Love the Jungle, hate the Leeches
Turns out I really hate leeches.
I managed to avoid them in Australia, but that clearly wasn’t going to be possible when trekking through Sumatran rainforest. It’s not like the leeches in the jungle were big or even dangerous, but GOD they’re so disgusting.
I first got one when me and my mum and dad decided to go on a little walk through the jungle near our guest house – I looked down and there it was, on my ankle. At least I was wearing socks, so the other two or three leeches crawling up my feet weren’t able to take hold before I freaked out and tore off my shoes and socks.
Let’s just say I didn’t handle it well.
And it didn’t put me in positive spirits about the three-day jungle trek we were supposed to be heading off on the next day. I hated the leeches so much in fact that I even seriously considered not going into the jungle.
What (almost) makes up for the leeches, of course, is the other wildlife that inhabits the rainforest. Lizards and snakes, colourful birds, frogs and butterflies in all sorts of shapes and sizes, many different species of monkeys, and of course, the orangutan; the animal we had come here to see. We knew we might not be so lucky – after all, they are wild animals – but even to have the chance to maybe see one of those majestic creatures in the wild was exciting.
That same evening, one of the men from the village who was coming with us on our trek the next day came rushing to our guest houses to tell us that they had spotted an orangutan in the forest, just on the edge of the village, and we had to go right now if we wanted a chance of spotting it. Me and my mum rushed out with him, sadly leaving my dad back at the place because he wanted to rest his injured knee before the trek tomorrow. It was sad to leave him behind, especially if we did actually see an orangutan, but we understood his decision.
We were led through the palm oil plantation that bordered a small pocket of rainforest, and once we reached the edge we looked up at the towering trees clinging to the side of the mountainous rock face. There was movement in the trees – gibbons feasting on the fruit the tree was clearly providing. And then, a flash of orange. A monkey much larger than its smaller, grey counterparts, reaching its long red arm out to pluck a fruit. It was far away, but there was no mistaking it: that was an orangutan. And not just any orangutan, we were told by our guides, but a mama one, which meant there might be a baby nearby. We could see movement in the leaves below the mum, and then we actually did see that much smaller sweet orangutan as they both decided to move along to other trees.
The next half an hour consisted of us following the path of the two orangutans as they made their way along the edge of the forest, swinging effortlessly through the canopies. Our excitement was dampened slightly by the fact that my dad wasn’t there to see them with us, but I told myself we still had three days of trekking in the jungle ahead of us and he may very well see one then. When we got back and told him what we saw, my dad was just happy that we had gotten to see an orangutan at all.
The next day, we set out on our trek. And it really was a trek, cutting our way through dense shrubbery and near-nonexistent tracks in the rainforest. It was tough, and that combined with the threat of leeches and the oppressively humid heat made it feel a bit overwhelming for me. That was, until we made it to the clear, rocky river. The water was cool and so welcome after trudging through mud and decomposing leaves; I didn’t even care that my socks and trousers were getting sodden as we walked through the water upstream. When we stopped for lunch, there was a pool deep enough to swim in and it made me feel like I was in paradise. As long as I was walking through the river, I felt like I could actually get behind this rainforest trekking thing.
At the camp we stayed, there was a path down to the river where we could bathe, and out of all the things in the jungle, the turquoise pools and clear rivers are DEFINITELY my favourite thing. There was a German girl, Lillia, who was volunteering at our camp, and down by the river she showed us stones that could be ground into paints, which made the river bathing even more enjoyable.
We were out in the jungle for three days, and although trekking through the dense, damp foliage wasn’t easy, our amazing guides were brilliant at helping and leading us through the most difficult parts. One night, we went out walking in the river, searching for the nocturnal animals of the rainforest, which turned out to be mostly frogs. A LOT of frogs, of so many different shapes and sizes and colours. They gave off a strange, eerie chorus, but up close they really were very cute. My favourite was a little green tree frog which really looked like the most stereotypical frog I have ever seen. It was amazing to see so many of the amphibians in their natural habitat – it really felt special. Plus, the frogs were probably eating all the leeches so I was safe in that department.
On our final day of the jungle trek, my dad finally did get to see an orangutan. Just as we had let go of the idea of seeing one on our trip, we had stopped by the river for lunch and then there was movement in the trees, and we all excitedly rushed along the path following the noises. And just as we burst out of the undergrowth, we saw a baby orangutan swing across the trees above us and disappear. A precious, fleeting moment – but my dad had seen it, we all had. It felt like a perfect goodbye to the rainforest.
Of course, the real goodbye to the rainforest came in the form of a train of inflatable rings down the huge, fast-flowing river that would take us on an express route straight back to our guesthouse. Our bags got wrapped in plastic, strapped on to the makeshift raft, us and our guides clambered in, and we were off down the torrent, being taken more or less wherever the river’s current decided to take us. It was probably our most exciting mode of transport we had taken at any point so far on our adventures!
We managed to get back to Jungle River Guesthouse unscathed, with no possessions lost, and were able to have one final night in the guesthouse before we left early the next morning, waving the Sumatran rainforest (and its leeches) goodbye.
