Why Sumatra – Why Now?

Isn't it crazy how life can go?

When I tell you that I thought the door had closed on Indonesia for me, I can't tell you how definite that was in my mind.

Picture the scene...

I had gone back to Bali for the second time with a head full of dreams of rescuing more macaques, working with Bali Monkey Rescue, and possibly setting up my own rescue centre. I was planning that Emily and I would be there, potentially for the rest of our lives.

But, thanks to a few twists of fate and an empty bank account, that dream ended very abruptly. And so, Emily and I came back to the UK.

I will be honest and say I was a little bit embarrassed by the whole experience. Embarrassed because, in my own head, I had failed.

It's worth saying at this point that whilst many people have been super supportive of my alternative lifestyle, many others haven't been. Over the years I've had to defend a lot of my decisions, including the move to Bali. When it all fell apart, I couldn't help but feel as though people were sitting there thinking, "I knew it would never work."

But now me and Ems were back in the UK, and my plan was to just "do normal".

By that, I mean get a regular job, Emily would go to school, we would stay settled for a while, and we would put down roots (God, I hate roots lol). And I did manage to do this for around six months.

I really didn't even want to come back to Indonesia at that time if I'm being honest, because I figured it just wasn't the place for me after my experiences there.

But as the days ticked over and my life became, once again, like I was on a never-ending hamster wheel — work, school, dinner, weekend activities, repeat — I started to get what my friend calls "itchy feet".

It didn't start with planning a move back to Indonesia. It actually started with me looking on job websites, searching for roles where I could work with primates. That was what I missed the most — working hands-on with such beautiful animals. Animals that I had spent over a year building relationships with, and I yearned for that.

But there were no jobs local to me that I was qualified for. The monkey rescue centres didn't even respond to me when I emailed asking about any upcoming roles they might have. So I figured I just needed to accept that working in a garden centre was going to be how my story ended.

And the funniest thing is, it was when I had sort of made peace with that decision that everything changed — and changed rapidly.

Emily and I had always planned to spend the school holidays back in Bali with Bali Monkey Rescue, visiting our friends and the monkeys there. Then one morning Emily said to me:

"Mummy, as well as seeing the macaques, do you think we could see some orangutans while we are in Indonesia?"

As a mum who absolutely loves travel, and of course primates, I was super excited about the request and immediately called my friend Hananto, who I had worked with at Bali Monkey Rescue, to ask if he had any contacts in Sumatra who could help.

He did.

In fact, he had extended family in Sumatra who owned land that is home to wild orangutans, and they run an orangutan trekking business, taking people out into the jungle to see these beautiful apes.

"Perfect," I thought. Job done. We'll book to stay there for a week or so, then travel down to Bali for the rest of the holidays.

That is until Hananto mentioned something else...

He explained that his friend, who owns the land in Sumatra, had shared his concerns that there are large areas of unprotected jungle surrounding his own land that could likely be sold off for palm oil plantations. He went on to say that his friend is deeply concerned about the impact this will have not only on the orangutan population, but also on the Asian rhinos, tigers and elephants that depend on this habitat.

It's very hard to articulate what happened in those next few seconds.

Because it was like Hananto and I had the exact same thought process simultaneously — a true lightbulb moment.

Both of us knew, without saying a word to each other, that we wouldn't be able to walk away from this situation.

It's important to share that Hananto and I have spent many, many hours over the past few years discussing our dreams of setting up some sort of conservation foundation.

Hananto's main focus is habitat conservation, whereas I tend to lean more towards the animal rescue and welfare side of things. And perhaps it is because of those differences that we could never quite come to a conclusion on exactly what it was we wanted to create, or what we wanted to achieve.

Well, of course, that all changed during that phone call.

There it was, laid out in front of us...

Our foundation.

Clear goals.

A role for us both that played to our strengths.

We would secure and protect the jungle habitat, promote conservation in the area, and in turn protect the animal species that call this place home. It was, and still feels, like we were given a gift of sorts. A clear roadmap of how we could work together to make a lasting and worthwhile difference.

Now I have one-way flights booked to Jakarta for the end of July. Once again, I have a head full of dreams. But this time I also have a much clearer focus and clearer goals.

I also have the online clothing store which I am hoping will enable me to earn money whilst Emily and I are outside of the UK.

And so, that is why Sumatra.

And that is why it is happening now.

Because I have set myself the small task of saving the world lol. Okay, maybe not saving the world. But certainly helping to save these precious species who, without someone out there fighting for them, will become homeless and, in turn, inevitably become extinct.

I cannot sit back and do nothing about this.

Want to See What Happens Next?

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea how this story ends.

What I do know is that Emily and I will be boarding a plane to Indonesia soon with a head full of dreams, a conservation project to build and a fair amount of uncertainty.

The Journal Journey is where I share everything that happens along the way – the successes, the mistakes, the wildlife, the fundraising, the adventures and the occasional disaster.

If you'd like to follow the story as it unfolds, sign up below and I'll keep you updated.