Saturday, November 18, 2017

Turquoise Holidays: Travel Diaries - Beautiful Borneo


1. If you were describing the wildlife experience in Borneo in three words, what would they be?

Breath-taking, Spectacular, Unforgettable

2. When you were in the jungle, where did you stay and what was your favourite thing about each lodge?

We started at My Nature Resort which is the perfect stop over for a night before heading into the depths of the rainforest. My favourite thing about this resort is how close it is to Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre which you can visit the morning after your night’s stay and is only a short drive away from My Nature Resort.

Here you’re able to watch and learn about the process of reintroducing the Orang Utan back into their natural habitat, which is a truly humbling experience. A visit here also guarantees that you’ll see these gentle, ginger apes which is not always that common when staying within the rainforest.

From My Nature, we headed to Abai Jungle Lodge which is a delightful lodge situated on the banks of the Kinabatangan River. Guests shouldn’t expect five-star luxury here but it’s a charming, comfortable and clean place to stay.

My favourite thing about Abai was that as it’s further away from some of the other lodges on the river, the wildlife experience is more exclusive as there are no other boats around when you venture out in search of wildlife.

They also have strong links with the local village which allows guests to visit and interact with the local communities. After our stay at Abai, we moved an hour up stream to  Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge, a larger and slightly more luxurious lodge than Abai.

Their large, bougainvillea clad deck is absolutely beautiful and my favourite feature. It overlooks the gushing river and the tremendous virgin rainforest providing the most breath-taking view and an ideal spot for sipping some sundowners after a day out channelling the inner David Attenborough in you.

Our final jungle stop was Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley, a 4-hour drive away, 2 of which are via a bumpy road through the rainforest which is an experience in itself! A stay here, in my opinion, is imperative and is the perfect way to round up your jungle experience of a lifetime!

The jungle treks, canopy walks and night safaris were my favourite experiences and a wonderful contrast to those on the river. One thing that will stay with me forever is the panoramic view from my private pool, the perfect place from which to watch the sun setting behind the misty rainforest and listen to the sounds that come from within it.

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