Uncle and Miss Rachel do Borneo

When we finally got back we did get some revenge. We noted with a smile that absolutely everyone had the same reaction: to strip off and check as best we could in the dim insides of our rooms, checking every crevice for the suckers. Clothes and boots festooned the walkways, abandoned to await a bloody hot wash “or preferably incineration” as Joe said. We got some revenge for Jen. Over the next half hour several leeches emerged from the abandoned clothes, and Joe squished them all in a very satisfying way, with slightly alarming amounts of blood coming out of them.

We’d coped fine with the mosquitoes, who inconsiderately do not even whine before they strike. The only bit that gave me the heebie jeebies was at night, when I thought that there was spray hitting me constantly as we raced along in the dark: but when the guide shone his torch to show us a croc, it turned out to be a plague of flying biters all around us and bouncing off our heads. We weren’t too worried as we were back on the anti malarials (or ‘p’ – for proguanil – vitamins as the kids dubbed them) and were well oiled. But leeches were just one step too far.

Rhys was dreading having nightmares, and decided this was not a happy place. We decided that perhaps the night walk in the jungle was not such a great idea! A cold beer was, however. Ed, who had been our constant and extremely entertaining companion, settled down for a read and we headed out for our final boat ride alone. This was when we saw the male orang utan, and troupes of monkeys, but the kids had had it. They wanted to go home before it was dark, and we agreed. True, the night before we had spotted many more crocs once darkness fell and had watched an amazing lightning show over the river as the skies filled with stars, but you just have to know when your kids are beat.

No one had nightmares. Everyone slept fine. Joe was fully recovered, thank goodness, and back on form. I managed to get my butt well and truly bit on the last night, all over it and down my thighs, despite sleeping under a mosquito net. Very, very attractive. I also woke up to the charming stomach cramps and inevitable dash to the loo, but once again Ed was there as our pharmacist, reassuring me in response to my thanks that my regularity on the bus back was in his best interests, too!

Ed, Nick and his wife, Scott and Helen really helped make this couple of fairly extreme days in the jungle wonderful. We were almost instantly at ease, bound together by the adventure and the hours of laughter and chat. Maybe its because of the adversity, or maybe its because only similar people find themselves by choice in the heart of the Borneo jungle, but we got on like a house on fire. It was with big hugs and swapping of email addresses that we had to say good bye after the long and bumpy ride back to Sepilok Jungle Resort, and relative civilisation.

Back at SJR (oh come off it with the acronyms now!) we were once again down to five, and had two nights left to recuperate before heading back to KK and then onto JB and Singapore. We certainly needed them. A little late, Joe did a run into the nearest town to stock up on everything we have needed – but strangely didn’t think of buying in Oz! – such as more mossie cream, itch cream, anti malarials, diarrhoea tablets … and we went for our second visit to the Orang Utan Rehab Centre.

Here the apes are reared when orphaned or rehabilitated when found as illegal pets. Some are indoors in the nursery, some semi wild in the outdoor orphanage, but hundreds now live as wild orang utans in the vast reserve, protected from habitat destruction, poachers and over zealous farmers. Though they are the stars, the orang utans are not the only fruit. Macaques are everywhere, and deep in the reserve are some rhinos, jaguars, leopards and more. This second time we had a much better experience than the first: we had to pick our way through a family group of macaques, with tiny babies and pretty fearsome dominant males. Some inquisitive souls liked to try and nick sunglasses and cameras, and one very large male tried to scare us away completely, blocking our exit with his bared teeth and growling! It worked. We waited for some braver souls to lead the way purposefully, which did the trick. We were less than a foot away from 10 or more macaques at times, and able to watch them groom, play and fight. The orang utans themselves were a little late for their 3 o’clock feed. The semi- wild ones are fed supplementary bananas twice a day giving crowds of spectators an amazing view of these stupidly rare creatures. When we had rolled up on our first day at SJR, the orang utans were already there, to hoots and shouts and laughter from a large crowd. It was a bit like watching performing animals at a zoo. We were very hacked off with the mainly local crowd. But this second time, everyone was silent as the signs demanded. The macaques were all there, cheekily trying to pinch the handlers’ bananas, and sneak up when no one was looking. No orang utans, though. After ¾ of an hour in silence, the crowd had thinned and I was very proud how the kids hung in there, mostly incredibly quiet. We were well rewarded. Finally, a mother and her baby orang utan emerged. Then a very young male, and then an older male. They all shared their food, and it was fascinating to watch how the mother not only fed her only baby, but the older male, too. Apparently they have a mentoring system where older orphans help out the new arrivals, showing them the ropes and teaching them the skills for survival. The very young male was obviously still quite early on in the rehab process, as he chose to sit right by the handlers and remain there for a long time eating and gazing at all the people. The others simply came, got their bananas, and retreated to a distance. Job done, move on. The young one was obviously still quite dependent on humans though, and it makes you understand why rehabilitating them can take years and a massive budget.

Lets hope eco tourism of this sort really takes off here, as in Costa Rica. Maybe then more land will be reclaimed and protected for the flora and fauna when tourism and environmentalism is as much of a money spinner as palm oil.

So, we are ready to leave Borneo. It has to be a unique place. Much more developed than we had imagined, with friendly people and a great welcome everywhere, amazing animals, fantastic jungle, unearthly sounds and a steamy heat that utterly saps you. This is also where you start taking nature seriously: the bugs, the leeches, the malaria, the water, the disease. You are truly in Asia, and the world is not so small after all.