The Rainforest of Northern Borneo

We had enough time during our Malaysia leg to visit the island of Borneo. Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and is shared between three countries -- Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. The island is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. The area we explored on this trip was in the Malaysian state of Sabah in northern Borneo. We booked stays at a couple of eco lodges. The accommodations were definitely a bit more primitive than we’re used to (during our stay one lodge lost water pressure and the next one lost power for a few hours) but that’s all part of the adventure. Besides, the location was right in the heart of the orangutan rainforest. 

Our first stop was the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in the village of Sepilok.  This place takes in orphaned and injured orangutans and teaches them the skills they need to live wild. Since it was established in 1964 the Centre has successfully released over 760 orangutans back into the forest. 

There are no cages here, the apes are free to come and go in and out of the preserve area as they wish. When they are first released, or when food is scarce, the orangutans know that they can come back here twice daily when the rangers put out tasty fruits and vegetables to supplement their foraged diet. During our visit, a few adults came to the feeding platform and we were able to get a couple okay photos from a distance. Of course the orangutans never like to hold still!

But our favorite area was the nursery. In the wild, baby orangutans will stay with their mothers for the first six years of their lives, learning how to climb, forage for food, build nests, and other essential orangutan skills. When they are orphaned or confiscated from illegal captivity, they are brought here to shadow older juveniles and learn how to be wild. In this area, they are still free to come and go from the rainforest if they wish, but most stay close by until they are old enough to have the confidence to live on their own. 

Right next to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is a similar reserve for the Bornean Sun Bear. This is the smallest of the bear species, and a very agile climber. Their habitat is diminishing due to deforestation, and unfortunately they are one of the species of bear that has been illegally captured for the traditional Chinese medicine bear bile trade, a cruel practice that involves keeping the bear in a cage while siphoning the bile from the animal’s gallbladder through a painful open wound. When possible, the Sun Bear Centre rehabilitates and releases the bears, but if the bear cannot be released at least it will live out the rest of its life in a large natural enclosure rather than a cage. 

From Sepilok we moved on to a remote eco-lodge on the Kinibatangan river. We splurged on a fancy cabin overlooking a pond. (This is the place that lost power for a few hours, so our room was a sauna with those big windows and no AC, yikes! Also note the mosquito netting on the beds!)

We stayed two nights here in order to take four cruises on the river hoping to spot wildlife in its natural habitat. The boats went out twice daily when the animals were most active — we had to get up super early for the 6am departure and then the second daily cruise left at 4pm. 

But the early wake-up alarms were totally worth it!  We saw a few baby crocodiles like this one sunning themselves on the riverbank. 

And several much scarier larger saltwater crocs. Very different from seeing them at the Hartleys farm in Australia. No fences here!

But we were really here to see the primates. The most numerous species were certainly the long-tailed macaques. These little guys were everywhere along the banks just living their happy monkey lives. 

They also liked to hang around the elevated walkways at the resort, hoping to scrounge a snack or enjoy a peaceful view of the river. 

We rented some binoculars and it was a wise decision. As it turns out, wildlife generally doesn’t just hang around in the open, posing for tourist photos. Kevin even managed to hold the binocs and his phone still enough to snap some in-focus pics. If we’ve learned anything from this trip, it’s that we need better phone cameras for next time!

The monkeys in that photo are pig-tailed macaques. This species is much more aggressive than their long-tailed relatives. The large males are extremely territorial, and we were warned not to approach them, turn our backs on them, or look them in the eyes. Here’s a male, you can see that he looks like he’s been doing some crossfit training - much larger and brawnier than the long-tailed macaques. 

But not all of the monkeys were intimidating. It’s hard to be afraid of a primate as goofy-looking as the proboscis monkey. These little guys wander the forest like mini Jimmy Durantes with their huge bulbous noses, tan “shirts” and gray “trousers”. We saw lots of them and enjoyed watching their antics. These monkeys can swim and they use their flexible noses like snorkels when they’re in the water. Who wouldn’t love a face like this?

We were on our second to last cruise and I was a bit disappointed because we hadn’t yet seen any truly wild orangutans. I did notice that while the banks of the Kinabatangan River were lined with dense strips of rainforest trees, just beyond that you could sometimes see the orderly rows of oil palm trees. So much of the critical habitat for the orangutans (and other "only-found-here" species) has been lost because it has been cleared for acres and acres of palm plantations. But then -- when we least expected it -- one of the river guides spotted a lone orangutan high up in the trees. As it ended up we saw a family group of at least three orangutans the next morning, too. So our trip to the river felt like a success -- these beautiful creatures were swinging happily through the trees, at least for now. It is vital to continue protecting this habitat and making sustainable choices when buying products that contain palm oil. I will admit that the grainy image in this photo definitely has a "sasquatch" vibe -- I promise you it's just that we didn't have very good cameras and the orangutans just would not hold still!

After our whirlwind river safari, we took one night to enjoy the town of Sandakan on the northwest shore of Borneo. The town is famous for its fresh seafood, but there is also a strong echo of the British colonial days here.  When we got to town, we had a very nice afternoon tea at the English Tea House overlooking the Sulu Sea.

And on our last morning in Borneo, we went to the Rainforest Discovery Centre which is a great place to learn more about the rainforest and the creatures who live here. There is an elevated walkway over the pond and through the treetops that lets you get closer to the wildlife (it's open forest, so animals are free-range). We saw some birds and a chameleon, plus a Mullers Gibbon and three more orangutans.

We enjoyed the spectacular natural beauty of Borneo, but I'll admit that travel here was a bit more intense than other locations. We are finally starting to feel ready to come home soon. Especially after this Borneo leg, with two flights, four boat rides, several long van journeys, and wandering around Sandakan in the midday heat. We are used to the dry heat in the desert but the humidity here in the tropics can really get overwhelming! This image sums up our current mood: