Borneo Adventure - Kinabalu Park, Sabah

June 22 - 24, 2016

We took the bus at noon from Sandakan to Kinabalu Park.The hotel staff had told us the bus departed at 10:30, but they were wrong.  So we ended up having a couple hours to kill and it was pouring rain,  so we ended up in a small Chinese bakery with ample time to taste all their treats and tarts.

On the bus from Sandakan to Kinabalu Park.

It was actually a crazy trip,  because all we knew was that we were to get off at a cross road at the gate to the park.  We had not booked any accommodation because we did not know where the bus would let us off, and we knew that finding a taxi would not be easy on the mountains. We were planning to just go with the flow. 

Backpacking in Malaysia...this is the extent of our "luggage".  This is where the bus dropped us off. The only things that were there were the Sutera Lodges, a budget inn and a delicious, well priced local restaurant.

We found a budget room to stay in after checking at the mountain lodge and learning that the walk-in price is 3 times higher than the online price on agoda.com. We would have to find internet (no small task in the mountains), so that we could book our next night at the amazing Sutera Lodges at Mount Kinabalu - and we were lucky and we did. 

Walking up to our lodge.

Our 2 bedroom Nepenthes Lodge, complete with kitchen, balcony and fire place.  We could have easily stayed here for a week...it was quiet, the nature was breathtaking and the breakfast was delicious.

In the morning we walked the Kiau View Trail, and part of the Silau-Silau Trail in Kinabalu Park. The trails were lush, beautiful and green.  The air was fresh and cool...we actually bought toques, because the kids had been cold the night before (meanwhile it was about 18 degrees...lol...I think we are in trouble when we arrive back in Canada).  We stopped for lunch at a picnic area with a great view of the mountains, but otherwise the hikes did not offer very many lookout points.  The impressive part of the walks was the variablity of trees and plant life. The fog was heavy in some places in the early morning, and we really got a taste of the jungle atmosphere.

Everything in the jungle is giant.

There was a bit of fog in the morning, providing us with a real mysterious "Jurassic Park" atmosphere.

Beautiful flora.

Lunch time view.

The "Yummy" - peanut butter, nutella and banana sandwiches.

Interesting plants.  

The kids had wanted to see the Rafflesia which grows in some areas around Kinabalu Park,  The rafflesia is the world’s largest, the heaviest, the rarest and the one of the most stinkiest flowers in the world (it allegedly smells like rotting flesh - eewwww). It grows to 1 metre wide and weighs about 10 kgs.  The Rafflesia is native of rainforests of Thailand, Malaysia and in the Indonesian Archipelago.  We learned that the flower takes 6 to 9 months to go from bud to bloom and the bloom will only last about 6 days until it withers away.  Blooming at unexpected times it is very difficult to time a trip to see them.  The rangers told us that they knew of a few blooms, but they were far away, and were at the end of their bloom and past the window of quality viewing.  Too bad, but it was interesting to learn the facts anyway.

Checking out the result board of the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon, a race up and down Mount Kinabalu...yep, the same trek that is done over a two day period is raced in just hours by super fit mountain runners.

The boardwalk around sections of the park, taking us from building to building.

Admiring the flora in the botanical garderns.

The pitcher plant - a carnivorous plant which has modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive fluid liquid.

Nepenthes - pitcher plant

Yes, I have a thing for flowers.

 We walked through the park grounds and learned about the climb to the summit of Mount Kinabalu.  I had read online that the climb was restricted to climbers over the age of 10. The guides told us that they had had climbers as young as 4. We seriously thought about doing the climb. We registered,  attended the briefing for climbers and for a few hours actually thought we would go through with it. It is an 8.5km climb to the summit with a one night stop over at Labuan Rata rest house. The elevation of the climb is approx. 3,000 m. So the trail is steep. I thought about it all night and after considering the unpredictable weather and the fact that we did not have proper gear (sufficient warm clothing) for the climb,  We decided that it was NOT a good idea, even thought it would really be exciting if we managed to reach the summit. And it WAS the right decision. We ran in to some climbers the next day (girls we had met at a restaurant,  and they recounted their COLD, WINDY experience,  not even they had managed to reach the summit,  so it would not have be a pleasant experience with 4 kids.   We will plan a future trip to the mountains.  Not necessarily to summit, but I do have my sights set on Nepal one day.

View of Western Sabah from Timpohon Gate - We could see all the way to Kota Kinabalu.

Sibling Love

Timpohon Gate (the start of the Mount Kinabalu summit trek).  Only registered climbers are allowed past this point.

Jungle-sized acorn

Monument commemorating the lives of the 18 guides and climbers that lost their lives on  Mount Kinabalu during an earthquake  on June 5, 2015.

One of our concerns regarding our departure from Kinabalu Park was our mode of transportation to Kota Kinabalu (KK).  We were banking on one option - the same bus that had dropped us off at the intersection apparently passed several times during the day, but noone could pinpoint a time for us, so we figured we'd stand at the intersection until it drove by and wave it down.  This was standard practice.  It turns out however, we ended up with 3 modes of transport. 1.  The bus sped by just as we exited the park...this was an incredible coincidence.  2.  We had arranged for private transport through the man at our first budget accommodation, however, we cancelled it after deciding to spend an extra night in the park.  3.  Because we thought our transport was cancelled when we met a couple travelling with a private tour we asked them if they would take us to KK and they were willing to share their ride - so kind - seriously.  The irony is, that after worrying a bit about how we were going to get to KK, we actually had all three modes of transportation waiting for us as we left the park.  The bus sped by as we approached the intersections, the driver we had originally hired was waiting for us and the couple was having lunch at the restaurant where we had agreed to meet before the drive to KK.  It was from zero to three, just like that...amazing.  We ended up going with the driver we originally hired, because fair is fair, and we had a comfortable and very scenic ride from the mountains to Kota Kinabalu, which is a coastal city and the capital of Sabah.  

Leaving the park, en route to Kota Kinabalu, we stopped to take in a stunning view of Mount Kinabalu.  A peaceful, beautiful giant.

Feher Family Travellers... ;-)