|
Click on "Day X" above to go to another
day. Click on most small pictures for a larger picture
|
Pictures
on this page
|
|
Coming
soon!
|
A Morning Cruise on the Kinabatangan River
We got up a little before 6 am ready for our morning
"cruise." By about 6:20 am we were under way.
We saw many large egrets (Great Egrets and Pacific Egrets),
Oriental Darters and Purple Herons. In fact, we saw so many that they
quickly became commonplace.
The first monkey we saw was a Gibbon. Followed by
several sightings of proboscis monkeys, macaques and silvered langur.
We also saw hornbills and eagles.
Breakfast
We came back and had breakfast: thick pancakes fried
bananas, coffee and tea. Over breakfast, we could hear gibbons
calling in the trees nearby for a while. We could also hear a
hornbill, which Heidi said was laying an egg.
A Tour of the Flooded Resort
After breakfast, we went a little further up the creek
to see the rest of the Jungle Sanctuary. The situation is potentially
quite nice: the small creek leads up to a small lake that they call
Crocodile Lake. We went around it on the boat in the hope of seeing
something. Heidi said that wild pigs are often seen when the water is
lower. Guests often swam here too. I asked about crocodiles
"lots" she replied, "but only small ones." She
obviously did not think that they should be a deterrent to swimming!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The main
reception hut
|
.
|
Inspecting the
premises
|
.
|
Is this where
we booked?
|
Jungle Sanctuary consists of a main hut and three other
huts (as well as the three-room hut where we were staying). The main hut
(called Indiana Jones) beside the lake had been seriously flooded and the
floor was still 6" underwater. The toilet was at least half
under-water. Some of us got out and waded around the hut for a few
minutes.
|
|
|
The en-suite toilet we had asked for!
|
The next hut back along the creek was on slightly higher
ground and was no longer flooded, but had a thick layer of gooey mud on all
the floors. The floors of the other two huts had remained just above
the water-line and so had escaped the worst of the flooding. (These
other huts each consisted of a single room, a balcony, and a toilet at a
lower level).
There was also a tree-house high up a tree, but the
ascent to it was steep and comprised pieces of wood placed quite far
apart. They could hardly be called a stair. Any other day, I
think that Peter and Michael would have been up in a shot (and probably me
too). However, with slippery muddy feet and our muscles still
complaining loudly about descending Kinabalu, climbing up was really not an
option.
Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud
Walking back and forth between the huts, we were ankle
deep in the gooey mud left by the receding floodwaters. Some thought
this fun; others thought it was revolting. Peter and I saw two or three
gibbons passing by in the trees overhead. Michael borrowed the net
and caught a couple more prawns.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Peter in the
mud
|
.
|
Anne-Marie in
the mud
|
.
|
Rebecca in the
mud
|
.
|
Washing off the
mud
|
Because of the mud, we got back in the boat for the
short journey back (in dry-season conditions, we could have walked back and
forth between the huts in just a few moments).
We washed off our feet. At this point, I found I
had a leech on one foot, but he hadn't got a good grip and so I just washed
him off.
By the time we had finished washing our feet, it was
11:30 am and time for lunch: fried catfish and more giant
prawns. After that, we slept.
Another River "Cruise"
At 4pm, we set off for our second "river
cruise" of the day. This time we were rewarded with the sight of
the following:
- A brilliant coloured stork-billed kingfisher (one of
the largest of the kingfishers)
- A group of macaques (the commonest of monkeys)
- Several more sightings of Proboscis monkeys
- Silvered langur (a kind of monkey)
- An owl flying across the river and swooping down to
catch a fish and then fly off into the trees.
We obviously didn't get as close to the monkeys as you
do in a zoo. However, we did see them leaping dramatically from tree
to tree in conditions that you would never get in a zoo. Definitely
awesome!
After we got back, it was soon time for supper, which
was pansit (Filipino style noodles) and rice with chicken curry. By
the time we had finished, it was dark
The others spent the evening playing Rummikub, while I
wrote some of this.
|
