After fond farewells with our Dewi Nusantara shipmates at Jakarta airport, we depart bang on time to Medan, an overnight stop in order to reach Bukit Lawang, where we will spend three nights in our search for the elusive orangutang. We have only seen them in rehab mode in Borneo, and it is about the only place to see them in the wild. The National Park has between 6-7000 apes, spread across about 8000 acres, so we are hopeful. However, incursions into it for expansion of oil palm continue despite legal battles.

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