Sunset Harbour Botik Hostel Sandakan

... Its good to see thenm in the wild the previous ones that I saw were in the sanctuary in Kuching. I read an artilce about the sustainable development in this area and i will do a piece on that later. Anyway we saw a monitor lizard slithering down the bank. Very timid so had to be quick with the camera. Not long after that was the first sighting of a crocodile. Not all that big.

The guide told us ...

... bit in particular we have begun to see that we have few basic needs but endless wants. Maybe there is real wisdom to the saying "Want less, enjoy more."

When Cadbury’s changed one of their recipes to include palm oil Australians were up in arms with protests and petitions to ban it. Why don’t we do that in the UK? Is it more difficult to fight for and care enough for something you can’t see happening on your doorstep?

We have felt so ...

... didnt see too much on this occassion - some monkeys and a large swimming monitor lizard. We then had a fairly quiet evening and watched the sunset and had a walk along the pier and the beach.
The following morning we did a walking tour of the village with the guide and were met by lots of friendly local children and dogs. The dogs were lovely - the only problem was that as they live in sand and dont have their claws clicked when they ...

... accommodation block though, while Mike and perhaps more critically dinner waited in the open-sided bar area, desperately trying to shield the laptop from the heavy rain gusting in through the open sides of the building. Here we go again…

From here we were transferred by car and then boat to the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp, deep in the jungle on the banks of the river in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. The river is wide and ...

... and they charged us only a tenth of the price the tour company had wanted. There were a few people at the centre but not as many as at the Orang- Utans. The platform was a smaller better set-up too, it was more like looking out from a private balcony. There were Silver Leaf Monkeys and Proboscis feeding when we arrived, the Silver Leaf ones coming onto the balcony to take the food straight out of peoples hands. The Proboscis kicked up a racket now and then, when ...

... brought out some rice wine they had been fermenting and gave it to us to drink, which we did through a bamboo straw. We offered some to the guys who brought us this concoction and they point blank refused instead choosing to watch us drink and pass the bucket around the group from a distance…. Something told me to be wary of someone who wont drink himself what he has offered to you, and with good reason…. Rice wine blows your head off!

... least the leeches didn't get us! (poor steve) bed time came but it was a short sleep in order to be ready for the morning cruise. we spotted a wild boar, s'more birds, and more elephants (i even spotted one first!). then came the rain. and more rain. so it was time to head back for brekkie. had to leave for kinabalu park after food, so headed off with sarah, our new friend who's a PT for the UHN and knows mutual colleagues of leora. small world. westward we go...

... the afternoon in preparation for the evening's activities - we had been warned that sometimes the turtles didn't turn up until 4.30 in the morning! As it happens we were really lucky and we got the call for "Turtle Time" at 9.10pm. We were led down to the beach and saw the spectacle of a metre long green mother turtle laying her eggs. These were then transferred by the ranger to the hatchery where ...

... of the paths to the feeding platform - of encountering a very curious orangutan coming out of the trees. (There are a few such platforms located throughout the center, to help the orangutans with their transition back to the wild - visitors can watch feedings at one of the platforms twice during the day. As the orangs progressively become more comfortable with being in the wild, they move to platforms farther and farther into the forest.) I stood to watch the orangutan with a few ...