Kinabatangan River- first jungle journey
The tour company picked us up at noon for our three-hour journey to the resort. I could see Andy getting more and more frustrated with the driver’s slow pace, but I think experiences like this are good for him. Once we left the town, we had a brief drive on the freeway before entering a more rural area. This part of the journey was particularly disheartening, as the landscape was dominated by palm oil plantations. The reserve itself is confined to small sections along the river, and I’m honestly surprised there’s any wildlife left at all with these massive plantations encroaching on their habitat. Not only do they directly impact the wildlife’s environment, but they also contribute to river pollution and flooding in the area.
When we arrived in Sukau, we had a quick briefing about the upcoming tours and got the lay of the land. Our first activity was an afternoon boat tour at 4 PM, followed by a night cruise. Unfortunately, the night jungle walk was canceled because pygmy elephants were in the area, and it’s obviously too dangerous to be around them. They’re endangered, so we can’t get too close. While it was disappointing that the hike was canceled, we did get to see the elephants during our afternoon cruise, which was a great consolation.
The afternoon cruise was a lot of fun, and I was so grateful we brought binoculars since you can only get so close to the animals from the boat. We saw eagles, kingfishers, and a family of pygmy elephants eating by the river. It was amazing to hear them being so vocal—it was loud but very cool. We didn’t see any orangutans yet, but it’s only the first day. Some locals have even invested in building towers and playing bird songs to attract and host swifts that build their nests from solidified saliva. These edible bird nests have been a delicacy in Chinese cuisine for centuries, and harvesting them provides farmers with a more stable income compared to the fluctuating market prices of crops like oil palm fruits.
The night cruise was less eventful but still enjoyable. The guides were scanning the riverbanks for crocodile eyes, snakes in the trees, birds sleeping in lower branches, and insects. We came across a bird cave where hundreds of swifts were nesting naturally. The cruise only lasted an hour, and then it was back to our dorm room with the 20-somethings. This wasn’t our first choice of accommodations, but we booked late, and options were limited. We managed to grab beds off to the side, and luckily, the kids were quiet—they actually whispered the whole time, which us older folks really appreciated.
The next morning, we took a 6 AM cruise. I’m not entirely sure what our guide was looking for, but most of the time was spent speeding down the river. We did get to explore one of the tributaries, which I enjoyed—it was thrilling being so close to the jungle, almost expecting something to jump out at any moment (maybe I’ve watched too many movies). The cruise took us to Oxbow Lake, and while there wasn’t much to see, it was still a fun experience.
Since our jungle walk was canceled again, they took us to the Gomantong Caves. The guides warned us not to drink our water or look up with our mouths open, in case we caught some bat guano or water dripping from the cave ceiling. This was a very cool experience, especially since we got to see workers harvesting the swift nests. It was a bit sad, but we were told they’re doing it with sustainability in mind. I understand the delicate balance between the locals’ need to survive and the importance of preserving the ecosystem. The workers were hanging from several fixed ladders attached to rope ladders, which they used to reach the bird nests. Every so often, they would yell to their partners managing the ropes to pull or release, allowing them to reposition their ladders and reach more nests.
The afternoon and night river tours were fun in that we explored new parts of the river we hadn’t seen before and got to spot different animals. We finally saw some orangutans! One was pretty far off in the distance, and the other was a bit closer, but we can at least say we saw some in the wild. We also saw a ton of macaques. These monkeys are very abundant and can be quite aggressive, especially in the towns, so you’re advised not to make eye contact with them—they will attack. We saw plenty of proboscis monkeys too, including babies and moms, and Andy got some pics of the big-nosed alpha male. A big thrill was seeing the Rhinoceros Hornbill. That thing is huge! It can grow up to three feet long and has a massive, colorful horn just above its beak. It’s also the national bird of Malaysia.
We decided to sit at the front of the boat for the night cruise—not my favorite spot, as I’d rather not be the first in line if we were to surprise an animal. We spotted multiple alligators. The first was a young one, old enough not to need mama’s protection. The second was a full-sized gator, and it stuck around until a speedboat scared it off. You could see its red eyes glinting just above the water as it glared at us. There were two other gators, but the guide decided not to approach them since it was a mother and her baby, and the last thing we want is a mama gator getting protective. The weather reminded us that we were indeed in a rainforest as the skies opened up and the rain came down hard. Thankfully, I had my coat to cover the camera, binoculars, and partially myself, whereas Andy, once again, brought nothing.
The next day, we had breakfast and checked out of the BnB. I took some time to play with the cats—a calico mom with a bunch of adorable, differently colored kittens. There was also a mama dog who had figured out that the best way to get attention was to lay down in front of people and roll over for belly rubs. She was so sweet, grunting happily as you rubbed her belly, though she was also a bit of a trip hazard.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the tours and the sheer number of animals we got to see on the river—probably more than we would have spotted on a jungle trek. We forwent the malaria medication since there’s relatively low risk in this area and I’m trying to give my body a break from all the pain pills and antibiotics I took in Pakistan. The mosquitoes out here though are tiny and silent. Malaysia isn’t a tipping culture, which is a bit unfortunate for the guides. They had a tip box out, but it didn’t seem like many people paid much attention to it, as tipping wasn’t really promoted or discussed. I also had to dryly laugh at the “Stop Sexual Harassment” and “No Corruption” posters and billboards around the area—they didn’t give any details on how to actually combat these issues, but I suppose the first step is raising awareness.
I was also surprised by the number of Malaysian flags we saw throughout the trip—they would definitely give the southern states a run for their money in flag culture. I looked it up and found out that August 31 is Malaysian Independence Day from British colonization. Lucky for us, we were here for the barbecue dinner celebration. The sun tricked us as we laid by the pool hiding behind a cloud since we were sitting under a pergola we didn’t feel ourselves getting burned. Dammit! We’ve been so covered and careful about the sun, I can’t believe we fell for the old overcast trick. The independence buffet dinner had quite the spread and turnout which seemed to have attracted guests as well as some local people. We fought our way through to partake in the BBQ and all other food that was highly coveted.
