Week 87 - Kinabalu National Park, Sandakan, Kinabatangan River, Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia)

We were up early again the next day to try to make the first boat to Kota Kinabalu, leaving at 8am. We got to the terminal to buy a ticket only to find that the boat was canceled (we have no idea why boats seem to be canceled so often, the weather was fine). The next boat wasn’t until the afternoon and we didn’t want to sit around any longer. All 6 of us ended up buying a ticket for a speed boat to run us to Menumbuk, a small town on the mainland. We didn’t have to wait long and we squeezed in to the tiny boat for the short 20 minute trip. We pulled into Menumbok and I wished I had the camera to hand, it was a pretty stilt village with pastel coloured wooden houses built over the water. We found a bus heading straight to Kota Kinabalu leaving in an hour and settled at a cafe to wait. 

The bus got us into the town at around noon and we walked in the direction of the City Bus Station, a small car park full of minibuses. We found one going to Ranau and claimed a seat, only waiting about 30 minutes for the rest of the seats to fill so we could start the journey. The drive to the Kinabalu National Park took about an hour and a half and we were dropped at the end of a track leading to our mountain lodge. It took us 20 minutes with our backpacks to climb the 1 km over the hills to the lodge and we got there just in time for a downpour, the clouds had rolled in and we couldn’t see anything of the view from the terrace. It was a bit awkward when we arrived as we were the only people there and there were 7 women working there all sitting around in the common area eating lunch. 

We hid away in our room until they called us for dinner, Nasi Goreng, not one of Rhys’s favourite meals, just fried rice with an egg on top. Before bed we chatted to an English guy out on the balcony while admiring all the beetles and moths and playing with a very loud chatty cat. 

Moths on the balcony at our hostel, Kinabalu National Park.

Another 6:30am alarm and we were up for breakfast before a taxi picked us up to drive the 2 km to the National Park HQ. We would have walked but the road was very hilly and we had all our luggage. We left our big bags in storage at the HQ, grabbed a trail map and jumped in a shuttle bus to the Timpohon Gate. We would have loved to have climbed Mount Kinabalu but the prices were extortionate, at £200 for a 1 night, 2 day climb we just couldn’t justify it when we’re only paying 3 times that for a 17 night trek to Everest Base Camp in a couple of months. There was an option to climb in one day to reduce the cost but we just didn’t think the climb would be enjoyable in such a rush and we still had thoughts of the Pinnacles at the back of our minds. 

Mount Kinabalu, Kinabalu National Park.

We climbed a short trail to a view point to see the mountain before the clouds rolled in then spent the next couple of hours following the longest trail (not ascending the mountain) back to HQ. We stopped there for a coffee where we poked some stick insects and Rhys discovered a leech on his leg that had obviously been there for a while (he swears a pint of blood came out when he squashed it but I think it was more like a tablespoon) before wandering up to the botanic garden. As they were asking an entrance fee we decided against it and walked back down to pick up our big bags. All up, we were in the park for about 5 hours and walked about 7.5km, Rhys’s allergies had flared up so we decided to call it a day. We crossed the road for a cheap lunch then set up camp at the bus stop for the 2 hour wait for the bus to Sandakan to arrive. Luckily, it turned up an hour early. The journey was supposed to take 4 hours but with a lunch stop for the driver and bad traffic it took nearer to 5 hours. When we finally got into Sandakan we only had time to check into our hostel and grab a quick Indian buffet dinner (I ended up with a plate of kidneys, yuck) before bed.

We managed to arrange a 3 day/ 2 night trip, staying at a lodge on the Kinabatangan River, through our hostel and after a lazy start to the day were led to the pick up point at 11:30am. Thinking the bus was running late the guy from the hostel left us to wait and went back to work. 45 minutes later and the bus still hadn’t turned up and we were getting hot and sticky standing on the street corner. Another guy appeared out of nowhere and after a few phonecalls told us that the bus had gone without us and our hostel had forgotten to let them know that we’d booked on to the trip. We walked back to the hostel weighing up our options and the guy in reception made a few phonecalls are sorted out another lift. Papa Bear, the manager of the lodge was just up the road and in 30 minutes could be in Sandakan to pick us up and drive us the 2 hours to the river. It was quite an eye opening journey with palm oil plantations as far as the eye could see and a little saddening to think of the acres and acres of rainforest that have been destroyed to satisfy demand for the product. 

In the end we were only a little later than those who arrived on the bus, we were shown to our cabin, a little wooden shed on stilts overlooking the river, Rhys went for afternoon tea then it was time for our first boat ride. The boat was jammed with 14 people squashed in and the guide wasn’t that good at spotting wildlife, he was content to laugh and joke with his friends and follow the boats from the other lodges. Back at the lodge we had time to watch the sunset from the terrace over the water before dinner. The food the whole time we were at the lodge was amazing and of a far higher standard than we were expecting. We had calamari, lamb stew, home made doughnuts and baked beans among other things. 

Boat trip on the Kinabatangan River, near Sukau.

Baby macaque monkey on the banks of the Kinabatangan River.

That evening we had a night walk. We were a little surprised how few people actually bothered to show up for the walk and chose to turn in for an early night since it was all included in the price. We had the same guide as on the boat and again he wasn’t much good, it turned into more of a night march than a walk and we spotted more than he did. Back at the cabins after the walk we had a quick lap of the terrace over the water by ourselves to find stick insects and spiders.

The alarm was set for 5:40am the next morning to give us time for a quick coffee before boarding the boat for our morning boat ride. It was quite mystical seeing the river with mist sitting low in the jungle on its banks. The Kinabatangan River is a wide, quite fast flowing river and is the colour of coffee and the boats have to weave about to dodge the branches and trees being washed down from up river. The encroaching palm oil plantations mean that the animals are all pushed towards the rainforest lining the banks that is protected, making spotting monkeys and birds pretty easy. Although we didn’t see any big ticket items like wild orangutans or pygmy elephants we saw more macaques, proboscis and languar monkeys than you can shake a stick at. During that morning boat ride we saw a couple of horn bills and lots of different eagles and kites, all of which our guide told us the name of and I have already forgotten.

Back at the lodge we had breakfast and had an hour to kill before our next activity. We happily filled the time napping in our cabin before meeting our group, that had now dropped to 5 people for a walk to the nearby oxbow lake. It took about an hour to get to the lake and as the day was already starting to warm up, the wildlife we saw was limited to creepy crawlies. Once at the lake we dangled our feet in the water and Aljun, our guide handed us slices of bread to feed the fish, you’d swear they hadn’t eaten in months. After enjoying the tranquility of the lake for a while longer, it was time to head back. We only got a short way down the trail when the rain started. Back at the lodge, we quickly changed out of our wet clothes before lunch was served, then had another couple of hours before afternoon tea and our next boat trip. 

Oxbow lake on the Kinabatangan River.

Tree frog in the jungle by our lodge, Kinabatangan River.

We retired to the audio visual room to watch a couple of short dvds on orangutan orphans and conservation programmes in the area before another nap in our cabin. Although another 13 people had arrived, that afternoon the 5 of us were given our own boat and went out with our guide Aljun, the rain having just about stopped for the day. We were out for a little over two hours and had spotted ridiculous amounts of hornbills including the Rhinoceros Hornbill (the one you always picture in your head when someone says hornbill), Wrinkled Hornbills and Oriental Hornbills. Of the 30 types of Hornbills in the world, 8 are found in Borneo and we were happy having seen 3 on our tour. Hornbills are one of Rhys’s favourite birds and one of the main reasons we took a trip to the Kinabatangan River, that and the fact that everything in Sabah is so expensive and our hostel in Sandakan offered a really cheap deal and our idea of Borneo screams jungle and animals rather than islands and snorkeling which was the other option.

Rhinoceros Hornbill, Kinabatangan River.

We watched the sunset over the river and played cards while we waited for the gong to announce dinner. That night only 3 of us went out on the night walk with Aljun. Again, we didn’t see any mammals but lots of creepy crawlies. We decided to do another lap of the terrace by the river before bed and came across 4 or 5 different kinds of praying mantis.

Praying mantis on the terrace at our lodge, Kinabatangan River.

Another early start for our last morning boat ride and we headed out with Aljun again. The previous morning we’d seen hundreds of eagles but this morning was all about Hornbills and Broadbills. Back at the lodge we had breakfast before packing up and checking out, catching the boat across the river to the waiting bus to take us back into Sandakan. The journey was uneventful and once in town we walked back to our hostel and checked back in, waiting for a room to become free in the lounge. 

Dawn boat trip on the Kinabatangan River.

Broadbills on the banks of the Kinabatangan River.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around and doing chores, popping out for a delicious dinner at a harbour front restaurant. We bought some foul, undrinkable orange vodka on the way back to our room and after a bit more TV turned in for an early night.

After breakfast at the hostel we checked out and jumped in a taxi to the long distance bus terminal on the outskirts of town. It’s the oddest bus terminal, more like a trading estate with a little layby and an office round the back. We’d timed it perfectly and jumped straight on the 9am bus as it was ready to leave. The journey took us just over 6 hours, along winding mountain roads, back past the Kinabalu National Park. The views were stunning with rolling green hills speckled with small villages and tea plantations. Once off the bus we jumped in a taxi to Australia Place, an area of budget accommodation in Kota Kinabalau, along with another English guy, Matt. After checking in to a hostel we wandered out to get our bearings, ending up in a shopping mall for a late lunch on the 4th floor terrace with views out across the bay. Back at the hostel we met up with Matt and headed back to the mall, in torrential rain, to the cinema. Rhys wanted to watch the new X-Men film. We paid our £2.40 entrance (bargain!) and settled in. The film was pretty good even for a non-movie goer like me. By the time it was over and we were back in the room it was time for bed.

We had hoped to take a short boat ride across to a group of islands just off the coast the next day but when we woke it was overcast and humid, in Borneo, that generally means rain is on its way. Instead, we spent the day in the air conditioned shopping mall, eating on the roof terrace and replacing some worn out T-shirts and shorts. By lunchtime the weather had cleared but we’d already settled in to a chill day. That evening we wandered over to the night market on the water front. For the second time that week I wished we had the camera, it was chaotic with row after row of cheap, fresh seafood followed by fresh vegetables and then some little stalls cooking up fish while you waited. We sat down at one of the stalls and ordered a seafood feast, two different fish, some squid and a giant prawn. I thought it was delicious but Rhys wasn’t all that keen and bought some chicken wings on the way home instead.