Roberts Travel Blog

Roberts Travel Blog Photos from travels around the world

Our Borneo part of the trip is finally over and it was time to leave the lodge, but not before one final early morning h...
10/09/2026

Our Borneo part of the trip is finally over and it was time to leave the lodge, but not before one final early morning hike. Up at 5.15am and out of the door at 6am to walk the 2km to the canopy walk to hear a final dawn chorus.

Unfortunately a group of Brits were not far behind us and were rather loud and their voices could be heard above the chorus from quite a distance. Maybe I’m turning intro a grumpy old man but I don’t think people care about anything beyond their own bubbles.

Back by 8 am for a shower and breakfast before saying our goodbyes to our excellent wildlife guide Johannes and our hostess Emillia. We were given our “leech blood donation certificates” and a parting gift of a book about the rainforest - a very nice touch !

Most people stay 2 nights, a few 3 but we were almost residents with a 4 night stay. Meant we could immerse ourselves fully into the experience without rushing ! It was then time to leave.

It was a 2 1/2 hr jeep ride to Lahad Datu airport. It is essentially a runway with a single building and has 5 flights a day - 4 to the regional capital Kota Kinabalu and 1 to Sandakan.

The lodge had provided us with an exceptional packed lunch to eat at the airport. The flight to Kota Kinabalu took 50 minutes and then we flew from there back to Kuala Lumpur. We gave three nights here before starting our trip to Laos.

Thoroughly enjoyed our time in Borneo and the amazing wildlife and people. The destruction of the rainforest for palm oil is devastation and an environmental and ecological disaster. The government say they won’t allow any more large plantations but can’t see how they can stop landowners selling off pockets of land.

Our final night at the Borneo Rainfotest Lodge. So before dinner we went on a final night drive by buggy. It looked as t...
10/09/2026

Our final night at the Borneo Rainfotest Lodge. So before dinner we went on a final night drive by buggy. It looked as though it might be a right off as it was starting to rain but we ended up seeing Serval, Leopard cat, a hunters spider and a western tarsier !

We then were treated to a private dinner and our host for our 4 night stay, Emillia did us proud with her table decorations. Emillia was always waiting for us after each of our trips out with cold towels and a refreshing drink. Took care of us at every meal time and sorted out mundane things like our daily laundry - when you are soaked through with sweat after every outing you get through a lot of clothes very quickly!

After a relaxing massage, we had a late lunch and by 3.30pm we were back sweating on a hike along the river. It was unbe...
10/09/2026

After a relaxing massage, we had a late lunch and by 3.30pm we were back sweating on a hike along the river. It was unbelievably quiet on the animal front but showed the fittest from a different angle.

At our third attempt of trying, having been distracted and diverted by orangutans and red leaf langurs we hiked to the a...
10/09/2026

At our third attempt of trying, having been distracted and diverted by orangutans and red leaf langurs we hiked to the area beneath the canopy walk to search out an Argus Pheasant which looks like a cross between a pheasant and a peacock.

They clear an area of the forest floor to “dance in” to attract a mate. There were three target areas to check and we got lucky at the second area.

Although we’d walked up in sunshine-the heavens opened up when we are in the forest but we didn’t get a drop through the canopy.

Even if it had got damp, the wearing of a ponch in the high humidity was never going to happen as we were already drenched through with sweat.

By the time we emerged from the forest at 10an it was dry again. Today was going to be busy as we had 90 minute massages booked for a 11am and a complimentary 1/2 hour foot massage thereafter. I think we deserved both 😀!

Morning started off with glorious sunshine, with a 6.30 am breakfast, as we were entertained by a group of long-tailed m...
10/09/2026

Morning started off with glorious sunshine, with a 6.30 am breakfast, as we were entertained by a group of long-tailed macaques. Unlike other places we have stayed there was no monkey business going on in the restaurant.

The lodge has placed soft toy tigers around the lodge. Even though they’ve never seen a tiger they are naturally scared. The tigers are moved around during the day as the monkeys might suss what’s going on !

Our final activity of the day was to hike 2km to the canopy walk and to be there as the night animals came to life. Ther...
10/09/2026

Our final activity of the day was to hike 2km to the canopy walk and to be there as the night animals came to life. There are 6 walkways each getting higher and you need a head for heights and a strong sense of balance as the walkways are not rigid and do sway from side to side.

We waited on one of the platforms and listened to a rhinoceros hornbill making a racket nearby and an oriental pied hornbill landed nearby.

Just after the sun had set we saw a flying squirrel climb up above us and then take off - gliding across the canopy some 4-500 feet. Their “wings” are flaps of skin between their arms and body. It was all very effortless.

Torches in hand we then hiked back to our villa for the third shower of the day and dinner.

After our morning trip we returned to our villa for another shower and lunch. We were lucky to witness from the balcony ...
10/09/2026

After our morning trip we returned to our villa for another shower and lunch. We were lucky to witness from the balcony of the dining area a group of 3 orangutans on the other side of the river from us.

Hence the long shots ! Amazing nonetheless!

Having enjoyed watching the orangutans we got a message through that not too far away the red leaf monkeys were close by...
10/09/2026

Having enjoyed watching the orangutans we got a message through that not too far away the red leaf monkeys were close by and on the ground. They were drinking out of a paddle and also standing up to walk!

And there they were-outside the thick of the rainforest and on the forest road. There must have been a few degrees temperature difference as soon after taking this set of photos my camera lens fogged up on the inside ! I only realised when I started to struggle to use the focus. Anyway - after about 15 minutes of swinging my camera out in the open, the fogging did disappear.

A bit annoying as I had been careful in keeping my camera away from the a/c in our room and keeping it warm in my bag. A lesson learned from 24 years ago if going straight from an air conditioned car to the humidity outside.

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