Sunday 24 August, we were down to reception by 6am to check out and collect our pre-ordered breakfast boxes. By 6.15 am we had been picked up and were on our way to Kuala Lumpur airport. On arrival at the airport (around 7am) we used the self-service machines, printed our boarding passes (x4) and bag tags (which were checked through to our final destination thankfully) and then dropped off the tagged luggage at the automatic machines. Moving more easily without the luggage we found somewhere quiet to sit and to eat our breakfast box contents…. half a plastic cheese sandwich each, a chocolate muffin and some juice. The reason why we ate this so early on was because we weren’t sure what would be allowed through security as we were moving state to state within Malaysia. Our next destination – Sabah, Borneo – has its own administration so operates under different regulations.
Afterwards we headed through security – which was incredibly fast (and felt very rushed) although pretty strict – and then walked to the departure gate. The flight was called and we got on board our Air Malaysia flight to Kota Kinabalu (the capital of Sabah). This short direct flight of 2 hours 45 minutes was on time and within 20 minutes of taking off we were served our meal (which was ordered online as part of the check-in process). Wish other airlines would follow their model…. And fantastic it was too!
By lunchtime we had landed in Kota Kinabalu and we had to clear immigration again (although having already checked into Malaysia more generally). Having navigated this administrative hurdle, we walked through the airport (still airside) and located the gate for our next flight (to Lahad Datu) and waited to be called to board. This time we were getting on a small prop plane and very comfy it was too…. This flight was only an hour long and we were served water and a bag of peanuts each. Bizarrely the hostess then came through the plane offering to sell us more bags of peanuts…. Hmmm…no thanks….very kind and all that LOL.
On arrival we picked up our bags and were met by our driver in a minibus all to ourselves which was a surprise. This transfer had been organised for us by our tour operator – the first part of the trip was managed by Hayes and Jarvis with a 24-hour concierge service – the second half was organised by us independently.
We were taken to the swanky office that Borneo Rainforest Lodge have in town where we completed our check in procedures before meeting our driver Frendo who was going to drive us into the rainforest. Frendo actually works for the Lodge as outsiders are not allowed to drive into the rainforest reserve – hence why we had to change vehicle. So now armed with very smart complimentary stainless water bottles we climbed into a Helux 4WD truck making sure our bags had also been transferred. We then drove on a bumpy but tarmac road for about half an hour before entering the private security-guarded acreage. Was surprised to see security guards controlling the traffic but we had an inclining when our guide in Kuala Lumpur had told us that the Dannum Valley was very private and exclusive and he wasn’t allowed to go there!
The scenery wasn’t particularly special to start with but then we entered secondary rainforest before coming to primary rainforest. Absolutely spectacular!
We continued off road and then came across some diggers. A significant amount of rainfall had washed out the only bridge and they were working on fixing it – but this is the only road in/out of this area and this was it!
The river was raging pretty fast and we were stuck on the south (wrong!) side of it…. A truck approached the river from the other side and started to ford the river – he lost control momentarily with water across the top of his bonnet – but thankfully he had a ‘snorkel’ so there was no risk of water getting into the exhaust. We were horrified and had visions of him floating off down the river – but luckily he found some solid ground, put his foot down, and made it across. At this point our driver decided it was too dangerous and we would wait for the river to drop (as it’s tidal)….
By now we had a procession of vehicles on both sides and the workmen were all standing around watching and discussing what should happen next. Then the digger driver drove down into the river….clearly to provide protection for the vehicles. We were next….drove gingerly into the water…sat alongside the digger for a little while then pushed across to the other side. Hurrah we made it! The start of a proper Borneo adventure LOL.
We carried on driving for another hour or so and arrived at the lodge. We were very late by now and had missed the scheduled evening activity so settled into our room, had a briefing about the property, and headed to dinner. And here’s our beautiful room and views….not too shoddy!
Oh yes, in Borneo you are not allowed to wear shoes in the dining area – bare or stockinged feet only – so you need to work out which entry / exit you are planning to use to make sure your shoes are in the right place at the end LOL.
Dinner was buffet style and I admit to being a little disappointed by the selection – although thoroughly enjoyed the lamb from the BBQ station. This is allegedly the best lodge they have in the whole of Borneo so had higher expectations especially after all the amazing street food in Kuala Lumpur. The dining area is open to the forest (with a roof thankfully) and overlooks the swimming pool.
After dinner it was still early so we took ourselves off to Hornbill Corner for a pontoonie. Hornbill Corner is a little platform set in the rainforest which is an outside bar and most of the people in there were employees (who because of the remote location largely live on-site). We met some honeymooners from Wales and played UNO with them before retiring back to our room. Was a fun night especially having some company!
Monday morning we were up very early for breakfast – the morning activity was a mountain hike to a waterfall which was classified as muddy and strenuous! So we declined…. Instead we opted for the alternative – a canopy walk – and our guide went off to organise it for us. We had breakfast and a female macaque monkey climbed down and stole my toast! Outrageous behaviour LOL. She was pretty aggressive too. Looks pretty cute and innocent here though….
Anyway we were told what to do by the staff to avoid this happening in future…basically although Borneo does not have tigers they did have many years before and monkeys have an inherent fear of them. (Borneo’s biggest predator is actually a clouded leopard but they are pretty rare to see). So…around the lodge you will find a variety of stuffed toy tigers…so we put one on our breakfast table and when another monkey came by we picked it up and roared in his face. I am not sure who was more shocked – the other guests or the monkey – but it certainly worked a treat and he was out of there in record-breaking speed LOL.
Our canopy walk was scheduled for 9am so we returned to our room for a chill in the air conditioning before returning to meet our guide. We started the walk which was a hike up hill to the start of the path. OMG the humidity was a killer…so here’s a picture of the intrepid explorers dressed to impress…. Despite working hard on our fitness pre-holiday in the gym I struggled a bit – especially with the circular steps up to the top of the canopy. We walked along and enjoyed the sights but sadly not much to see apart from a few birds and lots of bugs….
After returning to the lodge we got cleaned up (again!) had a chill out back in the room then went off for lunch.
The afternoon activity was a hike along the river which was muddy but not too difficult – although I had to be helped up and down some pretty uneven ground LOL! We were wearing our leech socks at this point as we knew this was the area where they were most prevalent. We did come across a few but thankfully we didn’t get any on us (or so we thought). Not too long into this walk we heard thunder and then some lightning…at which point our guide was radioed by the lodge to return…to dangerous for us all to be in the rainforest in a thunderstorm. So we headed back – getting wet from the increasing rainfall – and got cleaned up in our room. As Richard came out of the shower I noticed something on his back and realised that he had actually picked up a tiny leech….yuck….managed to remove and despatch it down the toilet and tried to stop the tiny pin prick wound from bleeding. This is pretty impossible…..but thankful I had brought a first-aid kit with us so able to disinfect etc. The biggest risk is infection so we were now ready to keep an eye on this wound going forward. Interestingly I found a bleeding cut on my ankle which was unexplained – after all I was wearing long sock, trousers and leech socks over the top – so didn’t understand how that had happened and know it was not a leech! Assuming it was my new trekking shoes but hey, who cares, it was very minor and cleaned up easily.
After all this excitement we headed for an early dinner as the evening activity was a golf buggy evening safari – but it was by now absolutely pouring down! So we had dinner and then our guide came and found us and said that the safari had been cancelled because of the (by now torrential) rain. Was very disappointed as I’d particularly been looking forward to this part of our trip.. But we were royally entertained by some staff putting on a traditional dance show…. We even got our photos taken with them at the end! A very nice last night here in the Dannum Valley after all. With hindsight we would have extended this element of the trip – two nights wasn’t long enough especially as we hadn’t allowed for any travel or weather delays curtailing some of the activities.
After dinner we returned to our room with a bottle of wine and sat and watched the weather from the safety of our room. Very nice it was too…despite the gloom outside.
Tuesday morning up early again – disappointed to be leaving having not really seen anything of note – so we had breakfast at 7am and by 7.30 am we were checked out and with our driver heading back to Lahad Datu, a two and a half hour drive. This time, thankfully, the river was lower so the crossing wasn’t quite so dramatic but the rain had caused further problems on the exit road….
In Lahad Datu we had a comfort break in the swanky office and was then picked up by our next driver who was taking us another two and a half hours to Sukau Rainforest Lodge which is located on the Kinatabangan River. So it was a long travel day…. This time we had a minibus all to ourselves again and the driver was very friendly and spoke good English.
That brings part 2 to a close – come back soon for another edition – bye for now
Jan