Batuputih Beach, Tangkoko Nature Reserve

Inside the Tangkoko Nature Reserve, they have a beach area named oddly Batuputih, which means white stone. But the sand there, or at least the ground beneath are surprisingly black. The view from the beach was amazing, especially when the sun glistens and shines through the nearby landscape, and although it's not necessarily good for swimming, it's nice to splash around there because there were no reefs around.

Spectral Tarsier, Tangkoko Nature Reserve

The Spectral Tarsier (Tarsius tarsier) is one of the stars of the Tangkoko Nature Reserve. It lives in the giant ficus tree and it is nocturnal, thus we have to wait for a while until the sun sets for this little primate to come out. The guides lure these huge-eyed animals out of their resting place with a cricket, and they quietly creep out to snatch them. According to IUCN, they are vulnerable to extinction.

Giant Ficus Tree

This giant ficus tree is home to the Tarsius spotted in the Tangkoko National Park. My guide said that it is approximately 60 years old.

Note: Apologies for the lag in updating, will try to do some catch up now.

Macaca nigra, Tangkoko Nature Reserve

Next stop was the Tangkoko Nature Reserve. Head to Bitung, another big city in North Sulawesi, and there will be a small sign (you can barely see it) stating that this is the road to the Tangkoko Nature Reserve. The roads are small and hilly, and make sure you ask people where it is because you can easily get lost in the area. Arriving in the nature reserve, each guest must pay an entry fee (they differentiate between local and international tourists - foreigners pay approx IDR 85,000 each), and they will provide you with a guide. I forgot whether you also have to pay for the guide or not, but it is better for you to have one because the forests are lush and deep and it's hard to get around if you don't know the field. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes, and don't forget to use an mosquito repellent lotion.

We were lucky that right away, we spotted a Celebes Crested Macaque (Macaca nigra) on top of a tree, and our guide suggested that this fellow is one of the scouts for the macaque groups. He said that these macaques travel in groups, and usually they put one scout in front of the group and this scout will report to the group's leader on the situations ahead. Their body and skin are entirely black, except that their bum is a bit white (or reddish) and hard. We can't get too close to them, and were advised not to look at them directly to their eyes (as it shows an offensive gesture) but we were very lucky that we saw them in their natural habitat. According to the IUCN list, they are critically endangered.