Borneo - Orangutan and Beach Holiday
This is a once in a lifetime visit to the world famous Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo, plus visits to see Proboscis monkeys, sun bears and other wildlife. You'll also have some time relaxing at two superb beach resorts.
The way the wildlife part of the itinerary is detailed here means you get a second chance to see the orangutans and at no time does it feel rushed.
The Kinabatangan River is a wonderful part of Borneo where the wildlife is relatively easy to see.
Fly to Kota Kinabalu and transfer to your accommodation for 4 nights. The featured hotel has a great beach, but if you want to be more active there's also a nature reserve you can explore plus usual resort activities such as a spa, hikes and water sports.
Today your adventure starts with a short 50 minute flight to Sandakan, and on arrival transfer to your lodge. The best choice is the Sepilok Nature Lodge which is walkable to the Orangutan Sanctuary and the Sunbear Conservation Centre.
You should arrive in good time for the afternoon feeding session at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, and afterwards you can take a trail through the forest if you wish.
The next morning there's another chance to revisit the centre before coming back to the lodge for lunch.
In the afternoon, walk to the Sun bear Conservation Centre. Sun bears are the world's smallest bear and the centre provides a natural environment for rescued sun bears before being released back into the wild.
On the final morning, visit the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary. Although the proboscis monkeys are free to come and go, they are used to humans so you can get quite close and some excellent photographs.
Your Hotel: Sepilok Nature Lodge
Your journey to the next lodge will be partly by boat along the Kinabatangan River.
On arrival, there are morning and afternoon river cruises where you might see proboscis monkeys, orangutans, pygmy elephants, birds, and various reptiles, all in a completely wild setting.
On your final morning, travel by boat and road back to the airport for your short flight back to Kota Kinabalu.
Your hotel: Abai Jungle Lodge (alternatives also available)
After your wildlife adventure, it's time to relax on a tropical island just off the coast of Borneo - Gaya Island.
Here there is excellent snorkelling opportunities, or you could enjoy boat rides, spa treatments, or just chill out.
Tom's Trip Report
My own trip was along similar lines but we made a couple of changes. First, instead of going to Gaya Island afterwards, which at the time wasn't open, we flew to Langkawi and had a stop in Kuala Lumpur en-route.
The wildlife part of the trip was similar to the featured itinerary on this page, and I particularly appreciated the two night stop at Sepilok which meant we had a second chance to visit the orangutans. As it turned out, the afternoon session felt a lot quieter with far fewer tourists than the morning session, however as they are free to come and go as they please, I wanted to allow for at least 2 visits in case the first was not quite as expected.
After the feeding we took one of the trails through the forest rather than heading straight back to the lodge. Somehow I noticed a small snake resting by one of the trees, but we also encountered a huge lone orangutan who was on the path, sitting just a few feet away. Not really knowing what to do, we just stood still until it decided it had had enough and walked away!
The photographs on this page were taken on that trip, and for more please go to www.onyourtravels.co.uk/photo-collection/borneo.
More information
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