There is much to be said for making independent travel arrangements. Whenever something of interest struck us, either Jo-Jo or Freddy would instantly say…”do you want me to stop”…we’d leap out of the car and investigate. Certainly can’t do that on a tour and without a guide, who knows what’s happening. Invest the extra money and get a guide in a remote destination. Worth every Rupiah.

Bumped into the reserve in the afternoon with Tangkoko volcano looming above. Entered the park, registered and was assigned an “official” local guide to accompany us along with Freddy. Local guide in vehicle with us, drove further into the park past a few home stays. Jeremy had suggested not staying overnight because he considers the home stays to be beyond basic and didn’t recommend it. Your choice.

Banyan tree in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Sweating buckets from the heat and humidity, dressed in long pants, long-sleeved shirt buttoned to the neck, boots with bottom of pants tucked in to keep out insects and stinking to high heaven from lavish applications of insect repellent, we were ready to die on the spot. BUT, we came out of the forest without any bites.

Freddy and guide walked us down to a black volcanic sand beach where a local family was picnicking. Tangkoko is right on the edge of this beach with Lembeh Straits and its great diving in the distance. There is an endangered bird, the Maleo, that incubates its eggs in the geothermally heated black sand but didn’t see it.

Sightings? A hornbill way up in a tree. Spider webs, ferns and other jungly stuff. (When there’s nothing “BIG”, concentrate on the small stuff.) Fortunately no pythons. They do have pythons that are hunted for meat and tree snakes. ex-Marine and I both still have the heebie-jeebies after seeing a tree snake fall out of a tree in Ayutthaya, Thailand …scared the daylights out of us.

incredible fern in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Sulawesi 

spider web in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Sulawesi
From there, onto the marked trails (marked where the guides knew where to go…certainly not us) to search for the Black Crested Macaque and other wildlife before the Tarsiers come out at dusk. Black Crested Macaque monkeys are endemic in North Sulawesi. They have no tails and I’m confused. Thought tails was what separates monkeys from the ape family. No tail…you’re an ape. There are many macaques in Tangkoko and usually roam in groups of 70-90. One group has a leader the guides call “Rambo.” Macaques survive on a diet of 60% fruit, 40% insects and there are no predators here. After this big build-up, we were lucky to see exactly ONE Black Crested Macaque and couldn’t even get a good photo of it. (Better in the video below..)

elusive Black Crested Macaque in Tangkoko, Sulawesi
There was still time before dusk and local guide was determined to find a group of Black Crested Macaques. He marched us back and forth, up and down, on trails while sweat poured off us and flew in all directions. After an hour of this, enough. Plopped down on a log (after checking for snakes) and refused to move one more step. If the Macaques weren’t around, forget it. Show me the Tarsiers!