BORNEO’S WILD EAST RAINFORESTS
For astonishing wildlife, the rainforests and wetlands of eastern Sabah are unbeatable. Your first orang-utan moment will stay with you forever.
WHY IT’S SPECIAL
Borneo has a poor reputation for deforestation, but the surviving rainforest and wetlands of Eastern Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) are incredibly rich in wildlife and visually stunning. The rainforest and mangroves that straddle the Kinabatangan river are home to wild orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants and sun bears. Nothing – absolutely nothing – can prepare you for the sight of a wild orang-utan neatly putting its bedtime nest together high in the canopy. If your luck is really in, you may see a herd of pygmy elephants splashing their way along the riverbank.
Afterwards you can fly to Sabah’s capital and enjoy some R&R at the ShangriLa’s Rasa Ria resort, which has its own reserve of rainforest with guided trails along which you can see pangolins, pit
vipers and tarsiers.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET… Kicking back on a night-river trip. Your guide will slowly bring the boat to a halt and ask you to turn off your torches. Fireflies will flicker into life around you and a buffy fish owl may land on a tilting tree stump. The only illumination may come from a faraway lightning storm.
INSIDER TIP
Go for a dawn walk on the boardwalk that loops around the Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort. There’s every chance you may spot an endangered sun bear.
HOW TO DO IT
Access to the Kinabatangan is via the port town of Sandakan. Sticky Rice Travel (stickyricetravel.com) can organise transfers and accommodation from nearby Sandakan airport and boat travel upriver to the Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort at Sukau for around £450pp. For all-in packages from the UK, try Audley Travel (audleytravel.com). They can also include transfers and accommodation at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria.