Friday 22^nd February

After setting off before first light on Wednesday, we had a great sail for most of the trip until we got near the mainland and the sea became sloppy with wind against tide. We were relieved when we arrived at Tambesan Island in the late afternoon, where we sheltered for the night in a peaceful mangrove lined channel. A Long Tom flew on its tail across the green water after its prey.  After a calm motor further up the coast the next day, we entered the Kinabatangan River through the distinct line of the muddy river water and greenish seawater. It’s the longest river in Borneo, 560 kilometres long, of which we will go 90 kilometres upstream through remote jungle.

Reddish brown Proboscis Monkeys flew from branch to wobbly branch of the mangroves on the riverside while we waited for Sea Glass, a deeper draught than Nalukai, to cross a shallow sandbar to proceed up the mighty brown river. We passed several troupes of Proboscis Monkeys as the riverbank changed from short bushy palms to thick jungle. Upon anchoring, we saw Orangutans eating and swinging from leafy branches and small grey monkeys, the size of a possum, throwing fruit and leaves into the water. We disturbed a family of Proboscis Monkeys, with their long white tails and enormous noses, which were perched in the bushy tops of the trees for the night.

Tuesday 26^th February

What a magnificent couple of days we have spent anchored at Sukua, on the hot chocolate coloured river. Early morning and evening buzzes up the river were very fruitful for animal and bird watching. Mincho, a guide with a wealth of knowledge came with us to enhance our experience. Proboscis Monkeys camped for the night by the riverbank on the tip of branches are constantly on the lookout for predators such as pythons, the Clouded Leopard and Eagles. Their long noses, particularly on the male are a sign of their manliness, which they often exert to keep dominance in the group. We enjoyed watching them swing from tree to tree with such agility, feeding on leaves and unripe fruit (ripe fruit gives them bloat as it upsets the bacteria in their stomach).

We loved watching the small grey Monkeys, Long Tailed Macaques, equally agile, feed on the grasses by the river, then scoot noisily back into the branches with amazing speed. Plenty of fornicating was evident there with the number of young and very visible high in the branches. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/levosafloat Beautiful red and blue Kingfishers, Black Hornbills (sounding rather like someone vomiting) and White Hornbills (their voice sounding like laughter) were all flitting amongst the trees. Lovely white Egrets and Japanese Darters rose majestically from the water as we passed. A trip to the Oxbow Lake, once a bend in the river, was beautiful, covered in purple flowered Water Hyacinths with thick jungle, rampant with vines and bird nest ferns perched in the trees, surrounding it.

A drive to the primary forest Gomantong National Park, where the trees haven’t been cut down at all, was a highlight as we saw a mother Orangutan and her baby so close. She kept pushing her baby into the higher branches for climbing practise and was very tolerant when it scrambled all over her. As she swung between branches the baby clung firmly to her back and both enjoyed the tree bark as a snack. Their long arms and dextrous hands and feet give them incredible mobility and having a thumb makes them our closest relatives.

Next, a trip to the cave where the Swifters build their nests made of saliva, which are a delicacy in China and are harvested twice a year. As they fly in for the evenings sleep, the estimated two million bat inhabitants fly out and are spectacular leaving at dusk in their thousands. The girls weren’t mad on the smell or the cockroaches in there but it was a spectacular cavern, very dark with piles of guano everywhere and small holes letting light in the roof of the cave.

The road leading there was lined with palm oil plantations, raised to stop waterlogging. In the last decade 97% of the Sabah jungle has been decimated for palm oil and other agricultural pursuits, so the animals’ habitat is vastly reduced, disastrous for species already endangered. They harvest bunches of palm nuts every two weeks with Indonesian labour, much cheaper than Malaysian. They workers, paid by the kilogram, cut them down and wheel them to the end of the row in a wheelbarrow, where they are deposited into a small tractor and trailer.  The nut is heat processed to extract the oil.

No Elephants unfortunately, as it has been cooler with lots of rain and they tend to stay in the forests unless they come to the river to drink, swim and eat the tender shoots of the bamboo grass. We’ve seen plenty of trampled grasses and tracks into the river but no-one has sighted them for four days.

 I have so enjoyed the peace of the river; birds chattering, frogs croaking, bats squealing at night and monkeys screeching and swinging in the trees. With the rain came the debris of logs, water hyacinths and sticks banging into the boat while we were at anchor!! Life on the river’s edge of children playing, men throwing their fishing nets and putting out prawn traps, washing draped along long lines and people waving, always added interest as we motored past. We safely negotiated the silted mouth of the river, very shallow in places with islands of washed out palms and move on to Sandakan.