Bokeo Province Jungle: Tracking Gibbons
Sunday, August 5th, 2007We woke a little after 5am to the sounds of sirens floating through the jungle. That’s what they sounded like, the gibbons. Like sirens. Their beautiful singing was a continually rising and dipping note, that soared between the trees. We couldn’t see them, but they were close.
At 5.30am we heard the distinctive whiz of someone on a zip line coming towards the treehouse. It was our guide, bringing with him some fresh fruit to snack on before we hit the jungle floor and went tracking gibbons. For about twenty minutes we followed a narrow muddy track through the jungle, before the guide, a tiny man, maybe five foot three and dressed all in black, turned off the path and into the jungle proper. Bec and I followed as best we could, stepping gingerly, pushing huge leaves and branches out of our faces, grimacing when we reached out a hand to support ourselves and landed on a spiked stem. The guide stopped, and we listened for the gibbons’ call. This way, he pointed, and we raced through the jungle as fast as we could.
Dave