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TRANS BORNEO CHALLENGING 2006
TRANS BORNEO CHALLENGING
Jacek Pałkiewicz2006-10-23 12:15:53
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of a lifetime” through Borneo along the Equator. In the face of enormous difficulty, I was forced to display an iron condition, the ability to adapt and unstoppable determination. I vowed at the time that no earthly treasure could make me repeat that trip. However, in recent years, I was haunted by one thought: I have to go back. The hunger for adventure among local tribes on the island, a guiding star for me as a child, would not allow me to sit comfortably at home.
Supported by the Indonesian government, I set out with a group of friends on a cross-country trip through Borneo using local canoes and on foot. The very experienced Nova Tejaksuma from the “Across Indonesia” agency was one of my partners. We wanted to reach the isolated Dayak tribe in the interior of the island, people who have a foggy idea of the fact that they are living in a place called Indonesia. This murderous excursion is described as Challenging by the British and represents a test of strength and a daunting challenge.
We left Pontianak, located on the Equator, sailing on the majestic Kapuas whose upper course meanders through a series of treacherous cataracts with exotic names: Pangin, Horirap, and Batu Lintang. In the jungle, communication is limited to the river and transport depends on the state of the water. Shallow water causes goose bumps when the hull of the boat grates alarmingly on the rocky bottom. After carrying the baggage over rocks slippery with algae, we use our remaining reserves of energy to pull the massive canoe 50 meters and load it up again. Around the next bend, we face another series of shelves and thresholds and the same exertion – many, many times in the course of one day.
However, narrow gorges, dominated by the frothy and noisy eddies of whirlpools, are even more dangerous and difficult to overcome. Our nerves are put to a hard test. The slightest mistake of the rudder or a moment of carelessness from the man at the prow, whose task
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See photographs from:
Indonesia Gallery
