Wild Borneo Adventure – Trek, Ride, Raft

We will be met at the airport and transferred to our 3* hotel in the centre of Kota Kinabalu. Dinner this evening will be at a typical Malaysian restaurant featuring local food.

This morning there is a short transfer to the beautiful Kiulu valley where we go cycling through some of the most beautiful areas in Sabah; passing tiny villages, rubber plantations and quiet village roads – the best way to see the side of Sabah not many get to see. After lunch we go white water rafting on the Kiulu River (Grade 2-3). We then hop on to our bus for the 2 hr transfer to the cooler fresher air of Kundasang (1,500 mtrs ASL), getting there at around 6pm. This is where we will stay the night. On a clear day, the view of the iconic Mt Kinabalu is a sight to behold. Tonight we can start packing for our 3-day trek.

After breakfast,our Kiau trek guide will pick us up from our hotel. The Kiau trail (at 1,000-1,400 altitude), though short, is undulating, and can be a little tricky for some as it is at the foot of Mt Kinabalu. It gets chilly at night as we are high up in the clouds. It is the prefect trail before attempting Mt Kinabalu climb. We leave our main bags at Kiau village and only take the very minimum for the 2 nights in the jungle. Today we will hike through rubber and coffee plantations, pineapple gardens, rice fields, a few farm huts, and finally through some secondary forest before getting to Nulu Lingion camp site. The views of Mt Kinabalu, our next target, keep changing as we inch our way towards camp. At camp, we could learn a little how the locals process their coffee beans. Tonight we sleep in hammocks or tents, and spend some time around the campfire exchanging stories. A nature night walk could be arranged.

Today’s trail is slightly more demanding as we make our way to Hayo Hayo river camp. The trail today is mostly in some amazing primary forest, so we will get to see and hear more birds, see more wild orchids, many endemic to the area. At camp we will be doing some survival activities with our guides, where we can see how they thrive in this unforgiving environment. Tonight, weather permitting, we will go frog-hunting, another survival skill the locals master, or we can simply relax around the campfire.

Today it is a shorter trek back to Kiau village. We will be staying at their homestay where we will get to experience their everyday village life. A village walk and a cultural performance are on offer as well.

Today, we head to the National Park where we begin our 7 km climb up to the mountain hut on the slopes of Mount Kinabalu. Tonight we sleep in dorms at the mountain huts at Laban Rata, some 3280 meters ASL.

This morning we depart from our hut at 3am and trek up about 2 km to the summit, as the sun is rising. Again, the views from the summit are even more spectacular. If the weather is fine, there is the option to do the Via Ferrata route on the mountain on the way back down to our rest house. From the rest house, we descend back to the park HQ and take a short bus to Sabah Tea plantation where we will sleep in authentic Rungus/Dusun longhouse rooms.

Our next destination is the Kinabatangan Wildlife Reserve. On arrival, we will have time to settle in before heading out on an afternoon and sunset river cruise. This reserve is famous for its abundance of wildlife and we guarantee that you will see proboscis monkeys in the wild. There are also regular sightings of wild orangutan, elephants, gibbons, hornbills and crocodiles.

We wake up before the sun rises to embark on a dawn river cruise to watch the wildlife come to life. It is fascinating to watch the proboscis monkeys waken in their canopy homes. After breakfast, we transfer to Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary via Gomantong caves, arriving in time for the afternoon feeding session. Tonight we will go on a night nature walk at the renowned Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC), first taking the canopy walk. Here, we hope to get a glimpse of the illusive Western Tarsier, the Slow Lorris, flying squirrels, and more.

Before we leave for our afternoon flight to Kota Kinabalu, we will have time to visit the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Here we will learn about the tremendous effort put in to rehabilitate orphaned sun bears, the smallest bear species – to be released when they graduate. Our flight to Kota Kinabalu takes just 45 minutes. Tonight we stay in a small beach resort with a swimming pool.

Transfer to airport, expedition ends.