Wild Borneo: Journalist Cindy Burgess Came for Orangutans but Found Much More
A hush falls over the crowd as the last rays of sunlight paint the towering limestone cliffs a deep pink. We’re gathered at the entrance to Deer Cave—home to the world’s largest known cave passage and an amazing spectacle every evening.
Suddenly, there’s a collective gasp as what looks like black smoke curls across the sky. The long, corkscrewing ribbons are actually millions of wrinkle-lipped bats, streaming out of the cave in search of their nightly meal. You can even hear the collective flapping of their wings!
I’ve come to the world’s third-largest island to fulfill a dream: seeing orangutans in the wild. Borneo is one of only two places on earth where these critically endangered apes live (the other is Sumatra).
Little did I know I’d spend the entire two-week journey picking my jaw up off the proverbial jungle floor.
No matter where our small but mighty group of seven travelled—from the cave-studded mountains of Gunung Mulu National Park to the wobbly suspension bridges high over Danum Valley’s 130-million-year-old rainforest—wonder was my constant companion.
Borneo is home to some crazy-looking creatures—like proboscis monkeys, which we spotted during longboat tours along the silty Kinabatangan River. The males have a huge, pendulous nose—for attracting mates, we’re told. Or any of Borneo’s eight species of hornbill, which sport a big bony growth atop their already sizeable beaks.
On night walks, our flashlight beams captured a whole other world of fantastical jungle critters, like a tarantula the size of my outspread hand, spindly walking sticks, and a black and white striped worm with a hammer-shaped head. Our Exodus guides Rody and Aldrin were invaluable in finding and identifying these creatures. One tip we learned: look for the reflections of eyes when you shine a light into the jungle. Even spider eyes reflect light!
One cultural highlight was our stay at a traditional wooden longhouse on stilts set amidst rolling tea fields overlooking Mount Kinabalu. These communal structures are the heart of Indigenous life, with rustic bamboo walls separating individual rooms along one side and a common verandah for socializing on the other. After bedding down on mattresses draped with mosquito nets, we found out who the snorers in our group were!
The next morning dawned bright as we toured the adjoining Sabah Tea Plantation, Borneo’s only organic tea farm. We learned how the leaves are handpicked before being withered, rolled, and dried for consumption. As I savoured a cup of fresh-brewed black tea, I tried to process the sheer diversity of plant life I’d experienced so far, from tea plants to tube-shaped carnivorous pitcher plants to neon-bright bromeliads.
Then it was off to Sepilok and my star attraction: orangutans. Our group visited the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, where orphaned baby orangutans are trained to survive in the wild. As we crowded behind one-way glass at feeding time, I watched in awe as babies clung tightly to their surrogate mothers’ long auburn fur or dangled by one arm as they munched fresh melon and bananas.
I could have watched their antics all day. But the real thrill for me came a few hours later, back at the Sepilok Jungle Resort. I was walking alone along a wooden boardwalk when I spotted a young orangutan on the railing ahead of me. I froze as it clambered up a nearby coconut palm and then over a roof. I had just seen my first (of several to come) orangutan in the wild!
Borneo is like that—full of surprises. Now excuse me while I go retrieve my jaw from the floor.
Watch Cindy’s Video From the Trip
Inspired by Cindy’s adventure? Check out Borneo Wildlife Discoverer and discover your own wild suprises.
