29th March 2009 I was up before dawn this morning, it had been a cold and restless night for me so eventually I gave up trying to sleep and took my camera outside to see what beasties I could find. Again I was disappointed; I found a large and fantastic beetle with huge mandibles, it was pretty aggressive. I flipped him the right way up so I handled it with extreme care and got my photos. As the sun rose of the mountain an Ashy Drongo and a Pacific Swallow perched on the telegraph wires next to the lodge. I sat [View Full Entry]

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28th March 2009 Today we were moving on to Mt Kinabalu National Park. We can’t climb the mountain unfortunately as it’s completely booked up and has been for a while, it’s also expensive, about a hundred pounds each which for one day's expenditure is just out of the question on our budget. We’re obviously disappointed but what can you do. We pack our bags, say goodbye to our hostess and go for a breakfast of coffee, toast and a cheese slice omelette, god how I miss real cheese. Not one of the countries we’ve visited has any idea about dairy products. [View Full Entry]

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26th March 2009 After a gentle start with breakfast and a few goodbyes to some of our friends at Lucy’s (we had a couple of hours drinking beer on the balcony last night) we heave our bags onto our backs and head out to the local bus stop to pick up a minibus to Ranau then to catch a connection to go to Poring Hot Springs in Kinabalu National Park. The journey to Ranau takes two hours but it went very quickly as Pili and I spent the time brain storming some ideas concerning our future plans after we finish our [View Full Entry]

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21st March 2009 We decide to spend a day at Sapi Island off the coast of Kota Kinabalu; Pili and I are especially keen on snorkelling on the reef there. But before we do any of that we decide to have a walk through the Kota Kinabalu Sunday Market which we can see from our hostal. The market place is packed with tourists and a few locals. Most fears are confirmed straight away when at first I hear, then find many stalls trading in animals. I find cages crammed with kittens & dogs, all looking terrified and obviously dehydrated. I also [View Full Entry]

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19th March 2009 Singamata 6:00am start again and the last trip up the misty Sungai Kinabatangan River, we’re all a little sad to go but on the other hand Pili, Zbynek, Renata & I are looking forward to some beach time, clean showers and fresh clothes. We hastily pack our bags and I remember to clean my boots from yesterday’s mud, I’d completely forgotten all about it yesterday. Scrubbing the boots like a crazy man, washing away the thick jungle mud I finally put them by the dorm door for a little drying before packing them away. Ryan is also packing [View Full Entry]

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20th March 2009 Today we start nice and early, 6:00am. We all meet up at the dive equipment area of the complex. After last night's briefing we find our kit exactly where we left it so we start getting our wet suits on. The sunrise is an added bonus and helps distract us all from our nerves. Our dive master arrives about fifteen minutes late, he works damn hard so none of us begrudge him the little lie in, anyway it gives me a chance to take some photos of the morning sun rising above the neighbouring islands, I also snatch [View Full Entry]

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21st March 2009 Once again at 6:00am were up and suited up, actually I’ve been up a good hour and a half taking some long exposure shot of the complex and waiting for the sunrise. I’m also pretty excited about our first proper dive to 12 metres, I can’t wait. After going through all our equipment safety checks we carefully climb down the steps into the water at the entrance to the complex. Pili’s out and away with her face down and breathing confidently. We all gather around and are told we are going to follow a safety line down to [View Full Entry]

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18th March 2009 Like the previous day we’re up for 6:00am for a river cruise and the river & jungle is covered in mist giving it an eerie feeling, then we return for breakfast. We see some new species this morning, a Jerdon’s Baza which is basically a crested Hawk and a large Monitor Lizard, also some more iconic Pied Hornbills. Never the less we all have a really pleasant time and are starving and in desperate need of caffeine by the time we return. After we’ve had our 10:30am breakfast (dodgy pancakes, wiener sausages & toast) our guide returns to [View Full Entry]

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17th March 2009 We start the next couple of day with breakfast and a two hour 4x4 journey to the ‘Gomantong Caves’ which were made famous by the harvesting of Swiflet nests used for bird nest soup, Chinese medicines and all made from the birds saliva used for attaching the nests to the cave walls………….NICE! Zbynek and Renata join us on this leg of the journey, Harvey and the Slovakian girls go straight to the jungle camp. There is a large Iban Longhouse at the entrance to the massive cavern; this is where the brave or maybe crazy workers live. Th [View Full Entry]

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FINALLY AFTER 32yrs I ARRIVE IN BORNEO Since I first saw my hero Sir David Attenborough in the groundbreaking ‘Life On Earth’ TV series I’ve promised myself one day I’d visit the jungles of Borneo. I’ve read just about every publication that I’ve been able to lay my hand on about this island (the 3rd largest in the World). I’ve familiarised myself with as many of its endemic species as my brain can handle and I’ve just purchased some more book to fill in the gaps. Now is my time and I do not intend to waste a second of the [View Full Entry]

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