Jungle fun!

Greeting all! Sorry it's been a while but we've been rather busy and out of the way in Borneo! Have been having a wonderful time, this place is so beautiful I don't think that I can convey it through words alone but I'll give it a try. We have done so much I'll have to be brief otherwise we'll be here all day!
At the last entry we had just arrived in Kota Kinabalu, the main city in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo). After Bangkok and KL this place seemed tiny! It's lovely though, right by the sea which is very blue and inviting! Our guesthouse is very basic, but Ok and the staff are very friendly as is everyone here. Our first day was spent looking round the town, booking a trip for the following day and getting the bus to the local beach to watch the sunset which was very enjoyable. The next day, Thursday, we embarked upon said trip. I have to say I was rather anxious about the excursion we had booked (it was another Miss George special). When we popped into "Borneo Beach Bums" and spoke to the very helpful Mr Henry Chung, he informed us thta we could do white water rafting which was something we'd wanted to gve a shot in Laos but never had the chance. There were two options, a beginners one on a river I can't remember the name of which was a level 1-2 and Padas river a level 3-4. They only go up to level 6! I was quite happy to do the beginners one, but we all know that challange is Corinne's middle name and she persuaded me to do padas, so we booked it. Whenever people asked us where we were going the next day and we said "white water rafting on Padas river", they stared at us and said "are you crazy?!"
Uh oh!
Anyway, we got up early the next morning, and met our guides and got on the coach. I had envisioned spending all day on a raging river, but we were informed that rafting would only take 2 hours and the guide totally put my mind at rest, they were really professional and very relaxed which rubs off. There were even people who couldn't swim! It turns out that the real challange of the mighty Padas lies in getting to the chuffing place! We were on our comfy, air con coach for 2hours and were then dropped off at Beauford train station for the next portion of the journey. This is because there are no roads! We were warned that we'd either have to fight locals for seats or share the cargo cars with chickens and and various other produce, and that the train can be up to two hours late if it turned up at all! Oh great!
When the train eventually arrived, late, it was so ancient I was genuinely surpised it didn't have steam coming out of it! There was a mass rush to get on and we ended up in a rather filthy cargo car, fortuanatley without chickens but with lots of boxes and bags of stuff which people just sit on! There are just holes where the windows and doors should be so you can sit with your legs dangling out if you so wish! The journey is 2 hours and not exactly smooth. It is seriously in the middle of nowhere. The stations are tin huts which just look like they're in the forrest. I don't even know how people know they are there! We eventually got to base camp where we left all our bags and then got back on to head a further 10k to the starting point where you get fruit, water, your life jacket, helmet, pep talk and scared to death! We were assigned a group and guide who was a cheeky chappy and walked down to the bank to face the music. There began the best ride in the world ever! You get a couple of trial rapids first, they are bad enough! Then you hit the big ones with names like scooby doo, cobra and my personal favorite, the washing machine! At first I would not paddle and just held on for grim death! But I soon started to trust the guide and the water and it was great. I managed, by sheer luck, not to fall out but Corinne got nailed! We were on the water for 2 hours and then we got back to camp and had lunch. Then it was time to get back on the train and head home. A great day!
The next day we'd booked a boat to Manukan Island, part of five islands which are a national park. This was for a day on the beach and snorkelling. We weren't disapointed. The beach was stunning and the water was incredible! I have never seen water like it and it was teeming with tropical fish.
The next day, Saturday, it was time to pack up and head east to Sandakan and Sepilock Jungle resort, just 5 mins away from the famous Orang utan rehab centre. We were so excited. Again everything was fantastic, the resort was amazing. Set in gorgeous grounds and surrounded by the jungle it was perfect. On our first full day we headed straight to Sepilock to see the great apes. Wow! It was magicical. There is just so much to say but it's impossible to write! It was mostly youngsters on the feeding platform who come out of the forrest for their milk and bananas and they are so funny! Thier gestures and mannerisms are so human it's actually a bit freaky! They were beautiful! With one ticket you get to go in for both feeding times, 10am and 3pm. The afternoon feed was very funny as the Pig-tailed Macaques (monkeys) decided to try their luck with the bananas and put on quite a show!
Tuesday, we went into Sandakan town, not that impressive sadly so we didn't stay too long! On Wednesday we had booked an overnight trip to the Kinabatangan River for a Jungle adventure. This was amazing. It's one of the best things to do in Borneo. Basically you go in a mini bus which takes you to the river, there you are transported across on a rather tiny boat to the jungle lodge. The sounds are so loud and its wonderful to hear all the birds and insects. We were shown to our room which was rather basic but very eco-friendly and had lots of screens to keep the bugs out! Then we headed to the dining room for tea and coffe before our afternoon wildlife cruise down the river. There we met Nelson, the main guide there who I am now madly in love with! He was great as are all the guides and they really know their stuff. Thier job is to point out wildlife to you on the way and they try to get you as close to it as possible. One of the highlights is to see the Borneo Pigmy Elephants who can be found nowhere else on the planet. We didn't get to see them, but they were close as we could see their tracks and even smell them. The guides tried their best but sadly to no avail. However we did get to see loads! Including lots of macaques, long-tailed and pig-tailed, Egrits, black herons, kingfishers, Hornbills, a Fish Hawk, a family of Proboscis monkeys, an Orang-utan, monitor lizarards, a yellow ringed mangrove snake, a Greenichai Eagle and crocodiles! We sailed back in the dark as we'd spent so long looking for the Elephants and saw a spectacular sunset. We had our evening meal, fighting bugs and bats and the guides provided entertainment. Then at 9pm we went on a night jungle walk which was very exciting and spooky! We didn't see much apart from an enormous spider, ants, some really cute birds who were trying to sleep, and millipedes. Oh I forgot to mention the leeches! Nearly everyone got one including Corinne! (She was very brave!) I had 4 on my socks which hadn't been able to get through phew! Then it was time for bed and all night I thought big spiders were coming to eat me! We were up the next morning at 5.30 am for our morning cruise (things sighted included above) then we had our breakfast and a chat and came back to sepilock! That afternoon and the following day we chilled out just absorbing our lovely surroundings and then Friday we went back to see the Orang-utans. There are a few walks to do in the forrest at the centre and one to the water hole had been recommended so after the morning feed we began our hike. It was fab. The best thing was we saw some Orangutans close up! A group of four were crashing through the trees above us and came really close! It was unbelievble! The walk was good but rather hot work! On the way back to the reception and cafe, a group of macaques had commandeered the walkway! We spent some time with them, they come really close, and watched the babies play. The interesting thing was trying to get passed! We had some luch and then headed back for the afternoon feed. It all looked a bit quiet at first but then we hit the jackpot. All our favorites came including the dominant female and her baby! Seriously cute! I want one!
Then today we had to head back to Kota Kinabalu. We've got a couple of days here and then we fly to Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia