Dr Nancy Priston

I trekked into a new part of the forest yesterday to see what the forest was like up there, how much human disturbance there was and if there was any evidence of monkeys. The locals estimated it would take 3 – 4 hours to walk in as it is uphill, through rivers. My guide, Hussein, and I did it in under 2 hours! Amazing walk – starting from a village 30 min drive from my base camp village. First you pass through cashew nut plantations, then coffee and cocoa plantations and finally cross the river into mixed forest cropping of plants like clove under the canopy. Gradually as you walk up the rivers and waterfalls the forest changes and the trees get larger. It’s truly beautiful forest – stunning. It’s not devoid of human activity but there is little evidence of logging – rather the area is used to harvest rattan (a palm used to make furniture), honey and hunting the endemic Anoa (a dwarf buffalo).

I saw a troop of monkeys on the walk in, and a lone male on the way out. Also saw Sulawesi warty pigs,monitor lizards, hornbills, a green vine snake and frogs. Also quite a few leeches! Such an amazing bit of forest, I wish I could have stayed there! So nice to see some relatively undisturbed forest and an obvious abundance of wildlife.

Leech!

Me and Hussein