm oil and the impacts on orangutan and to see it with her was just magic - made me tearful remembering it mollie!
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