THE PLAN: Because we still had another of those free Grab rides to use up, we figured we could:

-- catch a car to Semenggoh Nature Reserve (where they rehabilitate rescued orangutans);
-- hopefully see one or two of everyone's favourite ginger ape (they never guarantee sightings, as the orangutans are semi-wild, but food is available twice a day, and the animals show up at the feeding site when they need to);
-- walk back to Padawan for lunch;
-- and catch the Serian bus home.

THE BACKGROUND: I visited this reserve back in 2006, at almost exactly the same time of year. I thought I was going to be unlucky on that occasion, but right at the end of the visiting period, up swings George.



When we were in Kuching in 2018, I heard from a local guide that George had been relocated to Matang Wildlife Centre. He kept challenging the lead orangutan, Ritchie, who is merciless in defending his top spot in the pecking order, and has quite a fearsome reputation. George was regularly coming off very badly in their scraps, so the rangers thought it best to move him.

THE VISIT: We'd put off this trip once already because of the drenching rain we've been having recently. This morning didn't look fabulously propitious either, but it didn't seem to have rained much overnight; and after breakfast (for a change) it wasn't actually thundering or pouring.

We called our Grab, and while it was on its way, the rain fired up again. "It's a terrible time to go to Semenggoh," the driver informed us, encouragingly. "It'll be very wet."

It continued to hose down as we hoofed up the 1-kilometre path to the reserve. In fact, it rained for the next several hours.

And the orangutans were a no-show.

The lady at the gate had warned us that they hadn't been down to the feeding spot for seven days. And one of the rangers told us that there were still lots of jackfruit in the forest, so the animals don't bother coming down for supplements. (And it is actually a very good thing, needless to say, that they are self-sufficient and self-reliant.)


Of course, the forest in the rain is still beautiful:





And we amused ourselves while waiting damply at the feeding ground by imagining the conversation the orangutans might be having:

-- Someone ought to go. Looks bad.
-- You go, then.
-- No, you go.
-- I'm not going. It's raining cats and dogs out there.
-- Well, I'm not going. I've got this nice jackfruit to finish.
-- Where's George? He's always up for volunteering.
-- Don't you remember? They took him away because Ritchie was marmalizing him. Story I heard anyway.
-- Oh, that Ritchie. He's a one...

If no orangutans show up, you have the option of returning the same day for the afternoon food offering. But that's a bit logistically challenging if you don't have your own transport. So we decided to stick to the original Plan for today, and come back again another month.

We headed back to the Visitor Centre. And then it REALLY began to rain...

We waited for a while, reading the biographies of all the orangutans that have passed through the centre over the years (there have been a number of babies, which is heart-warming, but also some deaths and mysterious disappearances).

With absolutely no sign that the rain was going to ease off, we decided to take a Grab to Padawan instead of walking.

But the phone signal is not epic up at the reserve, so it's not really possible (even if it were fair) to ask your Grab driver to come up and get you, braving the roads that have by now become rivers hurtling down the hillside.


So we splashed our own way down. My umbrella started to leak, and my old Gore-tex-lined shoes were absolutely no match for this degree of wetness.

We were two soggy bundles by the time we got back to the ticket office. And as the rain was continuing to pump out of the sky, we decided to abandon the rest of the Plan, and just go home...

So, Terns routed fair and square...

And quite an expensive trip, compared with our other recent outings. MYR 31 for the car home, plus MYR 20 for the entrance tickets, and we ended up eating lunch at home.

I guess we'll learn to work the rainy season here. But at the moment I'm planning on abandoning all out-of-town trips until we get back from Europe.