An early morning start, with brekkie at 7am and a departure from Kundasang and the tea plantation at 8am.
Our prior nights stay had been at the Alfred Dent cottage, one of the early British colonial settlers who helped to establish North Borneo as an economic base.
The views from our garden room were pretty special and Andy/Maradona took no time to get out and look around.
The tea plantation is surrounded by the rainforest, which has helped to deter unwanted insects and animals who prefer to stay in this area. As a result the tea plants have thrived and no chemical treatments have been required.
Like any ‘attraction’ for tourists, there were a few oversized tea references which caught our eye and made for interesting photos!
We then headed east across the island on a 5hr bus trip, with a couple of toilet stops on our way to Kinabatangan River which sits close to Celebes Sea coastline. It’s fair to say the road was a work in progress, with large sections under reconstruction, as part of the government’s plans to build a new superhighway across the state of Sabah. From what we saw completion is a good few years off!
Eventually around 1.30pm we arrived at the river and the Borneo Natural Sakua Bilit resort. We were pleasantly surprised by the accommodation which comprise large wood lodge on stilts nestled on the fridge of the jungle.
The lodge comes with its own veranda looking out over a small pond and fountain.
The Kinabatangan River is a protected forest serve with some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in the whole of Borneo. We were quickly introduced to proboscis monkeys which sat in abundance outside of our lodges. We were warned not to leave our doors unlocked or anything outside, as the monkeys will see this as an opportunity to get inside and help themselves to bags etc.
In the afternoon we headed off on a river cruise to try and spot some of the elusive local animals.
Once we set off, our guide Ben and the boat driver were quickly pointing out animals on the banks of the river. Within the first 30mins we had seen macaques (monkeys) by the dozen, a couple of baby crocodiles, hornbills and kingfisher birds, with their colourful beaks and not to be forgotten a wild orang-utan up in the tops of the tree foliage.
We managed to take a few photos of the rest of the group whilst on the boat, below from the back is Ben our tour guide, doing a heart shape, Jill and Pete in front, our Aussie/Uk couple and ourselves all sporting our camouflage lifejackets.
After an enjoyable boat cruise, we had some downtime and enjoyed dinner in the main lodge hall, which comprised a buffet of rice, curried chicken, pumpkin and fish, with some pineapple and a mango jelly for dessert.
As darkness fell, we departed on a night walk around the jungle which was a real treat and an awesome experience.
Within the first 15mins we spotted one of the smallest and most unusual looking monkeys in Borneo the Tarsier. They aren’t the prettiest, but you don’t forgetting seeing one. Tonight we managed to catch sight of mother and baby.
As we walked we came across elephant footprints and dung, however it turned out they were from some 6 weeks ago when they experienced heavy rains.
As we returned to the lodges we came across a sleeping bird. It turns out there are hundreds of varieties on the island, although this one had a distinctive colouring, with a white head and dark black feathers on its upper torso and vivid yellow to its lower breast. After shining a torch for a little too long it woke but happily sat there on the branch waiting for us to move on.
After a fun packed day and in the knowledge of a 5.30am start the next day to catch the birds and monkeys as they wake, we headed off to bed around 9.30pm.
@travellingwiththeateam 