Tag Archives: Borneo

A Royal Resort in a Borneo Rainforest

November 25, 2013 Red Hunt 2 Comments

Royal Mulu Resort – this is the place to stay when at Mulu. It is right on the edge of the park and offers everything you need. Spa services, a pool and up-scale accommodations offer a surprising amount of comfort in a jungle location.

Now when I say it is the place to stay, it is pretty much the only place you can stay right near the park, with the exceptional of the actually Mulu National Park accommodations which include a dormitory room and some nice wooden cabins.

Royal Mulu Resort - Lounge Area — Royal Mulu Resort – Lounge Area

The resort is actually on the edge of the park and just a few minutes walk from a nearby town, where beers are much cheaper and snacks can be had for a bargain price, so you can splurge as much or as little as you want if you stay at the resort. Personally, I thought the buffet dinners at the Wildflower Restaurant in Mulu Resort were great. They had different options each night, including some unique specialities like sea urchin and manta ray. The manta ray was delicious, one of my 10 Surprisingly Tasty Animals selections!)

Gunung Mulu National Park - Pathway at Resort and Dorms — Gunung Mulu National Park – Pathway to Dorm Rooms near the Resort

There was a cafe here that had snacks and ice cream too, which go down really well when you’ve been hiking around in the humid forest all day! This is a muggy part of the world, where you can sweat simply by sitting. The resort has pretty much everything on offer from ATV rides to kayaking and caving adventures that can last for 15 hours. I was kind of sad that I didn’t have more time here as I was only able to choose a couple of the activities and chose mostly to explore the park by foot, which allowed more time for photography….at the expense of not doing some more exciting adventures.

The canopy walk was probably my favourite activity in the park, even more-so than exploring the famous caves. Overall, you need a few full days to explore the park and I’d suggest 4-5 days in case you get some bad rainy weather, which can happen.

It’s not the cheapest place to stay if you do hang out for 4-5 days though, so perhaps splitting your time between here and the park’s dorm accommodations is the way to go. That’s what I did (stay at the dorm first, then splurge at the end). There are tons of hikes around this part of the park, including the Head Hunters Trail and a challenging hike to the impressive Pinnacles – jagged limestone peaks carved out by rain and weather.

Royal Mulu Resort. Stilted Bungalow view. (Hazy picture due to extreme humidity!)

Mulu National Park - Dormitory Room — Mulu National Park – Basic Dormitory Room

I really liked visiting Mulu in Sarawak, Borneo but the only thing I was slightly disappointed about was the lack of wildlife. Aside from small creatures like lizards, geckos, butterflies and bugs, the most exciting thing I saw was some monkeys far away in the distance. If you’re going to Borneo for wildlife, I suggest heading over to the Kinabatangan River for your fix, instead of Mulu National Park.

Wildlife and Nature

Hiking with Head Hunters in Borneo

June 16, 2013 Red Hunt 2 Comments

Cruising down the river in a longboat, I couldn’t help but wonder if some of the friendly Borneo people at the nearby villages might still have inklings of being Head Hunters and that there was a chance I could be in danger.

Longboats at Limbang — Our longboat ride from Limbang to the Head Hunters Trail in Borneo

That thinking was pretty delusional, likely brought on by a combination of extremely hot, humid weather, and me drinking cheap beers in the longboat, which I had picked up in Labuan. It did make for a more entertaining couple of hours along the river though, trying to imagine what it was like coming down this river knowing that your head could be put on a stick. I often find myself imaging what first explorers to places like Borneo went through, usually with a bit of envy that their adventures were surely more exciting than mine.

In reality, the Head Hunters Trail is just another walk in the park. A park that is a dense, muggy rainforest. With lots of leeches and near 100% humidity that kills cameras. The humidity here was so intense that my camera lenses fogged up almost instantly and even the outer protective casing of one of my lenses began to peel off. There may not be any Head Hunters here any more, but it is still an evil place for the digital traveller.

Sarawak Headhunters Trail — Near the start of the Headhunters Trail in Sarawak, Borneo

The hike itself is an 11km hike from Kuala Terikan to Camp 5 in the Borneo jungle and it’s all through lush green forest, with dripping wet branches and muddy pools of water everywhere – and that’s not even during the rainy season! This is leech-check territory, so keep all your pant, waist, neck and arm seams tightly closed off or else the little blood-suckers will get you!

Hiking in Borneo — Hiking along, after a leech check! Camera foggy from 100% humidity.

I learned here that it’s often best to be the first or second person hiking along a path where leeches may exist. It’s a case of the first person waking up the leech as they walk by and the second person aggravating (or exciting) the leech. The third person may or may not get lucky and pass by before the leech is ready to grab on…but the people after that will be facing a pathway of excited, wiggling leeches thirsty for blood.

Headhunters Trail Sign — More like the humid, leech-infested trail…

I did indeed have some leeches on this longboat ride and 11km hike, but they were all caught by my hiking buddies during leech checks. So none of them got past my clothing barriers, bug spray and heightened sensory awareness. I did laugh when I took a refreshing cold shower later on and saw a massively, blood-filled leech in there. It seemed that someone else had an unpleasant surprise!

So…back to the Head Hunter Trail…

If you’re lucky you will spot some wildlife along the hike, such as wild boar or porcupines or monkeys. More than likely you’ll hear a lot of birds and rustling of animals in the forest, but won’t see that much. The hike is done over average terrain, nothing too intense, except that the weather zaps your energy pretty quickly, especially as you’ll be carrying your backpack on this little trek. (Another reason why I was drinking those beers early in the day…to lighten the load!)

Camp 5 - Headhunters Trail — Camp 5 along the Headhunters Trail in Borneo

At the end of the 11km hike, you emerge from the forest and come to a picturesque setting on the edge of the limestone cliffs. A river presents itself for swimming and a suspension bridge symbolizes the end of the trail (or start if you’re going in reverse). Here is Camp 5, and after a few hours of getting dirty and sweaty in the jungle, a cold beer and dormitory bed seem like luxury – a decent reward for surviving the Head Hunters Trail.

Camp 5 in the rain — Raining at Camp 5, don’t expect your clothes to dry here!

Wildlife and Nature

The Caves of Gunung Mulu

April 8, 2013 Red Hunt 15 Comments

The World Heritage Area of Gunung Mulu in Malaysian Borneo is a rich rain forest that is short in comfort – save for the Royal Mulu Resort – but big on creatures and caves.

The caves at Mulu National Park bring travellers from around the world, most notably for the famous bat exodus from Deer Cave.

When I was spending time in Mulu I had the pleasure of checking out Deer Dave, along with Langs, Clearwater and Cave of the Winds caves. Each one had it’s own appeal and unique characteristics. But first, my favourite…as with most people who visit, was Deer Cave.

Deer Cave

This is a massive cave that boasts the largest cave entrance in the world! The walk into the cave is along a mountainside pathway, and you sort of come around a corner to the cave entrance, not getting to appreciate it’s full size until you’re inside it, looking back out. Cavernous is an appropriate word for Deer Cave.

The trail here is fun to walk along and spot odd formations from the carved out limestone cave, which once had a powerful river running through it. Your walk will take you to some cool spots in the cave like the Garden of Eden Pools.

It is also home to millions of bats that live high up above in the interior ceiling of the cave. There are also a ton of ugly critter like beetles and spiders, but you don’t really see them unless you shine your light into the darkness away from the footpaths. There is a viewing platform area way back down below that provides a panoramic view of the limestone mountain and cave entrance. People gather there around dusk to watch the millions of bats fly out of the cave.

Staring into the light (this is at Cave of the Winds)

Langs Cave

A much smaller cave, Langs Cave has the most impressive entrance way. It’s like a huge mouth opened up and put this cave on display As with Deer Cave and any other caves you visit in Mulu, don’t forget to bring a headlamp / torch with you as it can get dark in some areas inside the cave.

Lots of stalactites and stalagmites are found in this cave, which isn’t far from the larger Deer Cave. As with all of the caves you’re allowed to explore, there is a smooth pathway of boardwalks, staircases and platforms built inside the cave to keep you from touching (destroying) the sometimes fragile environment.

Inside Langs Cave — Headlamp required – checking out Langs Cave

Cave of the Winds

Located in a different, further away part of the park, getting to Cave of the Winds and Clearwater Cave is a fun hike. It’s not very strenuous, and you might spot butterflies, squirrels and other creatures along the 3.8km trail. Alternatively, you can take a longboat from the park headquarters early in the morning…but I’d suggest taking the hike at your own pace.

Mulu Hiking Path — Hiking trail to Cave of the Winds

At Cave of the Winds, you experience just that – a cool, windy cave. But also there are skylights high above the cave floor, allowing light to pierce through in sort of artistic fashion. When you’re not staring up in this cave, being impressed by it’s size, there are huge columns of calcite around in an area known as the King’s Chamber. Pretty cool stuff when you realize just how long it takes to create these structures!

Clearwater Cave

With plenty of stalactites ‘dripping’ down from the edge of the mountain along the entrance of this cave, you can get some photos in better light here. I made the mistake of forgetting my tripod when exploring the caves, so almost all of my interior photos turned out blurry and unusable!

Clearwater Cave is your place to relax, after exploring it’s network of paths. There is a river here that goes on for more than 170km underneath these mountains winding through various caves! It exists the cave nearby and you can go for a picnic and swim here – something you’ll cherish after spending a few hours in the sweltering heat and humidity of Borneo!

Each cave at Mulu showcases different types of structures or features so it really is worth spending a whole day exploring them. If you have extra time you can delve even deeper into the caves by doing some adventure caving at Turtle Cave or Lagang Cave.

Travel Photos

Wildlife Photo: Long-Tailed Macaque

March 20, 2013 Red Hunt 3 Comments

Looking a little fearsome, this Long-Tailed Macaque, also called a Crab-Eating Macaque, took a moment to call out in between his eating and grooming sessions.

These macaques were the monkeys most plentifully seen along the riverbanks and in the trees during a visit to the Kinabatangan River in Borneo. These macaques have 10 different subspecies and are the third most widespread primate on earth, found throughout much of Asia.

Being so plentiful, it’s not a sad surprise that they are also commonly used for medical experiments. The alternative crab-eating name is a bit of a misnomer as they don’t favour eating crabs at all. They can eat crabs and other small animals, but tend to prefer to eat flowers, fruits, seeds and plants.

The long-tailed name version is much more appropriate as their tail is often longer than the entire rest of their body!

Wildlife and Nature

Getting Buggy in Borneo

February 22, 2013 Red Hunt 9 Comments

Are there bugs in Borneo? You bet!

They’re not really the scariest looking bugs though, in fact many of them are kind of cool looking, practically cute even. Well, except for the leeches, they’re pretty far from cute or cool…perhaps why I never bothered to get a picture of one.

I sense you’re doubting that some of the bugs of Borneo can be cute. Well, I already posted about visiting the Sepilok Orangutan Rehab Centre, which included an encounter with a very cute, but highly poisonous caterpillar. Then there was that strange, tree canopy bug that I posted about from my Treetop Skywalk post. Maybe that one isn’t so cute, but it’s definitely cool looking.

A Borneo bug — A red and black bug seen on the Silau Trail in Kanbalu Park in Bornoe

My favourite bug from Borneo has to be this red and black thing. The way it moved it had a friendly almost hypnotic motion to it, but you often hear that bright colours in nature mean danger, so I dared not touch this little guy, as cool as he looked.

Then there was the bad ass beetle that decided to hang out with us while we slept on the floor in a Iban Longhouse in Borneo. That so-close-to-bugs kind of creeped out a few people, but really, how much harm could a beetle do to you in your sleep? Just because it’s huge and has crazy looking pincher things…

Iban Longhouse Beetle — A badass beetle hanging out in my Iban Longhouse

I actually didn’t realize how many different bugs I came across in Borneo until after I came home. It wasn’t like they were everywhere, you did actually have to look for most of them, or when you did see them it was for a short time before they would fly away. So, don’t start thinking that Borneo is a buggy horror movie or something. It’s not like that, but it is a tropical island with plenty of forest, so – ya, there are bugs.

Some bugs in Borneo were similar to ones from home too. Like stick bugs! I saw so many stick bugs in Borneo, especially at Mulu National Park. Now I think it’s almost impossible to be scared of these, I mean they just look like sticks. It’s great camouflage and was a fun game to play walking along in the forest – try to spot the stick bug.

This one was one of the few I came across that was a bit out in the open instead of hiding under a tree leaf or blending into it’s stick and branch surroundings.

As for unknown, odd bugs, you see them in Borneo, often fleeting experiences as they fly by or zip away when you get too close. This odd red bug stood still long enough for a picture though. I’m not sure why so many bugs in Borneo seemed to have some kind of red colour to them, but it definitely makes them look cool…and this one has a bit of cuteness to it, right?

Little red bug — A little red bug in Borneo, seen in Mulu National Park

Now there was also a giant flying locust or something in our dorm room at the Mulu Park headquarters. For some time it was living on the wall near my bed and was about the size of a gecko, but with wings. You could hear it’s wings flap when it took off and landed -bzzzzzt. It was a bit on the creepy side, but still cool as I’d never seen a grasshopper-y, locust-y thing that big before even in the Caribbean or Africa.

Speaking of creepy, any bug post wouldn’t be complete without at least one kind of creepy bug photo right?

So, how about a millipede? But not a big black one or ugly brown one. No, how about a cool, skinny, long millipede that comes with awesome orange legs and a red/black stripey body? Oh ya, this one looks cool for sure, but I didn’t touch it either. Although, you do have to watch where you put your hands when walking around in the forests as the bugs and insects of Borneo do like to hang out on railings and board walks!

Red Hunt Travel

Tag Archives: Borneo

A Royal Resort in a Borneo Rainforest

Hiking with Head Hunters in Borneo

The Caves of Gunung Mulu

Deer Cave

Langs Cave

Cave of the Winds

Clearwater Cave

Wildlife Photo: Long-Tailed Macaque

Getting Buggy in Borneo

travel writer. wildlife photographer. beer geek.