Borneo - Jungle Camp
Laura hanging out at the camp
The Kinabatangan Jungle Camp was not part of our original Borneo itinerary. Various people at the Rain forest lodge recommended it to us, so we thought we would check it out.
It was not nearly as luxurious as the lodge and we were the only people staying but we soon realised why so many people had recommended it. Our stay consisted of morning, afternoon and evening river cruises on the Kinatbatangan river with our guide who's name we couldn't understand or pronounce and after a few hours of trying we gave up - we will call him Bob for the benefit of this blog! Unfortunately, Bob did not have a good grasp of English and he didn't understand our questions so he gave us limited information. However, he was an excellent spotter and there was loads to see.
We saw loads of Proboscis monkeys relaxing at sunrise or swinging through the trees. The proboscis monkeys are only found in Borneo and due to a reduction in their habitat and hunting, there are only about 7000 left in the wild, so it was a privilege to see them.
A sly croc on the bank!
The long tailed macaques were a very common sight along the river. They fed on buds, fruits, insects, spiders and cereals but the best site was watching them hunt for river crabs. They hung their tail in the water like a fishing line and waited until an unsuspecting crab grabbed hold. The monkey quickly whipped its tail out of the water, grabbed the crab and starts crunching, mmm! However, we drifted a bit to close to one of the monkeys who proceeded to hop onto a branch above us and then to urinate on me. It was a disgustingly fowl smell that seemed to linger on my arm for the next two days, very pleasant!
A Long tailed Macaque fishing and crunching on a fresh water crab
In the evening we went on a night cruise. We were not sure what animals could possibly be spotted from a boat in the pitch dark, with a torch, but our guide didn't let us down. We were amazed by his ability to spot wildlife both in the daylight and in the pitch black of the night. We were joined by another guide who held the torch while Bob kept a look out. We saw loads of animals and birds and it was very exciting. However, it stated to rain and Bob dived for cover under the seat, covered himself with life jackets and took shelter whilst were sat in our seats with no waterproofs, getting soaked. Then, to top it off, the one and only torch suddenly went out. The boys preceded to try and mend it by the light from my camera flash and a lighter that was situated dangerously close to the petrol can. It was a bit hairy floating down the river in the pitch dark with ominous noises coming from the undergrowth and the thought of crocodiles swimming close by. Thank goodness the boys managed to fix the light and we were off again for more spotting. Below are some more pics of our night cruise, which turned out to be a great adventure.
The boys at work fixing the torch
A Buffy Fish Owl, A Stork Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher
The whole trip was excellent. It was a totally different experience from the Rain forest Lodge but just as enjoyable.
