7 days 6 nights £1171pp (inc meals and domestic flights)

Sandakan in Borneo has been described as a place with the highest concentration of wildlife in Borneo, Malaysia and indeed South East Asia.

Within a week and good planning!, you can see orang-utan being fed in the forest, sea turtles coming on the shore to lay their eggs, unique proboscis monkeys gather by the riverbank every night, edible bird nest limestone caves, the highest mountain in South East Asia and its collection of native orchids and rhododendrons and appreciate the tropical rainforest from a canopy walkway. You will be traveling by air, road, boat and canoe and through undisturbed lowland, montane, and mangrove rainforest, tropical wilderness, wildlife sanctuary, deserted islands, limestone caves, winding rivers and lakes.

You will be staying in unique rainforest lodges built of local material and suitable for the purpose of seeing the nature in those areas. The lodges are small, personal and comfortable with twin rooms with ensuite bathroom (except Selingan Island.) You will be escorted by very experienced and knowledgeable guides who can answer most of your questions about the nature, as well as looking after you during your wildlife adventure holiday so you can get the best organization and value for your holiday.

We are very excited to be offering this very varied and interesting natural history holiday which we are offing in conjunction with our partner in Borneo. "Wildlife Expeditions" has pioneered wildlife tourism in the district of Sandakan in Sabah with the opening of a uniquely styled Sukau river lodge on the lower Kinabatangan river. The river has a rich and varied wildlife - proboscis monkey, orang- utan, macaque, red and silver leaf monkeys, elephant, hundreds of beautiful birds including several species of hornbills also crocodile, civet cat and otter. Game viewing boat trips from the Lodge are the most convenient way to see the wildlife and the tropical wilderness as well as the colourful local villagers living along the river.

The lodge, built appropriately from local materials, consists of wooden huts built on stilts typical to this area. Its 35 twin rooms with attached bathroom offer comfortable accommodation whilst the central dining area and a bar with a river facing view provides an ideal setting for dining and relaxing. Another unique wildlife experience on this wildlife tour is Selingan Turtle Island, 40 km north of Sandakan, in the Sulu Sea. Green turtles come up nightly to the shore of this island to lay their eggs. Turtle hatchlings can be seen going to the sea almost every night.

The Libaran Island Lodge is appropriately located on the Libaran Island just next to Selingan Turtle Island. It is the ideal jump off point to see the turtle at Selingan Island. The Lodge consists of wooden beach huts with an excellent view of the sea is built from Nippa Palm leave materials found locally. Its 25 twin rooms with attached bathroom offers extremely comfortable accommodation on the beach ideal for "total-switch off" and "away-from it all" relaxation. Alternatively, snorkelling trips, boat trips to the mangrove forest, jungle trekking at nearby island to see wildlife, village walk and night fishing can be easily arranged from the Lodge. A drive overland easterly to the district of Sandakan. Takes you tot he Gomantong Caves where the bizarre edible bird's nest are harvested as they been for hundreds of years. The caves are also home to more than a million bats. The birdlife around the cave is particularly rich, with crested serpent eagles, kingfishers, asian fairy bluebirds and leaf birds often sighted.

The Wildlife Mountain Lodge located at the foot of the majestic Mount Kinabalu Park (6000 feet above sea level) is truly a place to experience the true meaning of tranquility and peace as time seems to stand still in this wonderful natural environment. Patterned after the Sukau River Lodge at the lower Kinabatangan River, it offers the same high class facilities-spacious and elegantly decorated 23 twin rooms with attached bathroom and heating. It organises excellent field trips to the nearby Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Spring with well marked nature trails to see the wild Orchids, pitcher plants, numerous different rhododendrons, ferns, mosses and the numerous species of plants that are found in this park. The bird life is equally fascinating with most species being montane including a number of endemics.

Itinerary

Our Borneo tour starts and ends in Kota Kinabalu, we recommend and can arrange that you start or end your trip with a day or two (at least) at a hotel in Kota. We recommend the Rasa Ria which in addition to being an International class hotel has it's own small orang-utang sanctuary that you can visit daily if you wish, although we also have some less expensive options.

DAY 1 Kota Kinabalu / Kinabalu Park:

Depart Kota Kinabalu and travel 2 hours along the ridges of the Crocker Range to Kinabalu Park. Enjoy superb mountain views as you travel to the Park at 1524 meters. Explore one of the many trails that lead through tropical Montane Oak and Chestnut Forest. Kinabalu is a botanist's paradise with over a thousand species of orchids, numerous different rhododendrons and pitcher plants. The bird life is equally fascinating with most species being montane, including a number of endemics. Stay overnight at Wildlife Mountain Lodge. (Lunch/Dinner included).

DAY 2 Poring Hot Springs / Kinabalu Park:

Proceed by road for an hour to Poring Hot Springs at the Southern end of Kinabalu Park. Lowland dipterocarp forest makes up most of the vegetation at Poring and it is an excellent place to view lowland birds and some mammals. A short trek into the forest to the Canopy Walkway for a bird's eye view of the tropical rain forest. The Canopy Walkway is suspended between trees at the height of 40 meters and offers an excellent opportunity to observe wildlife in the canopy. Return to and overnight at Wildlife Mountain Lodge. (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner included)

DAY 3 Gomantong Cave / Sukau / Kinabatangan River:

Drive overland easterly to the district of Sandakan. The drive will take 4 hours passing through scenic country sides. Visit the Gomantong Caves where the bizarre edible bird's nests are harvested as they have been for hundreds of years. The caves are also home to more than a million bats. The birdlife around the cave is particularly rich, with crested serpent eagles, kingfishers, asian fairy bluebirds and leaf birds often sighted. Continue the journey to the village of Sukau at the Kinabatangan River where the greatest concentration of wildlife in Malaysia and possibly all of Borneo, can be found. Stay overnight at the riverside traditional style Sukau River Lodge. (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner included)

DAY 4 Kinabatangan River:

Boat trip for the day on the river to view numerous species of wildlife such as orang-utans, macaques, red and silver leaf monkeys, elephants, hornbills, crocodiles, civet cats, otters and the most famous creature, the proboscis monkey. Found only in Borneo, the male of this species has a large pendulous nose, fat belly, thick white tail and webbed feet. The bird life includes egret, kingfisher, oriental darter, bee-eater, hornbill and many more. Stay overnight at Sukau River Lodge. (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner included)

DAY 5 Libaran Island:

Drive 2½ hours to the district of Sandakan before taking an hour boat ride to Libaran Island. Enjoy the tropical shoreline vegetation with numerous species of wildlife. Glass bottom boat cruise or snorkel at the nearby marine islands to see colourful corals and fishes of the Sulu Sea. In the afternoon, walk to the nearby village and observe life in a fisherman’s village. Overnight Libaran Island Lodge. (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner included).

DAY 6 Selingan Turtle Island:

Boat ride to the nearby Selingan Island where the most important turtle breeding Marine Park is found in all of South East Asia. It is a rare experience to watch the huge green turtles lumber ashore every night, dig a hole with their flippers and lay around 100 eggs. The rangers will transfer these eggs to a hatchery for incubation for 50-60 days before hatchlings break out of their shells and scramble up through the sand and make their way to the sea. Only 3% are likely to survive due to disease and depredation. If females do survive, they will return in 20 years or so to the very beach where they themselves were hatched to repeat the cycle. Stay overnight at Selingan Island Chalet. Note that this is clean but basic acomodation with shared bathroom facilities (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner included).

DAY 7 Sepilok Orang Utan Centre / Kota Kinabalu:

Boat transfer back to Sandakan mainland and take a short drive to the famous Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre. Founded in 1964 the Centre helps once captive orang-utans learn to climb and fend for themselves in the wild with the hope that one day they may return to the forest. The semi-wild orang-utans may return to the platform provided by the Centre for milk and bananas twice a day during the process of returning to the forest. Visitors will get a close up view of these orang-utans and have the chance to photograph them at close range. Transfer to Sandakan airport for flight to Kota Kinabalu. (Breakfast/Lunch included)

* We can arrange a stay at Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort (additional cost) to ease you in or out of our wildlife tour.

Nested amidst 400 acres of lush tropical vegetation, with magnificent views across the South China Sea and soaring mountains behind, Rasa Ria Resort is 40 minutes away from Kota Kinabalu International Airport. It has a spacious and airy lobby, 330 guestrooms and suites with sea or garden view. This resort has 6 restaurants and bars serving local & western cuisine. Besides enjoying facilities such as the swimming pool, fitness center and tennis court, guests can explore the nearby 64 acres nature reserve with orang-utans and a wide range of native animals, Borneo orchids and the rare and strange pitcher plant. There are a host of fun and exciting recreational activities within the resort.