Hutan Payau or Mangrove Forest- Cilacap
Thanks, hotel driver, for taking our picture! On another day Austin had off, we went over to the mangrove forest not very far from the center of Cilacap. Of course, with traffic and such it took about 30 minutes to get there, but it was worth it! The people at our hotel tried to tell us there was not much to see, but I thought it would be interesting to go anyway. This is the only mangrove forest on Java, and is shrinking because of deforestation/clearing for farmland and taking away sediment. The government has proposed ways to preserve it, but that doesn't keep locals from trying to survive, is my guess. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a mangrove forest quite like this before. Wikipedia told me that these trees are most likely red mangroves- because of their roots. They live in water that is tidal and so they have to be able to withstand salt water as well as fresh water. Red mangroves keep upright in the marshy/boggy water by making stilt roots to support them...