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We met our new friend Laura at a guesthouse in KK (Kota Kinabalu) the capital of Sabah state in Malaysian Borneo. Laura motivated us to see as much of Borneo as time would allow. After spending a couple days lurking in KK we set off to the Kinabatangan River for a three day two night stay in the jungle to look for wildlife. We sped off on a bus up the twisty mountain road past impressive Mt. Kinabalu with jungle valleys spotted with villages and mountain farm plots on steep terraces. Very impressive country. A bit of a mixup at our pick up point as our guest house didn't bother to book us in for the package despite the fact we had already paid a steep deposit. Anyways the helpful staff of the Kinabatangan Nature Lodge slotted us in without a problem.
Our ride took us down a dusty road not too far into the forest until we came to a bend in the mocha coloured Kinabatangan. The van unloaded and we piled into a 15 passenger river skimmer and crossed over to the resort. We managed to score a bungalow despite only paying for dorms because it was full,
sweet!
Later, we were herded on to the boat again to cruise for wildlife. We cruised for about two hours in the afternoon when we saw lots of long tailed Maqaque and the funky looking Proboscis monkeys with their funny noses and pot bellies. We also saw some interesting birds including the awesome looking Rhinocerous hornbills. Others included eagles, colourful Kingfishers and Pigeons, plenty of white Egrets and some Oriental Pied hornbills. Our guide had a really amazing eye for spotting animals several hundred metres away. Mazi really enjoyed the cool breeze coming off the river and the hum of the motor seemed to make her want to rest her eyes. But don't worry I can spot snoozing even behind sunglasses.
The schedule followed with a meal and then a short night time hike where we trudged through mud peeling off leaches searching for creepy crawlies and other wildlife. We saw some sleeping birds and a nasty looking scorpion.
The next day we were up early hoping to sea pygmy elephants or maybe even a rhinocerous but instead we saw a rare wild Orangutan swinging high up in the trees.
After breakfast we trekked to the
Oxbow lake where we learned about the local plants and fed the fish in the lake and kept an eye out for crocodiles. Our afternoon ride was even cooler as we found more Orangutan a mother and baby. SO COOL!!! We also went to a spot where two rivers meet and where conservationists had strung a big rope across the river for the Orangutan (who don't swim). Apparently the Maqaque and the Proboscis can swim well. Here a big group of Proboscis monkeys was hangin out in a big fig tree catchin the last rays from the sun before it set.
I was the only one from the previous day to join the nightly trek but I got to see some sleeping Kingfishers, a frog and a bug that was shedding its skin.
The next day we got up early again and head out looking for the elephants. It was beautiful looking into forest with mist coming off the river. No elephants again but we did see some noisy River Otters running, swimming, and squeeking at each other and us.
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kamila mortimer
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Dear Sirs, I will be travelling around Borneo and I am interested in the river cruise 3 days/2nights. on 26.12.-28.12. We will be staying the night 25/26. in Seporna as we will be diving in Kapalai before, so I need to know details about pick up, do we need to get to sandakan etc. Please send me also program and costs. @ adults. Thanks a lot Best regards Kamila M.