Keith at Semenggoh Orangutan Sanctuary at Kuching, June 2009. photo: Pat Davey

Sarawak and Sabah (Borneo) Malaysia

During the month of June 2009 Pat and Keith took part in a Peregrine "Borneo Encompassed" Adventure Tour that visited many parts of Sarawak and Sabah, the two eastern states of Malaysia on the northern half of Borneo island.

We travelled by longboats into remote regions of Sarawak to visit original peoples in their longhouses. Along with three other Australians, Sandy and Margie, farmers from central Victoria, Rosemary from Melbourne and and our wonderful guide Kathy.

We first visited Semenggoh Wildlife Centre to see Orangutans. Visited four wonderous cave systems in Mulu National Park and saw the dusk exodus of millions of bats. They walked the legendary "Headhunter's Trail". Lived with the Iban peoples and took part in their cultural activities and ate their wonderful food. The Iban people we met were always friendly, welcoming and wonderfully hospitable, making all of us feel like one of the family.

Using various watercraft the tour members travelled deep into and out of Sarawak through overhanging tropical jungles, full of wildlife and exotic vegetation. As we headed down the Terikan river we passed intensive forestly activities, where they harvested trees to make way for massive tracts of palm oil plantations, much to the detriment of Orangutangs and other wildlife. As we impose our western, economic life style on these peoples they are forced to produce a saleable product to sell and get money. The product that gives each family the greatest return is palm oil. But massive palm oil plantations is so detrimental to the environment. At Limbang we were sad to loose the knowledgeable and caring company of Kathy, but we were joined by a new helpful guide Randall. Randall had a Dusan and Chinese heritage and this added flavour, often culinary, to our fascinating jounrey. Randal went out of his way to ensure that every member of the group had their needs and interests met.

After leaving Sarawak, we boarded an ocean-going Express Boat at Limbang which first took us to Lubuan Island and then onward to Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah. We were then joined by the Neville and Yvonne, from Wagga Wagga.The team drove through hundreds of kilometres of rich pastroral land to Sabah's most northerly tip, to a sandy beach, where we swam in a warm, calm sea.

Next, it was off to the towering and formidable Mount Kinabalu (4,095 metres), not quite twice as high as Australia's Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres). It was a strenuous, difficult 6 km climb to Laban Rata (3272 metres), where we stayed overnight. Pat and I suffered from altitude sickness, while Neville and Yvonne made it to the top.

At Lubuan and Sabah, our group visited many World War II Memorials, like Ranau and the notorious camp at Sandakan, where Australian and British prisoners of war were incarcerated in hellish conditions and were then finally forced to struggle through 200 kilometres of inhospitable jungle to Ranau, below brooding Mount Kinibalu. This resulted in a catastrophic loss of life in the final days of the war. This part of our journey was particularly emotional.

The final part of the journey was along the Kinabatangan River to Sukau Rainforest Lodge. Here we saw two groups of wild Pigmy Borneo Elephants, wild Orangutangs, many species of Hornbill, thousands of Pig-tailed Macaques, Long-tailed Macaques and Probiscus Monkeys, and all sorts of other wildlife. This river is a wildlife paradise.

If you have a question or enquiry about this website, please email keith@keithdavey.com.au

website updated 19th September 2008