Night trek

In the early afternoon I go to the Rainforest Discovery Center to book for tonights night walk and as I arrive I can hear music being played inside the grounds. I ask the lady what it is and if it can go and have a look and she says yes for a few minutes otherwise she'll have to charge me. As I enter there is a group of young guys and as I approach they welcome me in. They are playing Gamelan instruments and are practicing for a competition that will be held at the weekend. Alex the main guy speaks amazing English and asks if I'd like to try, how could I say no. They show me where and how to hit the gong and I get the easy part of playing just 121212 and as I do this they all join in. Maybe I'll stay here and join a rock band. As I say my goodbyes and thank yous I wish them luck in the upcoming competition. In the evening I've invited two girls who are staying in my room Adate and Mauri and even though they've just arrived are keen to join me. When we arrive there are two guides waiting for us and a few other people have joined the tour. We start just after six and walk to a skybridge where we stand and watch as the flying squirrels wake up and poke their heads out of there nesting boxes. As the sun sets the sound of the jungle grows louder and louder and they use this as an alarm call. Flying squirrels are not capable of flight like birds or bats; instead, they glide between trees. They are capable of obtaining lift within the course of these flights, with flights recorded to 90 metres. Further along the trail we encounter a slow loris. They are one of the only poisonous primates and lick there armpits to produce the poison. They are pregnant for six months and will lick their babies with the poison so it deters predators. The next spot is a scorpion and it amazes me how our guides actually spot these things. We are walking through a forest in the dark with nothing but a head torch and they spot things no bigger than 2 inches long. Amazing. We also see a green pit viper, casually wrapped around a tree branch and there's no way I would have spotted it as a snake. Their camouflage is amazing and when I learn they're venomous I'm keen to get out of there. Further into the jungle we have another spot of something I've never seen before. The crazy thing is very little is known about them and even when I Google it there is no information. Our final spot is a lantern fly a beautiful multicoloured insect with a turned up snout they use this to drill into trees where they feed on the sap and then squirt the excess sugar out of their abdomen. One of the prettiest insects I've seen. We leave the jungle and get a group photo before heading back to the lodge to eat. Nick one of the guys on the tour is staying there and joins us for dinner. I bid everyone good night and we arrange to share breakfast tomorrow before I leave for the Kintabagaten river.Read more