Borneo Wildlife Family Holiday

The group flight is an overnight flight departing the day before. Those

travelling on the group flights will be met on arrival at the airport this

morning and transferred to our hotel, where the rest of the group will join

throughout the day. Today is a free day but there will be a welcome meeting

in the evening with your tour leader; details of where and when this will

take place will have been left with the hotel's reception. The hotel check-in

time is from 2pm.

Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, is an intriguing city that was born

between the Borneo jungle and the South China Sea. Having recovered from

World War II bombings, 'KK' now possesses a gateway charm that can only be

found in a frontier town. If you have enough free time, why not immerse

yourself in local history at the Sabah State Museum or visit the Mari Mari

cultural village for a fun and interactive learning experience.

Leaving the city behind we head towards Mt. Kinabalu. After about 2-2.5hrs we

arrive at the Dusun village of Tanak Nabalu (please note that at time of

writing the roads to the village are quite bad so we may have to use smaller

minibuses for this journey). The Dusun people are the largest ethnic group in

Sabah, the province of Borneo where we find ourselves.

In the village we are separated into different homestays and will spend the

rest of the day hiking through orchards and rubber plantations, going for a

swim in the river, exploring the village and, possibly, if anyone is feeling

energetic, playing football on the village pitch.

This evening we all gather together for a cultural show which helps the Dusun

preserve their ancient, traditional dances. As not all families speak

English, our tour leader will hand out language sheets and will be on hand to

assist with communication.

This morning we visit the Mini Mount Kinabalu, a natural rock formation that

looks exactly like the summit of Mt. Kinabalu. We continue into Kinabalu

National Park (approx. 30 minutes). Here we will go for a 1-2 hour hike along

some of the lower trails and the Mountain Botanical Gardens with an excellent

showcase of the mountain’s diverse plant life.

There is an option to visit the Kundasang War Memorial which commemorates

Prisoners of War who died during the infamous death marches of World War II.

The memorial is made up of four gardens, the Australian, English, Malaysian

and the Contemplation Garden that represent the different nationalities.



We then take a short transfer, to the Zen Garden Resort where we spend the

night.

This morning we transfer 1 hour to the Poring Hot Spring where there will be

plenty of time to enjoy the cool pools and hot-tubs (into which the steaming

hot water is piped) as well as the well maintained, self-guided walking

trails to a nearby waterfall. The hot springs can get quite popular with

locals especially during school and public holidays and you may wish to pay

the additional charge to enjoy a private bath if you want a good soak.

We later take to the trees as we head on a canopy walkway which follows a

trail including a number of suspension bridges hanging from the trees at

canopy level, some up to 40m above the ground.



There is also a butterfly and orchid garden within the complex. We later take

a short transfer to the Sabah Tea Gardens, where we will spend the night in

a traditional reconstructed longhouse with shared bathrooms.

Waking to the spectacular views overlooking the mountain, we start with an

early morning visit to the tea plantation, learning about the process of tea

production, before driving to Kinabatangan (approximately 5-6 hours).



The Kinabatangan River is the longest in Sabah and its lower reaches are

recognised as one of the best places in South East Asia for wildlife viewing.

The surrounding forests are home to ten species of primate, including

orang-utans, Proboscis monkeys and gibbons as well as hornbills, crocodiles

and the elusive Pygmy elephants which come down to the river to drink,

amongst others.

We spend the next day and a half exploring the surrounding jungle. We go on

river cruises, jungle hikes, a night walk, and plant trees.

The next two days are spent in and around Sepilok.

The drive to Labuk Bay and the Proboscis monkey sanctuary takes about 3-4

hours. These monkeys, only found in Borneo, are very distinctive with their

large noses and can often be seen jumping from tree to tree with tremendous

leaps through the air.

After visiting the sanctuary we continue towards Sepilok, about 40 minutes

away where we will be staying just 5 minutes from the famous Sepilok

Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre in a guesthouse with a pool.

The Kabili Sepilok Reserve, established in the 1960s, is home to between 60

and 80 rehabilitated orang-utans which roam freely in the forest. In addition

to this, the rehabilitation centre was established to care for the apes and

is home to a further 25 young orphaned orang-utans who live in a nursery. The

rehabilitation centre provides medical care for the orphaned and confiscated

apes as well as various other wild animals.

Whilst the semi-wild orang-utans roam free in the reserve and forage for

food, their diet is supplemented by milk and banana. There are two feedings a

day, at 10am and 3pm, and we have the opportunity to witness both.

There is also the opportunity to visit the nearby Borneo Sun Bear

Conservation Centre. The smallest of all bears, Sun bears were once widely

found across much of Asia but have drastically decreased in numbers. The

Centre aims to protect and promote conservation to return these bears to the

forest.

The nearby Rainforest Discovery Centre is a centre for environmental

education situated within the famous Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve. Its

primary function is to create public awareness and appreciation of the

importance of conserving forests, as well as the sustainable use of forest

resources. The 147m long, 28m high steel canopy walkway gives spectacular

views of beautiful rainforest giants like the Mengaris tree, and there are

also 250 species of bird to look out for - experience forest life high in the

canopy.

Leaving early we head to Sandakan Airport (about 25 minutes) for our flight

back to Kota Kinabalu (40 minutes). Please note there is a 15kg restriction

on checked baggage for the domestic flight, but it is possible to pay for

excess luggage at the airport or your leader can arrange this at the start of

the tour.



Upon arrival in Kota Kinabalu, we then travel by boat to Manukan Island, part

of the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Manukan Island is the second biggest

island in the national park and is covered in thick forest with a nice beach

and some good corals for snorkelling. There is also a network of easy walking

trails around the island.

We spend the next two nights in the lovely Manukan Island Resort with its

Balinese style villas facing the South China Sea.

The rest of the day is free to relax and enjoy the pool and the beach.

Today we head out exploring the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park on a

snorkelling trip to some of the best sites with vibrant coral and schools of

colourful fish. The more intrepid can also zip-line from one island to

another.

We have a leisurely morning to enjoy the beach before heading back to Kota

Kinabalu. Please note that on some departures the flight schedules may

require us to catch the evening flight to Kuala Lumpur connecting to the

overnight flight back, in such cases, those on the group flights will be

taken to the airport in time for their flight. Otherwise we have time in Kota

Kinabalu for some last minute shopping and our final night in Borneo.

For land only passengers, the trip ends after breakfast this morning in Kota

Kinabalu.