It’s now been a few days since I arrived in Kendari, the capital of the south-eastern province of Sulawesi. It’s a city I know well, having spent several months there in recent years as part of the various projects we’re developing on the island. I met up with Antoine, the second Frenchman on the adventure, who had been in Indonesia for over a month. We still have 1 week to prepare for our next fully autonomous mission in the Tangkelemboke and Matarombeo massifs.
On 6 February, we had our first meeting with most of the expedition team. We get our first look at Bagus, the youngest member of the team, who will be filming the expedition. Ime, who runs the Indonesian NGO KomunitasTeras, a close partner of Naturevolution in the protected areas field, will also be part of the adventure. At this first meeting, we discuss the different route options and set out the schedule for the next few days.
On 7 February, we were welcomed by the BKSDA – manager of protected areas and representative of the Ministry of the Environment at provincial level, and therefore an essential partner for Naturevolution in our Protected Area projects. The aim of this meeting is firstly to officially present our project to them and secondly to define which member of their organisation will be the 5th member of our team. It has in fact been planned for many months that one of them would accompany us, which I’m delighted about because it will give our expedition a more official dimension and above all it will enable us to create an even stronger link with the BKSDA, which could prove very useful for the rest of our project.
Unfortunately, with an already busy schedule and others worried about joining us on this adventure, the BKSDA couldn’t find anyone to go with us.
Ime suggests his friend Jamil, a young man with a lot going for him. On the one hand, he has already taken part in several caving expeditions in recent years, notably with the explorer-caver Bertrand Valentin. On the one hand, he has already taken part in several caving expeditions in recent years, notably with the speleologist and explorer Bertrand Valentin.
