So that's why they call it the rainforest!!!

---

Dave had booked us into the Sepilok Forest Edge Resort for a few nights, which had a hot shower so I was happy! The resort is situated on the edge of the Orangutan sanctuary so it's surrounded by jungle, making it a haven for wildlife. Every morning we were woken by the birds... lots of birds... sounding like they were trying to get into the chalet... very early... but hey, that's nature for you! Where we're staying is pretty quiet in the evenings which is quite nice. You have to pre-order your dinner for a certain time, and if you're feeling really crazy you can have a can or two of Tiger beer in the open air restaurant! We're glad we didn't stay in Sandakan town which was our other option. It's a good 35min drive away. We had to go there briefly to get cash and pharmacy supplies, and it was a bit of a dive to be honest. Sepilok was definitely the better choice.

One of the things that struck us on our bus ride to from Semporna to Sepilok was the amount of palm tree plantations. We saw more of those than actual jungle. It's quite shocking how much of the rainforest has been destroyed to make way for them. Mile after mile of it...

We arrived late on our first afternoon so thought we'd try and get down to the Rainforest Centre for dusk which is when a lot of the birds start to appear again. As we were strolling out of the Botanical Gardens a couple were walking towards us, in fact on closer inspection it was Paul and Emily??? Probably the most random thing that's ever happened! Unfortunately they were flying out only a few hours later but it was good to catch up, even if it was only briefly. We stayed until nightfall and got to see the flying monkeys come out to hunt.

The main thing to do in Sepilok is of course, to visit the Orangutan sanctuary. Luckily it was only a 10min walk from our hotel. The afternoon we went it decided to tip it down, which worked out quite well as there weren't many visitors at feeding time. The orangutans were so cute, they kept holding branches and leaves over their heads to shelter them from the rain, and had grumpy expressions. Very human! I also dragged Dave down another jungle trail which was partially flooded. It was there we encountered our first leech as it shuffled fairly quickly up Dave's sock! Luckily we managed to flick it off in time so disaster averted!

We also went to the Proboscis sanctuary, which was more of a day trip as you got to see two feedings. We managed to catch the shuttle bus from outside the Orangutan sanctuary (15MR each one way). This worked out much better value than any of the tours we've done. You got a lot closer to these ones and often the males, (as a show of aggression to other bachelors), would charge through the viewing platforms and bang the walls and roofs. As well as funny looks these monkeys have personality too!

Sepilok was our last port of call in Borneo before flying to the Philippines.

Love Emma & Dave xxx

---