PATravel: Semporna to Kinabatang River where the jungle awaits!

Arrived safe and sound after an early morning bus ride from Semporna to Kinabatang River. Entertained on the bus by local pop songs and a movie called Ninja that was pretty hard to drown out. But now we are in the Borneo Jungle!! Nestled on the banks of a massive milk-chocolaty river home to crocodiles, pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, bearded pigs and WILD ORANGUTANGS!! (One of the last places to see them in the wild!)

From the sapphire sea and blinding white sand to dense, impenetrable, vine covered jungle. We arrived in time for a 2 hour boat ride down the river with our accommodation, Nature Lodge. Sadly we just missed the pygmy elephants swimming across the river, but managed to catch 2 wild orangutangs eating wild figs, a proboscis monkey and her baby, some iridescent Ruby Kingfishers and huge hornbills. Back up the river for dinner facing an incredible sunset that changed every time we looked at it. Wow!

We have a night walk through the jungle tonight and have been warned to wear gumboots and long socks to avoid the leeches! Another early morning boat ride tomorrow and a day full of jungle hikes, lunch and chilling. This is exactly what the doctor ordered after spending most of the last 4 days underwater. After this we are off to Sepilok and its unique orantutang sanctuary before heading west again towards Kota Kinabalu, past giant Mt Kinabalu. Flying out of Borneo to Cambodia on Saturday, but will hopefully write again before then!

Love to all and see you soon!!!

Jungle Log so far:

· Proboscis Monkey

· Pig-tailed Macaque

· Long-tailed Macaque

· Wild Orangutan

· Ruby Kingfisher

· Stork Billed Kingfisher

· Hornbills

· Monitor Lizards

· Yellow & black poisonous snake

· Slow Loris