Yippee

We didn’t spend long in Tarakan because we wanted to get into turquoise water country where we could swim. We are now on the ‘Back Down Under Rally’, although we won’t be going back down under, this part of the rally is aimed at Australian yachts going back to Darwin or the East Coast of Australia, instead we shall be completing our circumnavigation of Borneo after spending time in Sulawesi and the Togean Islands otherwise known as the Spice Islands. We expect to spend about 3 months in Indonesian waters. Great stuff.

However, we had a tour of Tarakan and surrounds courtesy of Festival Darawan organisers. Darawan is the next island we visit so all yachts here will probably be heading there and this is a way of bringing us together beforehand. There are extensive mangrove swamps here which the locals make use of, many store their boats there on various plinths or frames sunk into the mud.

One of these mangrove swamps extends into the town and is surrounded by buildings on three sides. Despite this fringing urban landscape this vast mangrove park supports a thriving population of proboscis monkeys, macaques and monitor lizards. It has been furnished with board walks for visitors and the animals are all around. The monitor lizards are difficult to see as they blend into the mud so well as do the small snakes, one of which we spotted and the largest, fattest mudskippers we have ever seen. The monkeys are easy to spot, particularly the proboscis with its wonderful ginger coat and thick grey tail not to mention its preposterous proboscis.

The powerfully built proboscis monkey

The preposterous proboscis out in front

We cannot fathom out why they have this adaptation but are growing fond of it.

Our young guide did what she could to answer questions but was completely foxed when someone asked her where he could buy slabs of beer for his boat.