Uncle Tan's on the Kinabatangan River
Trip Start
Mar 04, 2004
1
21
77
Trip End
Jul 02, 2005
Sabah,
Malaysia
Friday, June 4, 2004
Well I have been out of Indonesia for just over a week now. I started in Brunei, an extremely rich micro-state with beautiful mosques and absolutely zero night life. After a day to plan and buy flights in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah I flew up to Sandakan for my first big 'event' of the Borneo excursion. Right near the Sepilok Orangutan Santuary is the jumping off point for the famous Uncle Tan's wildlife tours. Uncle Tan died a couple years ago but his dream of affordable and responsible eco-tourism on the Kinabatagan River survives. I'll try to keep this entry short so I will only hit the main points. This is primarily due to the fact that 'Troy' starts in 20 min and I've got a ticket (I'm writing from Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia)
the Uncle Tan's camp is quite basic but also very liveable. The food is ample and the kopi susu (coffee with milk) constanly on hand
02 On the river
. The camp itself is a wildlife spotting oppurtunity with bearded pigs, macaques, and the odd civit vistiing. The guides and staff are all very playful and laidback. They really do their best to find out each person's special wildlife interest and cater to it. We did 3 official and 2 unofficial river wildlife spotting safaris at Uncle Tan's. Hornbills were in abundance and the bird-spotters were almost overcome with delight. They certainly are impressive birds, as are the brilliantly coloured kingfishers and the graceful brahminy kites and cattle egrets. Some of these we saw up close on the night safari while they were sleeping. Monkeys were everywhere! Two types of macaque, silver leaf monkeys, and proboscis monkeys, all leaping madly from tree to tree. The big thing I was there to see was orangutans and I wasn't disappointed. On the second day I watched a juvenile, his mom and her new baby for about 15 minutes in the forest. This was the same female who, the day before, had spit painfully acidic acid on 3 guests. They are recieved 2nd degree burns if you can believe it and Carmin from Edmonton is really worried it will scar because they are on her face. Who the hell expects to get hit with toxic spit from an ape? One morning we also saw Borneo gibbons, a rare sight, and we could hear their loud calls in the jungle. We also walked in recent elephant tracks and saw Asian small-clawed otters acting just like meercats. (Yes, Tammy I know these are your favourite) The other highlight was when Lan, the head guide, invited 14 of us up to a secluded downriver village for a malay Muslim wedding ceremony
03 Kingfisher
. We danced a lot, I mistook the groom for the bride, used my pidgin Indonesian (yes, I know its Malaysia but the languages are virtually the same for beginners) ate a feast, drank foul rice-wine (its like tequila but not as strong) and slept on some kind villagers floor. Incredible hospitality. I met a ton of interesting travellers, most of whom I stayed with in Sandakan after we left the jungle. Really good to be back in with a pack of travellers, just like it was in Aus. I also spent quite a bit of time in the afternoons just chilling, reading in the hammocks and having fascinating conversations. I fully recommend Uncle Tan's to anyone interested in wildlife in an otherwise impossible to travel in location. There is an abundance of everything except leeches, always a bonus.
Catch ya soon,
B.
Comments
how to contact Uncle Tan's wildlife tours
Hi
My name is Michele and I am planning a family adventure trip to Sabah. My plan (please feel free to comment on it) is to fly into Sandakan and go straight to Sepolik Nature Resort where we spend 2 nights and on the morning of the 3rd day, I thought we might do 2 nights with Uncle Tan's wildlife tours. We want to see Orangutans and all kinds of animals. Do you know how to contact the tour company? I didn't see a website.
Thanks for any insight you can provide,
Michele