Day 2: Off the Map

I awoke to the loud hooting of gibbons hidden deep in the jungle. We were served a breakfast of rice topped with sardines in tomato sauce, ramen noodles, and salted dried fish that had been caught the previous day.

After breakfast, the expedition team headed off to explore the limestone cliffs and caves hidden deep inside the jungle. We began our two-hour hike by climbing up a steep and muddy hill that marked the beginning of the Sambaliung Mountain. Leo Salas, an animal population specialist who was leading the expedition for The Nature Conservancy, had named this mountain, which is so remote that it does not appear on any map.

We followed an old logging trail that was used 20 years ago to bring trees to the river where they were floated down stream to logging mills. The muddy trail eventually led to a thick forest clogged with vines, strangler fig trees and other thick vegetation. Our Indonesian hiking guide, Anto, used a machete to clear the way. He slashed small marks into trees so that later expeditions could follow our steps.

After 30 minutes of climbing over fallen trees, small rivers and tangled vines, we arrived at the beginning of the karst system. Sharp limestone rocks suddenly shot out of the ground creating the walls of a narrow stone maze. We climbed over the jagged rocks, careful not to fall into the narrow crevices that dropped ten to 20 feet down.

Matt ventured into some of the deeper caves that were formed by the rocks to examine the numerous bats that hid inside them.

We finally came to our destination – the foot of a 150 foot tall cliff. Clinging to the sides of the cliff were large trees that had sprouted from the cracks in the limestone. The trees are believed to be unique to the area, and had evolved to live in that specific cliff side.

At the very top of the cliff, large black mounds stuck out from the stone face – massive bee hives. While they were more than 100 feet above our heads, we could clearly hear their loud buzzing. A fat rainbow bee eater bird flew between the hives and the tall tree where it lives, eating its dinner.

After we returned to camp, we had our dinner of fried fish and ramen noodles mixed with green ferns that had been collected from the jungle. As we talked about our day’s adventure, Leo mentioned that he had seen some kind of reptile in the river earlier that evening. He wasn’t sure if it was a turtle or the head of a python. I quickly decided to cancel my plans to go swimming the next day.

Exhausted from the day’s hike, I fell asleep around 8:30, while Leo and Matt ventured down to the river to see if the mist nets they had erected earlier had caught any bats.

Learn more about Borneo and East Kalimantan, Indonesia:

• Press Release: Scientists Discover New Animal and Plant Species Hidden Deep in Borneo Jungles
  A team of international scientists led by The Nature Conservancy announced the discovery of at least two new fish species and a variety of previously unknown insect, snail and plant species living in the karst systems of Borneo.
• Where We Work: The Nature Conservancy in Indonesia
  Indonesia is one of the world’s most extraordinary storehouses of biodiversity. Although it covers only 1.3% of Earth’s land surface, it is home to about 17% of the plant and animal species of the world.
• How You Can Help: Adopt an Acre®
  Every second of every day, an area the size of a football field is cleared. That's 86,400 football fields per day, seven days a week. By adopting an acre, you are providing critical funds for rainforest acquisition and protection enabling the Conservancy and its partners to achieve their mission of protecting biological diversity.

Photo credits (top to bottom): © Harry Wiriadinata, © Cahyo Rachmadi.