NOTE: This excursion will be a 2 part series. There is so much to tell about the experience 1 post is not enough and of course, I am afraid you will be bored if it is too long!!! I will post later what I learned and what the people are doing—-so stayed tuned folks!! In this post, I introduce you to the forest and the villages.

This week I visited Semidang Bukit Kabu Hunting Forest. This is a conservation forest outside Bengkulu City. Even though this is a conservation area, people move in and use the protected forest for farming. My role is to determine why the people are there, what they believe is the government’s role in the forest, how they live with the Sumatran tiger, and what changes (if any) they have seen in the weather.

You cannot just walk into the forest and start asking questions. I was there with 2 Forest Rangers for protection and to indicate I had my permit ($350) to be there. The Ranger in the picture is Regen. He and his partner Ferry were my guides. More on Ferry at the end.

Getting to the forest and the people who live there is not just driving a car and getting out. We rode a dirt bike 2 hours to get to the forest. We had to carry all our stuff. This is what we looked like for the 2 hour drive. Our porter, Man, who carried all our stuff into the forest (thank goodness because I am pretty sure the whole hike was up hill or dangerously straight down hill!!!!!), met us at a gas station half way to load up the food and carry it on his bike.

We spent the first night with Man’s family. This is where we stayed and took a bath. His wife cooked, but I do not eat the food. I take all my food so I do not get sick. I eat apples and peanut butter/crackers when I am living outside my house. Man cut me some sugar cane, which I did eat.

Sumatran tigers hunt at dusk and dawn so they did not let me walk around alone during these hours. The tigers attack from behind. Of the people I spoke with, 99% said they saw the tiger or its footprint. I did not see the tiger, but I did see a Pangolin (no pic it was moving fast for great reason), which made walking up and down those mountains worth it. I read Pangolins are the most illegally hunted animal in the world. You will not believe this. They are used for making crystal meth!!! I want to know who figured that out. They are so cute I have no idea how they can kill one!!!

The next day we walked to the farthest village. We stayed there in a house that was abandoned. If you are not interested in pictures, I took a video of the village and what life is like there. You cannot tell from the forest pictures, but the trail drops off right where the curve starts. I am sure this was the most difficult hiking I have done. If you look in the middle of the picture with the very narrow concrete motorcycle path you will see the village to which we were headed.

We stayed there in a house that was abandoned. If you are not interested in pictures, I took a video of the village and what life is like. The houses are built on stilts for 2 reasons. 1. Keep out the tiger and other animals. The owner can close off the house at the top of the ladder. 2. Floods. The nearby river floods the area.

I did a lot of walking without shoes, but my Bedrock sandals really held up. I recommend them to anyone who hikes. I really like them.

When I was here the first time (2019/2020), I collected data from employees at the Elephant Conservation center in Seblat. You will not believe this! Ferry the other Ranger on the trip was a mahout at the Elephant Conservation center!!! He was not the mahout I met. He worked there for 26 years!! We had some great conversations about his experiences. If you are interested, this is a link to the page from elephant visit in 2020 https://trishpatrickblogs.com/march-19-22-elephants-all-the-way-down/