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Published: March 23rd 2009
15th March 2009
I had a terribly night; at about 3:00am my inner ear started pounding and became blocked and very sensitive. I think it’s been irritated by the snorkelling and maybe has some water and sand trapped in their. At one point I thought I might have to cancel today’s trip to Sandakan and on to the Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre. Thankfully when we met the girls (Monika & Hilary) for breakfast at 7:00am, Hilary had some very good eardrops in here medical kit. That with a couple of powerful painkiller washed down with two cups of black coffee and I was ready to go, all be it a little fuzzy. We first catch the bus from the Cota Kinabalu bus station to Inanam and then boarded a spanking brand new coach for our 6hr journey to Sandaka. We finally had some luck with our transport; the seats still had plastic on them as this was the maiden journey. The only complaint we had is that the air-conditioning worked too well, in fact it got bloody cold.
During the journey we had some spectacular views of Mt Kinabalu which looked very intimidating swathed in clouds and with waterfalls
streaming down its black and menacing slopes. We also passed through some very impressive rain forest and I found myself day dreaming about what wonders lay within the tangled green bio mass. Unfortunately the biggest part of the journey was taken with views of mile upon mile of palm oil plantations stretching to the horizon in every direction. This mindless destruction of the most biological diverse forests on the planet is a crime against humanity, especially when it’s replaced by this ugly mono-culture, it is just pure insanity!
I told Pili to take in every thing she sees during our time in the jungles, to remember every sound, sight and smell as within the next couple of decades it could be all gone forever. Unless something changes rapidly, scientific opinion agrees the Orang-Utan and many other native species will be extinct in the wild within the next 10-12yrs. This ancient primate is genetically 97% the same as us, when will we learn?
We finally arrived at Sandakan at 2:30pm then jumped onto another bus into town. When we arrived we find a hostal called ‘Wino Lodge’, this tickled my warped sense of humour. We freshened up and head
out to the waterfront and settled in the cleanest looking resturaunt. The food was only average but at least the beer was cold.
After much faffing about we found the bus to take us to Sepilok in the morning and also booked a two night three day trip to The Bilit Safari Camp on the Shore of the Sungai Kinabatangan River which is the longest in Borneo. The trip entails a night trek in the jungle and two morning & two evening river cruises to spot the wildlife. The camp will be very basic and I’m not sure whether the girls will cope with it, I hope they do.
We also met a bearded French guy called Harvey, he looks a little like a young Cat Stevens. He staying at Wino’s also, I invited him to join us on our trip as he was looking to do the same excursions.
But 8:00pm we’re back in our room and more or less ready for bed, I hope to get a good night’s sleep and that my ear has sorted itself out by the morning.
16th March 2009 Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre
In the morning we leave
the Wino Lodge and relocate to Sandakan Harbour Hostal. Polly the owner is arranging our jungle trip for us and possibly some diving. The hostal is not as good as ‘Wino’s’ but it will suffice for the night. We dump our bags and go to the bus station for 8:45am to go to Sepilok. The bus journey takes about an hour and we are grateful to get started as the temperature is rising fast and we are soon soaked with sweat.
When we arrive at Sepilok the first thing we all do is smother ourselves in insect repellent, pay our entrance fee and then proceed along the boardwalk leading into the jungle and the feeding station for the famous Orang-Utans. The first feeding session of the day starts a 10:00am and when we arrive about a hundred people have already gathered, mostly school children (it’s a Sabah school holiday this week). On the feeding station two of the researchers are sat with an adult female an adolescent male and a year old youngster. They seems completely oblivious to the crowds, I guess they are used to this instrusion. The heat and humidity is almost overwhelming and we are utterly
Outside Wino's Hostal
Ya gotta love the name!soaked from head to foot. We watched the animals eat and play for awhile and then go back to the office to see about exploring one of the Jungle tracks. We find out all are closed except one, ‘The Bird Trail’ the rest are flooded out. The trail is 1.5km each way and takes us into the old growth part of the forest. This is what I was looking for. Harvey, Pili & I register in the office book, tuck our trousers into our boots and head off. As soon as we reach the trail gate we find a Tiger Leech, Pili is not happy but we still proceed. The path for the first 15minute walking is totally water logged and we find ourselves ankle deep is slimy, viscous mud. The leeches start attacking and Pili starts freaking. We stop every hundred yards to remove these horrible beasts. They find them climbing like inch worms up our legs or working their way through our clothes to gorge on our blood. There is quite a technique to dislodging them; the best way is the use your index finger and flick hard against the contact point as they contract their body to
take another step towards their bloody goal. Half way along the trail Harvey finds a snake on the path, I didn’t notice as I was looking into the tree tops, Pili was also preoccupied staving of the leech attack. As Pili walks past Harvey the viper strikes at her boot, she jumps and swears and then realises it’s a snake and calls me over. Great, although I’m relieved Pili is ok I’m pleased we’ve found a snake at long last. It’s about half a metre in length and a little pissed off. I pick him up with my monopod and take some photos then release him into the bushes. I really proud of Pili, a year or two ago she’d have never even entered the jungle because of the possibility of encountering a snake. She even found it hard to watch them on TV! Today she was obviously startled but cool about the whole experience. She was a little annoyed at Harvey for not warning us though, and of course she was right.
The walk takes a good couple of hours and is very tiring because the high humidity. Unfortunately we see very little bird life but we do
encounter a small troupe of Red Leaf Monkies that briefly check us our before crashing away noisily through the tree tops.
When we get back to the centre it starts to pour torrents. We all stand in the downpour and are pleasantly cooling down by the tropical deluge. The rain last just 15 minute and stops as quickly as its starts. We are still finding leeches; I even find them on my legs underneath my trousers. I’m just glad I find them before they find my jungle equipment
Pili & I then go and eat some noodles in the resturaunt, re-dehydrate with a couple of litres of water with added electrolyte salts and then I crash out for an hour on a bench in the shade while watches an educational video and Harvey reads. I’m awakened by Pili in time for the next feeding session for the apes. In then pours again so we have to hang around until it stops. When we finally get back to the apes we find on of the young males sat eating with a large leaf on his head protecting himself from the rain, we could have all done with rain hats
today. We also bump into the couple from Czechoslovakia, who we’d met on arriving at Lucy’s Homestay in Kota Kinabalu. We tell them of our plans and they ask if they can tag along for the next few days, they are a really nice couple so we have no problem with that at all.
It been a great experience to visit this important project but we are pleased to see our bus arrive at 4:00pm to take us back to Sandakan, we all need a good shower and dry clothes.
Back at the hostal we find our trips planned for the jungle and reefs have been planned in detail for us so we settle our bills and go in search of nourishment and a beer with Renata and Zbynek, easier said than done I might add. We walk around for a good half an hour before finally settling in what I can only describe as a seedy road side curry house. Incredibly Sandakan doesn’t even try and cater for tourist even though this is a major cross road for all travellers in Sabah. We look at the menu, then notice the food at the buffet bar that looks
as if it’s been their for days and decide against it. We decide to forgo the cooked food and settle for beer at an equally seedy bar across the road. We also asked the owner for food but o chance of that, she was too interested in drinking with her friend. I ask her if we can eat our own snacks from our shopping bags and she agrees. We throw back four bottles of cold Tiger beer, submit to a thoroughly rank KFC and then head back to the hostal and crash. I find that I’m also still bleeding from the bloody leeches and there is blood on my side of the bed on the sheets. At least we know what to expect over the next few days.
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lise balcer
non-member comment
orang-outan Smith
Bonjour, I am from Québec and i saw a film on tv once about what was hapening to the orang-outan in Bornéo by a certain W. Smith who went to Bornéo to study trees. But one day he went to the market in the city and saw a baby O-O for sale. He didn't know what to do. So he went back home to the center and felt so bad about doing nothing for the little animal. He decided to go back the next day. He saw the same baby in the garbage practekely dead. He took the baby and ran off with him while the merchant was yaling you stole my goods. So M.Smith tried in vain to save the O-O. etc....... Could you tell me where i can reach this M.Smith, is he still working there for the O-O. Thank you for your kindness and fantastic work trying to save the world ! We have too !!!! Lise Balcer