Most people who come to Borneo are here to see Orangutans and we were no different.  We based ourselves inbetween the town of Sandakan and the Sepilok area with its rainforest and nature conservation centres for a few days of trails and nature.  We were not disappointed!

Day 186 – The Rainforest Discovery Centre at Sepilok

After a foraging run to the local shops for some breakfast, and some research time in the morning, we finally headed out about 10.30am to the Rainforest Discovery Centre, about 20 minutes by Grab taxi from our place. 

There were very few people there, so we bought tickets quickly and headed into the Centre.  This place is an education centre within a rainforest park in Sepilok, with loads of boards around the trails detailing the bird, animal and plant species to be found here.  There’s a major focus on birds so Mum and I were in our element, many km of looping trails and a 363m canopy walkway with towers so you can get right up into the treetops for views into the canopy. 

We spent the morning walking very slowly up to the Broadbill Tower, spotting Prevost’s squirrels and Pig Tailed Macaques along with a good handful of birds on the way.  It was a warm day, but the paths under the trees provided a lot of shade and the lookout points had a blissful breeze, so we didn’t melt.

Then we headed down to the Trogon Tower where you can join the canopy walkway, or at least we thought you could from looking at the map.  It turns out that the only way up is via a vertical ladder, 32m high…  It’s not closed off, so it wasn’t very clear whether this was intended for public use or not.  Chris climbed up to see if the gate at the top was locked.  It wasn’t.  Dare we try taking the kids up there?  The alternative was to walk back to the café on the paths and miss the walkway.

The kids were up for it, as was Mum, so we headed up, one adult closely behind each child in case (there was a safety barrier behind the ladder in case you came off backwards…).  It was a sizeable climb, so I was very impressed with the kids for just doing it.  No drama thank goodness!  Once I’d climbed it I realised quite how far up it was.  Had I realised that we probably wouldn’t have risked it!

The walkway and towers were totally worth it though, at a great height in the canopy, you really felt amongst the leaves with the birds, rather than at the bottom getting an achy neck – there are some massive trees in this forest!

We had it pretty much to ourselves at this point too, which always makes these things seem more peaceful.  In the end, hunger drove us to head to the start of the walkway where the café sits.  The food here offered quite a few options and was reasonably priced, which was nice, as you never know with these places.  After enjoying our food and a cold drink (it was a hot day!) we headed out along the trails to the other side of the park, and were treated to some lovely jungle trails, where we saw a Racket Tailed Drongo, White Bellied Woodpecker, and our favourite of the day, the Plain Pygmy Squirrel.  This guy is so tiny!  His body is about the length of a thumb, with his tail the same again.  Like a miniscule chipmunk!  He treated us to a display of his acrobatics, leaping about the branches to either side of the path around us, before scampering right along a branch in front of our faces, just when we thought he was gone for good.  What a treat 😊.  It was such a lovely interaction that this will probably make my travel highlights!

We also found one of the larger of the creepy crawlies that you can find in the jungle here, a Tractor Millipede.  These guys are quite common and we saw a few foraging amongst the leaves on the ground.  Chris didn’t fancy picking it up with his fingers though so used a handy leaf to show the kids!

Down these trails we were also amazed to find some true tree giants.  At 65m tall, the Keplio Monster and the Sepilok Giant were truly very impressive.  Huge trees towering above their neighbours. 

It felt pretty special to be in their presence, imaging all that has gone on around them over their near 1,000 years of life. 

These trees really made the trails on this side worthwhile.  We headed back to the canopy walkway to catch the dusk show of birds and try our luck at spotting flying squirrels.  Our luck ran out at this point, with neither the birds, nor the squirrels putting on a show.  Finally, tired, hot and desperate for a drink, we called it a day and called the Grab to take us home. 

Our dinner options at this point were a bit limited, as it was likely that many of the smaller shops would be closed (they weren’t open before 9am anyway), and the larger supermarket was nearly 2km from our place.  We weren’t sure this one would be open either and were in major need of a drink.  Out of phone battery, we headed to the only local restaurant we knew was there.  Those golden arches were visible from our apartment window!  McDonalds it was.  The kids were of course delighted, as was Chris.  Mum hasn’t been inside a McDonalds for over 25 years, so we broke that for her, and she was actually ok with her spicy chicken burger.  Not the healthiest, but we were in serious need of food and liquids!

Feeling reinvigorated, Chris was up to trailing the local shops for some milk for breakfast whilst the rest of us headed back to get the kids to bed.  He also managed to find some Corn Flakes and beers in a 7 Eleven so that turned out to be worthwhile!  Not that I’m sure how they’ll eat them as we only have one spoon in the apartment!

Day 187 – Sandakan

Today we headed into the town of Sandakan on the coast, the main proper town near us.  Our apartment is in a complex which seems to be in the middle of nowhere really; a string of shops, apartments and houses which don’t really make a town and feel more like suburbs, except they’re quite separate from the town.

All in all, it’s a very green place, with plenty of open spaces, and trees and parkland dotted about.  Even in the town of Sandakan itself, the steep hill which rises just behind the town, only a couple of hundred metres from the coast, is also green and tree covered.  That’s about all that can be said to be attractive about Sandakan though.  As a town, it looks like it was all built in one go about 60 years ago, and is now looking rather unloved.  

We started at the market, which is a large covered warehouse filled with semi-permanent wooden stalls selling mainly vegetables and fruit, but also a range of other things, snacks, noodles, eggs, spices etc.  There are also meat stands, and then the huge fish market, or wet market as it’s known, out the back.  With most the fish having been brought in already from the simple boats, there was a lot of activity prepping the catch for sale.  We watched some men skin and cut up a couple of huge rays.  They seemed to rather enjoy having an audience!

There were all sorts of other fish on sale, from tuna and barracuda, to prawns of all shapes and sizes, crabs and crayfish. 

As we were in need of some food to cook, we decided to come back after our trip along the Heritage Trail, a wander around some of the older bits of history.  We actually enjoyed our wander through the market and the streets more than the heritage trail though as none of the sights are really worth it (sorry Sandakan!).  We did climb up the 100 steps (more like 200!) up the hill to the House of Agnes Keith, a British writer, where they have good views out to sea and have converted her old house into a tea shop.  Scones with jam and cream – a rare treat abroad!  Except it was home made cream, which had an odd texture and was salty.  Ah well, at least the scone was good, the setting was very pleasant and there was a cool breeze.

After a leisurely lunch, we headed back down the steps and into the shops and market to pick up some dinners, which was pretty fun.  We had to visit at least ten stalls to get all the fruit and veg we wanted, and it was all pretty cheap, except the oranges… presumably they don’t grow around here…

With our dinner procured, we called a Grab to take us home and spent the afternoon in the pool.  Literally, the kids were in there for over two hours and Aiden came out with blue lips and big red rings around his eyes from the goggles!  They do love a pool. 

We enjoyed cooking and eating in whilst the sky turned purple 😊.  Vegetable and egg fried noodles with pumpkin.

Day 188 – Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary

The weather forecast was right for once, and we awoke to heavy showers.  Hoping we’d seen the last one, we headed out for the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.  Here they have been working since 1964 to rescue Orangutans which have been orphaned or captured by humans and rehabilitate them so they can return to a life in the wild.  Since 1964, they have rescued 760 Orangutans, of which 66% have been successfully returned to the wild.  That’s some pretty good work, so we didn’t begrudge paying the entrance fee.  We were a little nervous about how much of a tourist trap this would turn out to be though.  It’s certainly one of the major draws of the area, if not all of Borneo…

There were no queues for entry, but a fair few people about as we headed down the boardwalk into the forest.  Misty and with dripping trees, it wasn’t the best weather for it – Orangutans do not like the rain! 

As we were there early, like most people, we walked past the feeding area and on towards the Nursery.  Before we could get there, I saw a movement in the trees and to my delight there was a young Orangutan in the trees above!  As others saw me pointing there was soon a large crowd stood below on the boardwalk.  There were, in fact, four of the strange, orange haired men of the forest.  They gave us some great viewing as they made their way down the tree in our direction. 

One was having a little shout at us and shaking the trees, but he didn’t come closer, and the tour group he was closest to didn’t move on, so we stayed where we were too (quite a bit further away than them). 

Knowing they put food out at 10am for the Orangutans on the feeding platform, we moved on, expecting to see these four there.  There were quite a few people there, but it’s a large platform and we were able to stand right at the front, so it was ok.  As soon as the food went out, two Orangutans came in.  One larger and one smaller.  They ate some food, and carried some off, including coconuts in their feet whilst they moved along the ropes with their arms only.  They didn’t stay long, clearing out of the area when a large female with a young baby clinging onto her came down the rope and started eating the bananas before heading off with a coconut in her feet.  She stripped this in the safety of a tree. 

A large male Pig Tailed Macaque showed up, and was clearly nervous of the female, clearing off whenever she came back for another helping.  At seven times stronger than the average human, these Orangutans are not to be messed with!

Our quartet from earlier never showed, even though we’d seen them less than 100 metres from the feeding platform.  This is excellent, as it shows that they are doing well enough in the forest by themselves that they don’t even want the fruit, let alone need it!

The Centre is on the edge of a large forest reserve, so when they are ready, the Orangutans can head off into the forest and live without human input, but the supplementary food is there if they need it, or are not ready to go it alone. 

Once the Orangutan female had moved on, the other monkeys came in, first one trying to balance their way down the ropes, then two more, and others from another side.  Soon the platform was covered in Pig Tailed and Long Tailed Macaques and their babies, which were very cute and mischievous!  Watching the behaviour and interactions of the young with the adults, and between the different species was very interesting, and we stayed here for a long time, long after the tour groups had gone (they did not stay long). 

We particularly enjoyed one of the little Pig Tailed’s chasing a squirrel around in the trees.  The poor squirrel was trying to sneak in and get some of the food, but there were too many monkeys!

After getting our monkey fix here, we moved on to the nursery area, expecting to see lots of baby Orangutans.  Instead, there was just one.  Who was pretty cute, trying, unsuccessfully, to get into a coconut.  This staging area is open to the forest too, but has more of a play equipment feel, with not so many trees in the main area.  These Orangutans are aged about 5-8 and are being watched all the time, even when they wander off, as they need to be brought back into the nursery over lunch and at night. 

As we left, we met one being brought back up the boardwalk.  This meant we had to backtrack, as you cannot get within 15m of them.  This is partly for their protection from our germs, and partly for our protection from them – they are at least semi wild, and strong.  Not something to go up and cuddle. 

On our walk back, we passed through the feeding platform again, and smiled to see the little squirrel getting his fill.  The only remaining monkeys in the area were sleeping comatose in the tree above. 

The paths after this were littered with spiders and insects of all sorts.  We saw various leeches, like these Hammerheads…

And this absolutely massive spider!

By now it was lunchtime, so we ate at the café here before heading over to the Sun Bear Conservation Centre which sits right next door.  Only set up in 2008, this centre is about conserving the world’s smallest bear, the Sun Bear, which has suffered due to habitat loss and being captured for use as a pet (the cubs are very cute) or in the bile trade.  Many are also killed for use in Chinese Medicine.  The centre takes in injured and sick bears and aims to rehabilitate them back into the wild.  All the bears at the sanctuary are ex-pets and had pretty reasonable pens, literally sections of the forest they call their home fenced off.  It’s got to be better than a cage or chain. 

Whilst the sun bears were nice, we got a lot more enjoyment out of wandering the paths here into the forest to the bears as it’s more of a raised boardwalk, giving more chance to see birds.  We spotted a couple of new species on the way through, and a Muellers Gibbon, which was a great spot that got the staff at the centre excited.  They’re not common here apparently 😊. 

The staff also showed us a Keeled Pit Viper which they’d spotted in the bushes.  So much wildlife visible from going such a short distance into the forest. 

After a quick ice cream, we headed back to the Orangutan centre for the second feeding.  Having had such a good viewing earlier, most of us were happy to call it a day, but Evie really wanted to go back, so we did, having read online that the afternoon feed is normally much quieter tourist wise and that there are often more Orangutans therefore. 

The car park was rammed though, and there was at least one tour bus, so we knew it was not going to be quieter! 

On the walk back up the boardwalks, we saw even more bugs than earlier.  All sorts of strange shapes and colours. 

We arrived at the feeding platform to find nearly double the amount of people as earlier!  They were being pretty noisy too.  There was one Orangutan, and some of the monkeys had returned, but we moved on pretty quickly.  Too many people!

We were glad we’d come back though just for the sheer number of insects seen.  Until Aiden got a little too close to one that is.  He brushed against the hairs of an unseen hairy caterpillar on the handrail, and was gifted with a number of irritating barbed hairs in his arm.  He was brave though, we got most the bigger ones out there, but he had to wait to get home and the tweezers before we could get the smaller ones out.  Poor chap.

Back at home we cooled off and enjoyed dinner cooked in our apartment.  It’s a bit of an odd affair, with a double burner sat outside the kitchen on a sort of internal balcony.  Perhaps it keeps the cooking heat and smells outside the apartment?

Day 189 – Back to the Rainforest Discovery Centre for a night walk

Today was meant to be the wettest day according to the forecast, and it didn’t rain at all.  Haha.  The weather forecast here is pretty inaccurate so far.  We’re hoping this holds as its forecast to be pretty wet during our days in on the Kinabatangan River. 

With nothing planned, we had a learning and admin day, the kids played in the pool for a few more hours, Mum wandered off to the supermarket for some final supplies and we ate all three meals in the apartment – my new idea of bliss! 

We didn’t stay in all day though.  Having gotten chatting to one of the volunteers at the Sepilok Orangutan centre about the night walk at the Rainforest Discovery Centre, Mum, Aiden and I had booked ourselves on it.  Chris stayed behind to watch the football and Evie wanted to stay behind as well.  We messed dinner up a bit though, as we had to go out at 5.30pm for the walk, but the rice took ages in the rice steamer so it was only ready a couple of minutes before we had to leave.  It’ll be a late dinner for Aiden by the time we get back!

There were only six of us on the tour, a small group compared to the horde that had passed us when we were there two days before.  Excellent.  We were taken to the canopy walkway to hunt for the flying squirrels, and told that the nest boxes visible on trees around the clearing were for the squirrels. So it’s pretty much certain that you’ll see one if you stick around long enough. 

We had to wait a while, and absolutely nothing else was around to distract us.  Aiden was pretty bored.  When they came out finally, it was pretty hard to see them in the dark amongst the leaves, even with the torch and laser pointer from the guide.  Luckily, a second one came out and sat himself right on the end of a dead branch.  For ‘Giant’ Flying Squirrels they were not as big as I was expecting.  They didn’t fly off immediately, preferring to sit and clean for a bit, which brought some rather hilarious comments from the impatient crowd.  Mother Nature is not a scripted show, and she will do what she wants in her own time. 

They did eventually leap off into the night, gliding down to the next tree and giving us a good climbing silhouette against the night sky.   Which was looking rather awesome at this point…

Both squirrels treated us to one final leap before we moved on.  Trying to capture the action on camera proved rather difficult, and only one shot was successful (ish).  See if you can spot the squirrel in the photo below!  Ha ha!

Soon, we were heading out in the dark onto the trails.  We had a guide and a spotter, both with torches.  The six of us following closely as we had no torches.  We got an initial reasonable start, with sightings of a small tarantula, some massive ants, black scorpions and a Huntsman spider. 

Then a flying lemur!  Which didn’t look like much climbing high up the tree trunk, but was pretty amazing when it flew.  The guides followed it with the torch, lighting it up from underneath.  It must have been about a metre across.  We all sounded like we were watching fireworks (‘ooooh’s and ‘aaaah’s).  We were all buzzing after that spotting, but that did fade when we saw very little for the next half hour.  A long legged centipede and whip scorpion was all we found. 

It was obvious even the guides were a little annoyed with the lack of wildlife, and they were looking everywhere.  No joy, until we reached the area by the stream, when we saw a sleeping Rufous backed kingfisher.  He was perched on a branch just a few metres away, and was blinking and moving his head a little as if awake, but didn’t fly off.  Apparently he was asleep.  It felt really surreal to be so close to him, he looked almost stuffed!

Only a couple of metres on, we saw two Banded Geckos, which we were gawping at until Aiden pointed out that we were standing amongst a load of ants.  Fire ants!  The guide quickly made us all move – you don’t mess with these guys. 

Just there too, we saw a softshell turtle, a water spider, snakehead fish and a massive tarantula.  So not so bad an ending.  Just rather short on the mammals. 

The guides were apologetic at our lack of sightings, and Aiden had found it a little hard, walking around late and hungry without much action.  Mum and I enjoyed being in the forest at night with the cacophony of sounds and I thought the flying lemur was pretty cool.  Not bad for £6 each.

Grab failed us for the journey home, but our guide offered to be our taxi, so we got a little extra time with him to talk about the jungle and wildlife. 

Our reheated dinner attempt at sweet and sour chicken was not bad at all. 😊

Having seen some of the animals that live in the jungles of Borneo, we’re hungry for more and for a wilder setting.  This is exactly what we should get over the next few days in one of the most biodiverse areas in the world.   Follow us to the Kinabatangan River, or back to a few days in the ultra modern city of Singapore.