This wonderful trip offers a fabulous way to experience Borneo’s spectacular rainforest and wildlife, and to unwind after your trek!
Sepilok Orang-Utan Sanctuary is one of the highlights of any visit to Sabah. Surrounded by a 43km2 Forest Reserve, the centre was set up in 1964 and re-introduces rescued or orphaned orang-utans to the wild. The released apes often retain the habits they have learned at the centre and regularly come back to the feeding stations, giving us a wonderful opportunity to observe them.
We continue our wildlife discovery with a river safari on Kinabatangan River. Malaysia’s second-longest river, the Kinabatangan flows across Sabah; the lower Kinabatangan was designated a Wildlife Sanctuary in 2005. This protected eco-system is widely considered to be one of the best places to view wildlife in South-East Asia.
We cruise the waterways, exploring rainforest, ox-bow lakes and mangrove swamps, looking out for proboscis monkeys, orang-utans, gibbons, crocodiles and pygmy elephants, and birdlife such as hornbills and kingfishers. We stay for two nights in an eco-friendly river lodge, designed to blend in with its natural surroundings – a wonderful place to enjoy the serenity of the river and rainforest surroundings.
This trip is remote and fairly adventurous with some early starts to maximise wildlife-spotting, but there’s plenty of time to relax and watch the river go by!