Borneo: Sarawak and Sabah, from Kuching and Mulu to the Kinabatangan

Arrive in Kuching

Kuching International Airport to your hotel on the waterfront

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Kuching
• Environ 30 min de route

Soir

In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the days ahead: the domestic flights and their baggage limit, what to wear in caves and forest, and how we plan around the best hours for wildlife. Then we walk to a welcome dinner of Sarawak dishes, perhaps laksa Sarawak, midin fern and grilled fish, and take the little sampan ferry across the river afterwards if anyone wants to see the waterfront lit up.

Compris

• Pick-up at Kuching International Airport (KCH)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner

Bako National Park

Kuching to Kampung Bako by road, then by boat to Bako National Park and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Kuching
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

We drive about 45 minutes to the jetty at Kampung Bako after breakfast and take a boat of around 20 minutes across the bay, with Mount Santubong rising on the far shore. Boat times depend on the tide, so your guide sets the start the day before. At the park headquarters a park guide joins us on a short trail through the forest to a beach, looking for proboscis monkeys, which are found only on Borneo, silvered langurs and the bearded pigs that wander the beaches.

Après-midi

Lunch is at the park canteen.

Soir

We head back while the tide allows, usually by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is free in Kuching: the old bazaar on Main Bazaar street, the Tua Pek Kong temple, or a rest before dinner on your own.

Compris

• Return boat to Bako National Park, with entry
• Guided walk with a park guide to a beach on the Telok Paku or a similar short trail
• Lunch at the park

Semenggoh and a Bidayuh longhouse

Kuching to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, then Annah Rais and back to Kuching

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Kuching
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

We leave early for Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, about 24 km south of the city, to be at the platform for the morning feeding at about 9 am. Semenggoh's orangutans were rescued or born to rescued mothers and now live free in the surrounding reserve, so whether they come in for fruit depends on what is ripe in the forest; in fruiting season some mornings are quiet. From there we drive about 35 km on into the hills near the Indonesian border to Annah Rais, a Bidayuh longhouse community where families still live along a shared bamboo and timber veranda.

Après-midi

A local host shows us the longhouse and the head house, explains how the community farms and worships today, and we eat lunch with the family who host us.

Soir

We are back in Kuching by mid-afternoon, with the evening free for the night food stalls at Top Spot or a walk along the lit waterfront.

Compris

• Semenggoh Wildlife Centre at the morning feeding, with entry
• Annah Rais Bidayuh longhouse visit with a local host, with the community fee
• Lunch at Annah Rais

Fly to Mulu: Deer Cave and the bats

Kuching to Gunung Mulu National Park by air, then on foot to Lang and Deer caves

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
• Nuit : Gunung Mulu National Park
• Environ 30 min de route

Après-midi

After checking in near the park, we meet our park guide in the afternoon and walk the 3 km plank path through the forest to Lang Cave, small but full of stalactites and columns, and then into Deer Cave, one of the largest cave passages known, where a path leads through the main chamber.

Soir

At dusk we wait at the bat observatory outside the cave mouth, when on most dry evenings hundreds of thousands of bats spiral out in long ribbons to feed. Rain can stop the exodus, which is why we have a second evening here. Dinner tonight is near the park.

Compris

• Flight from Kuching (KCH) to Mulu (MZV)
• Gunung Mulu National Park entry
• Lang Cave and Deer Cave with a park guide
• The bat exodus at the Deer Cave observatory, weather permitting
• Dinner

Activités en option

• Guided night walk from park headquarters, run by the park

Mulu: canopy, river and caves

Mulu canopy skywalk, then by longboat on the Melinau River to Wind and Clearwater caves

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Gunung Mulu National Park
• En bateau

Matin

We start on the first morning slot of the canopy skywalk, about 480 m of walkway slung between the crowns of the forest trees, when birds are most active and the heat has not built. Places on the walkway are limited and we book them ahead. After a break we board longboats on the Melinau River, stopping at the Penan settlement of Batu Bungan, where families sell handicrafts at a small market. Upriver, a short path and steps lead into Wind Cave, named for the cool air that moves through it, and its chamber of stalactites. A little further on is Clearwater Cave, part of a long river cave system, reached by a flight of steps; inside, a path leads down to the underground river.

Après-midi

We have a picnic lunch by the clear pool at the cave mouth, where you can swim.

Soir

The afternoon is free at the lodge, and if rain stopped the bats yesterday we go back to the observatory at dusk.

Compris

• Mulu canopy skywalk with a park guide
• Longboat on the Melinau River with a stop at Batu Bungan
• Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave with a park guide
• Picnic lunch at Clearwater
• A second evening at the bat observatory if needed
• Dinner

Activités en option

• Guided night walk from park headquarters, run by the park

Fly to Kota Kinabalu

Mulu to Kota Kinabalu by air, then to your hotel and the seafront

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Kota Kinabalu
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

A slow morning: walk the boardwalk near park headquarters at first light, when hornbills and gibbons call, or simply rest. Then we fly from Mulu to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, on a direct flight on the days it runs or with a connection in Miri on the others, and are met at Kota Kinabalu International Airport for the short drive to the hotel. Sabah keeps its own immigration check, so your passport is stamped again.

Après-midi

Flights here are sometimes delayed, so nothing is fixed for the afternoon.

Soir

In the early evening, if the flight allows, your guide takes the group to the seafront at Tanjung Aru, a few kilometres from the centre, where locals come out to walk and eat as the sun sets behind the islands. Dinner is your own choice, at the beach stalls or back in the city at the waterfront night market.

Compris

• Flight from Mulu (MZV) to Kota Kinabalu (BKI), direct or via Miri
• Transfers at both airports
• Sunset walk at Tanjung Aru with your guide

Islands in the morning, Mari Mari in the afternoon

Kota Kinabalu to Tunku Abdul Rahman Park by boat, then Mari Mari Cultural Village

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Kota Kinabalu
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Matin

We walk to Jesselton Point after breakfast and take one of the first boats of the day to Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, a marine park of five islands a short ride off the city.

Après-midi

Going early means calmer water and quieter beaches before the midday boats arrive. On Manukan or Sapi, depending on the sea, you can swim, snorkel over the reef with the gear we bring, or walk the short forest path across the island. We are back in the city around midday for a quick lunch on your own, then drive about 40 minutes into the hills to Mari Mari Cultural Village for the afternoon session. Local guides take us through traditional houses of several Sabah peoples, including the Kadazan-Dusun, Rungus and Murut, with demonstrations of rice wine, fire-making and blowpipes, tastings of local food and a dance performance at the end.

Soir

Evening free.

Compris

• Return boat to Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, with the park conservation fee
• Snorkel gear and time on Manukan or Sapi island
• Mari Mari Cultural Village afternoon session with local guides

Up into Kinabalu Park

Kota Kinabalu to Kinabalu Park headquarters

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Kinabalu Park
• Environ 2 h de route

Matin

We leave after breakfast and drive about two hours north-east, climbing over the foothills of the Crocker Range. On a clear morning the granite crown of Mount Kinabalu, 4,095 m and the highest peak in Malaysia, shows ahead long before we arrive, so we stop at the roadside stalls of Nabalu for the view and a coffee. Kinabalu Park was listed by UNESCO in 2000 for its plant life, from orchids to pitcher plants. The headquarters sit at about 1,560 m, where the air is cool and often misty.

Après-midi

After lunch in the park, a park guide walks us along the short trails near headquarters, through moss forest and along a stream, with the focus on plants and birds rather than distance. There is no summit climb on this trip.

Soir

The late afternoon and evening are free, and nights here are cool, so bring a warm layer.

Compris

• Drive from Kota Kinabalu with a stop at the Nabalu viewpoint
• Kinabalu Park entry and a guided walk on the trails near headquarters with a park guide
• Lunch at Kinabalu Park

Kinabalu at first light, then east to Sepilok

Kinabalu Park to Kundasang, Ranau and Telupid, then Sepilok

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Sepilok
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Matin

Get up for first light: the mountain is clearest early, before cloud gathers around the summit by mid-morning. After breakfast we stop at the Kundasang War Memorial, gardens made in memory of the Australian and British prisoners who died on the Sandakan death marches of 1945, a story we finish in Sandakan. Then comes the longest drive of the trip, about 220 km and four and a half hours of driving east via Ranau and Telupid. There is no shorter way: flying would mean driving two hours back to Kota Kinabalu first, and the day would be no shorter.

Après-midi

We break it with a sit-down lunch near Telupid, about halfway, and short stops as the hills give way to lowland forest and oil palm, which your guide explains. We reach Sepilok by mid-afternoon and walk the canopy walkway at the Rainforest Discovery Centre in its last open hours, when hornbills are often about.

Compris

• Mount Kinabalu at first light
• Kundasang War Memorial
• Sit-down lunch near Telupid
• Rainforest Discovery Centre canopy walkway

Sepilok, then down to the river

Sepilok to the lower Kinabatangan River

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Kinabatangan River
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

After a sit-down lunch we drive about two and a half hours to the lower Kinabatangan, Sabah's longest river, and settle into our riverside lodge for two nights. In the late afternoon we take the first boat safari, as proboscis monkeys gather in the riverside trees to sleep; your guide confirms the time on the day.

Compris

• Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre at the morning feeding, with the nursery viewing gallery
• Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre
• Sit-down lunch at Sepilok
• Dusk boat safari on the Kinabatangan River
• Binoculars on loan for the river days

Dawn and dusk on the Kinabatangan

A full day at the lodge and on the river

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Kinabatangan River
• En bateau

Matin

We are back for breakfast as the heat builds. The Lower Kinabatangan is a protected wildlife sanctuary of forest strips and oxbow lakes, squeezed by plantations, so animals concentrate along the river; that is why it is a good place to look, and why we watch from a distance. Late morning there is a short guided walk near the lodge to look at insects, plants and tracks. The middle of the day is free to rest. At about 4 pm we go out again, this time into a narrow side stream where the boat can drift close to the banks. Pygmy elephants move along the river in herds and are seen some weeks and not others.

Soir

After dinner a lodge guide leads a night walk.

Compris

• Dawn boat safari
• Guided walk near the lodge
• Afternoon boat safari into a side stream
• Guided night walk with a lodge guide

Activités en option

• Night boat cruise, run by the lodge when the river allows

Gomantong and Sandakan

Kinabatangan River to Gomantong Cave, then Sandakan

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Sandakan
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

An optional last dawn boat for anyone who wants it, then breakfast and lunch at the lodge before we leave. About half an hour away is Gomantong, a limestone cave system where swiftlets build the nests that local collectors harvest under licence. A short boardwalk leads through forest to the Black Cave, dark, humid and strong with guano; in the harvest seasons access can be limited, and then we walk the forest boardwalk and visit the visitor centre instead. From there it is about two hours to Sandakan. We stop at the Sandakan Memorial Park, on the site of the prisoner of war camp from which the death marches to Ranau began in 1945; of about 2,400 prisoners held here, only six survived, all of them escapees.

Soir

Then we check into our hotel in town, with time to walk the waterfront before a farewell dinner together overlooking Sandakan Bay.

Compris

• Dawn boat safari (optional to join)
• Lunch at the lodge
• Gomantong Cave with a local guide
• Sandakan Memorial Park
• Farewell dinner

Sandakan and home

Sandakan to Sandakan Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

The last morning is yours. Have a slow breakfast, then walk up the stairs to Agnes Keith House, where the American author of Land Below the Wind lived before and after the war, for the view over the bay, or wander the central market by the harbour, where fish, fruit and dried seafood come in from the Sulu Sea.

Soir

Your guide will have checked your flight the evening before. A driver takes you to Sandakan Airport (SDK), about 11 km and 20 minutes from town, at the time that suits your flight. There are daily flights from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur for connections home, so book an onward flight leaving from about midday onwards to keep the morning unhurried. If you want more time in Malaysia, ask us about extra nights or a connection to our Kuala Lumpur and Penang trip.

Compris

• Drop-off at Sandakan Airport (SDK)