Borneo Travelogue

I write this blog as something of a travelogue and advisory for those who might be intending to safari in Borneo. Inevitably, I viewed the entire trip through my ‘lens’ as a wildlife photographer attempting to broaden my portfolio. Given the challenges I experienced, I will be writing a second, overlapping blog, specifically aimed at enthusiast wildlife photographers who might be considering this trip.

By way of context and background, my wife, Jules and I visited Deramakot at the end of August 2019 following a stay in Bali for a wedding. It seemed sensible to take the opportunity to visit a unique wildlife destination only a short hop north across the equator from Bali.

For those unfamiliar with Borneo, it is the third largest island on the planet (excluding continental landmasses) behind Greenland and Guineau. It comprises the independent Kingdom of Brunei, the Indonesian territory of Kalimantan and Malaysian territories of Sarawak and Sabah. Deramakot, site of a government-owned, sustainable logging forest is one of several reserves in Sabah, Malaysia. The accommodation there is basic and so it tends to be less popular than some other eco-tourist destinations.

I chose Deramakot due to the number of five-star reviews relating to the quality of wildlife viewing and guiding provided by Bornean tour operator, Adventure Alternative Borneo (AAB). Further, it is prime destination for viewing orang-utan and the rarely seen clouded leopard.

I booked a private guided trip, entirely organised and guided by Siti from AAB.

After a three hour delay in our connection at Kuala Lumpur, the journey, door to door (from our hotel in Ubud, Bali to our hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah) took almost 17 hours! And we were still nowhere near Deramakot. The following day, our journey from the hotel at Kota Kinabalu to the accommodation took another 7 hours.. via another flight from KK to Sandakan and a road transfer to Deramakot via Telupid. Ironically, it may have been quicker to fly from Heathrow to Sandakan.

Never mind, we were there at last. The accommodation was basic, hostel style comprising two bunks and an ensuite toilet and shower that we had to ourselves. There was a small, comfortable seating area outside the room which was available for other residents of our block. In the event, we had it to ourselves. We shared the room with a small army of ants but despite that it was totally acceptable and actually better than I had expected given the camp is government-owned. There was electricity to charge my camera and ancillary gear but no internet or phone signal. In this day and age it was actually very nice to have a week, ‘off-grid.’

There is apparently chalet-style accommodation on the same site which affords better facilities for a little more money although I did not actually see this for myself.

The kitchen and dining area was in a separate building next to our accommodation. AAB take their own cooks who provide breakfast; lunch and evening meal in a mixture of traditional Malaysian style and western alternatives, freshly prepared and timed, according to your itinerary. Tea; chocolate and coffee are available throughout and canned drinks (including beer) could be purchased. The food was excellent and more than we could eat, to the extent that we actually skipped several meals.

The game-drives lasted for a total of seven hours a day, although the hours were mixed up based on Siti’s recommendations or to suit our needs. A lot depended on exactly what we had seen and still wanted to see. Although we did go out during daytime hours, we mostly safari’d after dark, when the jungle truly comes alive. Sunrise is roughly 0600 and sunset is about 1800. It hardly varies throughout the year due to Borneo’s proximity to the equator.

A typical day saw us out of bed about 0330 (yes that’s half past three in the morning); meeting Siti and our driver at 0400 and back for breakfast by 0800. We usually rested during the day, then back out after dinner at 1900 until 2200 or thereabouts. Some days we might leave at 0630 for a short morning drive and extend the evening drive. On one of the days we walked two paths through the jungle that are easily accessible from the accommodation and on another, we walked the forest tracks.

There is one principal track running through Deramakot, all the way from the main road-head near Telupid, entering the reserve after about one hour and ending at a significant tributary of the Kinabatangan River. It is unsealed, twists and turns, rises and falls and the section entirely within the reserve is about 70km in length. This road inevitably became familiar during our stay, albeit, it is the rain forest along both sides that became the focus of our attention, not the road itself. The wildlife in the rainforest varied during each passing and it is this which maintained our interest.

We utilised three off-road vehicles, all, close-cab pick-ups. Two were Toyotas, the third a Landrover Defender. The seats were welded construction with home made cushioning and bolted securely across the rear of the load bay.

The seats were in need of a serious upgrade. With the exception of the rear row of seats on one of the Toyotas, they were uncomfortably narrow and it was difficult to brace oneself when the driver stopped suddenly for a sighting. No provision (such as seat-back pockets), is made for the storage of photography or small personal items. Siti did say that AAB were replacing them soon.. it can’t come soon enough!

Further, the use of close-cab pick-up vehicles meant Siti had to stand at the centre-back, directly behind the cab or occasionally on the cab roof. In doing so the cab and spotter partially obscure any sightings in the road from seated passengers. Although one could stand, this would not work with several passengers and for me, my choice of heavy camera gear meant standing with the vehicle in motion was not a practicable option. I totally get, however that major vehicle upgrades would impact detrimentally on trip pricing and viability.

So what did we see then? Well, Siti proved an amazing guide and absolute professional from first contact to last. Her ability to spot wildlife both during the day and at night-time, rivals any guide I have ever travelled with, together with her exhaustive knowledge of Borneo’s wildlife. Above that she worked tirelessly to help us find the elusive clouded leopard and improve on our one orang-utan sighting.

For the record, however, Deramakot still provided reasonable sightings of orang-utan; leopard cat, mongoose, Palm and Malay civet, flying squirrel (different varieties) and colugo (both in-flight), snakes, stork-billed kingfisher; slow loris; gibbon; red langur; long-tailed and pig-tailed macaque; buffy fish owl; monitor lizard; snakes; serpent and other eagles; various hornbills (reef; helmeted; rhino etc.) porcupine; sambar deer; wild boar; pygmy elephant and flying fox. I may have missed some.

So what of the opportunity to take photographs? As mentioned earlier, there is a lot to talk about and for those that are interested, I will make this the subject of a second, detailed blog. Suffice to say here, it proved a much bigger challenge than I had anticipated and tested my skills to the absolute limit. The wildlife was further away than I had expected, generally very skittish and many of the best sightings were at night. Add to that, the sightings were anyway fairly thin on the ground. In respect of the latter I expect the current ‘mass fruiting’ played a part together with a bit of poor luck. If you are an enthusiast photographer, you will need the longest lens you have (600mm +) and a powerful flashgun.. even then it is a challenge to produce publishable images. If you are not a keen photographer, please take the best binoculars you can afford or you will not get the best of this experience.

In an effort to cut short my photographic losses; Jules and I decided to take a day from our Deramakot trip and spend an afternoon and the following morning at Sepilok before returning to Sandakan for the journey home. In the end we stayed five nights at Deramakot for and one at Sepilok.

Sepilok is home to sanctuaries for sun bears; orangutans and proboscis monkeys. In the time available we were able to visit to just two and so decided upon the two where the animals were wild and free, albeit partially habituated through the provision of feeding stations. At the orangutan sanctuary, the ‘mass-fruiting meant that the feeding station was also a no-show, although luck smiled on us briefly as we encountered a pair moving slowly through the jungle alongside the boardwalk, providing a moment to take photographs. The proboscis monkey sanctuary the following morning delivered opportunities in abundance as we visited the mangrove swamp at Labuk Bay.In addition to being an excellent guide, Siti administered our trip from first-contact with AAB to our departure, including making the alternative arrangements for our last couple of days. Even as experienced travellers, it was very reassuring to feel totally looked after from the moment we landed in Kota Kinabalu to the moment we left.

Whilst we lost a days opportunity to see clouded leopard, I am glad we cut short our Deramakot stay by a day for the photographic opportunities presented by the Sepilok reserves.

Despite the reservations I have expressed, we have absolutely no regrets about our trip and would not hesitate to recommend AAB as a provider for anyone wanting to visit Borneo. Overall, we had a fantastic time and an unforgettable experience, which will stay with us forever.