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Published: January 8th 2011
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31st December
After our flying visit to KL we caught the early morning flight to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. At the airport we met the local holiday rep and a couple from Scotland, Andy and Irene, who were on the same tour. It took just 10 minutes to transfer to the Magellan Sutera Hotel. It’s a very impressive looking building with a huge open lobby area – but which does not contain much. After a quick lunch, brush up and stroll around, we hopped on the shuttle bus to Kota Kinabalu town which was heaving with New Years Eve revellers.
After a wonderful curry on the water front we decided to leave the crowds and retired to the hotel to see in the New Year. There was a band playing in the main lobby but the long day was taking it’s toll and we had yet another early start tomorrow so we went back to our room. We did manage to stay awake until New Year which is an improvement on last year in Cuba! Fast asleep by 5 minutes past midnight.
1st January
No peace for the wicked – breakfast at 06:30 and then left the hotel at
7:30 a.m. to head out on a full day tour of Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs. Mount Kinabalu is a large granite monolith which towers above Kota Kinabalu (or KK as the locals call it). We headed up the hill with dire warnings from the guide about the state of the roads – but actually not too bad at all apart from in places where there were landslips (There were bigger potholes in Pam’s Way)
The main hazard seemed to be small dogs that liked sleeping on the road. Fortunately they seem to understand that a long blast on the horn means it’s time to get up. There were wonderful views across the foothills with the clouds bubbling up around us. Poring Hot Springs was like Brighton on a Bank Holiday - all the locals were out in force to bathe in the hot waters and have a picnic. We could have had a hot dip but frankly it didn’t look that appealing – we will wait for Rotorua. We took a short walk through the jungle to the aerial walkway which took you up to the canopy of the rainforest and more wonderful – if wobbly –
views. The walkways were actually fine if you stuck to the middle of the plank but I was glad the guide did not show us the ropes and small wedges that were holding it up (no nails etc to damage the trees) until after we had crossed!
After a large buffet lunch and another liberal spray of deet it was back on the bus for a team snooze en route to the National park. It started to rain just as arrived at the park but once under the jungle canopy it was merely damp. The park was full of orchids in every size and colour imaginable. It is also the start point if you want to climb Mount Kinabalu – something for next time we pass this way perhaps.
It was a 2 hour drive back to the hotel and we didn’t fancy travelling into town so thought we would try the Asian restaurant in the country club which was attached to the hotel. Peter’s tailored shorts were not allowed due to the dress code and the waiter opened a cupboard and offered a pair of track suit trousers that were far scruffier. So, a quick trip back
to the room and a rummage in the bag to find some long trousers and then back to the restaurant. At least we were walking up an appetite. Food was once again great and came to about £30 although the drinks doubled this ( alcohol is really expensive here ). I think we will have to cut back once we get to NZ or we will be looking for bigger clothes. The service is really 5 star although it can be a bit slow – more about that later.
2nd Jan
Another early start – 6:00 pick up to fly across the island to Sanderkan and then transfer to the Bilit Rainforest Lodge. On the way we stopped at Gomantong Caves which are interesting but did live up to the guides description of them as ‘horrendous’. There is one main cave which is home to millions of swiftlets and bats and was famously filmed by David Attenborough. The swiftlets make nests out of saliva which are collected 3 times a year and used to make the ‘delicacy’ of Bird’s Nest soup. The collectors used to climb rickety bamboo ladders to collect them but they now have much less romantic
aluminium steps. They advise you in advance to wear waterproofs and hats to protect you from anything falling from the birds and bats above your head and stout shoes as the wooden walkway can be slippery. However its not until you get to the mouth of the cave that they ask if you are OK with cockroaches! There are loads of them amongst the guano on the floor of the cave and all over the handrails on walkways – that guarantees that you walk slowly and carefully so you don’t need to hold on. There was also a strong whiff of ammonia in the air as you circuit the cave so we were glad to get out and on to our Lodge via a short boat ride across the river.
The Lodge has a central building with the lounge/dining and bar and then lots of individual chalets/huts. Our hut had a huge room with two double and one single bed and a separate bathroom and toilet that were both about 8 foot square - so there was plenty of room to spread out and apply Deet liberally as there are lots of creatures waiting to make a meal of
us.
We went for an evening river trip searching for elephants but no luck. Lots of birds and monkeys and a group of locals fishing on the river bank proudly showed us a 3 foot long cat fish they had caught.
3rd Jan
On our second day we went on a jungle walk for which we had to wear leech socks. The guide explained that the leechs sit on leaves on the edge of the tracks and can detect your body heat. They then reach out and grab hold. Glad to say that only our guide managed to collect a passenger and we suspect he only did that to show us!
On our second evening we managed to see elephants! The heavens opened and we had to try and take pictures whilst holding our hats over the cameras. We also saw some Orang-utan nests at the tops of the trees but sadly no Orang-utans.
4th Jan
On our next day we visited the Orang-utan rehabilitation centre where orphan baby Orang-utan are slowly reared and re-introduced to the wild and then carried on to the airport to fly back to Kota Kimabulu. In the evening we headed into
town for a fabulous Thai meal – we only ordered a few dishes and Peter nearly burst finishing off the plates!
5th Jan
Our last full day in KK and a lie in! A 9:00 pickup and boat trip to the outlying islands for a short walk through some mangroves and then a lazy few hours on the beach. A quick trip into town to the view point at Signal Hill - forgot the deet and Julia got nibbled. Finished off the day with a couple of drinks and a curry with Andy and Irene. In the bar they surpassed themselves in providing ‘relaxed’ service – it took over 35 minutes for a round of drinks to arrive where the gins had no tonic and the bourbon was served with ginger beer.
6th Jan
Last day and a lazy morning packing up and then off to the Airport. Killed two hours in KL airport at the gym – too much curry is not good for the waist line and then an overnight flight to Auckland.
To sum up Borneo is definitely worth a visit but do plan in some rest days and plenty of time for
pre-dinner drinks.
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Sally Williams
non-member comment
Birds
Hi - you might want to relabel that photo to read "hornbills". Sally x