June 21, 2016
There was no way we could possibly see everything Sepilok has to offer in 1 day. Although we had originally planned to see everything in one day, we realized that it would have been just a quick walk through of every stop, and we would have not been able to thoroughly enjoy and soak in the views, the experiences and animal encounters. Our trip was not on a strict timeline, and we were planning as we went, so we had the luxury to add on days wherever we felt it was worth while. In Sepilok, it was definitely worth while. The beauty of the jungles and variety of experiences offered warrant taking a couple extra days to enjoy the area. All the areas we visited were "tourist" spots, but because we were visiting in mid June, the guides told us that it was still low season, so we were very fortunate to bypass the crowds of tourists visiting these destinations during the summer holidays.
Our first stop of the morning on day two in Sepilok was The Rainforest Discovery Centre, or RDC for short. It is a part of the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, best known for the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. It is actually just up the road (about 1km) from the Orang Utan Center, and I was surprised at the proximity of all these areas. The primary purpose of the RDC is that of environmental education. It aims to foster an appreciation of the jungle while underlining it’s importance, why it should be conserved and how to use jungle resources sustainably.
Off the floor of the dense, primary rainforest, the Rainforest Discovery Centre also offers access to the fascinating jungle canopy. This was my absolute favorite experience of the day...a must for tree huggers, bird watchers and nature lovers in general.
We humans, however, are not so well equipped to make our way around the jungle canopy, which is why the 147m long, solid steel canopy walkway of the RDC is such a blessing.
It is considered to be the most accessible walkway in Sabah, it is designed for high visitor traffic, but during our half day visit we encountered a total of four other tourists. We literally had the place to ourselves. Magical. From the walkway, as high as 28m above the ground in some places, you have a beautiful, expansive view of the Sepilok jungle. Who knew there were so many different shades of green!?
A huge bee hive that we saw on the canopy walk.
Chillin for a bit at the end of the canopy walk. It is an out and back walk.
The jungle canopy is alive with the chatter of birds, insects and sometimes even primates, and we did see some monkeys and other critters, which added to this already incredible experience.
Yes, we did notice that this monkey was peeing, and he does not look impressed that we invaded his privacy! ;-)
Small lizard we spotted while on the canopy walk.
We also saw some giant squirrels jumping from tree to tree and branch to branch, but the flying squirrel, that also lives in these jungles eluded us, because they are most often spotted in the evening.
One of the three observation towers which offer a great view of not only the treetops, but also the canopy walk itself.
The RDC offers much more than just the canopy walk. It also has a beautiful plant discovery garden with hundreds of labelled plants and trees. The kids were looking to find the pitcher plant (a carniverous plant we have seen in nature documentaries), but here we would have no luck, and would have to wait to see them in Kinabalu National Park.
There are also a couple trails and jungle walks that can be explored at the RDC. We did not manage to go far on these because the heat and thirst and hunger (it was lunch time) were nudging us to our next destination.
Giant grasshopper we saw while waiting for our driver.
We found that everything in the jungle is super-sized. Check out the size of this centipede.
Our afternoon was focused on seeing and learning about the Bornean Sun Bear:
The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the smallest of the bear species. It is a bear found in tropical forest habitats of Southeast Asia. It is classified as vulnerable by IUCN as the large-scale deforestation that has occurred throughout Southeast Asia over the past three decades has dramatically reduced suitable habitat for the sun bear. The sun bear is sometimes called the honey bear, because of its never ending appetite for honeycombs and honey.
The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre is a wildlife conservation and research centre for improving animal welfare and rehabilitation of the Malayan sun bear. It also aims to raise public awareness about the plight of the sun bears and to raise conservation awareness about this species.
"In 2004, I received a grant to do a survey of captive sun bears in the country and I found most to be kept in a deplorable manner, with no proper monitoring and care. After seeing bears in such a bad state, I cannot turn a blind eye to them. I simply cannot. I saw a need to do for sun bears what the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan was doing – housing rescued orang utans in a proper manner and rehabilitating them for future release back to the wild."
— Wong Siew Te
A bear sniffing out the corn that was provided at feeding time.
The guides at this facility were so knowledgeable and open to talking with the kids. They answered all their questions and then some. We spent well over two hours watching the bears and learning about the conservation efforts and about the bears themselves.
These little bears are incredible climbers. Fast, agile and not afraid to wander out onto small limbs. They put on quite a show for us.
These bears are not afraid to climb REALLY high.
It was an extra special treat to see two bears in the same tree at once.
Can't wait to see this GO PRO footage.
One of the best things about travelling is the people you meet and the stories you exchange. The two guides at the Sun Bear Conservation Center made this one of the kids' favourite experiences in Sabah. They have so much to offer and deserve a lot of credit for the amazing job they are doing. Their love of animals and nature was evident. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your time.
Our last stop of the day was at the Agnes Keith house in Sandakan. It is located at the top of a hill overlooking the city and offers a great view of the Sulu Sea. Agnes Newton Keith (July 4, 1901 – March 30, 1982) was an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo (now Sabah) before, during, and after the Second World War.
Beautiful view from the lookout in front of the Agnes Keith House.
View of Sandakan. Sandakan is the second-largest town in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu City, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo in Malaysia.
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