Wildlife part of lure of Borneo

There are only two places in the world where, if you're lucky, you can see orangutans in the wild. One of them is Borneo.

Yet, even there, these reclusive, great apes are endangered as the rainforest is being chopped down to make way for palm oil plantations.

But in the magnificent, tropical habitat that remains, orangutans still make their nests in trees at night and crash around, swinging their large red bodies from limb to limb during the daytime.

I've seen gorillas in the wild in the mountains of Rwanda. They are magnificent, placid and playful, their eyes deep pools.

Still, orangutans - the "people of the forest"- are my favourites and part of the reason I keep being lured back to Borneo. The last time I was there, one of the juveniles at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre swung down from the treetops, hopped the fence intended to keep the humans away and promenaded along on the boardwalk just a few metres from us - almost close enough to touch.

Yet despite trips up different rivers and to several national parks, I have yet to see orangutans in the wild.

I'm hoping that in October, it's fifth time lucky. And, I'm hoping some of you will come along with me on a 12-day Vancouver Sun adventure that will provide a number of opportunities to spot these gentle giants. Our trip's focus is on Borneo's unique wildlife that includes Pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, hornbills, exotic birds, gigantic and even carnivorous plants and an array of butterflies that even Disney animators couldn't have dreamed up.

It was a university zoology course that piqued my interest in great apes and an introductory anthropology course that introduced me to Borneo's indigenous peoples, who are known collectively as Dayaks. My interest in Dayaks and their art has grown during the years. The motifs in their carving bear some striking similarities to those of West Coast designs. Some of their masks are reminiscent of New Guinea and Africa, while others would not be out of place in the souks of the Middle East.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Wildlife part of lure of Borneo

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Something the Locals Won't Tell You: Kuching is a Hiker's Paradise

We boarded bus K21 in the Kuching City Center ($1.33) and rode out to Kubah National Park, arriving about an hour and a half after the gates opened at 9:30 a.m. When we approached the hut at the gate to pay the entry fee (approximately $6) and were asked to sign in, we noticed that our name was the only one on the sign-in sheet.

An avid hiker, this couldn't have pleased us more, the thought of having the whole park to ourselves. We went off into the jungle wilderness for the next few hours, hiking to and swimming under waterfalls, spotting pitcher plants, ekor buaya palm trees (which are used to make roofs), and stingless bees.

But the biggest surprise came when we exited the park later at 2 p.m. -- we were still the only person in the park!

As you can see on the map, there are about a half dozen parks within a two hour drive of Kuching, yet, when we were meeting locals throughout the town, everyone seemed to be confused about our jaunts into the jungle outside the city limits.

No one seemed to know what we were talking about. Finally, after several days of watching people draw blanks, we pressed for an answer: Do locals really not like to hike?

It was the waitress at a restaurant that finally set us straight, confirming that, for the most part, locals indeed do not take advantage of the wilderness that surrounds the city and engulfs Borneo. Why? Because their families -- aka their parents and grandparents, and, in some cases, themselves -- came from the jungle.

Borneo has a long history of jungle tribes, including the Iban who still live in longhouses today, and now that this generation has moved into the modern world, there's "no reason to go back."

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Something the Locals Won't Tell You: Kuching is a Hiker's Paradise

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Malaysia / Borneo: Kuching – Orangutans

Warning warning: not a food post. There’s only orangutans within.

Really, really cute orangutans though. :)

We had to see orangutans when we went to Borneo, since they’re native to Borneo and Sumatra.

There’s actually two species: the Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan. We saw the Bornean orangutan on two occasions – once at a wildlife centre called Matang Ai (which, I wouldn’t recommend, it’s a bit of a sad place – cages and concrete enclosures) and the second time at Semenggoh Nature Reserve.

The Bornean orangutan is the third heaviest living primate (after the two species of gorilla) and is the largest truly tree-dwelling animal.

Wild male orangutans typically weigh 75kg, but can weigh up to 100kg, with females averaging 38.5kg and up to 50kg.

They have very long arms that are twice the length of their legs, with coarse and shaggy red coats – you can see how long the arms are in the pic.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Malaysia / Borneo: Kuching – Orangutans

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Discover Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on the island of Borneo

WHILE many Australians may first think of Kuala Lumpur when considering a visit to Malaysia, the quieter city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah is a nice alternative.

With Malaysia Airlines flying to Kuala Lumpur from Australian cities including Darwin, Melbourne and Sydney, now is a great time to catch a connecting flight in the Malaysian capital to the home of orang-utans.

As a guest of the airline on the inaugural flight from Darwin, I spent six days seeing the sights and experiencing what the state of Sabah on the island of Borneo has to offer.

KK is less developed than its big city cousin across the South China Sea but it still boasts more than half a million residents and a central business district that has several hotels being frantically built to meet growing demand.

Located on the northwest coast of Borneo, the city is a seafood haven where local markets abound and everything that swims in the sea can be found on restaurant menus. But if seafood isn't your thing, you may have to look a bit harder to find something you like.

In the city, I stayed at the comfortable Le Meridien which was close to local night spots and markets. The food on offer here was tasty, served in buffet format, especially the breakfast.

The best part of the hotel was that it was only five minutes from a strip of pubs and clubs on the waterfront.

My pick was a bar named the Cock and Bull, voted Best Entertainment Outlet three years in a row in the mid 2000s.

But we did not know this when we went in for some beers and cocktails, it just seemed welcoming with its pool table, sports on television and solid drinks range.

If the pace of the city isn't your thing there are other options. One is to hop on a boat and head out to the Bunga Raya Island Resort - an ideal place for honeymooners, with 48 timbered villas tucked away into the side of a tropical island surrounded by trees.

A few minutes away is the Gayana Eco Resort where many of the overwater villas have glass floors to watch the marine life.

The Alu-Alu Seafood Restaurant is a highlight here and a must-visit for a feast.

Next door is the Marine Ecology Research Centre where marine biologists are fighting to save the giant clams, with seven of the eight species worldwide in Malaysian waters.

Visitors can tour the centre and take part in conservation by adopting coral.

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Borneo: Born to be wild in Tanjung Puting National Park - the home of the orangutan

It was love at first sight.

His fiery red hair, appealing brown eyes, long strong arms and engaging charms had me swooning at his big hairy feet.

Our first sighting of an orangutan had taken us by surprise.

Instead of making a grand entrance swinging through the trees, the Man of the Forest loped along the very path we had taken to reach the orangutan feeding station at Tanjung Harapan in Tanjung Puting National Park.

The park’s 741,000 acres, in Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo, is home to around 3,000 orangutans – half the world’s population of this big primate.

As the largest tree-living mammals in the world they rarely come down to the ground, so we were spellbound by the unorthodox appearance of our local.

He, on other hand, seemed quite unfazed by us as he lounged around, leaning on a tree, waiting for lunch to be served.

But as soon as the bananas were delivered, he was off like a rocket to join his companions – among them mothers with babies in tow – who had taken a more conventional route.

Times are hard for the endangered orangutan – its natural habitat is being destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations and by illegal logging and mining.

The creature’s saviour – conservationist Birute Galdikas who has become a world authority on orangutans – arrived more than 40 years ago, setting up camp in Tanjung Puting to study these great apes.

The orphaned and injured are brought here for careful rehabilitation in preparation for a return to life in what remains of the rainforest.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Borneo: Born to be wild in Tanjung Puting National Park - the home of the orangutan

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