3-day Kinabatangan River Safari/Sabah/in Borneo 🇲🇾

From Sandakan, we started the Kinabatangan River Safari on April 16. We booked online through the organizer River-Junkie for the '3D2N River Safari', which means 3 days and 2 nights. We were in the jungle from April 16th to 18th and stayed at the Nature Lodge right on the Kinabatangan River. We communicated with the organizer via email, which was not a problem, and we received all the important information and transferred the money in a very short time. We paid 495RM per person. The complete transfer there and back is included in the price, two nights in the dorm (shared room) at the Nature Lodge, a guide, 4 river cruises (2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon), 2 breakfasts / 1 lunch / 2 dinners. Two guided night walks through the jungle and one during the day. There is free water, tea and coffee to refill.

We were picked up at the airport in Sandakan in the morning. Together with Claudia, a solo traveler from Italy, and three other people from our group, we first went to a restaurant in Sepilok for lunch (not included in the price). After a short break, we headed towards Kinabatangan. We had about 2 hours of driving time, even with a break, before we got caught in a thunderstorm. It rained heavily, even when we arrived. We were taken across the river by boat, along with our luggage, to the other side where the Nature Lodge, our accommodation, was located. We were welcomed very friendly and informed about the schedule for the next few days. Then the room keys were distributed, and Julia and I moved into a 6-bed dorm (dormitory with bunk beds) with Claudia. Shortly afterwards, the first river cruise started. We boarded the boat with our guide Omar. Omar was always by our side during the night walks as well. He shared a lot of knowledge with us and tried to show us a lot. 🦜🪶🐘🦧🐊🐒

But the animals are not available on demand, even though we would have liked to see a lot more of them. But what isn't, isn't.

The next river cruise was the next morning. We set the alarm to wake up shortly after 5, and the meeting point was at 6 o'clock at the boats. By the way, everyone had to wear a life jacket. Some had cameras and binoculars with them. In the morning, the atmosphere was always very special when the mist was still hanging over the river and you could hear the insects in nature. The river cruise itself usually lasted between 1-2 hours. Time flew by as we searched for the animals. Omar had a good eye, and we saw tons of monkeys, especially macaques and endangered proboscis monkeys. There was also a baby crocodile and a larger crocodile, as well as hornbills and the kingfisher. It was an exciting and special time that we were able to spend with nice people. During the jungle walks, we regularly waded through the mud because there were always thunderstorms in the afternoon. Nothing worked without rubber boots and of course headlamps!🙈😄 The jungle was teeming with mosquitoes. You really had to be careful, wear long clothing, or apply mosquito spray.

The food was also great! Whether it was breakfast 🍳 or dinner 🥗, there was something for everyone and the selection was large. There was nothing to complain about on this trip. And the time without a phone was also quite nice. There is no internet in the jungle :)

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

We were back in Sandakan on April 18th for another night. On April 19th, we flew back to Kota Kinabalu, also for one night. We didn't want to subject Chris to another 7-hour bus ride, as he had been suffering from diarrhea and stomach pain for days. On April 20th, we took a flight to Kuching/ Sarawak.