Note: Due to the appallingly slow internet here in Sandakan, I have not been able to add the photos to this post despite numerous attempts. I managed to upload them to my Flickr-stream - http://www.flickr.com/photos/41223208@N00/ - and will add them here along with their captions once I have a better internet connection. I apologize for the inconvenience but I am at the point of going mad and therefor better stop trying to bash my head against the wall.
August 25-27, 2012 - Sukau at the Kinabatangan River
Sungai Kinabatangan is the second longest river in Malaysia and considered one of the best places for viewing wildlife in Borneo. In 2006, the Kinabatangan area was officially declared a wildlife sanctuary and has since then become a haven for rare animals which have lost their native habitats due to ever increasing logging and palm plantations in nearby areas.
Elephants, rhinoceroses, saltwater crocodiles, and a staggering variety of monkeys and birds call the floodplains of Sungai Kinabatangan their home. Depending on time of the year, weather conditions and the river's water level, one might see a number of these animals in their natural environment, often from afar up in the trees or partly hidden in the grass or the canopy.
Many tour operators offer package trips to visit the area and these might be ideal for people with on a limited time schedule. I however, opted to do it on my own, taking a local minibus from Sandakan to Sukau. This took at least some 3 hours and Sukau was much less of a town than I had expected and I was lucky that I still had gotten some cash from an ATM in Sandakan as such do not exist in Sukau. The village has a school, a mosque, a cemetery, two small shops where one can buy drinks, snacks and other basic necessity items, but no restaurant, which means that for meals one depends on one's homestay or B&B which are both quite plentiful in the area.
All offer basic accomodation including breakfast and a variety of river cruises (sunset, night and morning) as well as jungle walks (beware of leeches!). I spent three nights at the Sukau Greenview B&B and joined 3 of their river cruises. The boats usually can accomodate up to 12 people but were never full while I was there and in particular the afternoon and morning cruise I found worthwhile.
The night cruise was pleasant, but we did not see any crocodiles due to the high water level caused by heavy rainfalls during the previous days. And while during the day, one can spot animals on one's own, at night it all depends where the flashlight of the guide shines.
Otherwise, there is not much to do in Sukau, so 2 full days were just perfect. The B&B also runs a minibus service which takes guests back to either Sandakan or drops them at the mainroad junction for catching a bus to Kota Kinabalu or the Orangutan Rehab Center in Sepilok.
Details of the trip:
1 Euro = approx. 3.80 RM, 1 USD = approx. 3.10 RM
Minibus from Sandakan to Sukau: 35 RM
Sukau Greenview B&B: 45 RM for a room with shower and fan, incl. breakfast
Dinner at the B&B: 20 RM
Sunset Cruise 16:00-18:00 (about 2 hours): 60 RM
Night Cruise 19:30-21:00 (about 1.5 hours) 40 RM*
Morning Cruise 06:00-08:00 (about 2 hours) 40 RM*
Minibus service from Sukau to Sandakan: 40 RM (this was a private minibus of the B&B and we were only 4 passengers, 2 of them got off at the junction 10 km from Sukau, and the driver dropped me off at my hotel in Sandakan)
* as I booked more than 1 tour, I got a discount for the other 2 tours
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