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Published: June 16th 2017
01 Morning Mist
Morning mist slowly rising over the river.Geo: 5.4957, 118.206
The gong was rung at 5:45 this morning, meaning it was time to get up and get ready to the morning jungle safari cruise. We had a terrible night's sleep. Constantly during the night we were scared and puzzled by a loud noise. It sounded like something/someone was hitting the windows and walls of the cabin. It was so loud. We eventually worked out that it was a gecko. We quickly got ready and rugged up. It was cool outside, but would warm up quickly. There was a lot of mist this morning and it looked beautiful. It also took a while to clear. Yesterday we went down the river, this morning we went in the opposite direction. This was a chance for some new scenery.
About ten minutes into the cruise we stopped to watch an adult Proboscis Monkeys that was just sitting on a branch. The guide spotted a brightly coloured Stork Billed Kingfisher sitting on a branch above the river. Nearby was a troop of Long-Tailed Macaques. They were foraging for food and looking at us. Some were also just sitting on branches.
Now the sun was starting to rise and we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise. The
02 Morning Mist
Morning mist slowly rising over the river. colours in the sky were amazing and reflected on the partially still water. The mist was now starting to rise. It was very peaceful out here on the river as we were the only boat out. Once again there were palm oil plantations visible just metres from the river. We continued on, as there was no chance of seeing wildlife in that area.
We then slowed down as a large crocodile was spotted on a sandbar at the edge of the river. The boat slowly got closer, a bit too close for my liking. The boat was quite low and the massive crocodile was way too close to me! It seemed to glare at us. I was more than happy to move on.
Next stop was for another crocodile. This one was smaller and it ignored us. It was now 7:30am and we were back at the jetty. We freshened up in our cabin and then went straight to breakfast. It was another delicious feast in the middle of the jungle. I ate French toast, baked beans, fried rice, fruit and hot cups of tea. All this food would give me plenty of energy for the rest of our busy
03 Sitting
A Proboscis Monkey sitting on a branch. day.
As part of our accommodation package, there was the option of a trek to Ox Bow Lake. I was very put off by the work 'trek', so I chatted to the other guests and they said it was more like a walk and very easy. The only concern was leeches, so we had to pull up our long socks (which we packed specifically for this trek) and tuck our jeans into our gumboots. The lodge hires gumboots and they are recommended. We were more than happy to hire them and not destroy our runners with mud. We also sprayed ourselves with mosquito repellent. As all the other guests were checking out, it was only Rach and I on the trek. There were 2 guides with us.
We left at 9am. It was quite humid, especially with wearing jeans, long socks and gumboots. We learnt very quickly why gumboots were recommended. There were many patches of thick, slippery mud. The guides were pretty informative and pointed out interesting things to us and answered our questions.
As we walked we could hear birds, we saw many insects, like the huge spiders that live around the lodge. It was a short walk and
04 Kingfisher
A brightly coloured Stork Billed Kingfisher. we arrived at Ox Bow Lake at a quarter to 10. Here there was a little ramp and jetty. Before walking down we were instructed to take off our socks and boots. On the way down the ramp we spotted a water monitor that was basking in the sun on the jetty, as we got closer it took off and jumped into the water and swam away.
We sat on the jetty and were told to put our feet in the water. Reluctantly we did so. Then one of the guides started throwing sliced white bread into the water near our feet. This caused lots of tiny fish to rise to the top and nibble on the bread. When the bread was finished, the fish nibbled on our feet. It was very ticklish. So now I have experienced my first ever fish spa in the middle of a jungle in Borneo. We took our feet out of the water when the larger fish appeared. The lake seemed to have more of a river shape to it.
As we sat and enjoyed the serenity, a Blue Eared Kingfisher swooped down to the water and caught a fish. After eating its fish,
05 Foraging
A pair of monkeys foraging for food. it perched near us and kept us company.
It was now time to start 'trekking' back to the lodge. I asked the guides what were the little piles of dirt that I had noticed. He explained that they are worm castles. We then had a bit of a scare when a 2 metres water monitor ran past us. It scared us quite a bit. Towards the end we were walking parallel to the Kinabatangan River. We arrived back just after 11am. Between now and lunch at midday, we checked for leeches, showered and packed away our muddy clothes.
Feeling so much better we went for lunch. It was only the two of us here for lunch today. We were so impressed with what they had made for us. We ate rice, salad, penang vegetable curry, papaya, watermelon with cordial and a chicken curry for Rach. Feeling energetic after all this food, we went for a bit of a walk around the lodge and admired the small things in nature. We saw plenty of butterflies, geckos, unique plants and flowers. I was walking ahead of Rach and I managed to walk into a massive spider web. We screamed and our adventurous
06 Young One
A young monkey sitting on a branch. walk came to an end. On the way back to our cabin we thought about sitting in the hammocks, until we noticed the swarm of mosquitoes around them. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, resting, napping and relaxing.
We met the new guests at 3:30 during afternoon tea. Today's afternoon tea wasn't as good as yesterday's. There were only biscuits and tea/coffee. Seven more guests had checked in today. Just before 4pm, we went and choose a life vest and then went down the jetty and got onto the boat. We were hoping to see orangutans again. This afternoon's guides were different to yesterday and this morning.
Cruising down the river was still fun for me. Somehow the guides spotted a large water monitor lying on a branch. It was pretty much camouflaged, but they were still able to spot it. Further along the river we stopped to watch some Long Tailed Macaques. They were sitting on branches. The most interesting one to watch was a young one, sitting on a branch with its hands in its lap and looking at us. Then it yawned and looked up above him. He paid attention to another macaque that came
07 Hanging On
A pair of monkeys hanging onto a branch. and sat next to it, rolled up a leaf and ate it. Then it did the same thing, chose a leaf, rolled it and ate it. They were very entertaining to watch.
During this cruise our guide explained to us that monkeys in this area are quite safe from people, as most of the local population is Muslim and they don't eat monkey meat. Apparently in other areas of Malaysia, monkeys aren't as safe. Further along the river we stopped to watch a pair of macaques grooming each other. There was also a female Long Tailed Macaque sitting among the water plants.
Our guide then excitedly pointed out a bird above us, it was a Night Heron. The last creatures we saw today were some more Proboscis Monkeys. There were just a few of them sitting on branches. We arrived back at 6pm and had an hour to spare before dinner. We used this time to start to pack. Dinner was again a delicious meal. We ate rice, chips, eggplant, local green veggies, pineapple and watermelon. It was a feast! After dinner we went back to our cabin and continued packing, as we had decided against doing the night walk.
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