Sukau Things to Do

We stayed at the Sri Menanggol cabins which were right by the main Kinabatangan river, with the restaurant looking over the river. The meals were wonderful - simple local food all very fresh and well cooked. We were the only guests, so had the place to ourselves for the few days we were there. We had our own guide and also a local guide who knew the river well and where to find the wildlife.
One of the main pleasures was the least expected. Every night after dinner we were served a big plate of fresh fruit, which contained melon. We noticed that if we stayed still and quiet the small geckos would sneak up the wooden railing by the table and sip the melon juice from the plate, even licking the melon. If we moved just a little bit they would be scared away so we would always push the plate of melon towards the edge of the table where they could reach and just stay very still. It was difficult to get a picture - I had to stay very still with my camera for a while but finally managed it. It was a lovely experience and a wonderful place.

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Also, apart from the boat trips. Our guide took us jungle trekking from the river bank to Ox Bow Lake. Ran into elephant dungs, wild boar tracks, and some funny creatures. It's quite a pain to trek in the jungle here. The plants made my feets very itchy, and the mosquitos aren't helping.
I enjoyed the trekking in Kinabalu park much much better. The climate there is wonderful and I don't remember getting itchy feet at all! Lesson to be learned? Please bring along long pants meant for jungle trekking, not knee-length khakis!

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This is most probably why you are here, the boat trip along lower Kinabatangan river, if you are lucky, you can see a lotta wild animals along the river, waiting for you and your camera and telelense and binoculars.
Proboscis monkeys are not dificult to see, a lot more easier later in the evening. The same goes for Hornbills. Our package with the river people includes 3 river trips, 2 in the evening and 1 in the morning. I think evening is still the best time to go out to the river, you're definitely going to see the proboscis. And the sunset from the river can be amazing at times....

The big male nose monkey was along the riverbank with his whole family. But as soon as we approached the whole group, that was sitting in the trees, climbed up the trees to the top of the rocks, out of our sight.

This male nose monkey on the other hand, wanted to show he was brave, so he made himself big and impressive, saying "I am the boss and "I am not going anywhere else because you guys are here!"

Wow, and that made this a unique opportunity for us to watch the nose-monkey from up close. What an amazing creature, fantastic to see it sitting here in the tree, watching us from a safe distance, but still being so close by.

I have to write about this fun fact :-)). Did you know that the nose monkeys are also called "Monyet Belanda"? Hahaha, which means the "Dutchman Monkey"! :-)) As a joke on European traders and colonials they named this monkey after the Dutch. Both were hairy, had big red noses and big bellies! Oopsss.....

Hahaha, am I glad that I am not a 'real' Dutchman anymore, but now partly Swede ;-))

The nose monkey or Proboscis Monkey is a fascinating animal to see. The big nose looks absolutely funny of course (did you know that its nose keeps growing during its whole life?!). But besides its so characteristic nose it is just an impressive monkey species to see.

They are so wonderfully colourful with their warm red-brown coats, their cream coloured chest, their arms and legs going from red-brown into grey at the bottom and they have this amazing long white tail.

I think I could write on about this monkey for days, hahaha, and show you just as many pictures. But I better not. For me seeing this nose monkey on the water side and in this tree, was the highlight of my trip to Borneo. Amazing, amazing, amazing!

My two days on the river has come to an end. Two amazing days. From wildlife to creepy crawlers, I saw and experienced it all here. A fantastic journey, and I hope you enjoyed travelling virtually with me to this amazing place on Borneo.

The previous leg of my journey was a travelling long day and you can read all about that on my Sandakan page. It was great to see a bit of the country, learn about the palm oil plantation and visit the Gomantong caves.

My next page will be about Libaran Island. An island in the Sulu Sea, a place to relax, learn more about the local life of the people on the island and a great location for exploring the mangrove forest.

I hope you will join me on this virtual trip and enjoy reading my travel stories and see the pictures. For me it has been fantastic to write about my journey because it has made me relive the trip once again :-)

I slowly start to relax while walking in the dark. We follow our guide closely, making our way through the dense forest. With our torches we start to light up the trees in search of some life. And yes, there is life out there in the dark!

As you can guess it is near to impossible to take pictures in these pitch-dark conditions. But we did somehow manage to capture these birds with our camera.

Walking in the rainforest at night is an amazing experience. Maybe during the day you feel small in the huge rainforest, but at night, you feel totally overpowered. You are a mere guest, the forest rules.

With this almost humbling experience our trip to Sukau has come to an end. As you could read on this page, a trip I won't easily forget. A place where I would love to return to. I just hope it will stay the way it is now, quiet, and not overrun by tourists.

A thunderstorm is rumbling in the distance, but luckily it is still far away. For tonight we are going to do a night walk in the jungle. Because of the thunderstorm it is only going to be a hike of an hour, not leaving our camp too far behind us. If the rain starts to pour down it is best that we can get back as quickly as possible!

The night is pitch-black. I don't think I have stood in such total darkness before.It might be dark here, but it is certainly not quiet! The sound of the rainforest at night is still overwhelming. Rather scared in these dark conditions I cling on to my torch. That is my only light source, and I sure don't want to be without it down here!