August 9th, 2008 DreamGirl
Enjoying Snorkeling
Snorkeling Trip, Wildlife Trips, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia – Customer Feedback, July 2008
The beginning of a lifetime adventure! Excited and thrilled, we departed Seychelles for Borneo, the third largest island in the world. We were totally unprepared for the super experience which awaited us.
Via Bangkok we went through Kuala Lumpur on to Kota Kinabalu where we were greeted by Billy and Jo, from Borneo Dream. Eventually, we reached Hotel Garden where we were to stay. It was very comfy indeed and the service was brilliant! We quickly settled in and later went out for dinner with Billy and Jo.
Snorkeling Trip
The next morning we were welcomed by Ron, who took us for breakfast and then we proceeded to meet Billy and Jo at the jetty where we were taken on their boat, Borneo Dream 3, to a beautiful snorkeling spot in TARP Marine Park where we were privileged to see a vast diversity of beautiful, colorful corals and interesting sea animal species. From there we went ashore a small island, Pulau Sulug, that was nearby and I ventured deep into its small forest and got the opportunity to see a wild boar. After about an hour of exploring and making some fascinating discoveries, we headed back to the jetty to return to our hotel.
On Saturday morning we flew to Sandakan and there we took a bus to the Rainforest Discovery Centre where we visited the Rainforest Exhibition. It contained loads of breath-taking pictures of the fauna of Borneo and we learnt many things about Sabah’s different forest types and the unique plants and animals. Afterwards we went onto the rainforest discovery trail, where we learnt about rainforest ecology and experienced its amazing biodiversity while walking along a network of self-guided trails in the forest. I loved the rickety bridge and it was hilarious trying to cross it.
Kinabatangan River
After this interesting visit, we made a long journey to a lodge on the Kinabatangan River. By then, it was quite late in the afternoon so we relaxed a bit before going for a river safari where we got to see many beautiful birds such as the Hornbills. We were lucky to see the Proboscis Monkey and some other types of monkey and the Long Tail Macaques. After dinner we all gathered up with our guides, picked up some flash lights and went off for a night walk in the jungle. The walk lasted about an hour. It was fascinating and quite amusing too. We saw snakes, lizards and even scorpions. One of my most thrilling experiences was having blood-sucking leeches stuck to my skin! Whilst some freaked out at the sight of the ugly bugs, I was mesmerized by them!
Orang Utan, Sepilok
We visited Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary where we got to see the orangutans being fed -it was a real attention-grabbing moment! We also got to see them in the wild and this was an amazing experience, seeing them swinging from branch to branch. A bit of lone venturing along one of the nature trails took Harry and I, close up to a wild orangutan! It was something very much worth seeing and personally quite an unforgettable and remarkable experience I’ll cherish forever!
On our last day we headed off for White Water Rafting. This was a wet but fantastic and exciting experience! We enjoyed ourselves tremendously in the rapids!
I have never done so much fabulous traveling and visiting in such a short period of time! The activities were all so well-organized. The trip was just cool and fun and I’ll do it again any time! We all gained loads of interesting and useful knowledge and in my opinion, out of all the trips I’ve been on this one was the ‘cherry on the cake’! We enjoyed ourselves to the MAXIMUM and gained so much educational information. Words alone cannot express how much I enjoyed every minute of this trip and I take this opportunity to thank Borneo Dream for organizing it – you made our trip a real enjoyable and memorable one! THANK YOU ALL!
Scott Morin
Seychelles
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August 9th, 2008 DreamGirl
Snorkeling Trip
Snorkeling Trip, Wildlife Trips, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia – Customer Feedback, July 2008
First of all, I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude to Borneo Dream for making the trip to Borneo possible. A few months ago when Mrs Kennedy announced the possibility of going to Borneo for an ecology trip, hardly anyone knew where that was or even heard of the place before. Now thanks to you we had the chance to visit this amazing place and I want to share the experiences that meant the most to me.
The first real taste of Borneo to me was the snorkeling boat trip, which allowed us to see a variety of sea life including a sea snake and a squid. It was an interesting, laid back activity… till the storm blew in, that definitely added some excitement! Knowing we were in capable hands, we just sat back and enjoyed the ride back to the harbor.
Kinabatangan River Lodge
The following day we flew to Sandakan and arrived at the Kinabatangan River Lodge which was the place I enjoyed staying at the most. We went on a river safari, spotting many monkeys… boy were there monkeys! We saw groups of Proboscis Monkeys with their unique noses and large bellies and an even greater number of Long Tail Macaques. We also saw Hornbills, a Kingfisher, an Eagle Hawk and quite a few Storks. The jungle night walk was a thrilling experience except for the knee deep mud. I, along with a few others got the chance, (whether they liked it or not), to get up close and personal with a number of leeches… and I, after some hesitation was able to hold a scorpion. That just made my trip, we could go home now and I wouldn’t have any regrets, but it got better!
Rainforest Discovery Centre
The next day we visited the Rainforest Discovery Centre, which was very educational about the fauna and flora of the area, the walk making it enjoyable as we could see first hand the organisms we read about. We were taught how dodgy suspension bridges are when you have a certain type of person on it with you.
Gomantong Cave
The Gomantong caves weren’t what I expected them to be. When I imagined them in my mind they didn’t smell anywhere near as bad, but it’s to be expected with around 3 million bats and Swiftlets, still though…ammonia really gets up your nose. The caves themselves were spectacular, and could even be called beautiful, totally worth it! We were lucky enough to see an Orang Utan in the wild as we were leaving the caves. At the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary we saw more of these fascinating creatures at feeding time, along with many Short and Long Tail Macaques.
We went white water rafting on our last full day. It was a great opportunity to get the adrenalin running and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly.
Our trip to Borneo was a mind-blowing activity we wouldn’t have been able to experience without your help. Overall I think that the trip was an outstanding success! There was never a dull moment, the food was excellent and the company couldn’t have been better. It was a truly, once-in-a-life time experience, a memory to cherish for the rest of our lives. Once again, thank you Borneo Dream for making our dream a reality.
Samuel Ramkalawan,
Seychelles
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August 8th, 2008 DreamGirl
Snorkeling Trip
Snorkeling Trip, Wildlife Trips, Sabah, Borneo – Customer Feedback, July 2008
I recently went on a Borneo Expedition with Seychelles International School, all organised by Borneo Dream. We spent our first day day on Borneo Dream’s boat snorkeling. It was the perfect day for relaxation after the endless hours of flying.
We were up early on the next day to fly to Sandakan. We first visited the Rainforest Discovery Centre – there were many species of butterfly that I had never seen before! That night we stayed at a Lodge on the Kinabatangan River which was only accessible by boat. We went on river safaris and saw lots of MONKEYS!!!
Kinabatangan River
We then made our way to the Sepilok Orang Utan rehabilitation centre. It was the first time any of us had actually gotten so close to a monkey. Scott and Harry were fortunate enough to see a wild Orang Utan very close up when they went for a walk on their own. Lucky them!!! Dinner was sooo good! We dined at the Agnes Keith English Teahouse.
Next was white water rafting!!! Now that was a great experience! After battling the rapids, having Mrs Kennedy thrown overboard, getting stuck on a rock and “sounding like a child”, we reached the end of our journey. While we were eating we were shown the video of our rafting. Our table erupted with laughter and “aaah- this is so embarrassing”.
Agnes Keith Teahouse
Our Borneo trip was nearing an end. Sniff Sniff. We spent our last day shopping and then it was time to go to the airport. Disappointed that it was time to leave, we boarded Air Asia for KL.
Thanks to Jo, Billy and Ron at Borneo Dream who organized it amazingly well, we did so much! Our Borneo Dream that began months ago was made a reality. This trip was a once in a lifetime experience and one that I will never forget. THANK YOU!!!
Zarine Udwadia
Seychelles
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July 24th, 2008 DreamGirl
Kinabatangan River & Wildlife, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia . . .
Long Tailed Macaques, Kinabatangan River
The Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia is the longest river in Sabah emerging high in the Crocker Range and travelling 560km down to its mangrove swamp estuary into the Sulu Sea on the East coast. It provides a unique and rich ecosystem and the concentration of wildlife in the lower reaches of the Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo, is remarkable and is acknowledged by experts to be the most varied and easily accessible wildlife in all of Southeast Asia.
Hornbill, Kinabatangan River
The WWF (World Wildlife Fund) states that the Kinabatangan River is one of only two known places on Earth where 10 primate species can be found. Some of these include the Orang Utan, the proboscis monkey, macaques, maroon langur and Bornean gibbon, most of which are endemic to Borneo. You can also expect to see crocodiles, Hawks, Eagles, Hornbills, Kingfishers and much more. if you are very lucky you may catch a glimpse of the newly discovered Bornean ‘Pygmy’ elephant. As well as the animals and bird life you can also spot many insects, reptiles and amphibians including snakes, frogs and stick insects. You can enjoy photos from our Kinabatangan and wildlife safaris, Sabah, Borneo in our photo gallery.
Crocodile, Kinabatangan River
You can choose from a 2D1N or 3D2N Kinabatangan River and Wildlife safari, Sabah, Borneo with Borneo Dream. Enjoy long Kinabatangan river cruises spotting wildlife, guided night walk(s) through the jungle and a jungle trek to Ox Bow Lakes (for the longer Kinabatangan River and wildlife safari). We can also include a visit to Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and Gomantong Caves. Enjoy the Kinabatangan River, wildlife and rain forest at its best in Sabah, Borneo!
Proboscis Monkey
The Kinabatangan River and wildlife safari also includes overnight accommodation (choice of a dormitory or chalet) at the comfortable and hospitable Kinabatangan Nature Lodge, evening meal, breakfast and transport from / to Sandakan airport or Sandakan hotel.
Please note that domestic flights from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan are excluded from this Kinabatangan River and wildlife safari, Sabah, Borneo – we can recommend the best flights for you based up on your personal itinerary.
A stay at the Kinabatangan River should come very high on your list when visiting Sabah, Borneo. So what are you waiting for? Book your Kinabatangan River and wildlife safari, Sabah, Malaysia with Borneo Dream today.
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