What can I say – what an amazing trip. From start to finish we were incredibly lucky with what we saw and the encounters we had. Starting in Bako NP, we saw wild proboscis monkey and were treated to a rare sighting of a Colugo (flying lemur) taking flight over our heads during the day. On the way back on the boat, we were even treated to a viewing of pink dolphins.
In Mulu, the caves were beautiful and great fun to walk through. Although we were supposedly there during the ‘dry’ season, climate change has made the weather much more unpredictable. We had lovely weather both mornings, but torrential rain in the afternoons and overnight, so much so that the bats stayed inside the cave on the first night. Patience and a willingness to walk in the rain with crossed fingers paid off on the second night, and we were treated to a spectacular bat exodus during sunset. The weather is very changeable in Mulu (and Borneo in general) so even if it looks as though it may be too wet for the bats, I would recommend heading to the viewing area anyway as you never know! Even in the rain, the air temperature is warm and you dry off quickly.
Moving to Sabah, the highlights have to be the Kinabatangan River and Danum Valley. Both were so rich in wildlife and we had such amazing viewings in both locations. The Orangutan and Proboscis monkey sanctuaries are great and do fabulous work, but nothing compares to seeing these animals truly out in the wild. We were incredibly lucky with our sightings and saw not only the Borneo Big 5 (orangutan, proboscis monkey, crocodile, rhinoceros hornbill and pygmy elephant) but a huge array of other primates and birds (long and short tail macaques, gibbons, silver and red leaf monkeys, flying squirrels, owls, civets, slow loris, eagles, deer and many more) . Particularly in Danum Valley, take the opportunity to do as much as possible. There are a couple of places on the track and boardwalk that you can go independently providing the sun is up. A few of us in the group met up at 6am on both mornings in Danum and we were rewarded with a group of gibbons eating and playing in the trees on both mornings – a sight not repeated during the day. Seize every opportunity and just explore and enjoy.
