Sarawak and Sabah - Northern Borneo

Rainforests of Northern Borneo

2008-05-15T07:10:00.006+05:30

A wonderful visit with the Bombay Natural History Society to Northern Borneo to experience the oldest rain forests and see some of the endemic flora and fauna of this island. Borneo is third largest island in the world (after Greenland & New Guinea) and is divided in 3 parts - Sultanate of Brunei; Kalimantan which is part of Indonesia and the states of Sarawak and Sabah which form part of Malysia. We visited the states of Sarawak and Sabah which comprise the Northern part of Borneo.
To see the map of Sarawak, click on this link :http://www.e-borneo.com/travel/sar-map.html
to see the map of Sabah, click on this click: http://www.e-borneo.com/travel/sab-map.html

As we were the first nature lovers group from India, our arrival was greeted with considerable hype and we received media coverage at Kuching International Airport. Kuching is the capital of the state of Sarawak. Would certainly recommend nature lovers to visit this wonderful land to learn about its flora and fauna as well as the culture of its people. Our guide in Sarawak was Dion who belonged to the Iban tribe that were traditional head hunters who lived in community long-houses. Retaining part of his culture he sported a pony tail and tattoos which had some some significance. Mercifully for us, his generation had long given up head hunting and taken to other professions! But we got some useful insight into the culture of his tribe. The gentle Dion regaled us with stories and practices of the Iban and we got a feel of their lifestyle at the Sarawak museum - longhouses, some gory remains of hunted heads and all!

Gunnung Gading National Park

2008-05-09T22:47:00.004+05:30

Sudhir Agashe, Roshan Panthakee & Sumitra Sreenivasan pose near the Park office

the famed pitcher plant & some orchids (below) on our way to the park

"Gunnung" is Malaysian for Mount i.e. Mount Gadding. This National Park is a two hour drive from Kuching. It lies in the district of Lundu which is home to the Iban kwak tribe of Borneo. They are headhunters who end every sentence with the word "Kwak" which means "you"

This is home to the Rafflesia flower the largest flower having a width of one meter.
Unfortunately during our visit, there were none in bloom so we had to satisfy our selves with the buds which would take about 9 months to bloom and some blackened remains of an old bloom.

More of Gunnung Gading National park

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The flower of Ginger plant

a beautiful caterpillar

Sonia, Sumitra & self chilling out

Entrance to the Semmengok Orang Utang Feeding Centre

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This is a rehabilitation centre for preparing Orang Utangs who are orphaned or freed from capitivity to live in the wild. they are fed twice a day and visitors can watch them while they feast upon a variety of fruits.
This clourful feline above merged with the surrounding - greeted us at the entrance.

a beautiful orchid at the entrance

Nest of the Orang Utang

entrance to the feeding area where we got our briefing

entrance to the feeding area

Orang utangs @ Semmengoh rehabilitation Centre

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the park ranger gives us the dos and donts of how to behave with Orang Utangs - keep safe distance; no loud talk and do not give any food from your side!

A whole bunch of Bananas is what he needs

Eating time is sharing time!
Unfortunately the real good poses came after some time with heavy rain. Had to pack up the cameras and instead enjoyed the show free hand!

Natural History Museum, Kuching

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Model of the Raja Brooke Butterfly on the Museum

More of Kuching

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The town Hall

Kuching means cat - what better way to describe the city than with this imposing statue

the Buddhist temple - Hong Sang Si has a real Chinese ambience to it

Turtles inside the Hong sang Si

Kuching & the Sarawak river

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This is another interesting structure of Kuching taken from my hotel room on the 10th floor

More pictures of the cruise we had on the evening of the first day first day, when we set out in search of Esturine crocodiles and fireflies. While
fireflies were easy to spot, the crocs posed a challenge for the boatmen. Just when we gave up, our boat was able to spot a baby who quickly jumped ito the water, a sub-adult and an adult - all in darkness. They fled before I had time to focus my camera on them.

After the cruise we ended the day with dinner with a local family. their house was typical of a modest Malaysian joint family- built of wood and on stilts. Lifestlye very informal and cosy and similiar to our own Indian rural way of living. As we were leaving, the youngsters of the village came out to see & greet the Homosapiens from India. Reminds one of the kind of warm curiosity we face back home!

More of Kuching

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An interesting structure in Kuching

entrance to the Jetty that takes us to Bako National Park

A cruise on the Sarawak river

Boat ride to Bako National Park

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On the way to Bako National Park

Scenes of the Mangroves around the Jetty at the National Park during high tide

Park Headquarters at Bako

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We stayed overnight at this paradise learning about the flora and fauna. this section shows pix of the layout of place where camped. In front of the campsite lay the beach and the South China Sea while you can see the dense Dipterocarp forest at the back

The registration counter of the park.

Our group relaxing & waiting or allotment of accomodation

The wooden Chalet with 2 rooms where 4 of us stayed. Compared to our Crowne Plaza of Kuching, this was very simple accomodation, but given the chance to stay right within the rain forest- literally in the lap of nature, this was a real thriller!

Most construction on the island of Borneo is on stilts as there are chances of flooding. One can expect thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in the afternoon & evening. Luckily we were spared for most of our days in Borneo

Bako- the beach

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The Cobra rock rises from the South China Sea. Pic taken from the boat

The pristine beach was ours to enjoy

A lonely whimbrel gave us a good pose

wild mushrooms along the trail

Bako- some more species

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Blue Neptune crabs washed onshore during low tide

Meet the Bornean Mafia - Long-tailed Macqua where all over our campsite. We were urged to keep our doors & windows shut lest they turn us all upside down. they were certainly very entertaining!

Some Lizard species on our trail
Hermit Crab near the jetty

Bako- Endemic Primates

2008-05-05T06:22:00.001+05:30

Borneo is home to 2 endemic species of monkeys- the Proboscis (because of its long nose) and the silver leaf monkey. 1st three are of the Proboscis Monkey. Unfortunately, these were taken against the light & hence needed editing.

The Silver-leaf Monkey. In the next pix you can see a whole gang of them along with their golden coloured infants

Bako- meet our nearest neighbours!

2008-05-05T06:21:00.001+05:30

Wrangler's Pit viper 3 of them near our chalets. they merged beautifully with the surrounding & to the untrained eye could be mistaken for foliage on the tree. Extremely venomous & it is advisable while on trails not to touch any foliage around you.

The bearded pig is an endemic species to Borneo. This mammal was a regular visitor to our camp & we got close views

White-collared Kingfisher is a common species near wetlands

Flying Lemur gave us some good poses - this is a nocturnal animal and its activity can be seen in the dark.

another flier is the flying Squirrel on a tree opposite my chalet

Arriving in Sabah

2008-05-05T06:11:00.001+05:30

Over to the state of Sabah where we set up base in the capital city of Kota Kinabalu (KK). Our first intorduction was to the Garema/ Klias wetland - a 2 hr. drive from KK. We took a cruise down the backwaters & you can see some of the beautiful views in this section. Some good birdlife included the Pied Hornbills, Blue-Banded Pitta, Blue-eared Kingfisher (a dimunitive bird with a beautiful dark brown chest), Ashy swallows, Green Imperial Pigeons, Purple Heron, Green heron, Egret- samll, Median & Large, White-collared Kingfisher, Phillipine glossy Starling etc., also Spotted a Monitor Lizard, Probosicis Monkeys hidden behind the foliage and even a pack of Buffaloes chilling out in the water!

Mt Kinabalu

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Mount Kinabalu is 4000 msl & is the highest peak in South - East Asia. These pix are taken at a village - Nabulu on the way to the Mount Kinabalu National Park. This park is the 1st UNESCO designated world heritage site in Malaysia. we trekked through the beautiful Silau Silau trail viewing some of the high altitude flora of the region. the trail ended in the Botanical garden. The next section will give you some of the beautiful plant species.

Mt. Kinabalu Botanical Garden

2008-05-05T06:09:00.004+05:30

After a trek through the Silau Silau trail, we arrive at the entrance to the Botanical Garden of Mt. Kinabalu National Park.

See some beautiful plant species of the area

The afternoon visit was to Poring Hot springs where we enjoyed a canopy walk. Truly a wonderful experience as we walked up 1/2 km & thereafter walked on a hammock - like ropeway which swung up & down & sideways with each step you took. There were 5 such canopies after which we took the descent of another 1/2 km. It was a walk at a height of nearly 100 mts above ground level where you could walk through the tree canopy to experience what life must be like up there in the trees! Unfortunately I could not take any pictures as it was raining during the period.

The canopy walks were orignially intended for scientists to study insects and other species at eye level. This is indeed a good experience for all nature lovers.

sightings in & around our hotel at KK

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Chestnut Munia & its nest (below) near the swimming pool at Hyatt Regency

Across the river. view taken from the 13th floor cafetaria of Hyatt Regency

Boat ride to Gaya/Sapi

2008-05-05T06:07:00.001+05:30

Gaya & Sapi are part of the Tunku Abdul Rehman Marine National Park. It was a very choppy sea this morning and so we had a very bumbpy boat ride. Unfortunately, the Sapi island was far too touristic with too many people messing up the place. However, the redeeming factor were these Monitor Lizards who came out from a puddle to pose for us!

Kota Kinabalu city wetland centre

2008-05-05T06:05:00.002+05:30

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.

I would like to thank the many folks who made our trip interesting, enjoyable and fruitful

Bombay Natural History Society & especially Mr. Isaac Kehimkar for planning this trip
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
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.
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
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.