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 Mum
bai.
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.
Blue Neptune crabs washed onshore during low tide
- 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!
Hermit Crab near the jetty
The Silver-leaf Monkey. In the next pix you can see a whole gang of them along with their golden coloured infants
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.
. This mammal was a regular visitor to our camp & we got close views
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!
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.
After a trek through the Silau Silau trail, we arrive at the entrance to the Botanical Garden of Mt. Kinabalu National Park.
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 
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!
. Seven of us left at 6 a.m. in the morning to take a most refreashing walk through the mangrove forest.
bai.
with the Rhizophorus in the background
