Trekking through a rainforest in search of wild orang-utans may not be everyone's idea of a good holiday. If you enjoy relaxing beaches, luxury accommodation, vibrant nightlife, top restaurants and good shopping, go somewhere else, because you won't get them on this trip. But for anyone with a desire for a wilderness adventure who wants to see these magnificent creatures in their equally magnificent natural habitat, this is a "must-do" holiday. And it has to be taken within the next 10 years - simply because after that they may no longer exist because logging is destroying their habitat.
For the true orang-utan devotee, there really is only one place to go - Camp Leakey. The research station in the Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, was set up in 1971 by Birute Galdikas, founder of the Orangutan Foundation International. Tourists who want to see the work being carried out at first hand can join one of the foundation's tours to the park.
Admittedly, getting there is not easy. We had to endure four flights, a lot of waiting around and a long boat ride before we finally made it to the Rimba Lodge - a cluster of individual wooden lodges built on stilts alongside the Sekonyer River - which would be our home for the next 12 days.
The two-person lodges were basic but clean and had everything we needed; a western-style loo, cold running water (you don't miss a hot shower when the humidity is above 90%) a good bed, mosquito nets, a light and a fan (an air-conditioning unit was hastily installed for film star Julia Roberts when she stayed in one of the lodges while making a documentary on orang-utans, but was equally hastily removed when she departed, due to the drain on resources).
The VIP treatment for non-movie stars comes in the form of the incredibly friendly welcome from the staff and the free entertainment laid on by the resident troupe of macaque monkeys, which perform what sound suspiciously like tap-dancing routines on the lodge roof at regular intervals during the night.
The eight members of our group got to know each other over a dinner of rice, noodles, chicken and vegetables, then Ian, our tour leader, eased us gently into the programme with a visit to Tanjung Harapan, a sort of reception class for orang-utans looking to graduate to the wild.
The first thing that struck me was how much better orang-utans look hanging around in trees than sitting in a zoo. The second was that they, just like us, have their fair share of bad hair days.
Visiting the nearby village, many of whose residents are involved in illegal logging, I was confronted with one of those ethical dilemmas you have to expect when you set yourself up as an environmentally-friendly tourist. We were all keen to buy one of the hand-made souvenirs which were brought out for our inspection, mainly in order to demonstrate that there is also money to be made out of conservation. However, the first thing I was offered was an orang-utan figure carved out of one of the very trees whose removal is endangering their survival. Even its creator looked mildly embarrassed as I politely declined in favour of a less contentious bangle.
Next day, we set off by kelotok riverboat to visit Pondok Tanggui, a rehabilitation centre further up the Sekonyer River. A kelotok , so-called because of the gentle "kelotok, kelotok" sound it makes as it chugs along, may not be the fastest way to travel but it is perhaps the most relaxing. Lounging on deck, you can dangle your feet over the side and take in mile upon mile of emerald green rainforest.
Upon arriving at Pondok Tanggui, Mike the gibbon performed a welcome ceremony consisting of much twirling, acrobatics and cocking-of-the-head to one side. Mike, himself an ex- captive, is free to roam the rainforest but has instead become the self-appointed tourist guide to the area.
Unfortunately, his rather over-enthusiastic twirl around a hiking stick belonging to one of our party resulted in her falling down an unseen hole in the forest and breaking her ankle.
If the remoteness of our destination had previously seemed rather romantic, it suddenly became disturbingly real. Here we were stranded in a rainforest, with no immediate prospect of help arriving, and a 6ft-tall ex-policewoman lying sprawled on the floor in obvious agony.
First aid and survival skills learnt long ago through the Girl Guides or recalled from Indiana Jones films were enthusiastically put into practice as each member of the group rallied to the cause and rummaged through their backpacks for anything that might do as a makeshift splint, bandage or stretcher.
The walk back to the kelotok with the injured Tracey suspended precariously from the Blue Peter-style stretcher took nearly an hour in the blistering heat. It was the sort of bonding exercise that could have been dreamt up for a management-training course. It was just a shame, particularly for Tracey, that it was for real.
Fortunately for the rest of us, Camp Leakey was everything we'd imagined and more. Over the next few days, we embarked on a series of "follows" of wild orang-utans. I soon learnt that the art to wild orang-utan tracking is to try to latch on to a greedy one. Every time it stops to feed in the tree-tops, you get to tie your hammock to the tree and practise your observation techniques from a horizontal position. So if you pick the right orang-utan, you might spend more time lazing in your hammock than trekking through the humid forest. If you pick the wrong one, no sooner will you have worked out how to fix your hammock to the tree when you will have to take it down and dash off in pursuit.
At the end of the day's follow, our guides marked the spot where our orang-utan had nested for the night by putting a small stick in the ground and laying a twig across the top of it. Amazingly, they were able to find it again at first light the next day. That - and the fact that they managed to emerge from the swampy rainforest with their pristine white trainers still spotless - was the final proof that these people were in a league of their own.
Feeding time at Camp Leakey (necessary to supplement the dwindling food supplies in the forest), called for vigilance and a good camera. The orang-utans descend on the small clearing with surprising speed and eat as much as they can as quickly as they can. As you are watching one tuck in, another could be about to deposit its unwanted banana skins on your head from a great height.
It was while we were watching for inbound banana skins that someone noticed the patch of blood seeping through one of our group member's trousers. Within seconds of the leech bite being confirmed, half a dozen first-aid kits, some still wrapped in cellophane, were being brandished as we rushed to offer antiseptic lotions and sterile dressings. The local guides, who flick leeches off their skin without breaking stride, struggled to contain their laughter.
As we headed away from the clearing, we stumbled upon Kusasi, the incredibly impressive dominant male in the area, indulging in his one-orang-utan effort to ensure the survival of the species. After a moment of typically British embarrassment, the cameras came out again.
By the end of the trip, we had all lost several pounds thanks to the combination of heat, exercise and our noodle and rice diet. Our wildlife-spotting abilities had progressed from "Big bird, kind of brownish, over there" to "Stork-billed Kingfisher, right", and Ian, if not exactly proud of us, was visibly relieved that we had at least survived.
As we made our way back down the Sekonyer for the last time, the relentless sound of chainsaws could be heard in the distance. Being of the opinion that life's too short to visit the same place twice, it is rare that I leave somewhere with a burning desire to return. Which makes it particularly sad that the one place that has inspired that feeling in me, will soon disappear forever.
Way to go
Discovery Initiatives (01285 643 333, www.discoveryinitiatives.com) is running five 17-day tours to the Tanjung Puting National Park this year. Tours depart in June, August and September and cost £2,635pp, including international flights (via Singapore with Malaysian Airlines), internal flights, transfers, accommodation (including 11 nights at the Rimba Lodge), all meals in Borneo, all guiding and activities and a sightseeing trip to Yogyakarta in Indonesia to break the journey home, and a substantial donation to the Orangutan Foundation (020-7724 2912, www.orangutan.org.uk)
