2025 Wild Indonesia
Workshop Information Packet
Contents:
I. General Information
II. To Do Checklist
III. Daily Itinerary
IV. FAQ’s
2025 Wild Indonesia
General Information
Welcome!
Thanks again for joining our 2025 Wild Indonesia: Orangutans & Komodo Dragons Photography Adventure! I’m sure you’re as excited we are for our trip! But first, a bit of planning is needed to make sure everything goes smoothly. This document contains important information to help you prepare for our journey. Please take the time to read it carefully.
Workshop Overview
Workshop Dates: June 26-July 5, 2025
The workshop begins when you arrive at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (Airport code: CGK) in Jakarta, Indonesia on June 26, 2025 and ends when you are dropped-off at the same airport on July 5, 2025
In the first part of our journey, we will fly from Jakarta to the island of Borneo where we will be led by expert guides to photograph orangutans and other animals who inhabit the tropical forests.
During the second half of our trip, we will fly back to Jakarta and then fly to Labuan Bajo, where we will be met by our boat crew and guides who will take us to Komodo National Park.
Take a look at the Daily Itinerary in this packet or on the workshop page of our website for more details about the locations we will visit and the things we can expect to see and photograph throughout our journey.
Balance of Fees
The balance of your workshop fees are due as follows:
Payment #2: due Jan 26, 2025
Final Payment: due March 26, 2025. Remainder of all fees - the exact amount of your final payment depends on options selected such as single lodging and any extra hotel nights.
You will receive an invoice by email approximately 2 weeks before each due date. Payments can be made online by credit card. Please contact us if you wish to use another form of payment. Your on-time payment is much appreciated.
Health/Medical
Immunizations – there are no specific immunization requirements to enter Indonesia, but you should consult with your doctor or travel clinic about any recommended vaccinations. Malaria prophylaxis may be recommended. The U.S. CDC website also contains general information which may be useful.
Prescription Medications – pack an adequate supply of any prescription medications (and supplements) you take, as they may not be available in India. I also always carry a course of antibiotics when traveling, just in case. You can request a prescription for ‘traveler’s diarrhea’ from your health provider or travel clinic.
Allergies – please let us know about any allergies you have AND the severity of your reactions. It is your responsibility to carry appropriate medications (e.g. Epi Pen) in case of accidental exposure.
Travel Logistics & Documents
International Flights –
Inbound – Book your flights to arrive in Jakarta (CGK) by 1pm on June 26.
Outbound – Book your homeward flight from CGK for after for anytime on July 5.
Extra hotel nights - if you are arriving in Jakarta before June 26, just let us know your itinerary specifics and we can book the additional hotel nights for you (~$65/night including breakfast).
Passport – now is the time to double-check the expiration date of your passport. Indonesia requires your passport be valid for at least six months past the date you intend to depart the country.
Visas
American Citizens – a tourist visa is required to enter Indonesia. The easiest way to obtain your visa is to apply online here. The cost is approximately $90USD for the 60 day visa and processing time is 5 working days.
Do not apply too early - your visa must be used within 90 days of date of issue so wait until at least April 1 to apply.
Other Nationalities– Please check here to determine if a visa is required
Address in Indonesia: enter the following info on your visa application for your address in Jakarta:
Hotel: FM7
Jl. Perancis No.67, RT.003/RW.008, Pajang, Kec. Benda, Kota Tangerang, Banten 15125, Indonesia
Travel Insurance – a policy which includes coverage for medical evacuation (sometimes called repatriation) is mandatory for workshop participants. Please forward us a copy of your travel insurance policy (summary page is fine). The primary purpose of this requirement is in case of medical emergency – cost should not be a consideration in getting you quality medical care. Policies that cover medical evacuation as well as other things like trip cancellation, travel delays, lost luggage, theft/loss, etc. are widely available and reasonably priced.
Notify Banks & Credit Cards – notify your financial institutions about your travel plans to prevent problems using credit cards or ATM’s while traveling.
Phone Carrier – look into your phone carrier’s international roaming policies and rates BEFORE leaving home or you may return to an extremely expensive bill. You may want to pre-purchase a data plan from your carrier.
WhatsApp – is a free communications app that is used widely outside of the US. We will be using this for inter group communications. Please download & install WhatsApp and create an account before arriving in India. You may want to also want to have your loved ones at home install this app also.
What to Pack
Weather Note – expect hot and humid conditions in Borneo with the occasional showers possible. Expect beautiful beach weather in Komodo National Park as it is the dry season and we should have an ocean breeze.
Below are historical average high/low temperatures for our areas:
Borneo (June): 90/78 F
Komodo (July): 87/83 F
Clothing & Personal Items – thin, cool and quick-drying are the order of the day for this trip. Long sleeves and pants are recommended for protection from the sun and insects. In addition, you should also bring:
Brimmed hat
Sunglasses
Spare eyeglasses/reading glasses/contacts
Bandanna, buff or face mask – for dust protection
Light jacket/rain jacket
Sports Bra – the roads can be quite bumpy (a top suggestion from past female participants).
Swimsuit
Sneakers –closed toed shoes with good traction.
Flip flops/sandals – for around the boat and lodge and occasional beach shoot
Tobbies/reef walker shoes are also good as the beaches sometimes have sharp pieces of trash (Bottles etc) and you don’t want to accidentally step on something while shooting dragons on the beach but you still want to be able to get your feet wet.
Sunscreen & Bug Spray
Lip balm
Refillable water bottle – glass or metal only, plastic not allowed in some parks
Optional items
Snacks
Instant coffee packets/travel mug
Don’t overpack, there are no ‘dress up’ occasions on this trip. Laundry service should be available in our Borneo lodge and you can always rinse a shirt or undies on the boat and air dry.
Photo Gear – it’s tempting to bring everything you own, but that usually works against you. If you decide to bring the kitchen sink, we strongly recommend bringing a smaller camera bag/backpack that you are comfortable carrying all day as well. We’re happy to give more specific brand/model recommendations for specific items. Just ask.
Camera Body – 1 or 2 camera bodies. Mirrorless cameras, especially models that have animal eye-tracking are truly game changers for wildlife photography – highly recommended. Bring a paper or electronic copy of your camera’s operating manual. Your smartphone is also a great camera – don’t forget it.
Lenses:
Long telephoto - ~400mm minimum (300mm for crop sensor cameras) before adding teleconverters.
A medium telephoto like a 70-200mm zoom will also be useful
A wide-angle (24mm or less) is handy when you will get the opportunity to shoot very close to your subject.
A macro lens is also recommended as we will do some macro photography when out herping (reptile photography) at night. The pit vipers are not very big so a 100mm macro would be ideal.
GoPro or phone housing - the waters around Komodo are beautiful if you do not want to bring underwater gear, having a underwater phone housing or GoPro type of camera will be very nice to capture the beautiful reefs around the islands.
Optional – Flash(es)& triggers. We will bring a couple flashes and triggers for participant to use, but check ahead of time to see if your camera is compatible with the triggers we use. If not, your own macro flash setup is useful.
Filters – a polarizer can be nice to have but completely optional
Extra Batteries and Memory cards – you will be shooting a lot, maybe more than you ever have, easily in the thousands of images and hundreds of gigabytes (possibly >1TB) total. Bring PLENTY of memory cards and batteries. You should NOT erase/overwrite any memory cards until you get home, even if you have downloaded the images to your laptop or hard drive.
Battery Charger – do not forget! As a backup, you might consider purchasing USB powered camera battery charger. They are inexpensive and let you charge your camera batteries without a wall outlet. Google “(your camera model) USB charger”
Monopod (optional) – can provide extra stability. Also useful for low angle shots in combination with a remote release.
Other Gear
Laptop or tablet –highly recommended. Your photography will improve if you review your images daily. Doing preliminary selects and ratings also makes the mountain of images more manageable when you get home. We will also have several sessions on post processing and image management in Adobe Lightroom.
Portable hard drive - ideal for image storage/backup. If you are purchasing one, look for a solid-state (SSD) type that is “bus powered” – a drive that gets its power from the computer and does not require a separate power cord (most SSD’s are bus powered). 1TB capacity minimum, 2TB is better.
Power adapters – Indonesia runs on 230-volt electricity with Type C or F outlets.
A ‘universal’ adapter like one of these will also work
A small power strip is also handy for charging multiple devices simultaneously but make sure it is specifically designed for travel or rated for 230+ volts. Here are some options
Voltage converters are not needed for most devices - phones/tablets, laptops, camera battery chargers and most other electronics have built in voltage transformers and work just fine with a simple adapter.
Check higher power devices like hair dryers and shavers to make sure they are compatible with 230-volt power. Here is a link to a good article on travel adapters if you need more info.
Chargers and cables for your mobile phone and other electronics
Power bank – extremely handy when traveling. You can even use it to charge a camera battery in a pinch (USB battery charger required)
Phone Leash - to prevent dropping your phone into a literal lion’s den.
MISC
A Word About Gratuities – Like many service businesses, our guides and drivers rely on gratuities for a substantial portion of their income. I think you will find our local guide & drivers in Indonesia to be outstanding at what they do. If you feel you’ve received good service, a gratuity is greatly appreciated. People always ask me for guidance so below are the the typical ranges I see:
Naturalist Guides: $10-$15/day
Boat crews: $20-30 per day for entire crew
Tipping at hotels and restaurants is not expected, but small gratuities are appreciated.
You can get by with US currency as a tourist including tips. A supply of small bills is handy for tips and small purchases.
If there’s anything we’ve missed or you have questions, please contact me via email, text/WhatsApp or phone
We look forward to meeting you in Jakarta,
Ken Lee
+1 949-282-9660 mobile/WhatsApp
Leighton Lum
+1 808-398-7689 mobile/WhatsApp
photographybyleighton@yahoo.com
Wild Indonesia 2025
To Do Checklist
___ Send us a copy/photo of your Passport picture page (a cell phone snap is all we need)
___ Book Inbound/Outbound flights and forward a copy of your flight itinerary to us.
___ Let us know if you need any extra hotel nights
___ Apply for Indonesian eTourist Visa
___ Purchase Travel Insurance and forward a copy of your policy
___ Notify Banks & Credit Cards of your travel plans
___ Check mobile phone carrier’s international roaming policies and plans
___ Make a personal packing checklist (click here for a downloadable Photo Trip Packing List template you can customize to your own needs)
Daily Itinerary
| Day | Date | Itinerary | Overnight | Meals Included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 26 |
Jakarta – upon arrival at Jakarta (CGK) airport, proceed through Passport Control, collect your luggage, and then board a free shuttle to our nearby hotel where you can relax after your long flight.
At 4pm the group will gather for a Workshop Overview meeting followed by a welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at FM7 airport hotel. |
Jakarta Hotel | D |
| 2 | June 27 |
Jakarta – Borneo - after an early breakfast, we’ll catch our flight to Palangkaraya airport (PKY) on the island of Borneo.
Our guides will be waiting to transport us to our home in the jungle for the next 3 nights. After getting settled, we’ll head out by boat to Orangutan Island for our first photo session with the orangutans. Overnight at Borneo Jungle Lodge. |
Borneo Jungle Lodge | B, L, D |
| 3 | June 28 | Borneo – morning shoot with the orangutans following an early breakfast. Then we board our river boat to explore, looking for other wildlife. Return to the lodge for lunch and a break before heading out for our afternoon shoot at a different location that the orangutans frequent. After dinner, we may also go back into the forest to see Borneo’s night activity. Overnight at Borneo Jungle Lodge. | Borneo Jungle Lodge | B, L, D |
| 4 | June 29 | Borneo – Our schedule today is the same as the previous day. Depending on the group’s preference, we may add a Lightroom post-processing session after lunch. | Borneo Jungle Lodge | B, L, D |
| 5 | June 30 | Borneo-Jakarta – Another early start, but this time we travel back to the airport after breakfast to catch our morning flight back to Jakarta. Remainder of the day at your leisure. We will have an optional editing session and photography presentations at our hotel. | Jakarta Hotel | B |
| 6 | July 1 | Jakarta – At Sea (Private Charter boat) – Back to the airport in the morning for our flight to Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park. Our wonderful guides will be waiting to transport us to our private charter boat, our home for the next 4 days. Once on board, we’ll set sail for Rinca Island and our first encounter with the legendary Komodo Dragons. | Komodo Private Charter Boat | B, L, D |
| 7 | July 2 |
At Sea (Private Charter boat) – early morning shoot with Komodo dragons on Rinca island. We return to our boat for breakfast and then set sail for Padar island. Work on organizing and editing your images by yourself or one-on-one with Ken or Leighton along the way. Or just relax and enjoy the scenery and warm ocean breeze.
In the afternoon we will depart the boat and take a short hike on Padar Island. This hike offers the best view in Komodo National Park! After dinner, we will go back out to check out the nightlife and do some macro photography. Great chance for pit viper photography. |
Komodo Private Charter Boat | B, L, D |
| 8 | July 3 | At Sea (Private Charter boat) – optional sunrise shoot on Padar Island. This is an amazing place for drone photography. Back to our boat for breakfast and then sail onward to Komodo Island. If time permits, we will do some snorkeling around the famous Pink sand beach. We conclude the day with a sunset shoot with the Komodo dragons. | Komodo Private Charter Boat | B, L, D |
| 9 | July 4 | At Sea – Jakarta – the boat will start moving early in the morning as we make our way back to Labuan Bajo. We will check out Manta Point to see if the manta rays are in the area. After some snorkeling, we make our way back to port for our flight back to Jakarta. | Komodo Private Charter Boat | B, L |
| 10 | July 5 | Jakarta – Home – catch the free shuttle to the airport at your convenience for your trip home. | Jakarta Hotel | B |
FAQ’S
Q: Are domestic flights included?
A: Yes all domestic flights are included. You must get to and from Jakarta (CGK)
Q: What is the weather like during June/ July?
A: In general, Indonesia is warm all year round. The daytime temperature will be around 82-88 degrees with roughly 80 percent humidity. Borneo, especially can be very humid. Borneo is a rain forest so expect some rain, which can be heavy at times but usually short-lived in duration. The seas around Komodo are typically calm with beautiful weather, a warm but nice breeze.
Q: What sort of equipment do we need for macro photography?
A: We will be working with off camera flashes, which usually involves a wireless trigger and flash units. Each participant will have to take turns when photographing a subject as we do not want to stress an animal out.
Something we missed? Send us an email or schedule a phone call. We’re happy to address any questions