The traditional gift for a 30th wedding anniversary is pearl. As we tend to be a bit unconventional, we have given each other leech socks! Leeches secrete an anticoagulant into their targets so their blood doesn’t clot while the leeches are drinking it. There are two kinds of leeches in Borneo; Brown leeches tend to be found on the jungle floor, Tiger leeches hang out on tree leaves. We check ourselves for leeches after each hike in the jungle.
After an unusual sleep-in this morning in Sepilok, we were met by our friendly taxi driver for a quick transfer to the jetty at the Sandakan harbour. Known as Little Hong Kong, Sandakan was once a thriving city trading in pearls, camphor, tobacco, bee’s wax, sea cucumbers and timber before being bombed and mostly destroyed by the Japanese in WWII. We needed to pick up some more bug spray at a local pharmacy, so we got to take a bit of a tour through the main center.
Then it was a 1 ½ hour boat ride across the bay and up the Kinabatangan River.
Many of the towns on the Kinabatangan River area are remote with little infrastructure and only accessible only by boat. Our lodge is close to the tiny village of Abai, home to about 20-30 families.
After a fun ride, we powered a little way up a narrow tributary of the main river and ended up at the beautiful Kinabatangan Wetlands Resort.
To be officially recognized as an Eco Lodge, an accommodation must have between 2-75 rooms and be low impact, nature based, financially sustainable accommodation that helps protect sensitive neighbouring areas. They must involve and help benefit local communities, offer tourists an interpretive and interactive experience, provide spiritual communication with nature and culture, and be planned, designed, constructed and operated in an environmentally and socially sensitive manner.
After check-in we were offered lunch in the open air restaurant. Then we were ushered onto a small river boat for the first of our many safari ‘cruises’.
At 560km, Kinabatangan is the longest and largest river in Sabah and the 2nd longest in Malaysia. The river meanders through a flood plain and consequently has a lot of oxbow lakes where wildlife likes to hang out. Despite the intensive land clearance of the original forests to plant palm oil trees, the World Wildlife Federation states that the Kinabatangan River has the highest concentration of wildlife in Southeast Asia.
Pygmy elephants are a subspecies of the Asian elephant; they are smaller with larger ears, longer tails and straighter tusks and maybe more gentle than their bigger cousins. The elephants migrate along jungle corridors, which are being destroyed or changed by the numerous palm oil plantations that are taking over the jungle and often come right down to the river.
There are likely only 1500 pygmy elephants left in Borneo. They can live up to 60 years and have no natural predators in Borneo except humans. Pygmy elephants come to the river to drink when it’s dry; during wet season they might not be seen. But we got lucky – it’s been mostly dry here for the last month.
Swiftlets normally nest in caves and overhangs. These buildings on the river blast recorded sounds of the swiftlet to encourage the birds to build their nests here. The ‘edible’ nests are easily harvested, then sold to China for use in birds nest soup. The soup, made by soaking and steaming the solidified saliva nests, is said to improve kidney function, reduce phlegm and stimulate circulation.
The plan for the next few days is early morning and later afternoon cruises. We also have another opportunity for a night walk around the lodge and possibly an after dinner cruise.
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