Borneo’s Jungle & Wildlife | Part 1
As I’ve travelled more over the years, I’ve become increasingly interested in seeing wildlife around the world. One thing that hasn’t changed, though – ever since I was in school, I’ve been fascinated by orangutans. When I lived in and travelled through Asia previously, I only visited the mainland peninsula of Malaysia. So when I was planning my return travels after leaving New Zealand, I decided it was the perfect time to finally visit Malaysia’s island territory to delve into Borneo’s jungle. To hopefully see some orangutans, as well as other wildlife!
After flying from Western Australia and stopping in Singapore for a few days, my journey took me via Kuala Lumpur and then to Sandakan to start my Bornean adventure. The island is split between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei; I was visiting the Malaysian part only. I’d signed up for a 10-day group trip with Intrepid this time, to make the logistics of travelling here easier. This is part one, exploring the jungle, before we explored tea plantations and island beaches in the second half.
Sandakan
For most visitors, the town of Sandakan is just the jumping-off point to see Borneo’s jungle and wildlife. By which I mean, you don’t really go to see the town itself. That said, we spent the first two nights of the trip here, so we experienced a bit of the town.
Our leader took us on a walking tour one morning. My previous trip to Malaysia was largely focused on history, culture and cities, so Borneo was quite a change, being all about nature. Which I love, but I appreciated getting to incorporate the local people’s history as well. The town has a heritage trail you can follow around the main sights. We didn’t do the entire thing, but covered the town’s mosque, Islam being the largest religion in Malaysia, and some of the historic monuments around the square. Then we had a snack break, with ‘teh tarik’ (hot milk tea) and roti, a popular dish in Malaysia.
Further out of town, we also drove to visit the Sandakan War Memorial, which is a park on the site of a former prisoner-of-war camp. Our leader spoke to us about Borneo’s wartime history, when Japan occupied the island. They held POWs in this camp, mainly British (this region was a British colony) and Australians (who came to fight back against the Japanese). The most staggering fact was the ‘death marches’ when POWs were moved inland and forced to walk there through the dense jungle. Only six escaped Australians survived. We had some time to walk in the park ourselves, taking in the sombre, solemn history and memorials.
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Our first experience of Borneo’s jungle was at the sanctuaries around the Sandakan region. Starting with the one I was most excited about, the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Orangutans are only found in Borneo and Sumatra, and are endangered due to the deforestation of their jungle habitat. The centre takes care of injured or orphaned orangutans and has a fence around it, but otherwise lets the apes roam freely in the trees.
Visitors can explore the network of boardwalks, and this is when we got our first sighting. A mother, with her young baby clinging to her, ambled along the railing of the boardwalk just metres in front of us! We all stopped in surprise as she climbed past a gate and disappeared into the forest again. I was entranced, especially seeing an unpredictable, semi-wild encounter like this!
We continued to the nursery, where you sit indoors and watch the apes through the glass window. There were dozens of orangutans here, with ropes and climbing platforms to amuse themselves. The staff also brought out a food basket at one point. While there were plenty of babies and juveniles, adults can also access the area. As demonstrated when the huge alpha male showed up for food. I was amazed at how much larger he was than all the others, even than the other males! And the rest of the group all defer to him, letting him eat first… except for a sneaky monkey interloper!
Then we walked over to the feeding platform in time for the twice-daily feed. They leave the food out for the apes to help themselves as they please. We waited patiently, and sure enough, a few came and went, climbing along the ropeways. Most ate on the platform, but a small juvenile nabbed a handful and swung away overhead immediately! They’re very playful too, interacting with each other and dangling from the ropes as they eat. Which certainly makes for some amusing photos! We watched them for as long as we could, endlessly entertained by their behaviours, before our leader had to drag us away.
Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
Just next door to the orangutans lies another sanctuary, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Sun bears are the smallest species of bear in the world and are recognisable by the golden patches of fur on their chests. Sun bears are found across Southeast Asia, but Borneo has its own subspecies with even smaller heads! The centre takes care of ex-captive bears, allowing them to roam inside a large fenced area of forest. Visitors observe them from the platforms and walkways suspended above the forest floor. Which means you may be watching them from above, but they’re also adept climbers who spend a lot of time in the trees!
As we arrived, we were lucky enough to spot a few bears straight away! They were wandering on the ground, clearly visible from the viewing walkways. The staff were super friendly and helpful too, telling us each bear’s name, gender and age. Unfortunately, the skies decided to open at this point! It poured with rain, so we hid under the walkway’s canopy. The bears similarly sought shelter, vanishing from view. We waited it out a while, then as the rain lessened, we walked around the sanctuary a bit more, spotting a few more bears along the way. Maybe it’s just because they’re small, but they’re very cute!
Rainforest Discovery Centre
Our final wildlife stop today was the Rainforest Discovery Centre. This isn’t a sanctuary for any particular species but rather an area of nature trails and a skywalk through the canopy of Borneo’s jungle. We headed for the skywalk, which gently ascends amongst the trees. I’m not the best with heights, but it wasn’t too high and felt very secure! There are a few observation towers scattered throughout as well, and we climbed the tallest to see the very tops of the trees. This one was a little wobblier! But these are the best places to watch for birds swooping through the sky.
Unfortunately, while the rain had stopped at this time, the animals weren’t really venturing out again yet. I was aware that February isn’t the best month to visit Borneo, being a rainy month, but it was what worked with my other travel plans! I enjoyed the views and the tall, majestic trees anyway, though. Our leader told us about a lot of wildlife as we walked, using the centre’s information boards, which have pictures of the species you might spot here. However, we got lucky on the walk back, spotting a giant squirrel! Stretched out along a tree branch, you can definitely see how it got its name: they’re so long! It raced along trunks and leapt between branches until it was lost from sight.
Kinabatangan River
While I appreciated getting to see Borneo’s jungle wildlife in the sanctuaries, there’s something far more magical about encountering animals in the wild. And that was the goal with the next stop on our trip. We departed Sandakan and drove west, heading for the Kinabatangan River. After leaving our van on the riverside, a small boat transported us to the other shore and our jungle lodge for the next two nights. From which we’d be embarking on some wildlife spotting river cruises! The lodge actually sits on stilts in the river, with a central dining area and individual cabins at the back. Being out in Borneo’s jungle like this means they power the place from generators, and we did have a couple of power cuts in the main building during our stay. Not that it put much of a dampener on our moods, though!
We did three river cruises in total, two evenings and one early morning, times when the animals are usually more active. The lodge had binoculars for rent as well, which were a great idea for seeing the wildlife! There was an optional night cruise, but our leader had advised that with the rainy weather, we weren’t likely to see much. Each cruise took us to different parts of the river, but like any wildlife spotting experience, it’s up to luck as to what you might see. However, the river guides know the area well and communicate with each other about sightings. And the uncertainty makes it all the more exciting when you do encounter something! Also, my camera is decent, but I don’t have a powerful zoom lens, so these photos are zoomed and then cropped (hence some blur), which is the best I could do.
Wildlife Sightings
We did well overall, spotting lots of monkeys, mainly macaques, silver langurs and the iconic long-nosed proboscis monkeys. Borneo is home to several types of hornbill birds, and though we didn’t see the largest, the great hornbill, we did spot a few of the smaller varieties. There were many other birds too, including kingfishers, a night heron and a serpent’s eagle. Plus a huge goanna clinging to a tree trunk!
There were two standout moments, both of which occurred on the first cruise and featured particularly elusive species. First was our sighting of a wild orangutan, which was exciting enough on its own. But then we were lucky enough to witness it building its nest for the night, complete with an umbrella to shelter from the rain. Our leader explained how rare it is to witness this in the wild!
And then not long after, another guide alerted us to a nearby herd of wild pygmy elephants! They are the smallest living elephant species and are only found in Malaysia and Indonesia. Sadly, they’re also listed as endangered and are very hard to see in the wild – so we were incredibly lucky! We found the herd near the water’s edge, including several young calves. We watched them in wonder, catching glimpses through the trees, before they eventually continued on their way. Our whole group were completely blown away at getting to see both of these animals in the wild. Definitely my highlight of the entire trip!
Gomantong Cave
In between our cruises, we headed back to our van for one more outing. A short drive away, the limestone Gomantong Cave is tucked away in Borneo’s jungle. Our leader explained its significance, and brace yourself, it’s a little gross. The cave is full of edible swiftlet nests – which the birds make with their solidified saliva! – that are collected to make the delicacy, bird’s nest soup. Only licensed collectors can take the nests, and only after the young swiftlets have departed. Some of the collectors actually live in huts inside the cave! The roof is incredibly high, a cathedral-like cavern, so it’s risky work climbing up for the nests.
However, the cave also houses other wildlife, including a huge bat population. As a result, the cave floor is covered in an incredibly thick layer of their droppings. It absolutely stinks! We entered with scarves and masks covering our mouths and noses. Thankfully, there are boardwalks built to walk a loop inside the cave that raise you above the droppings! Being dark, damp and underground, the cave is also the perfect habitat for insects. Specifically, cockroaches. There are thousands of them, which we could see when we shone lights on the cave walls. I’m aware this probably doesn’t sound like a pleasant place to visit, but we did weirdly enjoy it, because it’s just so different and interesting from anywhere else we’d been!
Maroon Langurs
Just outside the cave in the surrounding jungle, we also got lucky with one other wildlife sighting. Before entering the cave, as our leader was giving a quick introductory talk, I’d glimpsed red fur in a tree. My first thought was ‘orangutan?’ but our leader quickly identified it as a maroon langur. Even rarer than their silver counterparts and endemic to Borneo only! There were a handful of them in the tree, including the most adorable tiny baby. We observed them climbing around until they moved on again. Another super lucky, rare sighting!
Borneo’s Jungle & Wildlife
I still can’t believe I got to see orangutans in the wild! This was the whole reason for my trip and certainly my highlight, but I was also delighted by everything else Borneo’s jungle has to offer. The pygmy elephants and maroon langurs were particularly exciting, being as rare and elusive as they both are! I loved all the wildlife we saw, though, and as mentioned, there’s something extra special about seeing them in the wild rather than in a zoo. Borneo’s jungle is a must-see location for wildlife lovers and I don’t think I could have asked for more!
This first half of the trip was our main wildlife spotting opportunity, but we still had a few more days to travel more of Borneo. From the Kinabatangan River, we continued travelling west across Sabah, heading through tea plantations, hillside villages and on towards Kota Kinabalu and its nearby islands. Part two coming soon!
