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Published: June 25th 2017
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River Cruising the Kinebatangan
This was our daily route, cruising through the clay bottomed, muddy brown waters of the Kinebatangan River. After a pleasant four hour bus transit, we arrived at our boat jetty to be transported across the Kinebatangan River to the Nature Lodge, right after the afternoon daily rainforest drenching subsided.
The Lodge had a variety of accommodation available, all clean but very rustic. It hardly mattered, since we were not there to lay around our room, but rather to explore the surrounding nature on two daily guided hikes into the jungle - one morning and one evening - as well as to take part in both a sunrise and sunset cruise every day, seeking jungle animals in the wild.
Our first spotting was of the large nose Proboscus monkey, followed by the Red Leaf monkey. Neither of us has any great affinity for monkeys, however, having the opportunity to observe their behaviours in their natural environment was quite interesting. Most impressive was seeing them free-fall really long distances to move from tree to tree. We came across monkey "harems" and "bachelor" groupings every time we went out. We learned from our guide that monkeys all come to sleep high up in trees along the river every night, as protection from the night predators, because they can jump
Early Morning on the Kinebatangan River
We set out every morning by six a.m., in hopes of seeing the animals before they headed back into the jungle for the day. in the river to escape if hunted (and hope there isn't a crocodile waiting). On our river boat cruises we also spotted several hornbill birds, a sleeping crocodile, and had a rare sighting of a pygmy elephant, but the orang-utan remained elusive.
The jungle walks were another experience altogether. It had been raining for a week before we arrived, so the paths were very muddy at best, and sometimes just rivers of mud. Our day walk took over three hours, and although we did not spot much wildlife, we did develop an appreciation for how difficult it is to trudge through the jungle. And of course, we were always on the lookout for the tiger leeches in abundance, waiting on leaves and branches to spring at you and attach themselves quickly to any body parts available. For protection, we purchasd some leech stockings in Rider Green ! The night walks were another story again, as we did see more wildlife - like a stick insect, a sleeping flourescent multi-coloured bird whose name I can't recall, and a civus - that critter responsible for producing the world's most expensive coffee that we had the pleasure of tasting last year. But
Jungle Trekking
Like I said, we were often trekking through rivers of mud. More than a few times I almost lost my boot to the sucking mud. by far the best sighting was of the world's smallest primate, whose photo I was able to take from only three feet away.
The jungle experience was excellent in itself, but it was made even better by the friends we made while there, and by our excellent guide Ashad. He was not only a very knowlegeable guide, but also a great guy and a very decent guitar player, so of course we jammed a bit together, and I gifted him a copy of my CD. Well, as it turned out, Ashad was taking the same bus back to the city as the rest of the group, and as soon as we started the trip, the CD player was cranked and my CD The Woman in Black was playing! She continued to be the featured music for almost the entire trip to the city. Furthermore, since she remained on "Ashad's bus" when he left, she will now be entertaining bus travellers in Borneo indefinitely! Who would have ever thought? (She does get around😊
The jungle experience was a winner on a number of levels, not the least of which was the excellent and abundant food, and the
Monkeys in the Wild
These are the long nosed Proboscus monkeys we saw frequently. Very interesting to watch them interact and free fall great distances. delightfully pleasant staff.
Now, having done some boats, buses, and planes, we head on tomorrow to trains, when we embarque on the historic, steam engine driven, North Borneo Railway ride.
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Sharron
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Vicariously enjoying your trip. I am in Arizona for a month-on vacation not roughing it.