Day 54 - Last Day of Work

We were up bright and early at 5.30am to hunt for gibbons. The forest was still a bit dark when we first entered, and there were loads of noises being made by various birds and insects. We saw a lot of movement in the trees, but it turned out to be a rowdy bunch of macaques. We walked along in silence, trying to listen for the gibbon's distinct call, but there was nothing. Then, as we were nearing the last few hundred metres of our trail, we heard them! They were very loud and close by, their whooping calls continually building, more and more quickly to a big crescendo, before they would be silent, and then start all over again. However we were having trouble actually spotting them.

We got closer and closer and then, just as we seemed to be practically right underneath them, the calls abruptly stopped. We continued to the end of the trail, walking as quietly as we could, then headed up the bird tower for a better view. After looking for a while, James started saying they must have heard us and moved on. Then the tree nearby started rustling furiously, and we saw a flash

of black shoot down to a lower part of the tree. There was a lot more rustling, but then they were gone. And that was our encounter with the gibbons – it was still amazing, even if we didn't get a good look at them! Their hearing is so good – they obviously knew we were there, and took off as soon as we actually spoke. So we headed the 1.4kms back to the centre.

Pretty much as soon as we arrived, Ceria decided to pursue us right up to the ranger's office – so we ended up trapped inside. James took off his shoes and had quite a few leeches, so he started removing them and placing them on Ceria's hands. It was hilarious to watch, as he proceeded to pick them off with his hands and try to hand them back to James, or bite them off himself and then spit them onto the floor with great force. Yokmil came wandering along the fence post again, and then proceeded to climb on top of Tiger's cage and bash it repeatedly.

We cut some leaves for the baby cage and that was us done for the morning. It was now about 8.30am, so after a quick shower we headed to the nature resort for breakfast. While we were gone, Jack was sitting talking to the staff at the resthouse when he felt something on his back. He sat back and blood went all over his shirt. Turned out he had picked up a leech along the way and it had bitten him and been sucking blood for quite some time. He removed it and

we later saw it in the ashtray outside. It was absolutely massive compared to their usual size!! It had obviously had a good feast - gross! We then visited the orangutans again. Mimi was on the platform and everyone was out and about at the nursery today. Jack then drove us to the nearby shop so we could grab some alcohol for our party tonight.

In the afternoon we went back and made ice lollies and cleaned the cage. When we had nearly finished, Itinban decided to remove the hose from the tap to wash himself all over, particularly his bum! Then that was us done – our last day of work at the centre! It is totally surreal to be honest. The time has flown by! So we got one last picture in front of the entrance sign. I will be back for sure.

In the evening we had our leaving party. Quite a few people came and Elis and Sylvia said a few words, thanking us for everything. At this point Steph and I started crying and we basically didn't stop until after dinner! They asked some of us to get up and speak, but I couldn't manage it. Vijan spoke really well on everyone's behalf, and perfectly summed up our thoughts and feelings about the project. Then we each got up in turn and were presented with a certificate and a CD with some pictures of the orangutans.

We had put together a care package for the centre with sponges, chopping boards, baby bottles and other bits and pieces. Then it was

time for dinner, which was a mixture of rice, veggies, pumpkin, fried chicken and a lovely pineapple salad. They set up the speakers and the karaoke earlier in the afternoon, so everyone was soon on that, and we finally managed to stop crying for a while! We started with the Malaysian music and some of the guys joined in the bird dance. Eventually Steph and I got up and joined in with the dancing and the karaoke. We did manage to consume around ¾ of a bottle of vodka.

James and Ibri were there too, but a lot of them slipped out without saying goodbye – I don't think it's something they enjoy doing! But Ibri had spoken about the fact she does dread what type of personalities she will encounter when a new group of volunteers arrive, but she hasn't had any worries with us. She did struggle to be open and friendly with us at the start, but by the end we were firm friends. Amoy had been stuck in KK, but she managed to join us at the end and we gave her a little gift too.