Oct 18, 2023 – Day 2 in Honolulu – Rainforest Hike in the Manoa Valley
I have breakfast in the Main Dining Room this morning: cappuccino, Passion fruit parfait, and a smoked salmon omelet. Afterward, I grab my notebook computer and go to the Crow’s Nest to hang out there. At 9:30AM the Pacific Collector, a US Navy Auxiliary ship is pushed into an adjacent dock by two tugs. It doesn’t appear to be under power, and has two large white domes on the main cargo deck.
I go on an excursion today: Tropical Rain Forest Nature Walk. It is leaves at 11:45AM, including a 45 minute hike through the Lyon Arboretum rain forest in the Valley of the Rainbows at the head of the beautiful Manoa Valley. I take lots of photos of the many plants, flowers and birds found in the rain forest. Our guide then drives us to the Pu’u Uala’kaa — the hill of the rolling sweet potatoes above the city at an elevation of 1,048 feet. We have great views of Diamond Head, Waikiki, Honolulu, and the harbour and airport, and our ship is visible from here. We also drive through Punchbowl Crater, which is a memorial graveyard for the US Armed Services.
We return to the ship just after 3PM, well before the 4:30 All Aboard time. After getting cleaned up, I decide to wear my new Aloha shirt from our port call in Kaua’i.
4:30PM Captain’s Report – We will sail between two low pressure systems on the return voyage to Vancouver. Waves are expected to be 10′ most of the way, as both systems are generating significant wave action. Koningsdam was scheduled to depart Honolulu at 5PM, but it looks like we will be delayed by an hour due to a medical disembarkation and some late-arriving passengers from an excursion.
Our delayed departure actually works out really well, since the ship sails out of the harbour entrance at sunset, giving us beautiful views along the coastline with some dramatic clouds, ships in the distance on the horizon, all making for some good photos. After looking closer at my sunset photos, I realize there are five mirages of ships and the city floating above the ocean!
I am up at 6AM and put my bag out to be picked up before I leave to have breakfast. The hotel has a self-serve super-automatic espresso machine, so I have two cappuccinos along with some fruit, yogurt, and pastries. I check out and board the bus by 8AM.
Proboscis Monkey drinking water
Everyone is onboard ahead of time, so we leave at 7:50AM for the one hour drive to the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary in time for the first feeding at 9:30AM. This is a private sanctuary for the monkeys operated by a palm plantation owner. Everyone in the group take fantastic photos and video of the monkeys, since they are only a few metres away from us. The monkeys are well-behaved, not aggressive at all.
After we have lunch in the highlands at the classic English Tea House & Garden, we drive to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, arriving in time to see the afternoon feeding. As always, our guides are well-organized and ensure everyone is at the feeding platforms ahead of the crowds, so our group all take some wonderful photos and video.
Kinabatangan, Sandakan & Sepilok area map
We then check in at the nearby MY Nature Resort. This is another resort run by the same company as our last lodge on the river. This travel company also supplies the guides and boats we have been using. This is a very nice resort, and thankfully the chalets are very roomy and have air conditioning, so it is much more comfortable to sleep at night.
Our guides conduct another night walk at the nearby Rainforest Discovery Centre, but again I pass on the opportunity since leeches are a very real risk at that location.
April 14, 2018 Saturday – Sepilok Orangutans and Sun Bears
Orangutan mother and baby eating a coconut at the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre
After breakfast, we spend the full day at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, seeing both the morning and afternoon feeding of the organgutans. We also see the nursery, where young orphan orangutans are socialized, taught how to forage and build nests, and build up their strength. They are encouraged to explore the adjacent rainforest sanctuary, since there are no fences or barriers. For their own safety, they are housed in a nursery building at night. After about four years, they are released to a protected area if the staff are convinced they have the skills to survive in the wild.
Two Sun Bears on a stump
We also visit the adjacent Sun Bear Conservation Centre. These small, cute bears encounter the same issues as orangutans – encroachment of human settlements on their rainforest habitat, poaching, and locals keeping them as pets. The CEO and Founder of the Centre is Dr. Wong Siew Te, who gives us a personalized tour. We are fortunate to see three of the Sun Bears come out of the bush and literally pose for us on a stump right in front of the viewing platform.
Proboscis monkey in a tree on the Brunei River
Proboscis monkey in a tree on the Brunei River
Proboscis monkey in a tree on the Brunei River
Our guide finds fresh dung from Pygmy Elephants
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Female Proboscis monkey in a tree
A local fisher on a tributary of the Kinabatangan River.
Male Blue-eared Kingfisher
Male Blue-eared Kingfisher
Black and red Broadbill
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
Oriental Darter
Silver Langur
Proboscis monkey on a tree limb in profile
Wrinkled Hornbill
Monitor Lizard
A wet Oriental Darter
Orangutan bridge across the river
Female Proboscis monkey feeding in the morning
Cattle Egret in breeding plumage
A pair of Hornbills
Black and red Broadbill near it’s nest
A young Crocodile
A crocodile on the Kinabatangan River
A spotted brown butterfly on some orange blossoms at our rest stop
Macaque monkey at our rest stop
Proboscis Monkey drinking water
Male Proboscis Monkey in profile
Male Proboscis Monkey
Proboscis Monkeys feeding
Dog-faced Water snake
Our group taking photos of the Proboscis Monkeys
Orangutan mother and baby
Orangutans
Orangutan hanging on the feeding station
Orangutans at the feeding station
Yellow and purple flowers on a bush
The resort retaurant
Chalets/rooms and gardens at the resort
Male Pigtailed Macaque monkey walking a rope to the Orangutan feeding station
Young Pigtailed Macaque monkey walking a rope to the Orangutan feeding station
A trio of Pigtailed Macaque monkeys waiting at the feeding station
Young orphaned Orangutans in the nursery area
A poisonous red bug on the walkway
A Sun Bear on a stump
Two Sun Bears on a stump
Two Sun Bears on a stump
Orangutan on the feeding platform
Orangutan hanging on the ropes
Orangutan reclining on the feeding platform
Orangutan reclining on the feeding platform
Orangutan sitting on the feeding platform
Orangutan in a tree
Orangutan in a tree
Mimi, the Orangutan walking along the walkway railing in front of a group of people
Mimi, the Orangutan in the bush beside the walkway
Sunset over the rainforest behind the resort
Orangutan mother and baby
Orangutan mother and baby
Orangutan mother and baby
Orangutan mother and baby
Orangutan mother and baby eating a coconut
List of Orangutan spottings in the sanctuary
Very big Crocodile
Ferns on the forest floor
Our guide Lemon leads us up the hill to the start of the canopy cable walkway
Our group crosses the cable walkway
Looking down on the cable walkway
The view of the rainforest and lake from the cable walkway
Today we trade our posh Le Meridien hotel in Kota Kinabalu for a wilderness lodge in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. We fly to Sandakan in East Sabah this morning, drive along the Kinabatangan River (Sabah’s longest at over 500 kilometres) to Sukau and the Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge.
Along the way we pass through many kilometres of oil-palm plantations, and arrive in time for lunch (served buffet-style). When one of the staff takes my bag to my cabin, he is attacked by a troupe of Macaque monkeys and is bitten. Not an impressive start to my stay!
Female Proboscis monkey in a tree
Late this afternoon we take our first river cruise in search of Pygmy Elephants, but our guide Junior only finds fresh elephant dung, since they appear to be on the move. We do see a large group of Proboscis monkeys high in the trees beside the river, Silver Langur monkeys, and the Borneo Civet after dark as we return for a late dinner.
The cabins at the lodge are pretty basic, with no air conditioning, just fans and screens on the windows. There are bugs in the room and especially the bathroom. I started taking my Malarone anti-malarial medicine a couple of days ago in preparation for this segment of our travels, however despite the lodge being located right on the river, I see no mosquitos.
April 11, 2018 Wednesday – Kinabatangan in East Sabah, Malaysia
Black and red Broadbill
We leave the lodge by boat at 6:30AM for a 2.5 hour trip along the Kinabatangan River. We spot a beautiful Stork-billed Kingfisher soon after we leave the dock. Unlike yesterday evening, today I have my full camera kit with me for the boat trip, I take some good photos of a female Proboscis monkey with a baby in a tree, some Hornbills, a Black and Red Broadbill, a male Blue-eared Kingfisher, a Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, an Oriental Darter, some Silver Langur monkeys, a Wrinkled Hornbill, and a small Monitor Lizard. This is my most productive day for wildlife photography!
Our guide Junior gives a presentation on how he started out as a waiter in a resort, becoming a guide 35 years ago, and had the opportunity to work with David Attenborough on The Living Planet series. The biodiversity on Borneo is very concentrated, lending itself to feature films about the rainforest, such as the National Geographic Great Migration series. Junior tells us he is self-taught as a guide, but he is licensed by the government. Same goes for our other guides, which includes his son.
Stork-billed Kingfisher
On the afternoon boat trip, we go up a tributary of the main river, where we spot: a Stork-billed Kingfisher (again), a Roller Broadbill (aka Dollar Bird), and an Oriental Darter bird. We see a couple of wildlife bridges built by the government wildlife service to help the Orangutans cross the river channel (since they don’t swim). Our guide tells us the wildlife bridges are mainly used by the monkeys.
I skip the night cruise, since photography is pretty well out of the question, and I really don’t want to be bitten by bugs, pick up any leeches, or attempt to photograph bugs by flashlight.
April 12, 2018 Thursday – Kinabatangan to Sandakan in East Sabah, Malaysia
On our morning boat trip, we see: Proboscis monkeys feeding (including a male), a Cattle Egret in breeding plumage, a pair of Hornbills, a male Black and Red Broadbill guarding its nest, and a young Crocodile on the muddy shore.
Staff waving goodbye to us from the Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge
After lunch, it is time to leave the lodge by taking a 2.5 hour boat trip down the river to the jetty at Sandakan. This turns out to be an endurance contest, despite having a rest stop half way at Abai Jungle Restaurant and Lodge, a lodge on the lower river run by the same company (S I Tours) as where we were staying. The boats are going about 40 knots and when we are in exposed sea water in the Sulu Sea, the ride is very rough and noisy. I wear my noise-cancelling earbuds to reduce my stress level.
Our luggage being wheeled from the jetty where we landed through the stilt village to our awaiting bus
Once we arrive at the jetty in Sandakan, our bags are taken by hand carts to the bus waiting for us, and we are driven a short distance to the only deluxe hotel to be found in Sandakan, the Four Points by Sheraton. It has an infinity pool, gym, 2-level lobby with a piano, and is over 20 stories high. It’s quite pretentious, however I’m happy to have an American-style room with air conditioning, hot water and comfy bed after the last few nights spent in the river lodge!
