We arrived at Sukau, checked in and were shown to our wooden chalet on stilts (we were luckily to get AC at the time of booking, most of them don’t). We were surprised by the size – we reckon you could have housed six beds at least LOL – with two bathrooms. Fantastic! We were also given sticks to carry with us at all times – to threaten the macaques if they come close – but not to hit them as they are family groups and a physical confrontation would encourage the whole group to attack. Richard was not too keen to carry this stick around….but I persuaded him….why give it to us if not needed?!?

At lunch we met our allocated guide and the rest of the group who would make up the passengers in our boat. This was the same group throughout our stay. He also explained that the sarongs we had found on our bed were to be worn at dinner by everybody and then demonstrated 50 ways how to wear it LOL!

This particular lodge is all about boat trips to see the wildlife that reside near or on the Kinabatangan River….so at 4.30 pm we headed to the jetty and climbed on board. We motored off into the brown muddy coloured water with binoculars and cameras at the ready. Hopes were very high…

Very quickly we came across a group of probiscus monkeys…OMG they could have been designed by a comic book artist…such funny looking things. Apparently the bigger the nose the more attractive they are to the females…. They leap from branch to branch and, although they seem to be ultra brave and jump high into the air, we did see some retreat back onto the branch having clearly decided that particular jump just wasn’t for them at that moment in time LOL. They seemed completely unbothered by our close proximity to them and some of them just sat and posed for us… One did try to show off and did this huge leap onto a branch which promptly broke and he ended up tumbling onto the floor. Luckily he appeared unhurt as he quickly climbed the tree again….looking very nervously around for predators…of which there are two – the crocodiles and the clouded leopard (which are a pretty rare sight). Fantastic first experience – what a treat!

On our way back to the lodge we saw some baby crocodiles, about six hornbills and a wild orangutan building a nest on top of a tree. We didn’t know why we had stopped to watch a tree until the guide explained that she was up there building and, once settled into her new home for a couple of days, she would have a quick look around… And she did! Wow… Too far away for really good photos but so excited – I borrowed this image from Sukau’s online photo album. Oh yes and we heard lots of birdsong – being played through speakers to attract Swiftlets into a concrete housing where they will build nests (which are then harvested and used for bird nest soup – a very valuable commodity in this part of the world).

Back at the lodge we collected our stick and, luckily we did, as there were a couple of macaques waiting for us on the walkway. Another guest – who had also decided against carrying the stick – quickly ran up to us and asked for protection LOL. The monkeys didn’t seem that bothered or threatening and lovely to see them up close and personal.

At dinner we all wore our traditional sarongs and enjoyed a lovely meal. And so to bed…

Wednesday morning we were up early for a 6.30 am boat excursion to Oxbow Lake. But it was too shallow for us to get into and the tide was retreating…so after running aground a couple of times….the captain decided to abort. Again we saw lots of different types of monkeys and a diverse range of birds including a gorgeous kingfisher, more Hornbills and an eagle soaring high above us.

On return we had our breakfast on the dock which had been set up specially before chilling in our room for a while.

At 12.30 pm we were back on the dock and were taken across the river to the local village where we were having lunch. On arrival after a couple of minutes crossing the river we got off the boat and wandered into the village where all the kids were shouting ‘hello’ at us from the local school. Surprisingly there were security guards at the school – not quite sure why they were needed – but the kids were definitely not encouraged to visit with us.

At the local house – adorned by plants galore – we enjoyed lunch on the owner’s outside balcony which sat just above the river in the breeze. I had beef curry, rice, spring rolls and a variety of vegetables. Was absolutely delicious.

After lunch we returned to the lodge and had a cold beer on the dock before returning to our room again. There was a pool at this lodge and some nice beds / seats on the dock so we could have relaxed outside – but the humidity was an absolute killer…

At 4pm we headed back to the dock and took off up the river – again lots of monkeys and different birds and probably the largest crocodile we had seen so far. Not on the scale of the Australian ones but pretty threatening, particularly in a low-sided small boat. Our favourites? Difficult to say but would have to be the probiscus (despite my lifelong love of orangutans) followed closely by the spectacle monkeys (more on them in later blogs). The most aggressive was the pig tailed macaque although there were some real posers amongst them. There was also some evidence of inter breeding between species with the variety of colours from grey to orange tints and even some albinos.

Back at the lodge we got cleaned up and headed to dinner – we spent the evening with Alessandro and Irene from Italy. It was Alessandro’s birthday so we even got to eat some cake! At the end of the evening we settled our bill as we were checking out in the morning so were in bed by 10pm. Had been a great part of the trip and we thoroughly enjoyed Sukau.

Thursday we were up early, packed and headed down to breakfast on the jetty at 7am. By 7.30 am we were on the small ferry boat to travel down to the river to our next lodge, Abai Jungle Lodge. The boat ride was fast and furious – spinning around all over the place watching out for shallow spots (which is an assumption) and large logs floating down the river. Was pretty exciting although I did think he got a bit carried away at times, maybe frightening tourists is his favourite part of the job LOL. Other guests on board were in an established tour group so there was little interaction with us. It all felt a bit awkward….

After about an hour we arrived, checked in, and got organised. This was another lodge on stilts…surrounded by a boardwalk… We heard that orangutans had been spotted in the grounds so we followed the map and went for a walk – the elevated boardwalk was a bit slippery in places but felt quite safe and sturdy. Again we walked armed with sticks…

And that brings this part of the blog to a close…and will tell you more about Abai Jungle Lodge in the next part. Come back to read all about it soon. Bye for now

Jan