Sabah - Sepilok Orang-Utan Reserve and the Kinabatangan River

Our evening flight from Sarawak took us to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, where we spent the next day, awaiting an onwards flight to Sandakan.  There is not a lot to recommend here. The city was totally rebuilt after the Second World War, has no history, and is an urban sprawl that is particularly

smelly along the waterfront! So we did what we normally do when the weather is inclement or the city uninteresting, and visited the cinema: a modern 8 screen cinema where the seats cost £1.40 each and popcorn is £1!  

We rose at 5.30am next morning to catch the 45 minute flight to Sandakan, and then the coach to

Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre.  This Centre cares for orphaned orang-utans, teaching them the skills to live independently in the jungle.  It takes up to 8 years for them to lose their dependence upon humans. 686 orphans have passed through the centre since it was established in 1964.  We were fortunate to see 2 semi-independent juveniles at the morning feed station, and another wild adult male who had come in from the jungle for a free meal.

After lunch we took a fast boat for 90km up the Kinabatangan River into the depths of the Borneo

jungle and Sukau Rainforest Lodge. This was Sir David Attenborough's base whilst filming in 2011, and was to be ours for the next 3 days.  In fact the river and the rainforest either side, provide an essential wildlife corridor between extensive palm oil plantations. The routine here is to be up and on the river before sunrise, and then again at dusk.  The primates tend to sleep in trees with their backs to the river at night for safety, and then venture into the forest at daybreak.  We made one 6am boat trip, two at 4pm, and one night trip using powerful flashlights.  During the day we saw proboscis

monkeys, silver leaf monkeys, and long-tailed macaques, as well as monitor lizards and salt-water crocodiles. Amongst the prolific bird life here we saw kingfishers, hornbills, a Storm's stork and Oriental darters.  The night trip was amazing!  We used a local guide whose spotting skills were exceptional.  He pointed out owls, several species of kingfishers, a flying fox, and a large orange and black snake in the branches less than two feet above our heads.

After breakfast on the third day we retraced our steps by fast boat to Sandakan and after lunch made the return flight to Kota Kinabalu, relishing the prospect of another night at the cinema!