overview
Primates, birds and nocturnal wildlife of Borneo
From steamy jungles to blissful mountains, balmy beaches and peaceful villages,
travelers love Borneo's bounty of natural treasures seemingly tailor-made for fun,
relaxation, exploration and adventure.
Come with us to this magical paradise. This trip is specially hand-picked for you
where there will be a great mix of forest trails, trekking, encounters with wild
orangutans and other creatures of the rainforest.
accommodation amidst action
Upon arrival, transfer to Hotel
itinerary
31 May - 7 June 2025Arrival at Sandakan as per incoming flight timing. The day will be free at leisure. Overnight stay in Sabah Hotel.
4 Hour Drive to Lahad Datu, followed by 2 Hour offroad drive to the Tabin Wildlife
Resort. Considered to be the largest wildlife reserve in Malaysia, Tabin has a mix of
walking. safaris, night drives, dusk drives to explore the Lowland Forest. We will be
doing a custom-made package for our guests which focuses on wildlife viewing and
allows you to do longer drives/walks and access to specific areas in the primary
forest and cater to specific requests.
The lodge is located by the river and our activities are almost full-day activities that
include a combination of dusk drives, morning drives + walks and night drives.
Overnight stay at Tabin Wildlife Resort.
Things to see in Tabin.
Night Drives – Cats! Clouded leopard, Leopard cat which is not uncommon,
Marbled cat, many types of civets, porcupines, certain nocturnal birds like
frogmouths, Brown Wood Owl, Buffy Fish Owl, Mouse deer and more.
Morning Drives + Walks + Dusk Drives – North Bornean Gibbons, which live in the
property, Orangutans, other primates and birds like Trogons, most hornbill species,
Crested Firebacks, All varieties of Pittas, Minivets and a variety of Raptors.
Full day of activities including mix of walks, game drives and night drives searching for wildlife at Tabin. Activities will include a combination of game drives, walks and night drives. Overnight stay at Tabin Wildlife Resort.
After Morning activity at Tabin, take a five-hour drive to Kinabatangan Wildlife
Sanctuary. The mighty Lower-Kinabatangan River sustains one of the world’s
richest ecosystems. It is also recognized as Sabah’s first and Malaysia’s largest
RAMSAR site. Other than being home to Borneo’s indigenous orangutan and
proboscis monkey, the surrounding forest is one of only two known places in the
world where 10 species of primates can be found. Although seeing pygmy
elephants is very difficult, the Kinabatangan River cruise offers the best opportunity
to view these secretive pachyderms. Based on the arrival time, we will take a call if
we can go an evening cruise or a night cruise, searching for wildlife. Large salt water
crocodiles are abundantly available to be seen. Overnight stay at Hornbill Lodge.
Highlight Species: Probiscis Monkey (Endemic to this part), Pygmy Elephants,
Orangutans and Many other Fauna, Lots of Kingfishers, Hornbills (8 Species),
Crocodiles, Reticulated Python etc. to name a few.
We will depart for a morning cruise searching for birds and primates and come back to the lodge for breakfast. In the day, we will do a forest walk (optional). This forest walk is subject to the elephant activity in the area, if elephants are in the vicinity, then the walk will not be possible. In the evening, guests will do a boat cruise, followed by dinner. We will have one night boat cruise included during our stay at Kinabatangan, this will be one either on day 5 or day 6 of the tour. Overnight stay at Hornbill Lodge.
Transfer to Sepilok. The day will be free at leisure after some rest, explore the
canopy area, followed by a night walk with a private guide and spotter. Overnight
stay in Sepilok – Rainforest Resort.
Things to see during Night Walk – Black Giant Flying Squirrel, Red Giant Flying
Squirrel, Western Tarsier, Slow Lorris, Pit Vipers, Geckos, Frogs and many types of
Birds like Oriental Bay Owl, Kingfishers.
Today we will do a full day of birding around the canopy and forest floor with
experts. We will also do a night walk today, inclusion of 2 Night walks is important,
so as to maximize probability of sightings of rare nocturnal species. Overnight stay
in Sepilok – Rainforest Resort.
Things to see during Birding at Sepilok – Bornean Bristlehead, different species of
Pitta, Woodpeckers, Leafbirds, Hornbills, Broadbills, Chestnut Breasted Malkoha,
Fly Catchers and many other birds. The prime target is the endemic Bornean
Bristlehead. Other than this, you are likely to see Orangutans, Colugo and many
other species of primates. If lucky you can even see the Ratufa afinis sandakanesis
(A giant squirrel endemic to this patch of forest)
This morning, we will have breakfast and check out and onward to Sandakan Airport to catch out onward flight connection.
Expedition on a map
Gallery
✓ Flights international or domestic
✓ Things which are not mentioned in the itinerary
✓ Gratuity
✓ Travel Insurance is recommended but not included
✓ Alcohol
✓ Laundry
✓ Any food & Beverages other than mentioned above
✓ All Meals
✓ All Stay on Double Occupancy in AC Rooms
✓ All Surface Transfers
✓ Private Guides with years of experience in all places
✓ All Entry fees and Expertise
✓ Expert Just Nature Expedition Naturalist
Aly Rashid
Expedition Leader
Wildlife and the wilderness have been a passion for Aly ever
since childhood. This passion for wildlife inspired him to work
with his family to set up and run Reni Pani Jungle Lodge, one of
the finest wilderness camps in India. At Reni Pani Aly has been
heading the naturalist team for over 7 years and in this
time his passion for wildlife has been instilled in the ethos of the lodge atmosphere.
A trained naturalist and ornithologist, he has travelled across the country and has
been involved with wildlife in various localities. His deep involvement with Satpura
since his childhood has been a motivation to protect and conserve wildlife in this
landscape. Aly inspired Reni Pani’s camera trap studies in the reserve forest area
outside the park that revealed breeding population of several large carnivores like
leopards, wild dogs and sloth bear and also the presence of a young male tiger. His
passion for research and conservation has also taken him to Panna National Park
where he worked with renowned small cat expert and scientist Shekhar Kolipaka
for the Caracal Research and Conservation Project in 2014. Aly is also involved in
leading wildlife expeditions both within India and abroad.
•Borneo is the third largest Island in the world, behind New Guinea and Greenland
• The Borneo rainforest is the oldest rainforest in the world and has been aged at 130 million years old.
• You are likely to see a lot of endemic and rare Wildlife on this trip, highlights of which are Orangutans, Pygmy Elephants, Proboscis Monkey, 10 species of Primates, over 600+ species of Birds that include 8 species of Hornbills, 12 species Kingfishers, the list is endless!
• Borneo as a whole is conservatively estimated to contain 15,000 plant species, and may well have the highest plant diversity of any region on Earth
• Beyond the Malay-dominated town and cities, life still revolves around the longhouse and the river. For the visitor, it is the legendary hospitality of Borneo’s tribal people, as much as the magnificent rainforests themselves, that make the island such a magical place to visit.
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