Borneo

Slipping, sliding, occasionally sinking.

We had wanted to get off the beaten track and after 3 hours along a track deep in mud we were. This was Malaysian Borneo. Sabah to be exact, the northern region of the world's third largest island divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and the tiny sultanate of Brunei. We had arrived at an eco-lodge adjacent to the huge Kalimantan River.

Barely 15 minutes after collecting our stomachs we were aboard a narrow boat looking for wildlife. Free from the dense covering of the canopies, viewing from a boat allows far greater spotting opportunities. Long tailed macaques were the most numerous animal; a small freshwater crocodile sunned itself on the bank and, crashing through branches, a party of Borneo's endemic proboscis monkeys, distinctive with their huge, bulbous nose. And, not far from them, the forest's jewel: the "man of the forest," English for orang utan.

This female was hanging from the branches of a giant tree gently hanging over the water. Detecting our presence she slowly climbed down behind thick vines to peer out at us from behind the foliage. We were extremely lucky.When not being poached, these awesome apes, that share 96.4% of their DNA with humans, are suffering from habitat loss. This is a combination of logging of primary forest and the replacement of this with palm oil plantations. Palm Oil is big business and is used worldwide for cooking and cosmetic products.

We later visited the Sepilok rehabilitation sanctuary where orphaned orang utans (a result of poaching) are taken and released into a protected area and helped back to health before some individuals are released back into other forests in an effort to boost wild population numbers. Prior to entering the sanctuary, visitors are shown a 30 minute recording on the centre and its work, focusing on the threats to the apes. Two feeding times daily, virtually guarantee every visitor a chance to see a semi-wild orang utan and they acrobatically arrive on ropes that bisect the forest to a feeding platform where bunches of bananas await them. Only a handful of metres away, this provides excellent viewing and photographic opportunities.

Back on the river, other attractions also catch the eye. The river cruises offer the chance to see metre long monitor lizards, hornbills, wild boar and Asian elephants that roam the riverside in herds posing a serious danger to local villages. Following a regular route, one herd of 20 were awaited with a combination of eagerness and fear by the owners of our lodge. Every encounter is memorable but concern at the potential destruction and lengthy clean up cost is serious. The lodge has been damaged by elephants in the past. Fortunately the only thing being trampled and subsequently eaten in our presence was the riverside vegetation and our boats drifted up to the riverbank where we were able to enjoy lengthy views until the fading light sent us back to the lodge, marking the end of our trip.