Orangutans in Borneo

Very luxurious hotel. Wonderful location and fabulous service. Probably the only hotel in the world with an orangutan sanctuary adjacent to it. Beautiful grounds and beach.

Our first visit to a rain-forest. Very beautiful, plants and flowers that look like jewelery, smells, and sounds that are so different and many types of wild orchids.

This was a full day trip from our base at Rasa Ria. After a 2 hour car trip to the foothills of Mt Kinabalu we arrived at the Botanical Gardens. We did the Silau Silau Trail, which takes around two hours. This is a rainforest, so waterproof gear is required and stout walking shoes are also required. If you are very lucky, you will see the amazing Rafflesia... the worlds largest flower! This is one of the most bizarre organisms on Earth. It has no leaves or roots and lives as a parasite on the Tetrastigma vine which is only found in undisturbed rainforest. The flower can be nearly a metre in diameter and can weigh up to 11kg. It flowers for only a few days and smells of rotting flesh. When there is one flowering here they put up signs indicating so.

We did this as a day trip from our base at Kota Kinabalu. A long day, very early start. We took the first flight of the day from KK to Sandakan. A short drive from Sandakan takes you to Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, a 43 square mile rehabilitation preserve of lowland rainforest established in 1964 to rehabilitate orphaned or injured animals. They are protected from logging, allowed to roam free, and infants are trained to live in the wild again. Orangutans are the largest tree-dwelling apes. They are shy, rare, and astoundingly gentle and solitary. The Orangutan only exists in the wilds of Borneo and a small number also live in Sumatra. The word 'Orangutan' is Malay for 'man of the forest'. There is a possibility of this beautiful primate being extinct in fifteen years time. Over the last twenty years much of their habitat has been destroyed and palm oil trees have been planted in place of the forests. In Sabah, almost 90% of the lowland forest was lost between 1975 and 1995. The main reason for the destruction of the rainforests is the spread of these palm-oil plantations. One in ten products sold in British supermarkets contains palm oil. Margerine, ice-cream, pastry, chocolate, crisps and chips all contain palm oil. As do beauty products such as mascara and body wash.

North Borneo suffered badly at the hands of the Japanese in World War Two. Sandakan was completely demolished. Our day trip included a visit to Sandakan Memorial Gardens. This is where the infamous Ranau Death march started from. There were only six survivors from 2,700 prisoners of war after the 260km forced march. It is possible to cycle the route they took from Sandakan to Ranau.

This beautiful Chinese Buddhist Temple overlooks Sandakan Bay and harbour. Facing the sea and backing on to the mountains this is considered good feng shui. The original temple was destroyed during WW2. The current ornate temple was built on stilts.