Uncle Tans, Sepiloc, Borneo, Malaysia - 4/3/14 - 7/3/14

Big ol' praying mantis

Up at the unearthly hour of 4am for a ride to the airport in Kuching, and landed safely in Kota Kinabalu less than two hours later. We proceeded to get the first bus into the city, then another bus to the bus station, where as soon as we disembarked two other backpackers were spilling out of a tiny car, and we were quickly herded onto a coach we were told was leaving imminently bound for Sandakan. Naturally we sat there for about ten minutes before leaving, and we discovered the other backpackers were Nick, a Kiwi, and Allie, a Scotswoman. Found out the tiny car was actually a taxi, which is silly as I don’t think there was even enough space for the four letters to fit on it!

The boatride! Me, Allie, Jo, and Nick

We bumped our way along and around Mt Kinabalu, until we four were kicked off the bus at a roundabout on a long empty road. Optimistic we wandered off down one of the roads, and shortly came across Uncle Tans guesthouse (despite a cab driver stopping to offer services and affirming it was “very far”). We made the most of the coffee, tea, biscuits and latterly dinner while we sat around chatting.

Next day was to be the start of our trip to Uncle Tans Jungle Camp, but not till later. The others went off to see Orangutans at a sanctuary, which we declined after doing the same in Kuching. We dossed about, and I found a huge praying mantis on the window – well chuffed, we weren’t even in the jungle yet!

After lunch, we had a briefing, then were packed into vans and taken to the river. We got into the little boats to speed the 1 ½ hour journey to the camp, getting more and more remote as we went. En route we saw two orangutans in the trees right beside the river, and a few big monitor lizards strutting their stuff on the bank.

Sunrise safari

Arrived at the camp and met everyone, had some more tea and biscuits, and then given itinerary for the next couple of days and shown to our beds. The beds were in shed-like huts, raised off the ground on stilts with no windows or door, just apertures. Three mattresses per room had their own individual mozzie nets, and a bucket with a lid outside to put anything that may smell good to rats or other animals in. Basic, but ample for our needs.

Borneo gibbon

Had some dinner, then it was time for night river safari. We were taken to the boats, then we chugged out slowly with one guide per boat with a big floodlight scanning here and there for wildlife, but mostly in the dark. We saw a crocs eyes and snout about 20 feet from the boat, but he slunk away. Kept going and saw some sleeping kingfishers and some other bits, then made our way back.

I got papped

Up at 6 for the morning river safari, and once again loaded into the boats as sun was about to rise. Much more successful trip, seeing a load of hornbills, Borneo gibbons, monitor lizards, a few eagles, and a crocodile chilling on the bank.

Sticky

Our group

We got up close to him but he soon didn’t like that and got back into the water and waded away. Got back after two hours on the boat, and had an amazing breakfast of eggs, French toast, fresh fruit, and pancakes. After refreshed and refuelled, we went out on a trek. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a trek. The boat ride was almost an hour long as we came across loads of hornbills, kingfisher, cranes and eagles and stopped to watch them. We then went on the trek which was only 1km at most, taking us round showing lots of flora and fauna and explaining their uses. These guides were fantastic; they knew this stuff from living out here all their lives, not because they were taught it to tell tourists. We were all stood around a tree putting bits of leaves in our waterbottles (natural Viagra apparently, so we had to give it a go) when I felt something tickle my ankle. I looked down to find a massive stick insect clambering up my shoe and up my leg. Nick picked him up, then the speedy little sod was up my neck and onto my head. We put him among some fellow stick insects (or sticks, couldn’t really tell) and headed back to camp.

Jos catch

We then had some time spare, in which we could do the additional trip of fishing. We had nowhere near enough money on us, and no way of getting more, but Nick very kindly offered to pay for us if we wanted to go. I was happy to lounge in the jungle in a hammock for an hour or two, but Jo wanted to try, so off they went. After a snooze, a very excited Jo comes back professing that fishing is her new favourite hobby! What a changed woman!

River safari. Note the high tide marks on the trees

Our happy-go-lucky guide

Went out at dusk to look for monkeys and found bloody loads of proboscis monkeys (one load having a fight in the tree above us) and as always, loads of macaques playing on the bank and in the lower trees. As the sun went down, thousands of flying foxes flew overhead from their homes to fruit trees. We tried to get an estimate on the number, but exceeding a hundred every 30 seconds, and a continuous wave that didn’t seem to let up, we couldn’t manage it.

Centipede (the safe kind)

We headed back to camp in the dark for dinner, including the catches of the day being served up. Jo’s four catfish and single eel were barbequed along with the others’ haul. Although not much meat at all, they were tasty.

Sat down after dinner something tiny which resembled dust in the wind was on Allies arm, which she blew onto the table. Upon closer inspection it was a perfectly proportioned but absolutely minute praying mantis. So small that it was almost transparent. We didn’t know you could get them that small!

Naughty macaques

Proboscis monkey

Went out for a short night hike, so we put on sleeves and trousers and headed out. We saw a couple of wolfspiders (they were nothing new to us, there was a huge one living on the ceiling above one of the toilets!), huntsman spiders, a scorpion, and then once again I felt something tickle my ankle. This time I was a little apprehensive of lifting my trouserleg as we’d been told to beware of fire-ants, and to wear wellies. I spurned this information and just put trainers on. Regretting my trivial rebellion, I lifted the trouserleg to find a frog on the edge of my shoe, but it was tiny. Like the praying mantis, it was perfectly proportioned to a normal size frog, but it was tiny; less than half the size of my little fingernail. After a load of flashing cameras which he duly posed for, he hopped away, and we continued our trek. After seeing a few more creepy-crawlies, we saw a massive butterfly asleep on a tree branch, showing it’s menacing livery to ward off bats and the like.

Sat around chatting for a bit, and I wandered off to take some pictures of the innumerable stars, then hit the hay.

Tiny frog

Following morning, we were up at 6 again for our last excursion, a river safari again. This time we found an orangutan, so we hopped out of the boats and watched her above us for a while.

Back at camp we ate our hearty breakfast once more, then cleaned ourselves up, packed gear away and headed back to the jetty in the boats. En route saw a couple more monitor lizards.

Had to say very swift farewells to Nick and Allie as they were both heading East to Semporna to go diving whereas we were going West. (I would have loved to go to Semporna, but every time we read up on it, you had naff all to do if you weren’t diving, which seemed pretty unfair to impose on Jo).

Sunset on the river

Got back to camp, had lunch, then boarded a bus back to KK!

(I apologise for the lack of animal photos, but in truth, I didn’t really try. My camera is good, but it hasn’t got a telephoto lens or any of that kit, and most of the time I just wanted to see the animals in the flesh, not piss around with my camera trying to get a half decent shot. If you want to see a photo of one of the animals I listed, tap it into google, there’ll be millions on there.)