In April 2014, I decided to experience the jungles of Borneo to see first hand the legendary biodiversity of Borneo Island. I went to Sabah which is a state of Malaysia. For those not familiar with Borneo, it is split into three countries. Sarawak in the West and Sabah in the North are part of Malaysia. Kalimantan in the South is part of Indonesia and Brunei in the North West is an independent sovereign State. Against my usual preference of doing my own thing, I decided on this occasion to book a tour through Borneo Eco tours. BET owns the Sukau Rainforest Lodge in the lower Kinabatangan floodplain area which is a significant wildlife sanctuary. The lodge is a 3 hour high speed boat ride from Sandakan. Sukau can be accessed by road as well but boat access is the norm.
The lodge is one of few certified Eco Lodges in Asia and has hosted many notable scientists and personalities including Sir David Attenborough who made a documentary on the Lower Kinabatangan region in 2011. The lodge has only 20 rooms (max 40 people) with most conveniences in spite of its remote location. The rooms have overhead fans rather than air conditioning (part of its eco rating). The room conditions were quite acceptable at night in spite of its equatorial location.
The days are occupied with river cruises and a rainforest walk (on a boardwalk attached to the Lodge). The lodge also has a great display (info centre) of its history, the local wildlife, David Attenborough’s visit and the Wallace Line (wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Malay_Archipelago). Three river cruises are conducted each day…one from 6 to 8am to catch the early risers in the jungle, another from 4 to 6.30pm to catch the evening activity and then an optional night tour after dinner from 8 to 9pm which is great for viewing kingfishers.
This is the land of primates including Orang Utans and proboscis monkeys plus 8 other species of monkeys and macaques, pygmy elephants, eastuarine crocodiles, large number of bird species, many snake and lizard species and huge variety of insects, butterflies, etc. And last but not least, in the past, the headhunters ruled over all including the white man for a while.
On the way to the lodge on the Kinabatangan River
Orang Sungai (River people) village
Arriving at Sukau Rainforest Lodge
Long tailed Macaque
Pig tailed Macaque
Female proboscis monkey
Early morning on the river
Dining room art
Looking towards the dining deck with river in background
Dressed for dinner
Story of David Attenborough’s visit
Oriental Pied Hornbill
The biggest threat to the sanctuary..oil palm plantations
Fernando taking us on the rainforest walk