Lisa G Saw • September 3, 2017

Orangutans In Borneo

Discovering the wildlife of Sarawak and Sabah, North Borneo

Malaysia 2017

I had an amazing tour in the Malaysian part of Borneo with a fabulous group of people, which was booked with Exodus. There were 15 of us in total, with a mix of solo travellers and couples and a good age range too, with most in the 30s to 50s. Unfortunately, it rained loads, which could've resulted in lots of moaning, but no one did! Instead, we all made the best of the bad weather and didn’t let it detract from having a fantastic holiday. I’d expected rain, since we were in a tropical rainforest most of the time, but just not quite as much as we experienced! After our first day it rained every day of the tour bar one, mostly in the afternoon and into the evenings and sometimes incredibly heavy and thundery. Even our tour guide had never known it to be so bad and it wasn't typical for the month. It was a blessing that it was at least warm rain! When it wasn’t raining, it was hot and humid and we were sweating from every pore! Despite the relatively constant discomfort of being either wet or sweaty, it made all the experiences that much more amazing and appreciated!

We stayed in some really fabulous places, particularly when we were visiting the various National Parks and Rainforests! The four worth noting were the garden cottages in Mulu National Park (fabulous accommodation right next to the forest), Sepilok Jungle Resort (with beautiful gardens, swimming pool and close to the Orangutan and Sun Bear sanctuaries), Myne Resort on the Kinabatangan River (beautiful gardens, lovely rooms and great views out over the river with fabulous wildlife spotting along the river) and best of all, the luxurious Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley, which was simply idyllic and the best of them all in every way!

So I thought I'd present my Top Ten highlights from the trip, in reverse order:-

10) Red Leaf Monkeys – I saw these cute colourful monkeys in Danum Valley, which is a protected area of pristine primary rainforest. On our first two sightings, these primates were a little distance away, sitting in the trees as we drove into the area on our first day and also on one of our walks. But a few of us had an even better viewing on our last morning. They were in the trees low down and very close to our lodge. They seemed as curious about us as we were of them. Unfortunately, we couldn’t watch them for hours as we had to check out of our rooms and leave!

9) Macaques - There were plenty of both Long Tailed and Stump Tailed Macaques in Bako National Park, Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary and on the Kinabatangan River. They were very cute and cheeky, and like the baboons of Africa, usually up to mischief! In Bako I saw one approach the cafe and walk along the wall where people were sitting and when a man turned away for one second, the macaque went in for his chocolate sponge and ran off with it! At Sepilok, when our group were hoping to see orangutans at one of the feeding sessions, there was a whole load of macaques there instead. Whilst it meant the orangutans stayed away, the macaques were great to watch. My favourite experiences though were when we saw them beside the river late in the afternoon, when they build their nests for the night. There was a particularly large number of babies in one group and it was so fun to see them in the wild playing together and exploring their new world.

At Sepilok, when our group were hoping to see orangutans at one of the feeding sessions, there was a whole load of macaques there instead. Whilst it meant the orangutans stayed away, the macaques were great to watch. My favourite experiences though were when we saw them beside the river late in the afternoon, when they build their nests for the night. There was a particularly large number of babies in one group and it was so fun to see them in the wild playing together and exploring their new world.

8) Caves and Bats - Borneo has some amazing limestone caves. Deer Cave in Mulu was just massive – the biggest I’ve ever seen – and it links to other caves nearby, making it the second largest cave system in the world. One of the largest sections measured 174m wide and 122m high. Deer Cave is also well known for its bat exodus at dusk and luckily for us the rain eased just long enough for us to witness this amazing spectacle. They come up out of the cave and fly around in a circle above and then fly off. Groups of them do this repeatedly. The finale was what seemed like a never-ending trail of bats flying across the evening sky, like a giant slithering snake! There were quite literally millions of them. Very impressive!

At Gomantong Caves there were bats and also swiftlets. Three times a year, for two weeks only, the locals are allowed to climb makeshift ladders to retrieve some of the nests to make bird's nest soup, which is considered a delicacy by some! I can’t say I tried it! The smell of ammonia was horrendous here and I had to wear a handkerchief across my nose and mouth! The guano (bird poop) created a massive mound in the middle of the cave and the place was teeming with cockroaches. It was wise not to deviate from the boardwalk and we got used to never holding on to the railings, anywhere! If it wasn't covered in poop or ants, there'd be other insects, most of which were poisonous! In fact, we saw loads of insects on the holiday and I was surprised by how interested in them I became. We had some fabulous night walks and spotted centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, stick insects, massive spiders and a Bornean Pit Viper.

7) Sun Bears - There was a Sun Bear Sanctuary virtually adjacent to the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary. The enclosures appeared to be fairly large with a raised canopy walk around much of them, to increase the chances of catching a glimpse of these charismatic bears. There were a few quite big young cubs that were seen exploring their surroundings and digging for food much of the time. However, I was also lucky enough to witness one climb a tree. I saw two play-fighting with each other. They looked like just one large bundle of black fur at first, but for a moment they separated and I got to see the creamy yellow 'sun' on the chest of one, for which they're named.

7) Sun Bears - The Sun Bear Sanctuary was near the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary. The enclosures appeared to be fairly large with a raised canopy walk around much of them, to increase the chances of catching a glimpse of these charismatic bears. There were a few quite big young cubs that were seen exploring their surroundings and digging for food much of the time. However, I was also lucky enough to witness one climb a tree. I saw two play-fighting with each other. They looked like just one large bundle of black fur at first, but for a moment they separated and I got to see the creamy yellow 'sun' on the chest of one, for which they're named.

6) Birds - I saw a great number of birds on the trip, both large and small. There were many birds of prey and several different species of hornbill, including the biggest, the Rhinoceros Hornbill, which has an impressive casque above its beak. I saw Purple Herons, Lesser Egrets and various types of Kingfisher, including the largest Stork Billed Kingfisher. I had several good sightings of one at the Sepilok Jungle Resort where we were staying. In fact, that was the last thing I saw before I had to leave and catch my flight, so a nice lasting memory of the trip. There were also lots of beautifully coloured little Sunbirds and Flower Peckers and a mass of different types of butterfly (ok, so not a bird, but it falls into the flying category). They were so large and colourful. There is such amazing diversity in the rainforest. Almost every other creature is a giant this or pygmy that. Speaking of which…

6) Birds - I saw a great number of birds on the trip - little Sunbirds and Flower Peckers, birds of prey and several different species of hornbill, including the biggest, the Rhinoceros Hornbill, which has an impressive casque above its beak. I saw Purple Herons, Lesser Egrets and various types of Kingfisher, including the largest Stork Billed Kingfisher. I had several good sightings of one at the Sepilok Jungle Resort where we were staying. In fact, that was the last thing I saw before I had to catch my flight home - a nice lasting memory.

5) Pygmy Elephants - Whilst we were staying by the Kinabatangan River we'd been told a large herd of them were in the plantation area and hadn't been seen bathing by the river for 4 days. Despite being warned there was only a 5% chance of seeing them, a group of 10 of us decided we wanted to try. Of course, within about 15 minutes of setting off in the boat the heavens opened, there was even thunder and lightening not too far off. However, we didn't turn back and I got completely drenched since I was only wearing a flimsy poncho. After an hour and a half we finally reached the place the elephants usually came to the water, but they weren't in sight. It was very disheartening. On the plus side, the rain eased on the return journey and we saw lots of primates by the river. As luck would have it, we did get to see a couple of elephants - a mum and calf - though they were well obscured from view by the tall grasses. We only realised they were there when we saw another boat motionless on the water with a group of people all looking towards the grass. Despite standing on our seats, we were positioned behind the first boat, so we didn't get a great view. I thought I could see a gap in the grass, so ended up sneaking on board the other boat and stood on the bow, somewhat nervously. I was over the moon when I briefly managed to catch a glimpse of the baby elephant's eye staring back at me. It was so cute! It was worthing the cold wet suffering!

Our adventure wasn't quite over as we still had to get back to the hotel, which was still quite far away. Darkness descended and everyone on board fell silent. The local man steering the boat had to slow down as there was a lot of debris to navigate past in the water, as a result of all the rain - and by debris I mean tree trunks and branches. He only had a handheld torch that wasn't very powerful. Thankfully, the old man was very experienced and clearly knew the river well. We arrived back at the hotel safely, but very late, much to the relief of our tour guide who hadn't been with us.

5) Pygmy Elephants - Whilst we were staying by the Kinabatangan River we'd been told a large herd of them were in the plantation area and hadn't been seen bathing by the river for 4 days. Despite being warned there was only a 5% chance of seeing them, a group of 10 of us decided we wanted to try. Of course, within about 15 minutes of setting off in the boat the heavens opened, there was even thunder and lightening not too far off. However, we didn't turn back and I got completely drenched since I was only wearing a flimsy poncho. After an hour and a half we finally reached the place the elephants usually came to the water, but they weren't in sight. It was very disheartening. On the plus side, the rain eased on the return journey and we saw lots of primates by the river. In fact, our luck changed. We saw a couple of elephants - a mum and calf - though they were well obscured from view by the tall grasses. We only realised they were there when we saw another boat motionless on the water with a group of people all looking towards the grass. Despite standing on our seats, we were positioned behind the first boat, so we didn't get a great view. I thought I could see a gap in the grass, so ended up carefully sneaking on board the other boat. I stood nervously on the bow, over the moon that I got a brief glimpse of the baby elephant staring back at me (right). It was so cute and well worth the cold wet suffering!

4) Snorkelling - I'm quite the novice having only been a few times before. Our group were taken to the islands of Kota Kinabalu and to a dive sight known for sharks. Everyone else was eager, but me, less so. I was more than a little nervous. I find wearing a mask and breathing through a snorkel so strange. When I got into the water it took me quite a few minutes to calm my heart rate and get into a pattern of slow, deep breathing. We weren't too far away from the island, so it wasn't particularly deep.

The fish I saw were beautiful and amazing, so colourful! I can't tell you what species they were, but, one was bigger than the size of a plate - vertically tall and thin - and I saw black and white stripy ones and long thin translucent ones. They were all very quick to swim away from me as I approached, which in a way was reassuring! I lost my bearings from time to time, so every now and then I looked up to be sure I'd not wondered off too far from the boat. Eventually, I got tired and edged closer towards it and into slightly deeper waters. I was busy looking at the fish closer to me when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something larger down below about 6-8m away. My immediate thought was 'That's a large fish!' Then it dawned on me, it was a shark! It glided in and out of sight within seconds! (centre of the above photo) I surfaced to inform the others and as they swam towards me in the hopes of seeing it for themselves, I promptly swam in the opposite direction!

The fish I saw were beautiful and amazing, so colourful! I can't tell you what species they were, but, one was bigger than the size of a plate - vertically tall and thin - and I saw black and white stripy ones and long thin translucent ones. They were all very quick to swim away from me as I approached, which in a way was reassuring! I lost my bearings from time to time, so every now and then I looked up to be sure I'd not wondered off too far from the boat. Eventually, I got tired and edged closer towards it and into slightly deeper waters. I was busy looking at the fish closer to me when out of the corner of my eye I noticed something larger down below about 6-8m away. My immediate thought was 'That's a large fish!' Then it dawned on me, it was a shark! It glided in and out of sight within seconds! (centre of photo) I surfaced to inform the others and as they swam towards me in the hopes of seeing it for themselves, I promptly swam in the opposite direction!

I went snorkelling a second time off the beach at Turtle Island. There was no coral reef to swim above, just the sandy beach, and since it was very shallow and a beautiful sunny day, it was excellent for watching the fish. I had another fabulous experience. I saw a really large fish - it must have been over 2 feet long - which was really chunky and box-like, wide and fat at the head but tapering down in size towards the tail. It looked a bit like a Spotted Porcupine Fish, but I couldn't be certain of it and I didn't get a photo! There were lots of miniscule baby fish close to the shore, barely even the size of my little fingernail. They were so cute. The highlight that day was swimming alongside a school of fish, which was utterly amazing!

3) Proboscis Monkeys - They're the ones with the really big nose! They're not the most attractive of the primates, but they're quite adorable all the same. Most of my photos of them were taken at the Labuk Bay Sanctuary. It was one of the rare days we experienced glorious sunshine and so they were easy to photograph. However, I much prefer to see wildlife in their natural habitat. It's far more enjoyable and satisfying and we did see lots of troops along the Kinabatangan River, virtually every time we were out on the boats. The only down side was that it was also usually raining or in poor light, so not so easy to photograph! I was lucky enough to witness a pair mating. Blink and you'll miss it - it was over in seconds!

2) Turtle Island - It's a protected island where Green Turtles come to lay their eggs. It was amazing to witness the workings of the conservation project firsthand having seen a programme about it. During the day there was free time to relax and snorkel, but in the evening, that's when the turtle activity began. I got to witness a female laying her eggs. A ranger collected them and then they were buried in the hatcheries to protect them from predators such as monitor lizards. I was even lucky enough to see the eruption of baby turtles coming out of the sand from eggs buried a few months prior. All of the hatchlings that emerged that evening were taken down to the beach and released and made their way to the water. Every now and then we had to give them a gentle nudge to guide them in the right direction. It was amazing to see, but in the dead of night, difficult to photograph.

Occasionally, lone hatchlings missed being released at night, probably because it's so dark when they're collected. On my first afternoon I saw one, when virtually no one else was near the hatchery. One of the workers picked it up and placed it on my hand. It surprised me, as they weren't supposed to do that and it made me uncomfortable. But, it was impossible not to absolutely adore this helpless little creature that was flapping about on my palm. The following morning another hatchling was discovered. It had missed being released and I happened to walk past just at the right time and ended up accompanying a family down to the beach where they released the little one. It was a lovely moment watching it rush down to the water. I just hoped it survived. It's so amazing that turtles don't return to the island of their birth until many years later, when they're ready to lay their own eggs!

2) Turtle Island - It's a protected island where Green Turtles come to lay their eggs. It was amazing to witness the workings of the conservation project firsthand. During the day there was free time to relax and snorkel, but in the evening, that's when the turtle activity began. I got to witness a female laying her eggs. A ranger collected them and then they were buried in the hatcheries to protect them from predators such as monitor lizards. I was even lucky enough to see the eruption of baby turtles coming out of the sand from eggs buried a few months prior. All of the hatchlings that emerged that evening were taken down to the beach and released and made their way to the water. Every now and then we had to give them a gentle nudge to guide them in the right direction. It was amazing to see, but in the dead of night, difficult to photograph. Occasionally, lone hatchlings miss being released. On my first afternoon I saw one, when virtually no one else was near the hatchery. One of the workers picked it up and placed it on my hand. It surprised me, as they weren't supposed to do that and it made me uncomfortable. But, it was impossible not to absolutely adore this helpless little creature that was flapping about on my palm. The following morning another hatchling was discovered and I just happened to walk past at the right time. I accompanyed a family down to the beach where they released the little one. It was a lovely moment watching it rush down to the water. Who knows if it would live long enough to return to the island (many years later) to lay its own eggs!

1) Orangutans - It's probably not a surprise they're at the top of my list. They were the main reason I went to Borneo. Seeing one in the wild was what I'd hoped for and Danum Valley was where it happened. In fact, within 15 minutes of walking along the road on our first walk, we heard that a flanged male (big cheek pads) called Mike had been seen by researchers who track the orangutans and record their movements. We left the road and headed into the rainforest weaving through all the dense vegetation. Not long after, we were standing at the base of a very tall tree, looking up, trying to catch a glimpse of him. It wasn't easy with branches and leaves partially obscuring our view. It wasn't the best sighting, but we got to see him again on our last morning. His overnight nest was found and we waited ages for a glimpse of him emerging from it. Some of us even missed our breakfast and I got a really stiff neck from constantly looking up. It was worth it though, because eventually he started to move about and feed. In fact, everyone in the group got good views of him a little later when we were leaving Danum Valley. He'd moved to a tree above the road.

1) Orangutans - It's no surprise they're at the top of my list. They were the main reason I went to Borneo. Seeing one in the wild was what I'd hoped for and Danum Valley was where it happened. In fact, within 15 minutes of walking along the road on our first walk, we heard that a flanged male (big cheek pads) called Mike had been seen by researchers who track the orangutans and record their movements. We left the road and headed into the rainforest weaving through all the dense vegetation. Not long after, we were standing at the base of a very tall tree, looking up, trying to catch a glimpse of him. It wasn't easy with branches and leaves partially obscuring our view.

That first sighting of Mike wasn't the best, but we were fortunate to see him again on our last morning. His overnight nest was found and we waited ages for a glimpse of him emerging from it. Some of us even missed our breakfast and I got a really stiff neck from constantly looking up. It was worth it though, because eventually he started to move about and feed. In fact, everyone in the group got good views of him a little later when we were leaving Danum Valley. He'd moved to a tree above the road.

I can't conclude the Danum Valley orangutan experience without recounting the leech experience too. Many of us were wearing special leech socks, which come up above the knees and are worn over your trousers. They're supposed to do the trick along with spraying insect repellent. One woman in the group wasn't wearing leech socks and a leech dropped onto her thigh. I tried swiping it off using my lens cap, but it didn't budge. Instead, it disappeared through the dense material of her trousers to her leg! I couldn't believe it! I thought I'd escaped the leech experience. My roommate and I were very careful to inspect our clothing and bodies for leeches in the hallway of our room. However, I made the mistake of not checking my camera bag! After I'd had a shower and was dressed, I sat on the bed and that's when I suddenly felt a pain in the back of my knee. I knew instantly what it was. I've never dropped my trousers so quickly! Luckily, I was prepared and quickly grabbed one of the small sachets of salt I'd brought with me. The salt was poured on and the leech fell to the floor. Ewwwwh!

I thought I'd escaped the leech experience. My roommate and I were very careful to inspect our clothing and bodies for leeches in the hallway of our room. However, I made the mistake of not checking my camera bag! After I'd had a shower and was dressed, I sat on the bed and that's when I suddenly felt a pain in the back of my knee. I knew instantly what it was. I've never dropped my trousers so quickly! Luckily, I was prepared and quickly grabbed one of the small sachets of salt I'd brought with me. The salt was poured on and the leech fell to the floor. Ewwwwh!

The other place you can see orangutans is at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, which isn't far from the city of Sandakan. They help rehabilitate orphaned baby orangutans (from logging sites, plantations, illegal hunting or kept as pets) and return them to the wild. Halfway through our tour we visited the sanctuary. There was a nursery section with all the youngsters learning how to forage for food and to climb. They have a few older orangutans with them to help show them the ropes. These ones all stay overnight at the facility. But, in the larger conservation area adjacent to the sanctuary, are the ones that have been released into the wild. Whilst there are two feeding times, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, there's no guarantee they'll show up. In fact, they didn't on our first morning. Instead we saw some macaques that were equally enjoyable to watch as they groomed, play and ate. Though many people only come for one visit, we returned in the afternoon, when of course it was raining! There were fewer people and eventually the rain eased and we were rewarded with visits from five orangutans at various times, which was wonderful.

At the end of the tour, when all the others in the group had departed and I had returned from my Turtle Island add on, I decided to spend my last few extra days back at Sepilok rather than the city. I was so glad I did. No two days are ever the same and I got to experience even more the second time. I even got some very close encounters just walking along the boardwalk when I saw two playing together nearby. At the morning feeding a mother orangutan turned up with her little one. Whilst she would have been rehabilitated, the youngster had been born in the wild. I discovered it was her third offspring and the previous ones don't come to the platform anymore, so they've learned to fend for themselves in the wild. It was fabulous evidence the programme was working. The same thing happened in the afternoon, when I ended the day back at the nursery. A different rehabilitated female orangutan appeared from the rainforest with an even younger baby, who was still clinging on to mum most of the time. I watched the pair of them for ages, completely mesmerised, until it was closing time. It was a wonderful memory to leave with!

See photos...

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Antarctica Day 2

By Lisa G Saw • April 24, 2025

HEADING TO THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA We had an early morning wake up call at about 5am to say we were close to the Antarctic Peninsula and had reached the pack ice. Despite the early hour, there was a lot of excitment on board and the cold air certainly woke me up. All around us were icebergs and brash ice and slowly the ship surged forwards. There were two Cormorants looked sitting on top of a large iceberg. They looked tiny in comparison.

Antarctica Day 1

By Lisa G Saw • April 21, 2025

PENGUIN ISLAND We woke up to find it snowing heavily for the first time on our journey so far and I was thrilled. I love the snow! It seemed so fitting to be seeing the penguins in these cold conditions. We managed to get ashore in one of the first few zodiacs and stayed virtually until the last one, so we made the most of our landing and really enjoyed ourselves observing the penguins on the island and other wildlife. Sadly, there weren't any Adélie Penguin colonies to be found, but we saw a few Gentoo Penguins walking around.

To Antarctica

By Lisa G Saw • April 18, 2025

ONCE MORE AT SEA Leaving South Georgia behind us, we ventured further south towards the frozen continent of Antarctica. It took us three days. Since we were the first voyage of the season, we had no idea what lay ahead. Would we see any Adélie Penguins? How much of the ice would have retreated? Would we actually be able to walk on the Antarctic Peninsula, which was where we were ultimately heading? Everything had been so good already, I didn't have high expectations. I was just open to whatever we would experience and enjoying it all. Over the course of the three days we were at sea, we weren't able to be out on deck that often as the conditions weren't great. I certainly didn't take many photos. On our first day, though, I was pleased to take a few nice ones of a Blue Petrel flying close to the ship.