Things to Do in Sukau

Nose Monkey

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!


	High up in the tree	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 21, 2004

High up in a tree

Another high up in the treetop pictures. On the top branch you can see a white egret and on the lower branch a snakebird. They didn't see to mind each other so much sitting so nicely together in the tree.

These two birds are the two varieties I saw most here along the Kinabatangan River, and these were certainly the two type of birds that were easiest to photograph.


	There! On the left! Macaques!!	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 20, 2004

Macaque

But even if we got distracted by the surrounding landscape, our guide and the boatman kept their eyes wide open. "There! On the left! Macaques!!" Whispered the boatman enthusiastically.

He slowly manoeuvred the boat to the riverbank so we could as close as possible to the Macaques. Wow, my first monkeys I've ever seen in the wild!!! I was so amazed, impressed, excited... hahaha, not really sure how to call this feeling, but maybe you can imagine it. These were my first macaques, but certainly not the last I would see on this trip!


	Crocodile!	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 21, 2004

Crocodile!

Crocodile!!! The boatman suddenly shouted! There! To the left!!! Where? where? I don't see anything, I answered almost desperately. Aiks, I was too late....

All I could see were some bubbles of air on the spot where the crocodile went under water. Looking over the shoulder of 'One' we tried to spot it again as it might have surfaced again on another spot. But in vane..... that's all I would see of that crocodile.... blub, blub, blub, bubbles of air :-)


	Our first excursion on the river	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 20, 2004

Our first excursion on the
river

Don't expect to have this river for yourself this time of day. There are several other small boats here, all in search to get a glimpse of the nose-monkeys.

We actually had one of the slower boats, but also the most quiet one. And that just suited me fine. It was so relaxing to sit in the boat in the afternoon sun, while my eyes were searching the dense forest trying to spot wildlife. We moved along so quietly and peacefully, it felt like the more natural thing to do here in the rainforest. No loud-roaring motors chasing away the wildlife and disturbing the peace.


	Nightlife	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 21, 2004

Nightlife

The evening falls, it gets dark very quickly. But it is still so nice and warm outside. It is great to sit in one of the lazy chairs overlooking the river, reflecting back to the wonderful day we had. Bats, monkeys, snakes, cockroaches, birds, you name it, we saw and did it. Hahaha, well, that's how it feels like it anyway.

Down below us on the pier all the local guides gather together for a chat and a drink. That's all the nightlife you will find here. But it feels good. It is all the nightlife I needed that night. Quietly enjoying, thinking, reliving the day. A wonderful day.


	White Egret	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 21, 2004

White Egret

The first one on the list to show you is the White Egret. This bird isn't originally from Sabah, but it seems to love it here, and that's why you can spot them in an abundance. I think it is a beautiful gracious bird, really striking with its bright white colour .


	A day on the river	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 21, 2004

A day on the river

The sun comes up quickly, making everything look so bright and cheerful. Today's trip is going to start on the big river, the Kinabatangan. The atmosphere of this river is so different than the small river we were on yesterday afternoon. It is wide, huge, with impressive vegetation on either side. This river is a perfect place to do bird watching.

But this is not all we will be doing today. Or better said this morning. From the Kinabatangan river we going to go to the beautiful Oxbow Lake, where we will get off the boat for a little while to do some hiking in the rainforest. An adventure I won't lightly forget, but more about that later :-)


	I am the boss!	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 21, 2004

I am the boss!

A fantastic moment. A huge male nose-monkey stands up on his hind legs, making him even bigger and more impressive than he already is. All of a sudden he starts to produce a huge amount of noise. He clearly does not agree with something that goes on above him in the trees and he is showing he is the boss. And yes, he is the BOSS!

It quiets down again in the trees. The moment is over. It seemed like a unique moment, and it was fantastic to have been a witness to it.


	Snakebird	Tip Rating:

Updated By sim1

on November 20, 2004

Snakebird

Going from the subject 'birds nest' to a bird is not such a big step to make. And in this case it is a snakebird. I spotted this type of bird quite often in the area around Sukau, and without a doubt you will see it for yourself when you visit this area.

The snakebird is quite a large bird, mostly black in colour. But the mean characteristics of this bird is its long snake-like neck, hence the name snakebird.