Kota Kinabalu city wetland centre

This wetland lies right in the heart of KK at Lukash barely 7 minutes ride from the Hyatt Regency. Seven of us left at 6 a.m. in the morning to take a most refreashing walk through the mangrove forest.
This is the Rhizophorus species.
This marked our last day in Borneo and we enjoyed the experience of being in the rainforests and seeing the endemic species of this area. The same afternoon we took our flight back to Kuala Lumpur to catch our connecting flight back to Mumbai.
A plank walk through the dense rainforests









With my room-mate, Roshan Panthakee with the Rhizophorus in the background

Useful Infromation: Both Kuching & Sabah are well connected to Peninsular Malaysia. Regular Malaysian Airways flights ply between Kuala Lumpur Intl airport & these two states.
Most book stores in the 2 Bornean cities stock good guide books to the flora & fauna of the region. I used "A Guide to the Birds of Borneo" compiled by Charles M. Francis & published by The Sabah Society & WWF Malaysia -very handy guide you can tuck into your pant pocket. Also available are the Collins guides.Posted by Picasa
I would like to thank the many folks who made our trip interesting, enjoyable and fruitful
  1. Bombay Natural History Society & especially Mr. Isaac Kehimkar for planning this trip
  2. Mr. Sudhir Sapre of Leo Travels for pioneering this trip. We may have been the first nature lovers group to visit the Northern Borneo, but certainly Sudheer will take many more interested groups to enjoy the Bornean experience
  3. Our guides Dion in Sarawak and Ross in Sabah who brought their country alive for us to savour. they had excellent knowledge of local customs, culture, economy as well as habitats as well as the rich flora and fauna of the country. The drivers of our vehicles also deserve a special mention for their cheerful and friendly disposition.
  4. The friendly and warm people of Northern Borneo and the management & staff of the Crowne Plaza at Kuching, Bako National Park Resort and Hyatt Regency at Kota Kinabalu for making our stay comfortable
  5. And finally all my fellow travellers who packed in enthusiasm, cheer and even plenty of humour in exploring a new country - we gelled together like a team right from the start.

2 comments:

gemma said...

Dear Avi - I have really enjoyed your blog. I am planning a trip to Malaysia in June and have just 4 days to spend in Borneo. I am trying to decide whether to go to Sabah or Sarawak. If you only had time to visit one which one would you recommend?

Many thanks

Avi Sabavala said...

Hi,
If nature & wildlife are your special interests, Bako National Park in Sarawak is a great choice. An overnight stay (or even 2days) at the resort right within the rain forest will get you the endemic species as well as a night trail & more activity. Other places worth visiting the the Semmengoh Orangutang Rehab centre.
so happy traveling