Just us, a Jungle and Bruno

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The mention of Borneo conjures images of jungle, wildlife and rivers. However, having already spent a month in the Malaysian section of the country we found it to be as much a mix of swaying bars, lively karaoke's and streams of tourists as it is trees, orangutans and gushing rivers. In search of the true Borneo experience we had encountered all of these things but now we were joined by Jungle Julie and DJ Durcan and so headed to East Sabah in search of its diverse wildlife.

The wide, muddy Sungai Kinabatangan is Sabah's longest river. Cutting through the jungle interior of Borneo it's murky waters sit deep below the swaying green canopy that teems with wildlife. Despite some up river logging and jungle clearance for plantations the lower reaches of the river provide the ideal base from which to spot everything from macaques to monitor lizards as well as the endemic proboscis monkey and the elusive orangutan.

In order to get to the river we flew from KK to Sandakan with the reliably cheap Air Asia (it worked out cheaper than the bus) and within an hour we had arrived. The former boom town is now very much the gateway to east Sabah's attractions, showing little signs of it's prosperous past. Sandakan today is a sprawl of craggy buildings, blaring mosques and roaming children. Not so prepossessing at first but the towns good food, bustling markets and attractive bay grows on you. However for our first stint in Sandakan we used it as a base from which to go to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre where we could guarantee seeing some orangutans before our river excursions.

The morning feeding for these most wonderful creatures was a busy affair. Sabah's biggest tourist attraction undoubtedly puts cash in the coiffeurs of the money men but also is crucial in helping the 'people of the forest' reintegrate into the jungle. Many have seen there habitat destroyed by logging for palm oil plantations and so the centre acts simultaneously as a place to rehabilitate the orangutans, educate the locals and entertain the westerners.

For the hordes of tourists it is a chance to see the furry orange animals at close proximity. The Bornean orangutan is larger than their Sumatran counterparts but we only saw a group of five young, small ones swing down and munch their rambuttan (fruit). It was, nonetheless, a beautiful sight despite the vast amounts of snapping cameras and the designated areas for tourists and orangutans. I did get the feeling, were we coming to watch them or were they coming to watch us?

Whilst we waited, in true Asian style, for the bus that never came, two orangutans swung down to get a closer look. The unplanned nature of the orangutans arrival gave us a greater glimpse at Borneo's most treasured animal. It was of course a feeding centre and having had a taste we now aimed to go deeper into their jungle habitat.

It proved tricky to get to the small town of Sukau, the base and starting point for trips along the Sungai Kinabatangan. However, once there, we were greeted by the delightful Sukau B'n'B which sat right by the river and was surrounded by jungle and green grass. Having looked at the rooms and heard the price we agreed with the affable owner to camp in his grounds. Durks had brought his five man tent which, he explained, was only the size of five Taiwanese men but we now had a plethora of tents. Han and Jen in her tent and Durks and I in the Taiwanese tent.

I was brought into a riverside camping nirvana when I saw a football sat on the green green grass (I haven't seen grass like it since my last visit to Carrow Road). The residents of the lodge were then treated to their own jungle experience as two hairy men sweated it out playing football in the mid-afternoon sun.

After a much needed shower we walked along the river past small dwellings and waving locals. The relaxed air was enhanced by spotting a Red Langur monkey sat up in a tree and the sun slowly setting over the river. Back at the lodge we discussed camping further down river. The owner advised us that camping alone down river may be dangerous but his cousin lived on a fruit farm where we could camp and trek from. He said we would need to bring some food with us for them to cook and that they don't speak any English but that he would set it all up for us. It seemed a great idea and a good compromise from our independent jungle camping plan.

The next day, after some breakfast and more football, we packed up our tent and boarded our boat bound for the fruit farm. As we stopped to get supplies the sky opened and thunderous jungle rain teemed down on us. We dashed to the shop and began planning our meals whilst sheltering from the torrent. Rice, tinned curry, biscuits, tea and coffee were all we could attain but still the rain came down. As it began to ease we made for the boat again. Getting down to the jetty Jenny slipped on the muddy bank and everything was wet. Not a great start.

Now when the owner had mentioned camping on a fruit farm we all had had visions of European orchards with green open spaces and the sweet scent of summer. Looking back I do not know why we had such thoughts when we were down a river in a rainforest, in Borneo.

As we stepped off our small wooden boat that had taken us twenty minutes up river and then ten minutes down a tributary, we knew we were now having a true Bornean experience. The rain was still lightly pattering on the cheap umbrellas we had acquired, all our bags were soaked and the dreamed of fruit farm was now up a long steep jungle path that was like a bog. Unprepared, in flip flops, we carried our tent, four litres of water and 5kg of rice (it was all the shop had) up the slippery path. Jungle Julie was struggling as thoughts of leeches and snakes swamped her and flip flops deserted her. Nonetheless we all made it to the orchard and were greeted by a friendly yet bemused family who sat in the solitary wooden shack surrounded by their tropical fruit trees. I am sure they had never seen white people before let alone muddy, wet, camping ones. Looking at our dark and damp surrounds it was uncertain where we could camp. Most of the land was on a hill and covered in mulched fruit and due to the language barrier we weren't getting very far. What were we doing?

As we collected our thoughts a man took to the the hilly ground with a machete. In a few swings he deemed the half cleared patch camp-able. We pitched up Durks' tent and estimated that five Taiwanese men would equate to four English. If a little cramped. We had bought some gifts for the family but trying to explain that the tea and coffee were for them not us was testing. I think they got the gesture but we did have a lot of tea and coffee after that. The whole experience was feeling slightly surreal and so we were pleased to have pre-arranged with the B'n'B to go on an afternoon river cruise.

On the two hour, non-raining, cruise we saw lots of proboscis monkeys in trees right beside the river. Their long noses, rounded bellies and gleaming fur was a great sight, especially being so close to them. All along the river we spotted macaques, different species of hornbill including the rhinoceros-pied horn bill, kingfishers and more proboscis monkeys. The fresh breeze and open surrounds of the river was a privileged position from which to view such elusive creatures. The sad undertone, however, is that these animals have come to the river because the jungle interior has been largely destroyed.

Back at our orchard we had dinner by candlelight served on the porch of the wooden shack with copious amounts of tea and coffee, of course. The house consisted of possibly three generations of family that were all so friendly to us. However, the smallest child who, due to his build I christened Bruno after the British boxer Frank, was very cautious. At the age of 2 he was already a bruiser and stared intently at us. Not even my Donald Duck impression changed his demeanour, although his older brother liked it. Sat on the candlelit porch amidst the peaceful, non-raining, surrounds we were all happy to be here. There were no package tourists or pancakes in sight. Just us, a jungle and Bruno.

After a rather uncomfortable sleep we awoke to breakfast already served on the porch. The fruit farm also provided us with an endless supply of langsat and rambuttan, our favourite fruit. Today was sunny and so, booted up this time, we went for a walk into the surrounding jungle. We followed a small trail that led into the jungle and that got increasingly smaller and overgrown. Along the way we saw elephant footprints and dung from the native Pygmy elephants that roam these parts. Hot on the scent we followed the dung deeper into the dense trees but did not see an elephant. Aware of the disorientating nature of the jungle we started to mark our route on the trees. However we may have started too late as our path became distorted. Once we could not go any further we turned back but, seemed to walk for ages without getting out of the jungle. We all remained calm but none of us actually knew which way to go as each path looked the same. Even the tree markings had deserted us. I was beginning to think of Ray Mears Extreme Survival when we finally found a route out. It was a reminder of how unforgiving the jungle can be, but we were all safe and it was an adventure.

Having enjoyed another meal of rice, tinned curry and coffee with the family we waved goodbye to Bruno and co. and took the boat back to Sukau B'n'B where we planned to go on a night cruise. We pitched up again on the perfectly flat green grass, played football with some local kids and showered off our jungle grime.

The night cruise was a popular excursion and two small boats were filled with people from Spain, Germany, England and France. As we puttered down stream the light of the moon glistened silver on the river with the shadows of the jungle on either side. Using only a powerful spotlight the guide picked out creatures from the dark that normal eyes could not see. First a huge monitor lizard that lay out on a thick branch over the river then a hornbill that fluttered it's wings high up in a tree. This was followed by flying foxes (fruit bats) and kingfishers. It being night meant that the birds did not fly away and so we were able to get very close to them. We also saw the reflective eyes of a baby crocodile as we slowly cruised along the river. To be on this mighty river under a full moon with such wildlife around us was a quite magical experience.

It had been a unique time on the Sungai Kinabatangan; experiencing the jungle, it's animals and human inhabitants in equal measure. Our backs however had had enough of camping and so the next morning we took a car back to Sandakan ready for a return to the comfortable Hotel London. The English speaking driver helped pack our bulky bags into his 4WD and as we sat down who would be there but Bruno. The heavy set two year old looked rather bemused but began to warm to our presence again. We explained his new name to the driver who agreed "yes I know Frank Bruno...I like this name". He then explained it to Bruno's mum who chuckled, almost like Frank himself. We could see the beginning of a new name for the boy, perhaps in twenty years time Sukau will have a boxer to add to it's list of natural wonders.

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Photos

Proboscis Monkey
look at that nose!