Your best bet for spotting an Orangutan in Borneo is a visit to the Sepilok Rehab Centre run by the Sabah Wildlife Department. At any given time there are a number of Orangutans being cared for at this facility near Sandakan.
Orangutan at the Sepilok Rehab Centre in Borneo
Seeing an Orangutan in the wild is a special, but elusive experience for many people that visit Borneo. But at Sepilok, they do a great job of keeping these amazing animals healthy and happy in a natural environment. They’ve been doing it since 1964 with the aim of releasing orphaned and injured Orangutans back into the wild Kabili-Sepilok Forest.
Orangutan enjoying some Bananas at Sepilok
Part of their rehab process before being released on their own is an Outdoor Nursery, where workers feed the Orangutans and visitors can watch the Orangutans eat from a special viewing area. The feeding times are 10am and 3pm each day and those are the only times that you’ll be virtually guaranteed to see some Orangutans up close. Outside of feeding time they’re off in the forest and may be out of sight.
Orangutan and Staff at the Feeding Platform at Sepilok
Be sure to take advantage of visiting during both feedings, as different Orangutans show up at different times. Plus, your day pass allows you to get in free the second time! As is common at places popular with tourists, if you want to take any photos or videos while visiting the Centre, you’ll have to pay an extra (nominal) fee.
An Orangutan and Monkey at Sepilok in Borneo
It is a great place to explore, with many hiking trails and pathways winding through the forest, which is also home to monkeys, butterflies, birds and other creatures. You can also visit the nearby Rainforest Discovery Centre and go on a night hike looking for flying squirrels and other interesting nocturnal animals.
A Fuzzy, but Poisonous, Caterpillar at Sepilok Rehab Centre
There is no ‘zoo’ feel to the place either, which is refreshing. The natural environment and obvious ability for the Orangutans to come and go as they please makes it a rewarding wildlife experience in Borneo.
Road trips are perhaps my favourite type of travel. The beauty of road trips is in setting your own schedule and having the freedom to deviate from plans as odd, fun or surprising roadside attractions and diversions pop up unexpectedly.
North to the Arctic, South to the Atlantic - Random Road Sign in Northern Ontario
Road trips may not be the most relaxing way to travel, but I think they’re the most rewarding. I’ll give train travel the nod of approval for most relaxing, but you can’t stop the train every time you pass by an amazing waterfall or feel like wandering around some random town in the middle of nowhere. How about planes? Well, what kind of wildlife can you spot out your window when you’re 40,000 feet up, assuming you snagged a window seat.
Benefit of Travelling by Road instead of a Bus, Train or Plane? Getting Outside to Stretch your Legs.
While not as cheap as it once was, if you’re roadtripping with friends, it can still be one of the most economical ways to travel too, especially if you’re interested in camping, which can greatly cut down on daily costs.
Camping during a Road trip is a great way to see nature and save money
You don’t really need anything for a road trip either. You don’t need to buy a ticket and you likely won’t have to go through any security scans. With just a general sense of direction and a vehicle you’re on your way. If you don’t have your own vehicle, rental cars can be quite affordable too, especially if you are a member of AAA/CAA and get certain coverage from your credit card. On my upcoming road trip I rented an SUV for 6 day, for less than $150.
Delivering a car as a Hired Driver - like this Jaguar in Arizona - is one way to Road Trip
There are also ways to take a road trip virtually for free, by being a hired driver. There are many pros and cons to that option, something I’ll write about in-depth in the future.
For me, my road trips have usually been camping road trips closer to home, but I’ve also rented a Campervan in New Zealand and stayed in hotels while driving across the US. I’ve done a solo 4000 mile road trip through Wyoming and Utah, but I’ve also done a crazy 14 hour road trip in one day.
Renting a Camper Van in New Zealand - A Great way to Road Trip
I used to even have a makeshift ‘compass’ and bunch of dice I kept in the car for random road trips. You’d spin the compass marker around and would have to drive in that direction for as far as the number of dice you rolled. It was a great way to spend a weekend and discover some random places on the road!
Again, that’s the beauty of road trips…short, long, near or far…it’s an unstructured way to travel where you never know what you’ll find around the next corner.
Soon, I’ll start up a little series here, with stories from past road trip adventures. For now, here are a few roadtrips I’m thinking of doing in the near future…who wants to join me?
Watching the Sun Rise in Monument Valley during a 4000 mile Road Trip
Future Roadtrips…
1 – Drive to the Arctic. As much as I want to visit Alaska and the Territories of Canada, I think my first Arctic roadtrip will be to James Bay. You can actually drive there by taking a 600km long Hydro Quebec road in northern Quebec called the James Bay Road. It’s only about a 1500km drive from Toronto, shorter than some road trips I’ve taken! With 382km between service stations, this stretch of road is more remote than even the Dempster Highway in Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
2 – Visit the Dakotas and Badlands National Park. Perhaps the most American road trip on the list. I almost did this road trip a few years ago, but decided to go elsewhere. The Badlands look amazing, wild and pure. While not far away there are some forests and state parks, as well as Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. If you time it right and go in the summer, apparently the fireworks displays at Mt. Rushmore during 4th of July are among the best in the country.
3 – Big Island, Hawaii. The two Hawaiian islands that interest me most are Kauai and Hawaii (Big Island). Kauai interests me mostly for some great hiking and lush scenery, while the Big Island seems perfect for a roadtrip. From snowy peaks to flowing lava, remote coastlines to relaxing Kona. The island has tons to see, but you need a car to see it all.
4 – Drive to the Yukon. I’ve never done an actual road trip across Canada. Ideally a drive from Toronto to Whitehorse, Yukon would be my route, stopping at Provincial and National Parks along the way like Quetico, Riding Mountain, Elk Island and Nahanni.
5 – Pacific Northwest. Another US roadtrip. This time to Oregon and Washington. Taking in some forest scenery and places like Olympic National Park. Perhaps a side trip over to Idaho and Montana to check out Glacier National Park too.
Road Trip Hazard - Bison on the Road in Yellowstone National Park
So there are five of the road trips I’m interested in doing some time soon. Sure, there are places in Europe, Australia and elsewhere that I’d also like to go road tripping around, but I’ll save those for a later time.
If you’ve got some favourite road trips, let me know! Have fun on the road and remember, as is often said, to focus on the journey and not the destination.
Welcome to the world of Elephas and Loxodonta, a tale of two Elephants.
Below are six Elephant photos, can you name each one? Ah, but first…some Elephant education!
Once upon a time they had a big, extended family with relatives sprawled across the earth. Stegodon was known to hang out as far away as Japan, while Mammuthus constantly wandered around Europe and North America. Today, most of their family is gone. Depending who you ask only 5-6 different Elephas and Loxodonta species/subspecies exist and every single one is either endangered or classified as a vulnerable species.
Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. Perhaps you’ve only seen them on TV or in a zoo, or maybe you’ve travelled the world and seen Loxodonta africana africana or Elephas maximus maximus in their natural habitats. Either way, let’s see how much of an Elephant expert you are.
Each picture below is either an: African Bush Elephant, African Forest Elephant, Indian Elephant, Sri Lankan Elephant, Sumatran Elephant or Borneo Pygmy Elephant.
Some Elephant species are repeated and not all of them are included…as I haven’t yet travelled to every Elephant destination in the world. Good luck guessing! The answers will be provided once some correct guesses come in.
Photo 1: This one is easy - from a well-known Elephant Orphanage
Photo 2: The eye of the Tiger, errr Elephant (no Tigers here).
Photo 3: Thirsty Elephants! Hmm, are these somewhere in Africa or Asia?
Photo 4: A Tusky Elephant. Now, what kind of Elephants are best known for their tusks?
Photo 5: Roaming Elephants checking out our Safari vehicle. But what kind of Elephants?
Photo 6: Elephant Close up. Did you know that different Elephants have different shaped heads?
One of my favourite things to do in new countries is visit the local convenience and grocery stores to see what seemingly odd creations or local treats are on offer.
Borneo definitely didn’t disappoint when it came to trying some new foods and drinks, although I can’t say I acquired a liking for all of them!
Fresh Fruits
Fruit Stand in Borneo selling Snake Skin Fruit
Visiting a roadside fruit market was a great way to get some free samples of various tropical treats. Borneo was the first place I had fresh mangosteens – amazing! But my favourite fruit surprise, partly because of it’s nickname, was the snake-skin fruit.
They literally look like scaly snake skin on the outside, but are tasty on the inside – kind of like a crunchy, sweet apple. The real name of the fruit is salak and they’re pretty popular around Indonesia and Malaysia.
Snacks
Stocking up on different brands of crackers and sweets helps pass the time on long bus rides. I have a few weak spots for snacking when I travel – pringles chips (they’re everywhere!), fresh cashews (they’re so expensive at home) and a strangely compulsive need to order shrimp cocktail appetizers wherever I can find them.
Borneo didn’t disappoint on the cashews or shrimp cocktails, but I had the worst pringles chips ever – twice! First was shrimp-flavoured pringles. I thought they’d be amazing, like shrimp crackers at a Thai restaurant. Nope.
They were hideously horrible, I couldn’t eat them. I don’t even know how to describe the fake shrimp flavouring, it was so bad. I should have learned my lesson but then I tried the soft-shell crab flavoured pringles. They were just as bad.
Drinks
Kickapoo Joy Juice, Citrus Beverage
Lots of Tiger beer! But I tried a few different sodas and teas that I hadn’t had before. I also love going somewhere tropical like Borneo and finding drinking water with penguins on the label. Sold!
The various crysthanamum tea and soft drinks I had were quite enjoyable, some other flavoured sodas like ‘Grass Jelly Drink’ (which includes corn starch, cincau and liquorice extract) and ‘Soursop’ (a fizzy soda with salt added) were one-time only for me.
The real winner of the snack and drink tasting in Borneo? Kickapoo Joy Juice. What a great name, even if it comes from an American beverage company! It’s basically your average citrus-flavoured carbonated beverage, but it easily has the best looking design and most amusing name.
Sandwiched between the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak lies the small, prosperous country of Brunei.
I knew little about Brunei but decided to spend a bit of time there on my trip to Borneo. It turns out that despite it’s small size Brunei has a lot to offer the adventurous and curious traveller.
After weeks of long hikes and getting dirty in the jungle, I decided to take it easy and enjoy the capital city of Brunei – Bandar Seri Begawan. The city itself is a bit sprawling and spacious, but still easy enough to walk around to visit the Mosques and Markets or relax down by the waterfront.
Entrance to Tasek Lama Recreational Park in Brunei
One feature that stood out for me was the accessibility of Tasek Park. A large park built with a series of specially designed jogging trails and even a reflexology walking path for massaging the soles of your feet! Amazing. When I first arrived I imagined how beneficial it would be to have such a park centrally located in every city of the world. I arrived towards the end of the day, as it was getting cooler and people seemed to be finishing work. The park quickly became a hot spot for people going out for a walk with friends or run along the trails.
Main Jogging Trail in Tasek Park
Steep hills up a mountain, lush flower beds, jungle trails and special jogging paths all gave the park a colourful and welcoming atmosphere. There was a nice playground area for kids and plenty of open spaces and designated areas for group activities like tai chi. Even the local wildlife was enjoying the park as I saw some curious monkeys in nearby trees.
There were people everywhere but it wasn’t crowded at all and you could take off on a smaller trail to get away from the main circuit.
Scenic Landscape of Tasek Park, Brunei
It took me about 1.5 hours to just walk around the main park area and take pictures, but you could spend a half day here just to enjoy it all, especially the soothing waterfall area. Easily one of the best ‘urban’ parks I’ve seen on my travels! There are small shops outside the entrance that sell water and snacks too, which made me realize afterwards how un-commercial it was inside the park, what a welcome relief.
Tasek Waterfall at Tasek Park, Brunei
The park went through a big upgrade not long ago and is in great condition. Oddly, there wasn’t a single street seller or beggar in the park either, which made the experience that much more relaxing. If you need a bit of exercise or just a peaceful escape, Tasek Park is the place to go in Brunei.
