Visiting Ecotourism Destinations

TANJUNG PUTING NATIONAL PARK

One of the internationally famous ecotourism destinations in Indonesia is Tanjung Puting National Park in the southwest of Central Kalimantan peninsula. Tanjung Puting National Park offers impressive experience to its visitors. This is called a park, but unlike any park that you have seen in your city, this is a jungle! It is a real jungle, which is home to the most incredible animals in the world: orang utans and proboscis monkeys! The male proboscis monkeys are interesting because they         have enormous snout. So, imagine yourself to be in the jungle and meet these special animals in their original habitat. What will you do when you meet them?

To see  orang  utans  we  should go  to  Camp  Leakey.  Camp Leaky is located in the heart of Tanjung Puting National Park. This is a rehabilitation place for ex-captive orang  utans  and also  a  preservation  site.  This camp was established by Birute Galdikas, an important scientist who has studied orang utans since 1971.

To reach the place, we should take a boat down Sekonyer river. The boat is popularly called perahu klotok  which is a boathouse that can accommodate four people. The trip by the boat to Camp Leaky takes three days and two nights.

The traveling  in  the  boat  offers  another  unforgettable experience. You sleep, cook, and eat in that klotok, night and day during your journey into the jungle. In daylight, on your way to Camp Leaky, you can see trees filled with proboscis monkeys. At night, you can enjoy the clear sky and the amazingly bright stars as the only lights for the night.

Task 2:

Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions briefly.

1.        Based on the text, can you guess what ecotourism is?

2.        As one of ecotourism destinations, what does Tanjung Puting National Park offer to tourists?

3.        How is the park different from the parks in the cities?

4.        How is Camp Leaky related to Tanjung Puting National Park?

5.        How can people reach Camp Leaky?

6.        What does the word ex-captive tell you about the orang utans in Camp Leaky?

7.        What is special about the means of transportation to Camp Leaky?

8.        How interesting or uninteresting is the journey on the way to Camp Leaky? Why do you think so?

9.        How interested are you in visiting Tanjung Puting National Park? What makes you interested (or not interested) in the park.

10.    Give some examples of other ecotourism destinations that you know.