Thursday, June 21, 2012

FROM OCEAN TO JUNGLE

A long-tailed macaque reacts when we tell him about our vast knowledge of Borneo's jungles.
Ever heard of the Kinabatangan River in Borneo? No? Well, we hadn't either, not until we read about it in a restaurant while trying to figure out where we should go the following day. [Note to self: do more research before visiting our next destination]

The Kinabatangan, Malaysia's second longest river, is one of Borneo's premier jungle attractions and is the place to go if you want to see animals in the wild. The area around the river is home to proboscis monkeys, hornbills, orangutans, red-leaf monkeys, macaques, lots of leeches, and if you're lucky, the rare pygmy elephant, among hundreds of other amazing creatures.

A baby pig-tailed macaque has some leaves for breakfast. 
It's also on the way to Kota Kinabalu, or "KK" as it's known, which is where we were ultimately headed.

While there were no buses to the river, a guy at the restaurant where we were reading said we could probably hop a bus to KK and ask the driver to drop us off at the "meeting place."

Liz asked, "What's the meeting place, sir?"

Restaurant man responded, "It's where the KK bus will drop you if you ask the driver. From there you try to find a ride to the river."

Of course! Being dropped off alone on a rural roadside in Borneo. Great idea. No danger of being eaten by wild animals here, certainly not in the middle of the jungle.

So we gave it a shot.

After three hours on the bus, the driver pulled off the road and said, "meeting place." We looked around and realized, he's talking to us. Out the window were only three roadside shops...and they were closed. We grabbed our packs, the bus pulled away, and we realized we may have made a mistake. Did we mention we're working on our planning skills?

Luckily, just before sunset, when the animals and mosquitoes were starting to feed, a local man and his wife stopped and agreed to haul us to Bilit, which was a 45-minute drive over rough, gravel roads, across small creeks, and through vast plantations of palm trees planted where dense jungle once stood. Side note: the oil produced from palm trees here is the blessing and curse of Borneo--while it's a leading export, growers have clear cut millions of acres of virgin forests and wildlife habitat, and more is disappearing every day. Learn more from this National Geographic story by our friend Mel White (sorry, Mel, can't believe we didn't read this and ask for your advice before we came!).

When we arrived at the "jetty" (a small pile of boards nailed together, floating on empty oil drums), the nice driver graciously let us use his phone to call a jungle lodge to send a boat to pick us up. Thankfully, one did.

Our stay at the "lodge" proved to be stunning. While we slept two nights on thin, twin mattresses draped with well-used mosquito nets, they were two of the more well-rested nights of our trip. The soothing, constant roar of the jungle surrounded us. Our palm-roofed hut overlooked the chocolate milk-colored river, which we floated down on guided boat trips at dawn and dusk, when the animals are most active. We took nature hikes in daylight and even after dark. Despite the shin-high galoshes we borrowed from the lodge, Kip finally got his first leech. He was so proud.



Based on the photos below, the lack of planning mostly worked out in the end. But for a few minutes there...waiting on the side of that road hoping for a ride to the river...we had our doubts.

Yes, those are really pygmy elephants behind the two American cuckoos. 
A hungry pygmy elephant grabs herself a breakfast of champions. River grass. Mmmm.
A male proboscis monkey. Write your own caption in the comments below. Note: kids visit this site.
One of Borneo's many species of leaf insects. Now that's some camouflage to be proud of.

A Rufous-backed kingfisher.
A rhino hornbill.

14 comments:

  1. This makes our weekend at the zoo look so,so,so sad.....Fantastic photos! WOW!

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    1. This will just get the boys excited for a family vacation to Borneo :)

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  2. Great photo! That's how I feel every Friday around 5 pm!

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    1. We did too! Now we don't even know what day it is...

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  3. Rhino hornbill--- fantastic bird! So glad you guys decided to visit Borneo, and glad you were rewarded for taking a chance on the Kinabatangan.

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    1. Thanks Mel! We're saving up for Danum Valley next trip. Sounds incredible.

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    2. When I was at DV I stayed at the research station, which I think must have cost a lot less than that fancy lodge.

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  4. You guys...often leave me speechless. Love it! -ellie

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  5. Caption "more people? Good thing I wore my finest toupe today." :) seriously love his deep red, flat top! Christine

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    1. Ha! He does look a little like "The Donald" eh?

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  6. Hi, my name is Karlie Sanders and I am a Chemistry student in Mrs. Paula Callender's class at Pleasant Hill High School. I was looking through many of your blogs and I found this one to be really interesting. Imagining how animals act in the wild is something I have always wondered about. Looking at all the neat pictures you took of these amazing animals has really influenced me to want and go and see it for myself.It has to be a great sight to see them interact in the wild!I think that what your doing is really amazing and has to be on of the best experiences. Thank you for sharing with us!
    -Karlie

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    1. Hi Karlie, thanks for writing...and for reading the site! So glad you like it. Seeing the animals in the wild has been amazing--something we would recommend to anyone if they have the chance. Thanks again, keep reading, and please tell Mrs Paula hello from us!
      Liz and Kip

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  7. Hello, my name is Benjamin Singletary, student of Mrs. Paula, required to come here and comment. Even though I was forced, I did enjoy reading about all of your trips this one was one of my favorites. I am a big fan of wildlife and would love to travel like this to places with rare and unique animals. Biology is one of my prefered subjects, which makes me want to be a wildlife biologist so that I can go to different places and study amazing animals like the ones pictured.

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Thanks for reading and commenting!