A date with the locals at Sandakan’s wildlife sanctuaries

By Callum Taylor

The alarm sounded at 6am and Marta and I groggily rolled out of bed. Instead of a morning cruise down the river again we had another cruise in Mr Choy’s van back to Sandakan. Why people choose to do anything this early I’ll never understand. We quickly filled up with the free breakfast at our lodge and then we were off.

At first it was only us two in the car but along the way we picked up a few locals. Unfortunately none of the imams we shared the car with to Sukau joined us, so there would be no sharing of fried banana. Marta would have been devastated but she was too busy sleeping the whole way back to care.

Back to Sandakan. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Sandakan

We arrived in the city and decided to go with the same backpackers accommodation we had used previously. It was too early to check in but there was a room available for the next two nights. In the meantime we could help ourselves to their free breakfast. Getting two free breakfasts in a day, we were getting better at this backpacking game.

Our plan for the next couple of days was to visit the wildlife sanctuaries that surrounded Sandakan. We had seen what the wild environment had to offer, now we wanted to get up close with the local animals. There were three sanctuaries, one for proboscis monkeys, one for sun bears, and one for orangutans. We planned to see all three of them.

Looking happy. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

After enjoying our free brunch we overheard some other guests asking about the bus timetables to the sanctuaries. We had just missed the bus to the orangutans, but the bus to the proboscis monkeys left within 20 minutes. Despite probably smelling awful as we had no clean clothes and hadn’t showered, we decided to go for it.

15 minutes of awkward powerwalking later we made it just in time. The bus however, wasn’t so much on time so the sweat cocktail we had both become was all for nothing. Eventually the bus showed up and the two of us along with one other tourist hopped onboard.

The name of the sanctuary was Labuk Bay and it was about an hour and a half away. From what we had read online the place had been set up in order to provide a space for the monkeys that was protected from habitat destruction. Given Borneo’s reputation for tearing down the natural environment to make palm plantations, this was quite an important place.

Upon our arrival we were told there were two main sites where daily feedings ensured there would be plenty of monkeys around. You might not agree with purposely feeding wild animals, but at least the place was a safe haven for them. The first feeding session was in an hours time so we headed straight to the viewing site.

There must have been twenty or so proboscis monkeys all sitting around the platform awaiting their food. Big males sat back with a watchful eye as their harem of females wandered about. Seeing them up close gave us the chance to see them and their noses in all their glory. If the noses don’t scare you enough, perhaps knowing the males have permanant erections might.

No shame. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Proboscis monkeys weren’t the only monkeys waiting around though. Small silver-leaf monkeys perched themselves on the handrails seemingly content with watching the world go by. They appeared so harmless and friendly, right up until they started passing their babies around.

Could be or could not be the baby’s mother. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Small, scrawny, and bright golden yellow in colour, the babies made no secret of the fact they wanted to stay close to their mothers. Repeatedly though rival childless monkeys would casually, but peacefully, make an attempt to temporarily steal them away. The mothers would only make a half-hearted try to stop them, meaning there were a lot of constantly screaming babies being stolen against their will. It looked traumatising but really it was just an efficient nanny system letting the mothers take a five minute break from their annoying kids.

Once feeding time began the proboscis monkeys really became active. Males claimed certain patches of food for them and their families. Any male which came too close was given a stern warning and politely told to **** off. One monkey even came screaming down the walkway we were on, just avoiding charging through me by centimetres. Once they all found food though they went back to their calm state just sitting around eating.

Watching all the monkeys eat made both Marta and I hungry. Unfortunately, the trip here was a little more expensive than we had calculated so our remaining $7 had to find a way to feed both of us. To our delight the entry door had a visa/mastercard sticker on it. To our disappointment though, the eftpos machine ‘didn’t work’.

We spent every cent we had on water and fried rice, which really is no different to what we had been doing for the past month. If we were hungry or thirsty before making it back to our backpackers well then we would just have to die.

After lunch we were invited to watch a short movie explaining the history of the sanctuary followed by the feeding at site 2. The other tourist who had joined us on the bus earlier however needed to head back to the city, so after five minutes of feeding we decided to head back.

We spent most of the afternoon relaxing and finally showering. That night we made the most of the waterfront and had dinner on the boardwalk instead of going to McDonalds. When we aren’t greasing up on fatty western fast food we dine like royalty, all in the same clothing though.

The waterfront. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

A great night’s sleep left us feeling in Marta’s word ‘fresh as a cucumber’ for the next day. Marta was particularly excited as it was orangutan day and she had never seen an orangutan. The sanctuary was called Sepilok and was only half an hour away by bus. By 9am we were on our way.

Like Labuk Bay, Sepilok offered two feeding times per day. Sightings however were not guaranteed here, the orangutans come and go as they please. We were therefore advised to get their early for the morning feeding and have the afternoon session as a back up in case no orangutans showed up.

When we arrived for the morning feeding session we were greeted by a sea of tourists and selfie sticks. We were far too late to stake out a good spot, I imagine Kmart on boxing day would be a fair comparison. This didn’t matter in the end though as no orangutans appeared. We would have to wait until the afternoon for a second chance.

How we felt when the millions of tourists would leave without seeing an orangutan. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Since the sanctuary was closed between feeding times we would have to wait outside for the few hours to pass. Fortunately, the sun bear sanctuary was located right across the parking lot. Marta had also never seen a sun bear so what a day she was having.

Not quite the smartest animal. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

The sun bears were worth a quick look around. They seemed like pretty unintelligent animals. In saying that though it was hard to tell who was more of an animal, the bears or the tourists. After a couple of loops around the tree top viewing platform, it was time to head back to the orangutans.

Before we could even get to the main orangutan viewing site we spotted some leaves rustling in the trees. Maybe only 10 metres away or so there was a big male. Marta whipped her camera out and threw all the children in her way to the ground. This might have been a sanctuary but this was still a wild orangutan. For around 10 minutes he hung around, watching us watching him until he swung his way towards the feeding platform.

Our newfound friend. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Compared to the morning session, this time there was less than half the amount of tourists eagerly hoping for a glimpse of an orangutan. This time they were all in luck. In addition to the one we had just seen, a mother and her child ventured down from the trees. For the next hour or so they enjoyed their meal while swinging through the surrounding trees. It was definitely worth sticking around for after the morning disappointment.

Monkeying around. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Eventually we had to leave to give the orangutans their privacy. One of the last buses back to town was about to leave and we made it just in time. Soon we were back at our backpackers for our last night in Sandakan.

Along with Sukau, the past few days had been an awesome wildlife experience. We had seen the nature that Borneo was famous for, both in the wild and up close. Now it was time to visit the cities. Our next destination was Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah and probably the biggest city in our trip since Surabaya in Indonesia. In the meantime though, we celebrated once more with Mcflurries.

 

Crocodiles, monkeys, and million dollar nests in Sukau

By Callum Taylor

Sandakan might have been a very comfortable stop for the night, but both Marta and I were excited to get back into nature. We had been on transport non-stop nearly since the Togians. Reading online about what we could see in Sukau sounded like the place would literally be a breath of fresh air

Sukau might have been renowned for its abundance of wildlife, but the fact that near Sandakan there are a number of sanctuaries means that far fewer tourists venture here than you would expect. Therefore, finding useful information online for independent travel turned out to be quite difficult. Joining a tour wasn’t hard, but we prefer to arrange things ourselves to have a bit of freedom.

Sandakan central. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

After a short walk around the centre to see the city in the daylight, we (me) got furiously researching to plan our next few days. There was apparantly a daily public minibus to Sukau which we had seen earlier, but it didn’t leave until the afternoon. Fortunately, we found a man by the name of Mr Choy online who does the trip every day in his van and offers to take passengers for the same price as the public minibus. Calling a man named Mr Choy in a foreign country to transport you to a secluded jungle location with their white van is always a good idea. Luckily we did call him right away though as he was just about to leave. 15 minutes later after rushing to pack and check out, Choy had us on the road.

Choy turned out to be a super friendly guy who spoke very good English. We shared the car with about 10 other very devout-looking muslim men. Say what you may about people with strong religious beliefs, but they all became our friends for life when they shared their fried bananas for lunch with us.

Marta amused by the fried banana. Photo: Callum Taylor

Sukau

When we arrived in Sukau it was quite surprising how small the town was. Located right on a riverbank, no more than 200 or so people must have lived there. As we had no accommodation booked Choy dropped us off at one of the local B&Bs which looked fine to us. It was pretty basic, but for life in the jungle this was all we needed.

Upon checking in we were shown a list of activities on offer in the area and booked ourselves in for an evening river cruise. It was now early in the afternoon so this gave us a couple of hours to explore the area. After about 30 minutes though we had walked from one end of Sukau to the other. Not even one McDonalds or department store, why were we here?

Where are the pubs and clubs? Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

By late afternoon we were itching to get on the water. We were the only tourists around it seemed so we had the boat to ourselves. Cashed up middle aged white people pay thousands to stay with others at the fancy lodges further down the river, we paid spare change in comparison for a private hotel and cruise.

At first it seemed like none of the animals wanted to make an appearance. We cruised along the riverbank without any birds or monkeys in sight. Every rustle in the trees capturing our attention before we realised it was just the wind.

After around half an hour Marta was the first to spot something. Up in the highest trees she found a big family of proboscis monkeys. These are the terrifyingly ugly long nosed monkeys which are famous from Borneo. There must have been at least ten of them all swinging through the jungle. Once they noticed us however they fled. The 30 seconds we had watching them though was a much better monkey experience than having a rabid macaque try to steal everything you own in Balinese monkey jungles.

A very ugly proboscis monkey. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Finding these proboscis monkeys seemed to set off a chain reaction of wildlife sightings. Hornbill birds flew overhead with their huge colourful beaks. Other varieties of monkeys sat in trees overlooking the water. A python was even spotted curled up on a cluster of branches. Macaques were also abundant here, affectionately known to locals as the ‘jungle mafia’. It was awesome to see all these animals in their own environment.

Boofhead. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

The sun had set now as we headed back to shore. Our B&B also offered night and morning cruises, so we decided to go with each of those for the following day. One cruise definitely wasn’t enough.

By now we were starving and despite being able to eat at our accommodation, we decided to try out the only restaurant in town. Luckily for us, it was all the way at the other end of town. Walking along a narrow road in pitch black darkness with a river full of crocodiles only so many metres away is quite an adrenaline rush.

The restaurant turned out to be surprisingly good. It overhung the river and for being such a quiet village there were quite a few people there. Huge mountains of fried rice were served up to us which we both struggled to finish. Marta made friends with some local cats who I’m sure wanted her for her and not for her rice. After recovering from the meal we stumbled out and half-walked half-rolled back to our room to get some sleep.

Imagine a million crocodiles inside this river and walking next to it at night. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

The next day I unfortunately woke up as the first one to get sick during the trip. Marta will say I was fine but in reality I was on the verge of death with a runny nose and sore throat. With nobody to bring me back to health I started digging my grave. Fortunately it was time for our morning cruise so dying would have to wait.

The morning was less animal-rich than the previous evening, but the scenery was just as spectacular. The jungle was shrouded in mist which was only broken when rays of sunshine pierced gaps through the branches. Not many better ways than this to start your day.

Me on my deathbed with a creepily spectacular view. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

After returning to our room we had the rest of the day to again relax and recover in hope I would survive another 24 hours. We went for another walk around town, this time nearly being run down by stampeding macaques. Lunch at the local restaurant left us again feeling like balloons as we waited until nightfall for our final cruise.

Centre of town. Photo: Callum Taylor

Seemingly just after all our sweat had evaporated from our clothes our cruise guide picked us up and off we went. Sailing down the river in darkness knowing crocodiles surround your small boat is quite a surreal feeling. Only a couple of torches guided us between the logs which dotted the water.

Within minutes we arrived at a unique location. Dozens and dozens of small birds were flying in all directions. Kind of like how people drive in Indonesia. Behind the cloud of birds though was a very expensive sought after local delicacy, Birds nest. We had seen birds nest flavoured drinks around before, but according to our guide they were imitation flavours. This was the real deal. What we could see in front of us would cost thousands of dollars. I have no idea why it was so special, whether it was the species of bird or the location or the material of the nest. It made no sense but ok.

For the next hour we spotted the odd kingfisher hiding amongst the low lying branches. How our guide found them with his torch I have no idea. It was a shame that we were unable to take any photos because of the darkness. A crocodile head made an appearance just as we returned to shore so getting out of the boat was a bit of Russian roulette.

Since we were still bursting at our seams from lunch we opted to call it a night and went to bed. This was our last night in Sukau, we would return to Sandakan the next day. Fortunately Mr Choy runs the same service in the reverse direction, leaving early in the morning. We set our alarms for some awful time before 10am and drifted off to sleep.