My first ever wildlife holiday
The trip had been planned and the flights were booked. I had been counting down the days for nearly a year... Then the day finally arrived.
We jumped in the car, headed towards the airport. Excited was an understatement! I double, no triple checked, that I had everything I could possible need, except the only problem was, I had NO IDEA what I would even need? Where do you begin to pack for a holiday like this?! My partner Nick and I took our seats aboard the plane and were finally on our way. I had never been on a holiday like this before. We had the location sorted, now it was down to us to spend every waking minute making the most of this incredible opportunity and searching for the animals that we wanted to see.
We flew into Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, and were greeted by hundreds of screeching car horns and the blinding city lights, it was extremely daunting. On arrival to KL, before leaving the bustling city, we got to witness THE MOST incredible thunder storm. It truly was a breath taking, and somewhat nerve-wracking experience, and one I won't ever forget.
We didn't stay In KL for very long, as we were desperate to head to somewhere a little more scenic, to immerse ourselves in nature, somewhere a little more off the beaten track. Our first stop was Taman Negara, the largest and oldest national park in Malaysia. It has remained protected since 1925! In fact 'Taman Negara' literally translates to 'National Park'. It was a brilliant first stop, home to such an abundance of wildlife. I was in awe. Every step we took unveiled a variety of flora and fauna, most of which I had never laid eyes on before. At this point I was literally in heaven! I will always remember my first morning here...
I awoke with shock to the sound of the 'Call to prayer', as it bellowed across the river at 5 am (Especially as we had only arrived in the early hours of that very morning). Within seconds, my curiosity was shifted. There was a scrabbling noise coming from the roof.... "MACAQUES!" I shrieked with joy. (Now most people will tell you "It's just a macaque...") They are a very common, and very mischievous (but borderline annoying) monkey found in many countries across South-east Asia. As for me, someone that had never ventured any further than Europe, it didn't matter, I had finally seen a my first wild animal of the trip!
During our stay at Taman Negara, we booked onto several tours, including a short night walk... but on the way to our meeting point, we stumbled across a young male Malayan Tapir (Acrocodia indica). This young male had been rescued from poachers along side his female companion, and both had been released into the national park. Sadly this tapir had no fear of humans (something us nerdy animal folk' like to call *Habituated*), so although this was amazing for us to see, he would roam around the camp looking for handouts and easy meals rather than living freely in the surrounding rainforest. Taman Negara was an amazing place, filled with wildlife. After around 4 nights, and upon recommendation from some close friends that had recently visited Malaysia, our next stop was an old hill station up the West coast of Malaysia, so off we went...
Our next stop was to a location that I will refrain from naming at the moment. Unfortunately as the area is the perfect habitat for many species of wildlife but does not have protection as many national parks do, it is often visited by poachers. Some of the animals that can be found here are sold as part of the exotic pet trade, which devastates the local ecosystem and is frankly heart-breaking to witness.
Luckily its still a fantastic place to see wildlife and will always hold a special place in my heart. It truly is a place like no other. The first night here I took part in my first (un-guided) night walk. I won't lie, I was absolutely terrified, especially when something would move in the distance. I had already heard stories of Tigers, Leopards and Bears roaming around nearby, and I did not fancy my chances against any of them.
To this day, I will still remember stumbling across a large dark shadow, skulking in the mist that surrounded the abandoned houses. I will never know what that animals was, maybe a Binturong? a Civet? Possibly even a clouded leopard!? It was something of that size, although my mind often plays tricks on me. I often convince myself that it was much larger and more terrifying, a Tiger perhaps?! And if that wasn't amazing enough, that week we laid eyes upon a species of snake that hadn't been seen in the area for over 20 years!
The Mountain Pit Viper (Ovophis monticola)
We can't take credit for finding this elusive animal, it had rained so heavily the previous night, that the garden of our accommodation had flooded, which just so happened to push this snake (The one that hadn't been found alive here in over 20 years...) out of a drain, right outside the back door and into the terrified view of our hosts wife!
Safe to say she was slightly overwhelmed (mostly because she wasn't the biggest reptile fan!) After a few days in the highlands, we then travelled to the beautiful city of Penang. Never have I seen such a diverse culture, heritage and wildlife. We hopped into a taxi for the short drive to the Botanical gardens, to see some of the resident Dusky langurs (leaf monkeys) Trachypithecus obscurus. On departure from the gardens we hopped on a bus using google maps. Public transport around here is brilliant and will take you anywhere you need to go if you know the rough direction you need to travel.
After 2 nights in Penang, we hopped aboard an AirAsia flight, taking us direct to Kota Kinabalu - BORNEO!!
During our trip to Borneo, we were scheduled to climb Mount Kinabalu. I had never climbed (or attempted to climb) anything other than a flight of stairs, and even they were difficult enough. Looking at the comments across several different social media platforms, I was convinced that I would be able to finish the climb and take in the breath-taking scenery. We booked ourselves on to the 2 day 1 night climb, which reaches the peak just in time to witness a spectacular sunrise. However, the day we landed in Borneo, there was an EARTHQUAKE! We were astounded! We had literally been flying over the country when the earthquake had hit, and until about 10pm that night the rest of Kota Kinabalu was still feeling the aftershocks. What were we going to do? Would it be ok for us to climb? Sadly, the answer was no. The earthquake had taken the lives of several people and closed the mountain for the following few weeks. What a sad, unfortunate event, and one we were extremely lucky enough not to have been caught up in. We drove past the entrance to Mount Kinabalu on our way to Sandakan later in the week, the area was sparse, no body was around. We caught a small glimpse of some of the mountain through the heavy fog. Nature has a way of reminding you at times that although it holds unprecedented beauty, it is not a force to be reckoned with.
We managed to divert our trip to the beautiful island of Lankanyan as a substitute, it was the most picturesque island that I have ever laid eyes on! (Again, not difficult really, was it?) We only stayed here for 2 nights, but in that short space of time, we got to witness a female Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) laying her eggs on the beach. To top it all off, the following morning, some of the eggs that had been housed in the nursery, had hatched! Before leaving the island, we were lucky enough to assist with releasing them onto the beach, and start their daunting journey to the sea.
Our journey continued as we ventured across to Gunung Mulu, visiting the 'Deer Cave'. The deer cave is the second largest cave chamber in the entire world, only recently pushed aside due to the discovery of the Sơn Đoòng cave cave in Vietnam. As we made our way through the chamber, in the distance, just out of arms reach was the garden of Eden. A picturesque tropical paradise, filled with flora, unreachable due to the collapsed cave walls surrounding either side. It was a surreal experience, making our way through the endless chambers, searching for Bats, Lantern Bugs and of course more snakes!
Never had I imagined, as a small child, that I would visit such an exotic location. Unfortunately the lush tropical rainforests that I could have only ever imagined in my dreams, in many parts of the country, were just that, a dream.... Sadly much of Borneo's landscape has been devastated, used for supplying palm oil to the rest of the world. Palm oil is manufactured across Malaysia, Borneo and Indonesia, then shipped as a cheap alternative to vegetable and rapeseed oil, it can be found in hundreds and thousands of products! TRUST ME! take a look at your sandwiches or crisps? See it? Well even if its not clearly labelled as palm oil, it can be misidentified as vegetable oil. It is produced in such high quantities, that it is one of the largest threats to nearly all of the surrounding wildlife... Not just on Borneo, but across the entire globe. It isn't all doom and gloom however, there are various products that do not contain palm oil that can be used as alternatives, or you can look for products with the RSPO sustainable palm oil logo to mean they are more responsibly sourced and monitored.
Above is a photo from the main road leading from Sepilok (A rescue and rehabilitation centre for Orang-utans and Sun bears) through to a large protected nature reserve known as the Kinabatangan River. For over 2 hours we drove through plantation after plantation. It was a moment of realisation that wildlife here was in trouble. These plantations being farmed so close to one another leave remaining patches of habitat fragmented (that means they have big gaps between them with unsuitable areas for wildlife). Picture this, if there are groups of Orangutans either side of these plantations, how on earth are they meant to cross them? If animals don't move around within habitats it limits them being able to find mates, appropriate food and water sources or to avoid predators (including coming into conflict with us humans).
We had arrived at the Kinabatangan River and (Once again) I was amazed by the diversity of wildlife that Asia had to offer, right in front of my eyes. Sadly I was then made aware of the harsh landscapes surrounding this abundant area. Unfortunately, the reason that so many of the animals were visible along the river banks was because, just behind these seemingly lush forests, there were more Palm oil plantations. Each one pushing the animals closer to the edge (in more ways than one). The animals had no were else to go, except this one, narrow corridor. Their future is in the hands of visiting tourists. There were many boats, constantly travelling up and down this stretch of river, in search of the endangered Bornean Orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) and plentiful Proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus).
However we actually didn't see any wild orang-utans here. We stumbled across them in a local cave system known as Gomantong Caves, a wonderful lush jungle set in an old mining village, in fact, here we encountered 5 WILD ORANGS!!!!! HOW AMAZING!? Don't get me wrong you wont often find this many Orangutans together most commonly 1 or 2. So I'll set the scene... One young male courting 2 adult females, both of them had a youngster each. Youngsters usually don't leave their mums until around 8 years of age! One of the oldest maternal periods for any mammal species. I would highly suggest a visit here if you happen to be passing through, for the small entrance fee. This was without a doubt, the best day of my entire life!.... I spent hours here watching the two young Orang-utans playing and foraging in the canopy of the trees.
All in all, this trip was one like no other! I had finally got the witness so many different animals, in their own unique habitats! I was inspired, and I would definitely be back soon!