23rd – Myne Resort

We were a couple that stayed up last night talking so it got late enough that our pre-breakfast morning cruise started with 4½ hours of sleep. But there is nothing like potential wildlife sightings that wake you up! It also helped a bit that from the main building of the resort a gibbon could be spotted far away in the top of a tree.

Gibbon far away.

We sailed around for a bit more than 2 hours and sow more kingfishers, birds in general a more monkeys (though no orangutans).

Monitor lizard.

Storm's stork.

Stork billed kingfisher.

Macaque.

Blue-eared kingfisher.

Pied hornbill.

Storm's stork.

Female and male rhino hornbills.

On return we had breakfast and at 1030 we went out for a 2-hour walk in the area. Nothing really sighted except for an orangutan which was first missed by half the group which was then called back when the back half spotted it. It had apparently been sitting 4 meters above the path and just observing when we had walked underneath it, but as we had been busy keeping an eye on where we put our feet looking up was not a priority (which it should always be when wildlife watching!). It was a male estimated at around 30 years and even when getting away it did it very elegant and gracefully, it never felt like it was in a hurry.

Orangutan.

Lunch was had at 1300 and then we had some downtime until 1600. Some of us talked about wanting to have another walk around but the idea was quickly shot down as we were informed that there easily could be elephants in the area. Nobody felt it worth the risk of standing face to face with an elephant just to get a potential extra sighting of something. So relaxing was had until we went back out on the river. The sightings were the same mix as we were getting use to by now.

Return for dinner at 1900 and at 2000 we went out a final time for a night cruise, the final activity when here. We ended up seeing a few crocodiles, a couple of birds, a few swimming elephants in the distance and that was mostly it. But with total darkness except from what the moon on a clear sky gave us it was limited how much could be seen with a single spotlight. It has to be said, though, that the driver/spotter was quite good at locating what was out and put the light on them. Everything considered it was a nice trip though it would have been luxurious to spot pythons and cats of various kinds. But alas, there is a limit to our luck.

Borneo crocodile.

Black crowned night heron.

The 4½ hours of sleep was felt on the way back on the afternoon cruise but a couple of cans of coke during dinner ensured keeping me awake during the night cruise. But I expect that the moment I lie down on the bed I’ll crash immediately.

We are leaving tomorrow at 0730 to make it to the 1000 feeding of the orangutans at the rehabilitation center we are visiting, and spending the night close by enables us to also see the feeding in the afternoon at 1500. I think it’ll be great.

22nd – Poring Hot Spring -> Myne Resort

We departed as planned at 0630 and less than an hour later we were ready to give our orders for breakfast at the tea farm. Every meal we have had the waiters have been in full control and managed to keep track of orders and often also who ordered what. But that changed here. It took several attempts after only a few orders had been handled, wrong dishes etc. Also, because the power suddenly went out they weren’t able to supply their special pancakes which just increased the chaos.

Kinabalu. Which we didn't climb.

Flowers at the breakfast place.

After this slight catastrophe we were to have a tour of the processing plant; another group was being toured when we arrived so we had to wait 15-20 minutes before it was our turn. I wasn’t impressed; it was interesting to see the process but it was too noisy to hear anything the guide said, and the short moments you actually hear a word or two his accent was so heavy you didn’t have time to adjust before the noise overpowered him again.

Tea fields.

We left and headed towards the day’s final destination. Our deadline was 1330 as lunch would be removed then, but when arriving at 1415 we found that they were fully aware of our delay and had left the food out. Hurray!

At 1600 we mounted a small 12-passenger boat to take us up and down the river passing by the resort. The cruise lasted app. 2½ hours and we managed to see quite a selection of wildlife despite the heavy foliage on both riverbanks. According to the list our guide compiled after returning, among other things, we saw hornbills, kingfishers, long tail macaques and silver leaf monkeys. And the cherry on top; 33 pygmy elephants and 2 orangutans, a young one and its mother. While it was great to see the elephants they felt much less impressive than expected, likely due to having seen and being used to large males walk close by the vehicle in Africa. And these being of the pygmy variant were quite a bit smaller. A peculiar difference, apart from size, was the fact that these have much longer tails which reach almost to the ground. The orangutans were almost as one would expect; high up, climbing around and at all times at least partially hidden by the foliage. But they were popular; like in Africa if one vehicle sees something interesting soon several appears seemingly out of nowhere. While they don’t have radios here it did get quite crowded on the river and it was obvious from a distance that there was something interesting to be seen. My lens also garnered more attention than usual and someone in another boat give me her email address with a request to send a copy of my photos of the orangutans as they didn’t have the necessary reach themselves. That was a weird situation.

Brahminy kite.

Green crested lizard.

Crab-eating macaque.

Female proboscis monkey mid-jump.

Female proboscis monkey.

Prized kingfisher.

Great egret.

Pygme elephants. Ears are smaller and tails are longer/larger than on other elephants.

Orangutan.

Ropes/wires were set up across the rivers to let monkeys cross safely.

Male proboscis monkey.

Coming back to the resort we had dinner at 1900 and at 2030 we left for a 1½ hour drive in the dark to see if we could spot any nocturnal animals. Apart from darkness and shadows we also got to see a monitor lizard, jungle fowl and a slow loris. With regards to the last one I have no idea how our spotter managed to see it considering its size and hanging on a tree trunk away from the road.

Lights at the resort.

Buffy fish owl (that looks like it's had too much caffeine). 

Slow loris.

A jungle fowl of some kind.

Monitor lizard.

You can see the tail reach down to the split in the trunk.

Due to having my own room I think I’ve hit jackpot here. The rooms are of same size which means that I have my own double bed, two singles and a folding bed available. I think I have just enough space in my room.

21st – Poring Hot Spring

As the breakfast place (which was the same place as where we had dinner) wouldn’t serve breakfast before 0830 we had a nice and easy morning.

After finishing we went on the canopy walk; a short walk on bridges suspended between large trees in the area up in the canopies. While the walk wasn’t long it was still fun to see the area from a different angle than we otherwise would have, but the animals weren’t showing.

One of the bridges during the canopy walk.

After coming down we continued on with the resort behind us aiming for a waterfall 3,5km away and 400m up. The walk wasn’t complicated but the heat and humidity made it much more strenuous than it otherwise would have been. After a sweaty walk for app. 1:40 we arrived at the water, impressive 150-ish meters tall. A few went under it to cool off and there was agreement all over that the water was very, very cold (the cold water for the tubs back the resort are actually taken from up here). We moved a bit further downstream to a spot where it was actually possible to dip in and swim around but as it was in the shade and constant stream the water was as cold as above.

Large centipede. It was at least 30cm long.

The butterfly is not turquoise, the wings are transparent. 

Group photo in front of the waterfall.

Creepy crawlies all over the place!

Returning to the resort we had a late lunch at around 14:45. After this some of us wanted to see the flower than only blooms every 7 years. A farm nearby had a collection of several of them at different stages, and luckily they also had one that was blooming today. Considering how long it takes them to reach the blooming state and how few they had relative to this we could consider us very lucky getting the chance to see them. Following this we wanted to take a tour in the orchid park but unfortunately it had already closed. Instead we went down and started filling one of the tubs available. Despite it being a small tub it took almost 1½ hours of sitting in not much water until we had a satisfactory amount. The pressure from the 80°C hot spring was only a fraction of that of the cold water, but we weren’t willing to have an ice cold water just to fill it faster. Less than 15 minutes later we had to get out to be able to make it to dinner at 2000.

A rafflesia in its prime.

A rafflesia before blooming. 

A rafflesia at the end of its life.

One of the tubs. The amount of water was after app. half an hour. 

Thanks to Elaine for being a size reference.

Tomorrow we’re leaving at 0630 and are getting breakfast at a tea farm which we will be visiting first thing in the morning before driving 5-ish hours to get us to the next lodge. In the afternoon we will go on a boat cruise for some wildlife watching and an optional one or drive in the evening after dinner. Things are potentially getting exciting!

20th – Kudat -> Poring Hot Spring

The morning went a bit better than yesterday – I was actually out of bed when the alarm went off. Breakfast was had and at around 0800 we were off for a 4 hour drive until lunch. We had lunch at a restaurant just below the starting point of the trail we would have followed if we had been climbing Kinabalu. We were brought up to the start and instead of going up we had a 2-3 hour walk around at the foot of the mountain in the jungle. Due to the altitude, app. 1000m, the humidity didn’t feel too bad due to the lower temperatures which was a huge relief. We were mostly looking at various plants, most of them having a practical use (flammable berries (petroleum bush), Viagra, anti-pregnancy etc.), as the animals didn’t seem to want to be seen.

Orangutan fern. Take a wild guess how it got its name. 

It actually doesn't feel like twigs but real fur. Surreal.

An... orchid!

Times for the last Kinabalu race up and down.

The route for the race. While the distance isn't too much remember there is almost 3000m difference up and down from start to finish

Returning to the bus we had an hour’s drive to get to the Poring Hot Springs where we will be spending the next two nights. We were checked into our rooms (when entering my room I realized that when hearing the neighbors, who weren’t part of our group, the beds are very creaky) and shortly after we were given a short tour of the area. The resort’s main attraction is the hot spring which is used to fill up small pools/tubs by the guests, preferably mixing it with cold water to avoid being cooked. In the evening we had our dinner followed by a couple of hours walk in the jungle where we managed to see a few snakes, insects and the like.

Yellow ringed cat snake.

Tomorrow we will have breakfast at 0830 before doing a canopy walk followed by a walk to a high waterfall where it will also be possible to bath. It will be much like the walk yesterday but likely more humid and warmer as we are not nearly as high. Late lunch back the resort and the afternoon for free play.

19th – KK -> Kudat

The plan was to leave at 0830 so setting the alarm to 0700 would give me enough time to have a relaxing and stress free morning. Guess who fell asleep after the alarm went off and didn’t wake up again until a bit after 0800?

Oh, well, we were off as planned and during the drive we went to see various locations before we arrived at Marina Resort a bit past 1900.

The first stop we had was at a place where they were making honey. While it wasn’t much different from how you make it all other places on the globe I believe it was the first time seeing it up close in person – and also having a taste directly from the hive. As an added bonus we got to see a rubber tree which they were in the process of milking, and it surprised me how rubbery the material actually is the moment it comes out of the tree.

Honey.

Pulling the rubber from the tree.

Raw rubber treated to be stacked as shown. It's dense and quite heavy.

Shortly thereafter we visited a village which made gongs. Unfortunately tradition dictates that no one is to play any gongs no matter the reason within 15 days after a death, and as this was the case when we were there, there wasn’t much activity. There is no exception to this at all which means that if 26 people die in 2 week intervals they will have an entire year they won’t be able to play or make gongs.

Lunch was had short after, 12,5 ringgit (app. 3,8 MYR (Malaysian ringgit) to 1 USD)) for a filling and tasty lunch was impressive. I’ll miss those prices when coming home again.

We visited a longhouse – it’s a traditional method of building a house that houses entire families and basically a long building, in this case on stilts. The one we saw was newly built but done so with old techniques and used as a lodge.

Yes, she is playing a flute. With her nose. This is how they attract the attention from the men.

The last stop was the Northern tip of mainland Borneo. The visit was combined by a bit of bathing in the sea, something a few of us decided to skip as we wouldn’t be able to shower until we reached the resort, 45 minutes away.

The northern point.

It's not official until you have a rock that says it's the northern point!

17th - 18th – Arrival

Singapore Airlines are fine and the flight from Copenhagen to Kota Kinabalu went without a hitch and as planned I met up with Elaine (EBC and Romania) during the layover in Singapore. Unfortunately, even an airline as good as Singapore, can’t make a 12+2½ hour flight feel short and comfortable and it didn’t help that the selection of movies in the entertainment system was sub-par.

Oh, well, we arrived in Kota Kinabalu on schedule and after a fairly long wait in the customs queue we came out on the other side and were picked up by the G Adventures driver. He gave us a short tour of KK before leaving us at the hotel which quickly made us realize that there wouldn’t be much to do while waiting for the meeting with the rest of the group in the evening. And rightly so; a walk around the area brought us to an overpriced restaurant at the waterfront and the realization that due to AC the malls were our best friends.

View from the restaurant.

The introduction meeting went well. We are an Aussie (originally from Barbados), American, Canadian, Dutch, German and 4(!) Danes. The split is 7 girls and 2 guys, and as the other guy is travelling with his girlfriend means that I will be having my own room on the trip. Nice!

Dinner was had at a restaurant at a fraction of the price we paid for lunch and at least as good. After dinner we more or less went to our own rooms to catch up on sleep from travelling. Despite a noise AC in the room I doubt I will have any problems sleeping tonight.

Due to a 6,0 earthquake in Sabah (the region we are in) the 5^th of June 18 people were killed on the mountain. The quake’s epicenter was 10km deep and app. 15km from the summit. This means that the mountain is closed until further notice and we will therefore be following an alternative itinerary the first couple of days where we should have been climbing the mountain. 

20th – Return home

Being the departure day people quickly left in whatever direction which would take them to their planned destination. I had a pick-up early afternoon so I spent the morning in Chamonix where I bumped into Alex with whom I grabbed lunch. Coming back to the chalet to wait for the pick-up I met one of the three who had been taking care of us when we weren’t out. Gill had been given a cake yesterday for her birthday but hadn’t taken the rest with her, so I was offered a generous piece. Who was I to complain?

The pick-up soon arrived, and the drive to the airport and flight back (this time via Frankfurt) was as uneventful as one could imagine.

Despite things not going as planned, and finding out that my fear of heights can be much more crippling when triggered than I thought, I did enjoy myself. Big thanks to Didier and Sara for being such great guides. Big thanks to Gill, Alex and Jon for being such great company and coping with my… limitations without tossing me off a ledge. Extra thanks to Jon for acting as the extra guide on the way down from Goûter in front – that was a big help! And finally thanks to the staff at the chalet who cared for us while we were there; Charlie the chef (great food!), Sam (I think it was, my memory is already fading) and… the Kiwi. I am sorry, I do not recall your name, I don’t even know if I was ever told. Thanks for the extra cake on the day of my departure and I hope you’ll have a great time climbing in Switzerland. And please don’t ever stop smiling.

A small addendum; After returning home I bought a book about Mont Blanc from Bo Belvedere whom I have mentioned earlier (guide on Ararat and Stok Kangri, part of the group on Aconcagua) which I am looking forward to have time to read. He even signed it...

"Mont Blanc - The road to the top of Europe".
 

Translated; "Dear Jakob, Good luck with your own Mont Blanc project - and happy reading. Bo B. Christensen".
With that kind of comment it's hard not to be stubborn enough to want to try and climb Mont Blanc again - hopefully after learning to get my fear of heights under control.