NICE ECOLODGE + GREAT TOUR
First I must write that I am Indonesian, not a tourist from abroad :). I and family are fans of outdoor activities (my husband had expertise in this area) and nature tourism including ecotourism; already visited some Indonesian national parks in Java, Sumatera and Kalimantan. So I had enough knowledges and experiences about ecolodge, so I hope my review will be fair enough.
My overall review for this ecolodge is good. I and family are satisfied with this ecolodge and especially with the tour program that we chose. I already learned about this ecolodge and the tour since two years ago.
In the long week end of May 2016 I suddenly decided to visit Way Kambas National Park by staying in this ecolodge. We chose 1 1/2 day program. We were companied by Hari, a great professional guide of Ecolodge Indonesia. I was lucky to have him as a guide. Two thumbs up for Hari..!
My overall review for this ecolodge is good. I and family are satisfied with this ecolodge and especially with the tour program that we chose. I already learned about this ecolodge and the tour since two years ago.
In the long week end of May 2016 I suddenly decided to visit Way Kambas National Park by staying in this ecolodge. We chose 1 1/2 day program. We were companied by Hari, a great professional guide of Ecolodge Indonesia. I was lucky to have him as a guide. Two thumbs up for Hari..!
.
.
Day-1 we arrived at night around 9 pm, so nothing can be done except met Hari the guide and discuss about the tour itinerary. Just suggestion for guest, please take morning flight so you still have time to explore more about this national park.
Day-2 morning until noon, we had birdwatching (this was our first experience) and we had very excited moments guiding by Hari. We explored the forest by walking, looking and watching beautiful birds then taking many pictures. Hari taught us a lot about the name of the birds using his "bible" (books of birds). Even at the beginning we didn't meet Siamang (a kind of black monkey with loud sounds), but Thanks God we met them at noon. We entered inside the forest following their loud sounds even finally we just saw them at a glance. This day we also took some nice pictures of jungle mushrooms, butterflies and unique trees.
After lunch Hari brought to visit ERU (Elephant Responds Unit). This is a unique experience for us to meet special staffs of the national park with unique jobs. Mainly their job is to monitor wild elephants that usually go out from the national park area to come inside the fields of village around the national park. They also ride trainable elephants to herd those wild elephants to go back to the national parks. What a unique job! We had a chance to ride the trainable elephants with the staff while they did the job and explained to us about the social and environmental issues about the conflict between wilds elephants vs villagers. So, it's not an elephant safari, it's an education process for us to understand deeply about the real life inside the national park.
In the afternoon we went for a river cruise in Way Kanan (Kanan River) using a boat. Even I already had experience of river cruise in Kalimantan, this river cruise still gave a wow impact for me :). Hari showed us more and more about birds along the way. We took flying eagles, saw how they flied to their nest. We also met crocodiles! Gosh, I am very afraid but felt excited to meet this reptile :). Even that afternoon we failed to see a sunset, but this river cruise is a very great experience for us.
Day-1 we arrived at night around 9 pm, so nothing can be done except met Hari the guide and discuss about the tour itinerary. Just suggestion for guest, please take morning flight so you still have time to explore more about this national park.
Day-2 morning until noon, we had birdwatching (this was our first experience) and we had very excited moments guiding by Hari. We explored the forest by walking, looking and watching beautiful birds then taking many pictures. Hari taught us a lot about the name of the birds using his "bible" (books of birds). Even at the beginning we didn't meet Siamang (a kind of black monkey with loud sounds), but Thanks God we met them at noon. We entered inside the forest following their loud sounds even finally we just saw them at a glance. This day we also took some nice pictures of jungle mushrooms, butterflies and unique trees.
After lunch Hari brought to visit ERU (Elephant Responds Unit). This is a unique experience for us to meet special staffs of the national park with unique jobs. Mainly their job is to monitor wild elephants that usually go out from the national park area to come inside the fields of village around the national park. They also ride trainable elephants to herd those wild elephants to go back to the national parks. What a unique job! We had a chance to ride the trainable elephants with the staff while they did the job and explained to us about the social and environmental issues about the conflict between wilds elephants vs villagers. So, it's not an elephant safari, it's an education process for us to understand deeply about the real life inside the national park.
In the afternoon we went for a river cruise in Way Kanan (Kanan River) using a boat. Even I already had experience of river cruise in Kalimantan, this river cruise still gave a wow impact for me :). Hari showed us more and more about birds along the way. We took flying eagles, saw how they flied to their nest. We also met crocodiles! Gosh, I am very afraid but felt excited to meet this reptile :). Even that afternoon we failed to see a sunset, but this river cruise is a very great experience for us.
.
Day-3 we only had 1/2 day to explore the national park. Hari brought us to visit Reforestry Program in Bambangan. Passed the savanna seeing some elephants and we had an off-road tour today...yihaaa!
Again this day we had many new knowledge about forest fire, reforestry etc. The staffs explained it well to us. Then we planted 3 trees in this area. It's just a very small contribution, but I hope it will help the national park. We also visited a tree house (22 meters). From here we can see small savanna to see Wild-winged Wood Duck, unfortunately we didn't see them at that time. It need a longer time to observe and see this vanished animal.
As conclusion these 2 days of tour was very great for us. We want to come back here again someday to explore more about wild elephants, butterflies etc.
About the ecolodge it self for us is quite ok. It's an ecolodge, not a hotel. People must understand it first before give a review for any kind of ecolodge. This Satwa Elephants Ecolodge is clean with simple furnitures, have nice garden, serves hot and cold water, no TV (even they serves TV you will not have time to watch it, believe me) have a simple restaurant that will give us some simple menu (note: there is no restaurants around it).
The quality of the staff is very friendly, from the front office (pak Sugeng and bu Nani) until staffs of the restaurants and also the drivers pak Suratno. Nice person with a genuine attitude to serve.
Day-3 we only had 1/2 day to explore the national park. Hari brought us to visit Reforestry Program in Bambangan. Passed the savanna seeing some elephants and we had an off-road tour today...yihaaa!
Again this day we had many new knowledge about forest fire, reforestry etc. The staffs explained it well to us. Then we planted 3 trees in this area. It's just a very small contribution, but I hope it will help the national park. We also visited a tree house (22 meters). From here we can see small savanna to see Wild-winged Wood Duck, unfortunately we didn't see them at that time. It need a longer time to observe and see this vanished animal.
As conclusion these 2 days of tour was very great for us. We want to come back here again someday to explore more about wild elephants, butterflies etc.
About the ecolodge it self for us is quite ok. It's an ecolodge, not a hotel. People must understand it first before give a review for any kind of ecolodge. This Satwa Elephants Ecolodge is clean with simple furnitures, have nice garden, serves hot and cold water, no TV (even they serves TV you will not have time to watch it, believe me) have a simple restaurant that will give us some simple menu (note: there is no restaurants around it).
The quality of the staff is very friendly, from the front office (pak Sugeng and bu Nani) until staffs of the restaurants and also the drivers pak Suratno. Nice person with a genuine attitude to serve.
Belum ada tanggapan untuk "Satwa Elephant Ecolodge & Way Kambas National Park"
Post a Comment