Situated in the mysterious region dubbed "Wallacea" (between Borneo and New Guinea, which includes both Sulawesi and the islands of Maluku), Sulawesi puzzled Wallace and other biologists for many years. The flora and fauna found there has faint characteristics of that of both Asia and Australia, but has clearly not been connected with either of those regions for some time (in a geological sense). Only relatively recent theories of plate techtonics have been able to explain Sulawesi's abundance of endemic species: the island is the result of the collision of two separate islands, one from the Laurasian continental plate, and one from the chunk of Gondwana that also contains New Guinea and Australia. The resulting twisted land mass has been isolated from nearby islands for millions of years, and now boasts an array of very unique animals found nowhere else on earth. I had read about one of these animals, a bird called the red-knobbed hornbill, in a National Geographic magazine months before, and I could hardly believe such a beautiful creature existed. So I was eager to see for myself, if possible...

As I travelled north through Sulawesi, I gathered information about places to look for the red-knobbed hornbill. My first sighting was in the Togian islands. I was hiking around in the jungle behind our bungalows at Kadidiri, when suddenly a a large black bird burst from the trees for a split second. It voiced a strange barking sound, and its large wings made a loud "whooshing" noise as it quickly disappeared again into the vegetation. Its head and neck shimmered with red and electric blue colors! Further north, back on mainland Sulawesi, I went on a day hike in Dumoga Bone national park, where our guide, Monal, assured us that we had a good chance of seeing both hornbills and the tiny spectral tarsier, one of the smallest primates on the planet! We took a short 3km walk along a decent trail through absolutely beautiful jungle. Monal pointed out small squirrel-like creatures which may have been cuscus, but they were too quick to get a good look at. The beautiful butterflies and other exotic insects were captivating. And then we heard the unmistakeable barking of a hornbill. A group of five flew by! We pursued them, but they stayed just out of clear sight. We even crawled up a steep dirt hill to see if we could get close enough to photograph them, but they were evasive (and we were very un-stealthy trackers). Getting back to the trail was treacherous - I fell but somehow managed to wrap my backpack around a tree to keep from sliding, while holding my camera in the air to keep from banging it on anything! Afterwards we had a wonderful swim at the base of a waterfall to cool off and wash the mud from our clothes, and then enjoyed a brisk walk back through pouring rain.

I had one more opportunity to observe the wildlife of Sulawesi. My 2-month tourist visa was nearing expiration, so I would have to leave the country in a few days. I planned to fly to Singapore, and then re-enter Indonesia (on a new visa) at Medan, Sumatra. Manado was the last major city I would visit in Sulawesi, and during my stay here I would visit nearby Bunaken marine preserve, a famous scuba destination, and also the tiny Tangkoko national park, rumoured to be the place for wildlife-spotting. A short, typically terrifying mountain busride brought us (myself and a few other travellers) from Manado to Tangkoko's entrance, where we paid for 2 days' worth of park admission, and proceeded in along a path through beautiful forest. A short walk led to a small homestay on the black-sand beach. The vegetation here was much less dense than in other "jungle" areas I'd hiked through in Sulawesi, which would hopefully afford better wildlife viewing. Sure enough, as we were nearing the homestay, we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a troupe of about 30 crested black macaques! These are fairly good-sized monkeys, standing a bit more than a meter high, with well-groomed black fur, a mohawk of longer hair atop their heads, and smooth, hairless, red butts! The largest one must have been the troupe's leading male. They checked us out for a few minutes, and I guess deemed us worthy to pass, so with their blessing we checked into the homestay and had a wonderful lunch of fresh fish.

The macaques we passed on the way in must have been just getting out for the day. They spend their nights high in the trees, and as day breaks they come crashing down to the forest floor. Our guide, Untu, told us about several troupes within the park, some with 100 or more members! Occasionally they have territorial battles. We would encounter a few other troupes during our stay, but we did not witness any violence. And what about red-knobbed hornbills? Well, they feed on figs, and figs were ripe at a higher elevation, so we would have to hike. Thus the next morning we were up before dawn, and off by 5:45. Untu suggested we tuck our pantlegs into our socks, and then spray the socks with DEET. This strategy was supposed to prevent annoying mites, whose bites supposedly itch for weeks, from accessing your skin! It also made it more difficult for leeches to find their way to your flesh. So, off we went, up and up. It was a hell of a hike - steep with loose gravel, and many of the plants on either side of the trail had sharp spikes sticking out of their branches. Not to mention the hundreds of leeches all over the place. They are long thin black shapes, and as they sense your approach they swivel towards your feet and inch forward. Every few minutes we'd have to stop and flick the leeches off of our boots. One of the folks in our group missed one and it burrowed through her sock. By the time she plucked it off it was engorged with her blood. Wild little creatures...

The forest was really magnificent. Huge ficus and strangler figs with giant roots, black ebony trees, tons of different palms, beautiful mushrooms (including a species that glows!), orchids, and at higher elevations the carnivorous pitcher plant. About halfway up the mountain we started hearing the barking of hornbills, and the "whooshing" sound of their wings. As we ascended, our surroundings transformed into cloudforest - wet, foggy, mossy, and more leeches. On the way down we came across a fig tree in which a dozen red-knobbed hornbills were perched feasting on the figs! We couldn't get very close, but this time we had a clear view. They were indeed amazing birds, exceptionally colorful, hopping around in the tree and munching away. They simultaneously took flight with a roar of wind. I think we were lucky to get such a view, but I wish I'd had a tripod and a longer camera lens! Well, we made it back at about 3 p.m. - a solid 9-hour hike. We crashed out soon after a huge vegetable lunch...

It's tough to pick out a "highlight" from our incredible experience in Tangkoko national park, but seeing the spectral tarsier in its natural habitat would probably qualify. Untu led us into the forest just before dusk, and we stopped at the base of an enormous tree. We waited. Darkness approached. In the distance we heard a high-pitched whine, like a siren. It was getting closer. It grew louder and was quickly upon us. Cicadas! I couldn't believe these little insects could make so much noise! Apparently this noise is the cue that the nocturnal tarsiers are waiting for, and sure enough, within minutes after the cicada orchestra had died away, a couple tiny shapes lept from the tangle of vines along the tree trunk. Then a couple more, and a few more after that. They jumped from the tree trunk to adjacent branches, and then sat still for a minute or so, scoping out the scene. You could shine your flashlight and get a stunning view of the little gremlins, just a couple feet away! They're about 5 inches tall, with huge eyes that don't move in their sockets, so they must turn their heads to look around. Their hind legs are very long, enabling their great leaping ability, and one of their fingers has a very sharp spike for tearing through the exoskeleton of insects that they catch for food. Strange beasties. There must've been 15 of them, hopping all around us, making little squeeking noises! And after a few wonderful moments of watching and snapping photos, they were gone into the darkness. Magical...