Borneo and the Orangutans

Sunday 2 February

From Kathmandu to Kota Kinabalu. It sounds like the title of an exotic novel but it was a bit of a trek, 2 flights with a transfer in Singapore and no sleep that night.

Monday 3 February

An afternoon nap and we make it to the shore by sunset. After a wander around the Night Market,we eat dinner at a Thai Restaurant in The Waterfront complex.

Kota Kinabalu is known for it's sunsets and cheap seafood and is popular with Chinese tourists. For good beaches you have to island hop in the area. I wouldn't recommend it for more than a necessary stop over.

Tuesday 4 February

After an early 40 minute flight to Sandakan, we are met at the airport by Jamil, our guide from Borneo Eco Tours. We go directly to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Orphaned and captive orangutans are brought here, cared for and eventually released back into the wild. Since the 1960s they have released 760 Orangutans.  There are no fences here, so the Orangutans can come and go as they please. Youngsters are taught to survive by older individuals and are usually 5 to 8 years old before they can be reintroduced to the wild.

At the feeding station on the morning we visit we find one large wild male and about 5 juveniles from the centre.

After feeding, the juveniles make their way to the nursery to hang out with the youngsters.

The next stop is the Sun Bear Sanctuary, where the roaming area is fenced off and tourists can view the bears from canopy boardwalks.

After lunch at a local hotel, we board our speedboat for the 2 hr, 93km ride upriver into the jungle to Sakai Eco Forest Lodge, with it's beautiful river setting.

From the river you don't see much encroachment from the palm oil plantations. One side is a protected forest area but on the opposite side it's just a strip of riverine forest backed by plantations.

After tea and check in, we did our first river cruise. The birding and monkey watching was fun and we were very lucky to see a wild pygmy elephant.

Wednesday 5 February

Our morning boat trip left at 6am.

It was still misty on the river. We had lots of sightings of Proboscis Monkeys; what weird looking creatures.

This pic is borrowed.

We also enjoyed the birds, especially the Kingfishers, Hornbills and the Red and Black Broadbills.

Back at the lodge, breakfast was served and at 10am we did a walk through the forest. We were so lucky to see the wild orangutans, 1 mother with a 4 day old baby and 2 young males. The animals at the rehab centre are bigger than their counterparts in the wild due to a better and easier accessed diet.

In the afternoon we did another boat cruise to the lake.

Thursday 6 February

This morning on our final boat safari we finally saw the Rhinoceros Hornbill. These birds are highly endangered due to some local tribes, using the horn as part of their traditional dress. Of course we all remember the exotic pictures of the "Head Hunters of Borneo" in National Geographic magazines of the 60s and 70s.

In the afternoon we were driven to the Gomangtong Caves. Here, 10 million Edible Nest Swifts roost. The bird nests are highly sought after in China as a delicacy. The cost per gram is higher than Rhino horn. 

The birds breed 3 times a year and once the eggs hatch, the nests are harvested from the rooves of the caves. There is a community of guards and there families living at the entrance to the cave to protect this valuable asset from poachers.

But it is the most disgusting place with the vilest stench of guano hanging in the air. The mask is to cope with the stink and has nothing to do with protection from Coronavirus.

Walking through the cave is gross. The boardwalk is crawling with so many cockroaches, you have to stomp as you go and loads of rats run around over the mountains of bird poo. Interesting to see but one of the worst things I've done in a long time. And people eat these nests! You've got to be crazy! I've got the heebie jeebies all over again just writing this.

One positive aspect about this cave visit is that 3 million bats also live in the caves and just before sunset they start to swarm out of the top of the caves in a seemingly endless stream. The humming sound produced by the flapping wings is pretty loud from the ground.

Friday 7 February

We wake up to the sound of rain on our villa roof, happy that we aren't out on the river this morning. After breakfast we transfer back to Sandakan by speed boat to catch our flights back to Kota Kinabalu and Singapore. I can highly recommend Borneo Eco Tours and Sukau Lodge.