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Author: Brooke Squires
I think one of the greatest privileges I have when in Kenya is spending time with the Melako game scouts. The scouts were the first people I met when I came to northern Kenya and they have left a lasting impression on me. It is with great pride that I can now state that at least I can pronounce their names. Up until a year or so ago, they were giving me random English names to call them as I was so hopeless at getting their Samburu or Rendille names correct. Before you laugh at that, I challenge you to pronounce Lmennyoi Leolo or Lparakuoni Lekamaya. The big greeting session we have whenever we go to Melako is an endless laugh as I try to get it right. One of the many guests I have brought to Melako made the best faux pas, calling Singida (one of the Melako scouts) Sangrita. Fortunately, Singida didn't realize she’d been calling him a famous Mexican cocktail for 2 weeks!!
I think spending time with Alfred (the head scout) and his team will be one of the trip highlights. Alfred Le Surmat is in his mid 30s, he has three sons and is one of the most knowledgeable, charismatic, friendly people I have ever met. Alfred is from the Blacksmith Clan at Niribi and is a storyteller for his people. There is nothing like sitting around a campfire with a cup of Samburu tea and listening to a traditional tale. 
All the scouts are hired from within the conservancy and they know the land, the wildlife, and the communities like the back of their hand. To be able to track animals with these men, dig animal water holes, set night cameras, or just sit around a fire, sipping camel milk tea and learning about their lives, adventures, and families as well as their passion for wildlife is such a joy. Many of the activities we will enjoy in Melako they’ve excitedly put together for us.
Out of all of these, I think a good old fashioned game of soccer, Melako style, against the scouts will live in your memory forever. For our scouts, visions of being the next Kenyan Maradona dance through their heads as they take on the ‘tourists’. The minute you challenge the scouts to a soccer match, they will barely draw breath between changing into their soccer gear and heading down to the dry riverbed to play the most hard-core game since the 2006 World Cup.
This is how you play soccer... Melako style.
Soccer pitch = riverbed
Goal posts = elephant dung
Team selection = a lot of yelling
Uniforms = best clothes you have in camp
Rules = none!
Amount of laughter = priceless!!
But I also never forget that these men will put their lives on the line to protect their wildlife, and communities. While Melako is in a safe part of Kenya, RAW Africa Eco Tours support the scouts by paying for their membership to The Game Ranger Association of Africa, and membership to an amazing Australian conservation organisation called The Thin Green Line Foundation (TGLF) www.thingreenline.org.au . TGLF provide life insurance and security training to wildlife workers all over the world and are an important support system for the scouts. Your contribution to the Thin Green Line Foundation through Raw Africa Eco Tours helps to support the system that supports Alfred and his team of scouts. Keep an eye out for the support form in your tour pack or access the many ways to support the scouts and the Thin Green Line Foundation through our ‘Want to do a little bit more’ Program. If you would like to know more about any of the above, please drop me a line at brooke@rawildlife.com.au or join Alfred and me on this great adventure at the African Tour Page
Brooke Squires has worked in zoos, national parks and conservation areas around the world. These days, she divides her time between her beloved rhinos at Werribee Open Range Zoo, Victoria, where she is a rhino keeper, and the International Conservation Partnerships for Zoos Victoria.
bsquires@rawildlife.com.au
Ph: +61 (0) 423 393 836
Author: Mark Keenan
I find it hard to describe what a safari experience in North Sumatra is like for those who enquire. I’m often asked, ‘How was your trip?’ or ‘Did you have a good time’ but rarely do I reply with anything more than a stupid grin and ‘it was brilliant’ or words to that effect.
The problem is that I am so enamored with North Sumatra and what we provide at RAW, that I struggle to put my experience into words. I can’t easily tell you how incredible the place is, how warm the people are, how yummy the food tastes, or how incredibly life changing the whole experience can be. Nor can I easily summarise just how much you do and see in two weeks. Well, not unless you are prepared to sit through a three-hour slideshow and accompanying David Attenborough style monologue. Sometimes pictures speak louder than the written word. Well, my words anyhow.
So it is lucky that every time I head to Sumatra, I am joined by free-spirited, adventurous people who put their faith in our company, in our knowledge, and in our North Sumatran friends to show them a once in a lifetime holiday. This is what of our recently returned guests thought of her time away with us:
'The reward at the end of a long and bumpy drive to Tangkahan – our first glimpse of the elephants and Green Lodge, our home for the next week. Instantly we relax, leaving behind the western world as the peaceful atmosphere works its magic. The days stretch out before us, filled with river tubing, 
jungle trekking, playing with the elephants, excellent food and great company. Who would have thought being on the go from morning until night could be so relaxing? Bathing the elephants, a traditional cooking class, sleeping in a cave, a night walk in the jungle, playing games and swimming with children from the village, the highlights of this trip are endless. And just when we thought nothing could top the experiences we already had, off we went on the four day Elephant Jungle Patrol. Four lovely days of riding through the jungle on elephant back, watching for Orangutans and other wildlife. Each night at the camps was spent getting to know our amazing jungle guides and mahouts. By the time we reached Bukit Lawang we were more like a family than just friends. It was an experience that touched the soul and the memories will never fade'.
- Alison Beal March 2012
This sort of feedback validates all of the energy we put into Raw Wildlife Encounters. I’d like to thank all of my March guests for an incredible fun packed trip, for their support of RAW, and especially to Ali for sharing her heartfelt words with us. I’m sure my family would love to hear of my adventures expressed as eloquently as this.
Unfortunately for them they will just have to sit through another ‘Sir Mark Attenborough’ slideshow instead.
All the Best!
Mark Keenan – RWE Tour Leader
Author: Brooke Squires
Believe it or not, there is snow at the equator.
Don’t believe me? Journey with me to Kenya and see for yourself. Mt Kenya is remarkable; it is dramatic, it is surrounded by the most diverse and unique eco system I have ever witnessed, and yes, it boasts snow-covered peaks even though it sits at the equator.
On our way to Melako and Il Ngwesi Conservancy, we stop for a couple of nights in Nanyuki. Great town and the best pizza ever, oh and the 2nd best Gin & Tonics in Kenya. Nanyuki sits at 1900m above sea level and Mt Kenya is even higher. Mt Kenya is the 2nd tallest peak in Africa and is unforgettable. It is also the southern most point of the elephant migration route that starts up in Melako, makes its way through Il Ngwesi and Lewa, and finishes on the mountain, so it is kind of the end point of the journey for many of our herds.
I always love the stories of the elephant herds, especially those about the big bulls getting to the mountain. Many of these bulls are so skilful at negotiating the gates out of Lewa, creeping across the highway, sneaking through farmland and villages, that you would never know they had been there.
Radio tracking collars have been attached to the biggest bulls to see how they do it and these guys appear to be the masters of sneaky night-time travelling. When Richard Branson heard about this amazing feat he decided to help these ingenious elephants out by building an elephant tunnel under the highway. Can you imagine a tunnel for elephants to use to get from one side of the busy freeway to the other? It is just like the wombat tunnels they use at Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.....except heaps bigger! Since the tunnel opened a year ago, over 600 grateful elephants have migrated back to Mt Kenya. I think truck drivers, communities, motorists and the elephants must all be breathing a sigh of relief, it would have given a few people a heart attack to come around that sharp bend near the Lewa turn off and come face-to tusk with 15 tons of freeway mammal traffic.
Can’t wait to introduce you to these elephants, Mt Kenya, and the elephant tunnel, and chat about the unique and inspiring methods for dealing with conservation issues in such contemporary and clever way. This is what I look forward to showing you: the beautiful traditional ways of working with wildlife, combined with the clever innovations that make it easier for communities to live side by side with wildlife like the Mt Kenya elephants.
Join me to witness the elephant tunnel and Mt Kenya covered in snow. Come and visit the African Tour page.
Brooke Squires has worked in zoos, national parks and conservation areas around the world. These days, she divides her time between her beloved rhinos at Werribee Open Range Zoo, Victoria, where she is a rhino keeper, and the International Conservation Partnerships for Zoos Victoria.
bsquires@rawildlife.com.au
Ph: +61 (0) 423 393 836
Author: Brooke Squires
Now I know Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, has not always had the best reputation. But these days Nairobi is a bustling and funky city to hang out in. I have had some of the best Ethiopian and Italian food in Nairobi restaurants and no one makes a Gin and Tonic like the barman at the Hotel Boulevard, where we spend our first 2 nights in Kenya.
The traffic is complete mayhem! Thankfully Sam, our driver, is utterly brilliant and so cool, calm and collected that negotiating donkey driven carts, buses the size of the Titanic, and the roundabouts from the Twilight Zone are no problem. When I travel with Sam, I sit back in the taxi, read a local paper and enjoy the ride. Sam always has great stories and you couldn’t ask for a better guide around Nairobi.
When I have a day spare in Nairobi, I love to get just out of town with Sam and visit some really great wildlife centres. The first stop of the day is Sheldrick’s Wildlife Orphanage. Daphne Sheldrick is a women so passionate about wildlife that whenever an elephant is orphaned anywhere around Kenya, she personally rescues it, brings it home, and rears it with a team of dedicated staff before releasing her four legged child into a safe conservation area with a group of its buddies. Some of the images of her team loading these little ellies into a small 8 seater plane are astounding!
Sheldrick’s has special meaning for me as some of the elephants orphaned by poaching around our conservancies in the north come to Sheldrick’s. While the reason why the elephants end up here is not so fantastic, there is nothing as hilarious as watching a whole herd of calves dashing down the hill towards you, squealing and trumpeting, for a play in the mud, a huge drink of milk and a frolic around the big open spaces.
But the journey doesn’t end there. We also visit the Langatta Giraffe Breeding Centre. The centre breeds the rare Rothschild Giraffe. Again, Langatta has special meaning for me as I have looked after Rothschild giraffe at Werribee Zoo. In fact, imagine my surprise when I walked into the centre and there on the wall was a poster of one of my giraffe, Jandamara. The guide thought I was a complete loony as I was pointing at the poster and repeating, “That’s my giraffe, that’s my giraffe!!”. Thankfully I was not escorted off the property and I can take you there.
A day in Nairobi would not be complete without spending time at the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen is a local legend and is most famous for her novel “Out of Africa”, the movie starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. I cried all the way through that movie, but I do love the museum. Karen Blixen had an enormous coffee plantation (what’s not to love about a women who owned acres of coffee) and is a firm part of Nairobi’s colonial past. Being at the museum gives you real insight into colonial Kenya, and like it or hate it, it’s a fascinating story.
The night deserves a G&T and a visit to one of those restaurants I could rave all day about. Before we head to the north the next day, I think it is worth popping into the Nairobi National Museum and Botanical Gardens. The Museum has a great natural history section, especially if you are an archaeology freak, as many believe that Lake Turkana in Kenya’s northwest is the cradle of humanity. Some of the oldest humanoid fossils have been found at Lake Turkana and are now located in a strong room of the Nairobi Museum. The Museum also has an extensive section on the cultures, people and history of Kenya. It is a great way to start learning the stories of the people of the north.
Sound like fun? Well it would be great to have you along on our next journey to Kenya and take you to Sheldrick’s, Langatta Centre, Karen Blixen’s place, and the National museum. If you would like to know more about a day in Nairobi, please drop me a line brooke@rawafricaecotours.com.au or simply join me for great food, G&Ts, and really interesting places.
Come and visit the African Tour page!
Brooke Squires has worked in zoos, national parks and conservation areas around the world. These days, she divides her time between her beloved rhinos at Werribee Open Range Zoo, Victoria, where she is a rhino keeper, and the International Conservation Partnerships for Zoos Victoria.
bsquires@rawildlife.com.au
Ph: +61 (0) 423 393 836
With April school holidays around the corner and a family holiday planned, you will quickly need to organise someone to care for your pets. Boarding kennels can be expensive and are not always the ideal solution. Not only is your pet adjusting to you being away, your dog/cat is also removed from their home environment. Some kennels do have great facilities and provide activity sessions for your dog throughout the day. So if you decide on this option, make sure you check out the facility and find out the daily activity schedule for your pet.
Our highly skilled and professional team offer an affordable pet sitting service. We visit your home either once or twice a day while you are away and take care of all of your pet's needs. This is a fantastic option as your pet remains in the environment where they are most comfortable. Our staff are all very fit and enjoy nothing more than taking a high energy dog for a run, so you can be sure that they are well exercised while you are away.
You also have the benefit of security. Part of the reason we have dogs is to provide us with a warning if there are unwanted people hanging around the house. Many burglars target homes during the holiday period. Keeping your dog at home provides added security and the visits from our staff ensure the house looks occupied while you are away. Our staff will also bring in the mail and put out your bins out at no added cost.
Check out our website at www.proinstinct.com.au or email us at info@proinstinct.com.au for more details.
Trust our professional team with the care of your extended family.
Author: David McKelson,
Director ProInstinct
Author: Thomas King
Over the past thirty years the demand for palm oil has been rapidly increasing on a global scale. This widely used vegetable oil was originally from Western Africa, despite the Malaysian Palm Oil Council claiming that palm oil is “the world’s gift to Malaysia”. The industry is at an all time high and is expected to grow substantially in the new year due to the oil’s low-cost and diversity in use. You could say that palm oil is like the most popular kid in the schoolyard of manufacturing.
Whether it be the baked goods, spreads and confectionery that we all love to eat, or the shampoos and soaps we use to make our hair and skin silky smooth… palm oil is all around us. It’s even found in the toothpaste we brush our teeth with each day and possibly even the fuel we pump into our cars!
Lets face it – palm oil is virtually impossible to eliminate entirely from our lives. Which is frustrating knowing that it is having detrimental impacts on the environment, indigenous people and wildlife of South East Asia, and has the ability to dramatically worsen cardiovascular health.
Surely in 2012 we can begin to make a transition into a more sustainable form of palm oil production? This is the question on many people’s minds. But my question is: how can a crop plantation that only lasts approximately 25 years, and then leaves the soil desolate, possibly be considered sustainable? Yes palm oil is a very high-yielding vegetable oil, and it’s all well-and-dandy for my parent’s generation to say that palm oil is currently our most sustainable option as far as vegetable oils go, but what about when I’m their age? When the islands of Borneo and Sumatra are barren wastelands that have been raped by the palm oil industry? When species like the Sumatran orangutan, tiger and rhinoceros no longer exist? When the delicate ecosystems that this planet cannot survive without are obliterated and the valuable carbon stores burnt-up?
There are so many questions but unfortunately not enough answers. And often when someone formulates an answer - a possible solution to an issue of this nature - it is usually struck down by “competing” individuals and organisations within the cause. I’ve seen this time and time again; like-minded people who are working towards the exact same mission let their egos dominate their morals. As a young person, I often feel helpless as I watch these adults bullying one another while my future quality-of-life slowly deteriorates. There is always going to be disagreement and difference of opinion, and with that comes a tangled web of politics – but how much longer can this kind of behaviour continue? With the current state of the planet, we have no time for it.
Governments, big business and the world’s palm oil councils will tell you otherwise, but the bottom line is that palm oil is a short-term commodity, which is not only destroying rainforest, endangered species and indigenous culture, but ultimately my future. Small steps such as avoiding palm oil, companies adopting “sustainable” practices and implementing palm oil labeling laws are great in the short-term, but they are still not enough to protect our planet once the current generations are no longer here.
It’s another one of those large dilemmas fueled by human ignorance and overpopulation… can we devise a long-term solution before it’s too late?
The best time to act was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.
To learn more about palm oil you can visit my website: www.saynotopalmoil.com
In addition to managing his extensive SAY NO TO PALM OIL website, Thomas volunteers for AOP and is dynamically involved in all aspects of raising awareness about palm oil and its impact on the environment.
Author: Mark Keenan
A lot of people I meet tell me that working as a zookeeper would be just about their dream vocation. Yes it’s true; in many ways I am incredibly fortunate. I work with amazing animals and in connection with inspiring individuals. I have also been a part of some great zoo-based conservation initiatives, including the “Don’t Palm Us Off” campaign that helped develop awareness of Palm Oil in this country.
Yet as satisfying as this public awareness campaign proved to be, I still wanted the opportunity to immerse myself in the challenges facing South East Asia, in person, to make a difference at ground level and help produce tangible conservation results.
For me, the chance to work with RWE granted my wish, providing an opportunity to take like-minded individuals into the heart of palm oil plantations, to witness the environmental and social devastation, and to meet the people who are helping slow the destruction in order to preserve one of the world’s most unique and valuable biological ecosystems.
It is incredibly exciting that we can support the community of Tangkahan as custodians of the forest. Everyone I have taken to Tangkahan has been changed in one way or another, touched by the culture, the people, the beauty of the jungle and it’s wild inhabitants.
RWE inspires people. In Tangkahan a powerful message is continually re-enforced and acted upon, that the community can sustain future generations without destroying their forest homelands. Whilst here in Australia, past guests champion efforts to save the forests of North Sumatra and form the foundation of fundraising efforts that see RWE invest continuously in conservation programs in the region.
In what could only be described as a perk of the job, I also get to spend time surrounded by one of the most beautiful environments on the planet. Picture pristine, fast-flowing rivers with crystal-clear green waters and soaring jungle-covered hilltops. Add to this the distinct calls of Hornbills, Siamangs, and White Handed Gibbons. Sprinkle in some Elephants, Orangutans, Otters, and Slow Loris - maybe even a Tiger or two - and you have life in Tangkahan on the edge of the Gunung Leuser National Park. Couple this with two weeks spent with the most friendly, gracious, and inspirational hosts you’re likely to meet and you have a RAW adventure.
I distinctly remember my first time in Tangkahan … thinking this place is so perfect and yet so delicately balanced. It’s an incredible part of the world and offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience one of South East Asia’s great final frontiers. I whole-heartedly encourage you to join us on one of our tours for what will prove a life changing adventure!
Mark is a Raw Tour Leader and dedicated advocate for active conservation of marine ecosystems and forest habitats.
Author: Rika Nauck
‘If a man does take a journey, he will have a story to tell’. This rather literal translation of a German proverb from the 18th century describes so nicely the old fashioned feeling that I experienced on my 2011 trip to Tangkahan.
Tangkahan! What a wonderfully exotic name, so full of promise. Although I learned about it from such a modern thing like the internet, I still felt like an explorer: I would see the rainforest for the first time in my life, hear the sounds, taste strange food, and smell the flavours of a completely different life.
And thus, a story to tell, I have!
I have been travelling before, not just in my own country, but to wonderful places elsewhere in the world. So, what is so different about this place in northern Sumatra?
The initial fascination surely came from the fact that the website offered a trip to see elephants and orangutans. How cool is that? The two types of animals, which caught my imagination since childhood days, both in one place! By the time all the arrangements were made I was fully primed for the wonder that hit me. Whoever truly fell in love, knows what I mean: One single moment in which the rest of the world does not matter anymore, in which the tears flow and one just knows…! That was I, standing above that river and watching this wall of green in front of me.
When the early night fell at Green Lodge, the generators allowed for the lights to switch on, and people would just sit, talk and play games, someone might get the guitar out and sing… and then the generators would die, the night would take charge, voices talking more softly, fireflies taking rains and the rainforest would become the host of the lodges.
But there is something else about Tangkahan. There is a shy confidence, if such a thing exists.
See, this is land that got in contact with our type of civilisation only some 200 years ago; around the same time when the above proverb was coined, when mainly men travelled, and when the purpose of travel was either to bring new wealth to the old world, or to spread the word of God. All over the world the destructive footprints of those activities are still visible, and although these days it is called globalisation and business, not a lot has changed. Local people are still used as cheap resource, and some of the methods used to keep them dependent are not too far from slavery. Land only gets respected when it brings profit and hence indigenous habitat gets destroyed together with the culture of the people living there.
The Karonese people of North Sumatra used to own that land; they defined themselves via the land rather then religion or nationality. To make a living they were then forced to work in the palm oil plantations or to log the forests, which used to give them everything they needed. And now the people of Tangkahan are claiming back control and other villages are following.
Eco Tourism is their new business, and that means they have to catch up fast. Quite a task for people who live in a place that Google Earth doesn’t find, and who, if they get lucky with the weather, have a good four-hour car ride to the next hospital.
It would be easy to take the ‘good-doer’ approach, to barge in with all our old world knowledge and money. It is exactly this ‘know-it-all’ approach, which neglects to allow the local people to take charge, causing charities to fail ever so often.
The Tangkahan people however, take charge, and they have strong alliances. Some ten years ago an Australian zoo keeper, just leaving her teenage years behind, visited for the first time … and went back year after year. She learned the language, learned about the culture, the destruction of the environment, and the needs of the people. Her name is Jessica McKelson, and she later would become the director of RAW Wildlife Encounters, the company I have been travelling with.
RAW is creating business in the area in a very controlled and responsible way. It is a company demanding high standards for hospitality, accommodation as well as ecology, and for that, fair wages are paid. Additionally RAW sponsors projects and grants, creating triple-win situations for the business, their travellers and the people of Tangkahan.
THAT is the big difference! Yes, my trip was more expensive than any other trip with the label ‘eco’ on it, but I could see there and then the impact of my money. I basically lived with the people. I got invited into their homes… and then I saw how the others worked and lived, the ones whose villages were in the middle of plantations; the ones who didn’t have that wonderful asset called rainforest. I gained a lot of perspective.
And this is not even my story. This is the background in front of which the stories unfold drawing me back to Tangkahan.
Drifting down a river in a tube made from a lorry tyre, just me sitting on top of the water navigating the shallow rapids. From far the shrieks of the others when the water hit their faces, then gentle drifting again, water buffalos, people minding their business, monkeys hanging from branches, drinking. Me-time with Tangkahan! Then we stop at pebbly beach, wet and happy we are about to meet ‘the English school’; about 20 children and their teacher are introducing themselves and singing for us – and my first thought is: What if it rains? Later that day I talked to Kristin, Jess’ right hand in Tangkahan, asking her for her biggest dream and her response was: A proper English school with a roof and a library!
Another one…The smell of the elephants, the noises they make when they ruffle the grass and the bushes, the tenderness of the trunks when sniffing for food, the warmth of their skin, and the tender assertiveness of the mahouts, guiding them over the most challenging terrain. How amazed was I on our last evening when one of the mahouts apologized for being rude. We all gave our final appraisals and farewell, and he apologized because he felt that at times he might have been too harsh to us when the situation demanded care for the elephants or vigilance for safety. He apologized for his bad English not allowing for the right words in stressful moments. I always thought of him as calm, wise and polite, I however could understand his wish for reliable communication. He closed his presentation with the words: I would like to learn better English, but I don’t know how.
Learning… learning is a big scheme that I found everywhere. The Tangkahan people are smart and have a thirst for knowledge, and they want the knowledge for the best of reasons: To be able to take their own decisions to sustain better lifestyles, and to sustain their environment.
Love for the land, the dream of a young lady, and the appreciation for a wise man are only some of the powerful threads which keep me grounded in Tangkahan. In April 2012 I will be back to meet again those incredible people, who have become friends in such a short time. I will be back to learn more about their land, and the challenges they are facing. I stayed in touch with Kristin, and we are working on her dream… We have big plans and first steps are made to upgrade ‘The English School’ to the ‘The Tangkahan Education Centre’, and to integrate it legally into the Tangkahan concept.
And we will have to find ways on how education can ‘pay for itself’. Until then, we might not entirely get away without donations… and hence I am working on creating a charity. But this will be an entirely new story!
Rika is a businesswoman, writer, inquisitive traveller, and Raw Supporter. She resides in the United Kingdom.
Author: Amber Partington
For years I had sat behind a computer organising, emailing and fundraising to help save Orangutans for the Australian Orangutan Project. My journey with them had started long before I had even seen one in the flesh. So my first encounter was, of course, in the orang-utan tourist capital, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. I was the typical tourist, I had never even entered the jungles of Borneo before, all geared up & so excited I could hardly contain myself. Then all of a sudden there they were. I saw through the trees for the first time this little orange furry blob, a youngster of around 3-4 years of age. My heart was racing, they were just so gorgeous. “Time up” the ranger announces – “but it felt like we only just got here” I proclaimed! Deep down I hated being that tourist, standing there on a manmade platform watching orangutan’s act in such a way a truly wild orang-utan would not behave. But finally I could say I had seen one.
So I went home, more dedicated than ever to help save these little guys. Back to the computer, countless emails and fundraising. Then midway through 2010 after starting at Melbourne Zoo as a Primate Keeper, an inspirational young lady, named Jessica McKelson asked me, “Would you like to be one of my Tour Guides leading tours in North Sumatra?” What an opportunity I thought! Jess could sense my excitement and advised, “Why don’t you head over and see if you like it and then let me know!” I already knew the answer would be yes!
As I trundled through the jungles of North Sumatra on my first tour, I felt like I had grown up in this environment my whole life. The sounds, the sights and smells – I took it all in and loved every minute of it! After 2 weeks of witnessing outstanding beauty in the jungle, tubing down rivers, swimming under waterfalls, witnessing wild animals and getting to know the local people, I was sad to leave. I also had some sad lows, when walking through Palm Oil plantations and witnessing the extent of the devastation. The people and places had changed me in ways I could not imagine. It made me appreciate life in a way which nothing had done so before.
So why is it that I am a part of the Raw team? And why does it inspire me? The answer is simple. I want to preserve the landscape of Northern Sumatra more than anything in the world. Sumatra has seen around 90% of its original forest lost which I think is a travesty for the people, the animals and the world.
By taking people into these environments I am able to teach them and hopefully inspire them to help save a small part of the world’s forests because whether we like to think of it or not – we need trees. Soon it will be, that we will lose enigmatic species like orangutans, elephants and tigers in the wild. If I can help this from happening and I believe Raw is helping – I think this will be a very rewarding feeling. ☺
Amber is a Raw Tour Leader and Victorian State Representative for the Australian Orangutan Project (AOP)
Author: Sonya Prosser
I had thought I knew what to expect.
As the plane descended through the towering cumulus, I glimpsed the city below. It appeared through patches in the cloud, grey and dusty, red bricks, dirty roads and windowless buildings. I could not tell whether the city was being built or falling down. The panic rose as more of the crumbling city emerged, and I realized that none of my research had prepared me for flying into Kathmandu.
Clearing customs and immigration without a hitch, we exited the airport and were set upon by the mob of touts, intent on ferrying us to the hotel that paid them the best commission. Grateful that my first attempt at organizing an overseas trip had included booking the first night in a hotel with airport transfers, we were soon whisked away from the melee by a quiet and attentive hotel driver. Taking refuge in the sanctuary of the car did little to subdue my growing apprehension, I wanted to go home.
As we drove through the city I realized this was my first glimpse of real poverty, and it was with a sense of guilt and awe that we were delivered at a hotel lobby of polished marble and chandeliers.
The following day we wandered the streets and moved to less salubrious accommodation in the backpacker area. Intimidated by what lay in wait outside, I spent most of the first week, in or close to the hostel.
I don`t recall the exact moment the shift occurred, perhaps close to the end of the trip. Leaving the city and travelling to Pokhara, and Chitwan, opened my eyes to the beauty of travelling. In Pokhara we climbed mountains and heard stories of Tibetan displacement. In Chitwan we saw wild elephant, rhino, langur and sloth bear. By the time we returned to Kathmandu the fear that had kept me chained to the room of our hostel, had vanished, and what replaced it has never gone.
I could not get enough. Out on the streets every minute, I absorbed as much as I could, before boarding the plane back to Australia.
Today, as I continue to plan my next trip, I reflect on the experiences I have had during my travels, and how they have changed me. Being surrounded by migrating dolphins in Galapagos, seeing Cotton top Tamarins in the forests of Colombia, watching a culture being destroyed in Tibet and rebuilt in Cambodia. I have developed a taste for hot food in Sichuan and hot sauce in Barbados, found good friends in Vietnam and love in Cuba.
I am no longer overwhelmingly intimidated by flying into cities so unlike mine as Kathmandu, the trepidation is mixed with excitement of the unknown, anticipation of the unique tastes, smells, and experiences I will have.
I review the scribbled notes made earlier this year, in a hotel in Quito; ‘Costa Rica, look at volunteer opportunities, Belize, diving’ it reads, ‘two weeks on a catamaran, island hopping from Cartagena to Panama’.
As I usher in the New Year, I give in to my greatest urge, and begin booking my next adventure.
Sonya is a freelance travel writer and Raw Supporter.
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