Det här var en av mina pojkdrömmar. Nu lyckades jag faktiskt genomföra det. Kanske som en present från företaget som ju fyller 25 i år.
Jag skriver på engelska eftersom jag vet att även våra reseledare vill läsa det.
In July I did a tour connected with one of the dreams I had as a young boy. Probably I was lying down on the floor with a map on the island of Borneo in front. I looked at the long winding rivers, Müllers Range, which is the remote central chain of mountains. I dreamt of crossing this enormous island.
In July I did this! Not singlehanded, but in company of a small group of 10 persons! We flew from Jakarta to Pontianak and in a small plane on to Putussibau in the heart of Borneo. The big river Kapuas was here a small stream. For three days we continued up this river which was steadily getting smaller with more and tougher rapids to conquer. Jump out in the middle of the rapid to pull the big heavy boats. A couple of times the boats even had to be lifted. Hard and dangerous work. Tanjung Lokan was the last dayak village and one of the most remote habitations I have ever visited.
For seven days we trekked through untouched, uninhabited rainforest. Beautiful, interesting, but hard, very hard. There were no trails, we walked through the rivers and streams, all the time wet. Sand from the rivers was grinding my feet, skin disappearing and my feet getting steadily more bloody. Fallen trees blocked our way, but had to be passed and everywhere insects and vegetation stinging, biting, scratching and sucking the little blood there was left.
But…. There were so many wonderful places by the streams. Here sun pierced through the huge trees, made the sand glow and making the fast flowing water glitter. Here were butterflies sucking salt out of the sand. Clouds of them!
We slept in tents on the riverbank above the river. One evening the worst thing happened; I heard a low sound, got alert, than understood; it was the river rushing, pushing debris in front of the first big wave. I raised alarm and in some three minutes everything was shifted to higher ground.
After seven days we reached the mighty Mahakam river, which here was a small river. It took us three days on bigger and bigger boats before we reached out final destination Samarinda on the east coast.
Great, we all survived but with souvenirs of marks on our bodies. Risk was high. If just one of us had an accident the rescue operation would have been very difficult and had taken long time. We were not at all prepared for such hardships. According to the written information from the organiser, a local operator in Jakarta, it was pictured as a nice stroll through beautiful forest. They had never done this themselves and would certainly not been able, judging from their bulky bodies. Little from the itinerary coincided with reality. Moreover food was scarce. Rice, noodles, an occasional piece of bony fish and local ferns. Acceptable perhaps, but meagre.
I am happy, I am thankful, but I have also learnt a lesson; not to use local operators. As a serious organiser we should really not.
I vår kan du se bilderna på en av våra tisdagsföreläsningar och höra mer om alla vedermödor. Skall vi göra det här äventyret till en resa i programmet för 2005? Resan är tvivels utan både spännande och intressant. Samtidigt är osäkerheten ganska stor, den är fysiskt krävande, och det inträffar en olycka blir det riktigt besvärligt. Vi skall snart diskutera det här. Vad tycker du? Hör gärna av dig direkt till christian.jutvik@lasochres.se
In July I did a tour connected with one of the dreams I had as a young boy. Probably I was lying down on the floor with a map on the island of Borneo in front. I looked at the long winding rivers, Müllers Range, which is the remote central chain of mountains. I dreamt of crossing this enormous island.
In July I did this! Not singlehanded, but in company of a small group of 10 persons! We flew from Jakarta to Pontianak and in a small plane on to Putussibau in the heart of Borneo. The big river Kapuas was here a small stream. For three days we continued up this river which was steadily getting smaller with more and tougher rapids to conquer. Jump out in the middle of the rapid to pull the big heavy boats. A couple of times the boats even had to be lifted. Hard and dangerous work. Tanjung Lokan was the last dayak village and one of the most remote habitations I have ever visited.
For seven days we trekked through untouched, uninhabited rainforest. Beautiful, interesting, but hard, very hard. There were no trails, we walked through the rivers and streams, all the time wet. Sand from the rivers was grinding my feet, skin disappearing and my feet getting steadily more bloody. Fallen trees blocked our way, but had to be passed and everywhere insects and vegetation stinging, biting, scratching and sucking the little blood there was left.
But…. There were so many wonderful places by the streams. Here sun pierced through the huge trees, made the sand glow and making the fast flowing water glitter. Here were butterflies sucking salt out of the sand. Clouds of them!
We slept in tents on the riverbank above the river. One evening the worst thing happened; I heard a low sound, got alert, than understood; it was the river rushing, pushing debris in front of the first big wave. I raised alarm and in some three minutes everything was shifted to higher ground.
After seven days we reached the mighty Mahakam river, which here was a small river. It took us three days on bigger and bigger boats before we reached out final destination Samarinda on the east coast.
Great, we all survived but with souvenirs of marks on our bodies. Risk was high. If just one of us had an accident the rescue operation would have been very difficult and had taken long time. We were not at all prepared for such hardships. According to the written information from the organiser, a local operator in Jakarta, it was pictured as a nice stroll through beautiful forest. They had never done this themselves and would certainly not been able, judging from their bulky bodies. Little from the itinerary coincided with reality. Moreover food was scarce. Rice, noodles, an occasional piece of bony fish and local ferns. Acceptable perhaps, but meagre.
I am happy, I am thankful, but I have also learnt a lesson; not to use local operators. As a serious organiser we should really not.
I vår kan du se bilderna på en av våra tisdagsföreläsningar och höra mer om alla vedermödor. Skall vi göra det här äventyret till en resa i programmet för 2005? Resan är tvivels utan både spännande och intressant. Samtidigt är osäkerheten ganska stor, den är fysiskt krävande, och det inträffar en olycka blir det riktigt besvärligt. Vi skall snart diskutera det här. Vad tycker du? Hör gärna av dig direkt till christian.jutvik@lasochres.se