Beautiful Borneo and the stunning Kimberley

Well, again I find myself writing this from the Auckland Airport, about to head out on another trip.  This time it was just a week between trips and so by the time I had caught up on a few jobs, been for a few rides on the Mountain Bike, and spent some time with friends it was time to repack and head out again!  And it is heading back to familiar ground in the Kimberley.

But Borneo, man what a place.  A difficult place to work and photograph in, with very high humidity and high temperatures sapping strength hand making it necessary to keep gear out of the air-conditioned ship to allow it to work right from the get-go each morning.  We were fortunate on the two trips I did from Bali to Singapore and back (onboard the National Geographic Orion with Lindblad Expeditions) to visit Camp Leakey in southern Borneo.  What a stunning place, set in Tanjung Puting National Park, we got to see wild Orangutans, as well as rehabbed animals, plus a lot of other birds and mammals along the way.  Certainly one of the big highlights of the trips for me.

In the Kimberley we visited many of the must-see locations, but also got to explore a few of the lesser visited ones as well.  And just such a great place for photography!  Looking forward to getting back.  I've just got a new 5D MkIII (decided against the new 5DS), so now armed with two cameras that are fully functional I hope to maximise my photographic opportunities a little more.

Standby for more photos...

One of the juvenile Orangutans at the Orangutan Foundation International Centre near Kumai.

On of the sub-adult male Orangs yawns as he hangs from a tree near the feeding platform at Camp Leakey.

A mother Orangutan with two babies looks towards the feeding platform, waiting for her turn.

A baby bearded pig looks up from the grasses.

The black river that runs up to Camp Leakey mixes with the soiled Sekonyer River full of sediment from mining upstream.

A proboscis monkey looks out from its tree-top seat at dusk.

Bearded pig in the undergrowth at Bako National Park.

 

Closeup of great argus pheasant feathers in a head-dress at Kumai village.

Closeup of Orangutan hands.

A sub-adult Orangutan looks towards the feeding platform at Camp Leakey.

'Arben' the juvenile Orangutan pulls faces as we interact with him at the Orangutan Foundation International Centre near Kumai.

A local girl does a traditional dance at Kumai village.

Looking out from the shore at Bako National Park.

A proboscis monkey leaps from one tree to the next.

 

Photographing the sunset as we leave Broome, our first evening in the Kimberley.

Our first not so small saltwater crocodile up on a sand bank near the Horizontal Falls.

Spinifex grasses seeding and lit by the sun.

The Horizontal Waterfalls in Talbot Bay.

The end of Slug Island in the evening light.

Beautiful sandstone folded vertically with small trees growing.

Spinifex grasses growing from the red sandstones.

Some of the beautiful geology and scenery near the Hunter River.

Fiddler crab with its pincer up.

The stunning scenery of the King George River.

Sunset, with the Moon, Venus and Jupiter.

White morph reef egret with a fish at the incredible Montgomery Reef.

Raft Point rock art with ghostly people during a long exposure image.

Small saltwater crocodile hiding amongst the leaves.

An adult white-bellied sea-eagle cruises over the top of us during our zodiac cruise on the Hunter River.

'Thor's Hammer' near the Hunter River.

An osprey comes in to land at its nest on the Hunter River.

Rock art lit by beautiful light on Jar Island.

Sandstones near the King George Falls.

A good sized saltwater crocodile gives us a smile.

Rock fig and red sandstone.

A darter backlit by the sun.

White-browed crake, one of several seen on the Ord River, and a bird that has managed to evade me until now!

A black bittern trying to convince us we couldn't see it.

One of two dingos we spotted in what looked like a hunting attempt on a Wallaroo.

A male great bowerbird attend to its bower.