Adventures in Borneo (Part 5) – Sandakan, Sukau and the Sepilok Orangutan Center

We flew from Kota Kinabalu to the port city of Sandakan, the former capital of British North Borneo.  Although, there are local places of interest, tourists use the region primarily as a gateway into the rainforests of Northeast Borneo. 

We took a day to see the highlights of Sandakan. The Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple is beautifully ornate.   The house of Agnes Keith, author of ‘Land Below the Wind’ and ‘Three Came Home’, took us back to post World War II Borneo.  In addition, Kampung Buli Sim Sim is a charming stilt fishing village on the original site of the town.

The next morning, we headed 25 kilometers west to the Sepilok Orangutan Center.  Since 1964, it has taken-in orphaned orangutans.  The center has cared, raised, and when possible, released the adult animals back into the rainforest.  The rehabilitation center is one of the best known in the world, and deservedly so.  As a way of raising money, the Sepilok Orangutan Center gives tours in the mornings and afternoons when they put out food for the semi-wild adolescents.  There is a long catwalk leading to the feeding platforms, but be wary of the many macaques along the way.  When the young orangutans come in from the surrounding rainforest it can get a little wild.

Sandakan Boat Docks

In the afternoon, we drove back to the city to catch a boat heading up the Kinabatangan River to the Sukau Rainforest Lodge.  It was an enjoyable 2.5-hour trip in a 12-passenger water taxi.  Along the riverbanks, we passed stilt villages, saw proboscis monkeys, and stopped to watch wild orangutans feeding in the treetops.

Along the Kinabatangan River

The lodge offers morning and evening longboat safaris along the river and its many tributaries.  The accommodations are simple, but this is more than offset by the beautiful surroundings.  Each morning and late afternoon, we explored the rainforest by longboat.

Some Sights of Sukau

We saw countless macaques and proboscis monkey, but also water monitors, snakes, hornbills, and many other bird species.  Some guests at the lodge saw a herd of jungle elephant.  We tried to follow their trail, but alas, all we saw were trampled reeds.  Nevertheless, our time in the rainforest was truly an adventure in traveling.