Exotic and surprising, Borneo a traveller's mecca

Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak offer much more than orangutans and headhunters

In the increasingly globalized, urbanized mall-world, it’s harder and harder to find a place that’s unique let alone exotic.

The search for something different led me back to Malaysia recently, accompanied by 26 Vancouver Sun readers.

Kuala Lumpur is where we began our trip. But it was Borneo that was the lure for all of us with its history of headhunters, its wealth of indigenous arts and crafts and, of course, its wildlife.

Borneo’s tropical rainforest is so rich in unique species that several new ones were discovered this year.

But it’s orangutans that are the big draw. They are highly endangered and these red-haired great apes are found only in Borneo and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

As few as 600 of them are estimated to remain in the wild in Sabah. So, we went with faint hopes of seeing them in the wild and most of us were content having been able to spend a couple of hours watching them at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan before heading up the Kinabatangan River to the Sukau Rainforest Lodge, which was ranked by National Geographic as one of the Top 10 eco-lodges in the world.

Yet, our hopes were rewarded even before we got to the lodge when our sharp-eyed guides spotted a mother and a baby feeding in a ficus tree. The following day, farther upriver, they spotted another mother and baby pairing even closer to the river so that we were able to get a much better look at them.

The birders on the trip spotted at least 56 species of birds from the magnificent Rhinoceros hornbill to different varieties of kingfishers, some sporting yellow bodies with turquoise wings and others with turquoise bodies and red breasts.

The lodge itself is simple, decorated with indigenous carvings and each room named after adventurers and scientists who have come to study the jungle wildlife.

Meals featuring Malaysian cuisine are served in an outdoor pavilion overlooking the river with guests summoned by the striking of a gong. For evening meals, after a day spent on the river or hiking in the jungle, guests are encouraged to wear the sarongs provided for them.

And while the lodge is lovely with all the conveniences including a swimming pool, it’s the guides who make the whole experience so amazing. Where their skills truly shine is in spotting wildlife at night from open-air boats using blue spotlights.

Continue reading (Incl. Video) at: Exotic and surprising, Borneo a traveller's mecca

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Highly endangered orangutans in Borneo need help to avoid extinction

Ecotourism may be best hope for saving the dwindling forests upon which gentle giants depend

KINABATANGAN RIVER, Sabah, Malaysia — High up in a tree, a female orangutan and her baby picked fruit as they slowly moved along the branches.

Craning our necks, we watched as the mother stretched her strong arms and legs to form a great, hairy X against the sky. The baby — old enough to have quit clinging but still several years away from being able to manage the jungle alone — lingered higher up.

There are fewer than 60,000 of these red-haired great apes remaining. They are the largest arboreal animals, spending 65 per cent of their time in the trees where they eat, sleep and use the branches as a highway. But given their size — males are up to 1.75 metres tall and weigh over 120 kilos, while the females can be up to 1.3 metres tall, weighing 45 kilos — they need very large trees to survive. In Malaysia’s easternmost state of Sabah, the official population estimate is 800. But experts challenge that number saying the method of reaching that estimation is faulty.

What is not debatable is the reason for orangutans being on the brink of extinction. Their habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate, equivalent to 300 football fields an hour, to make way for palm oil plantations, according to the World Wildlife Fund ( http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/orangutan ).

The United Nations Environment Programme says orangutans’ extinction is likely if development continues unabated. The WWF predicts it could happen within the next decade.

If orangutans become extinct, humans will have killed them either directly for sport or use in traditional medicine or indirectly because of the desire for exotic hardwoods and cheap, edible, palm oil.

Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are solitary animals except for the mothers, who will travel with up to two of their offspring. It’s that solitariness that has led to an evolutionary oddity. Males have the surprising ability to grow huge cheek flanges and throat sacks within a few months of becoming the dominant male. The flanges and throat sack allow them to broadcast their presence and availability for mating with calls that carry for up to three kilometres through the forest.

Given that, seeing these highly endangered great apes in the wild is thrilling. It’s extraordinary because there are so few of them, but orangutans have an uncanny ability to blend into the foliage. And, On a recent tour to Sarawak and Sabah with Vancouver Sun readers, we lucky enough to have two sightings on two different days of mothers with their babies.

Continue reading (Incl. Video) at: Highly endangered orangutans in Borneo need help to avoid extinction

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Sarawak to receive eight confirmed cruise ships this year

KUCHING: Sarawak is expected to receive eight confirmed cruise ships due to arrive this year with a few more pending confirmation from the cruise operators.

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) regional manager for UK and Europe, Maurice Balang said with the cruise industry currently on the rise, there has been a demand in this industry despite the lack of proper cruise terminals in the state.

According to a press statement, the total visitor arrivals to the state had increased by 23 per cent with a total of 4.3 million tourist arrivals as of Nov 30 last year compared to the same period in the previous year.

“We will continue our efforts in promoting Sarawak as a place where adventure lives,” he said when welcoming passengers aboard the Silverwind Monaco which sailed into Sarawak and docked at Bintulu Port yesterday.

The Silverwind Monaco is the first cruise ship to arrive in Sarawak this year.

The cruise ship was on its 11-day cruise from Singapore to Bali beginning from Singapore, then Bintulu, Muara, Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Pare-Pare, Makassar, Komodo and finally making its final stop in Benoa, Bali.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Sarawak to receive eight confirmed cruise ships this year

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Tip of Borneo

This morning we wandered outside to find the streets of Kudat alive with people and cars everywhere.

Wednesday is local market day when everyone comes to down from the outlining villages to sell there wares.

There are gongs, jewellery, bells, fresh fruit and vegetables, along the beetle nut, tobacco and everything else you could possibly think off.

The cafes are all busy but we manage to squeeze onto a table with a couple of locals.

Bevan has chicken noodle soup while I have noodles with pork.

By the time we wander around the market and get back to the hotel our lift to the Tip of Borneo is here.

We quickly back up and head up the coast line.

We arrive at the Tip, the resort faces the South China Sea, there is a very long white sandy beach.

The Tip of Borneo is about 10 minutes walk away, we will head there early evening to watch the sun set.

We walked the length of the beach it is over a km long, clean white sand, a beautiful beach.

I said if they put a 4-5 star resort here the people would flock.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Tip of Borneo

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Can Borneo’s orang-utans survive global warming?

Borneo’s orang-utans have been teetering on the brink for a long time, and studies show that up to 74 percent of the species’ habitat could be lost to climate change and other impacts.

But biologists taking a close look at habitat say there remote areas of habitat that could become refuges for the great apes.

Satellite images helped the Centre for International Forestry Research estimate areas of forest change expected in the future.

The researchers also mapped land unsuitable for oil palm agriculture, one of the major threats to orang-utans, and used this alongside information on orang-utan ecology and climate to identify environmentally stable habitats for the species this century.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Can Borneo’s orang-utans survive global warming?

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