Be Where You Want To Be : Borneo

Discovering Borneo's secrets

You know you've ventured closer to the equator when you walk out of the aeroplane doors and feel the hot air hit your face like you've just opened the oven after cooking a roast dinner. I get the same feeling every time I travel this part of the world, and I love it a little bit more each time. Hello again Asia, you beautiful, cultural, unique, humid continent. Nice to see you again...

This years adventure has bought me to a place which, unlike it's neighbouring Asian countries such as The Philippines or Thailand, is relatively juvenile to the tourism industry and is still quite a unique, unknown destination to much of the western world. In fact it wasn't until I booked this trip that I learned Borneo is an island, not it's own country, who's area covers three separate countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Over recent years tourism has increased and Borneo has started to become a place people are talking about. It's exposure is partly due to the increased awareness of the unique wildlife that inhabits the island and the island's dense rainforests and beautiful mountains. However this thriving natural island surrounded by four seas also has a dark side, having attracted unwanted attention for it's devastating deforestation and pollution of the habitat of it's wildlife for Palm Oil exportation.

So I am here, as an adventurous and curious tourist, to witness the unique wildlife and beautiful rainforests of Borneo, and also shed some light on the truths about Borneo's dark side. What better way to do so then to visit a Turtle conservation centre, an Orang-utan and Sun Bear rehabilitation centre and the Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary, an area of 8000 hectares of protected rainforest.

We arrive in Sandakan, a medium size, developing city on the Eastern coast of Borneo. I stare out the window of the 30 ringett ($10) taxi ride to the main city, taking in my new surroundings and wondering what kind of experiences this part of Malaysia has to offer me. The scenery is a mixture of incomplete buildings, mostly pastel yellows and blues, as well as housing estates and the occasional advertising billboard. Small areas of tropical forests surround the buildings and construction sites and there is debris on the sides of the roads from the developments. You can see that a lot of emphasis has been put into the upgrade of this harbour side city of Sandakan, which will be our main gateway to the next destinations.The first destination being Selingan Island Turtle conservation centre.

Leaving the Sim Sim jetty, off the harbour of Sandakan, I was exposed to the all too familiar sight of pollution. Plastic bottles, chip packets and plastic bags floated in the water as we made our way out into the open Sulu Sea and towards the Turtle conservation centre. The pollution most likely made its way there from the bustling harbour side city or the countless traditional stilt houses that line the coast of Sandakan. It's a sight that I have seen before, especially in cities along the coast of Asia and it's never easy to understand how it's possible for our species to show such lack of consideration for the environment we live in. Never the less, we head further out to sea, the ocean gets deeper, the water gets cleaner and I can see Selingan Island in the not too far distance. Ironically, only a 45 minute boat ride from the polluted harbour, there lies an area of government protected ocean. An area of ocean that prohibits any kind of fishing and only allows a certain number of tourists and boats through each day, a sanctuary for the Green Sea Turtle.

We come to this part of Borneo to witness first hand one of the miracles of mother nature. The sea surrounding these three small islands is one of the passageways of the Green Sea Turtle, a majestic creature who has been known to have been around since prehistoric times and is known to have a life expectancy exceeding 100 years. For reasons unknown they have used these three small islands as a nesting ground to lay their eggs and the islands have now become a safe sanctuary for these prehistoric creatures.

As night time falls, the mother turtles make the tedious journey from the safe seas up onto the shore and inland to find a place to lay their eggs. Using their front flippers they shovel sand to make a hole for their eggs and drift off into a trance while bringing young life into the world. We only disturb one mother on the night and follow the regulations of the centre. It's a truly amazing sight to witness as the mother lays a total of 57 eggs. On any given night thousands of eggs can be laid on the shores of the islands and on the same night thousands of baby hatchlings can be released. The conservation centre gathers the eggs each night and moves them to a safe sanctuary to ensure the highest possibilities of survival, keeping them away from predators such as water dragons and birds. The highlight of the night is when we are able to witness the release of the baby hatchlings back into the wild. Hundreds of little turtles, no bigger than the palm on my small hands, make their way back into the ocean for the dangerous journey ahead. From here on in their chance of survival is minimal, but with the help of the centre the turtles get the opportunity for life and the chance to grow into adults, spend years roaming the oceans of the earth and eventually return to this safe sanctuary to lay eggs of their own and continue the existence of their kind.

We leave the Selingan Island Turtle conservation centre to visit the Sepilok Orang-utan rehabilitation centre and it gets me pondering the relationship between conservation and the destruction of habitat that has been putting Borneo in the media spotlight. I think about the numerous articles I have seen about Palm Oil and the outing of companies that are using the substance in their products. Visiting Sepilok only feeds my curious mind and makes me want to explore the other side of the story and find answers to my many questions, but before I get too caught up in the politics I take advantage of the opportunity to see these cheeky, solitary, human-like apes in their natural habitat. After all, they are the face of Borneo.

Feeding time is at 10am and again at 3pm. The apes are quite punctual and arrive right on time for the tropical fruit buffet, swinging from the ropes attached to the surrounding trees. They swing like a child presenting a gymnastics performance, first hanging off one hand, then two, then perhaps upside-down with their feet gripping the rope. It's an entertaining performance to say the least. They eventually make their way to the feeding platform, all the while playing and swinging, not at all fazed by the man handing out the fruits. The cheeky Macaques try to sneak some of the food however the overpowering Orang-utans show them who's in charge and they scatter off waiting for the leftover scraps.

I stare at their childlike eyes, round faces and reddish brown coloured hair and I try to get some good snap shots while they are temporarily still, peeling Bananas and figs and sucking the juices of the oranges while leaving the peel behind. They have been bought here from other forests around Borneo, perhaps from injury or loss of habitat, so that they are able to thrive in the area of protected forest and one day be released back to where they came from. I think of how they came to be at the centre and how anyone could ever want to hurt such a beautiful creature. It brings me back to the relationship between conservation, destruction of habitat and the role we play as humans.

Across from Sepilok there is another area of forest, home to the protected native Bear of Borneo, the Sun Bear. These cute creatures, one of the smallest known bears, have been rescued from being orphaned or captive and are bought here for care and rehabilitation. Unfortunately some of these Bears were found being used as pets or being sold on the black market so I am happy to find that they have set up such a place where they can be taken care of and eventually be released to the wild. It's feeding time and the small bears come out to rummage through the scattered food scraps. The area of forest is very big to ensure they have as close experience to the wild as possible and from the viewing platform you can see them in their truest form. Some sitting on the hind legs, tending to an itch with their long claws. So long in fact, that they can climb to the tops of the tallest trees. Others playfully wrestle with each other and as they raise their heads you can see the circular beige patch of hair under their necks resembling the round sun, hence the name 'Sun Bear'.

It's nice to see that there are places like these who are providing care and conservation to the beautiful species that inhabit this world. The harsh realities are the reasons why we need places like these in the first place. As a dominant species in this world we exploit resources for our own reproduction and survival. This has been going on for years and most likely for years to come. In order for our species to thrive and reproduce we use up the earth's resources and resort to destructive measures in order to do so, creating a continual cycle of destruction and conservation. The good news is that through education and awareness, conservation has become an integral part of the economy especially for areas such as Borneo, where conservation brings in jobs, tourism, and ongoing revenues.

I can only voice my opinion based on the short time I have spent in this beautiful part of the world. I know the media makes us believe what it wants us to believe, whether or not it is the exact truth, or the truth exaggerated. I know that Palm Oil deforestation in Borneo is real. I know that Nigeria, The Philippines and Honduras have deforestation rates that highly exceed the rates of Borneo. If we look at these countries and their socio-economic status we start to see that perhaps their need for deforestation is purely a means of survival and growth. Not to say that this is excusable however it is another factor to be considered. There is over 7 million hectares of protected rainforest and wildlife sanctuaries in Borneo. So the silver lining is that the issue is being acknowledged and through continued education, awareness and conservation perhaps one day in the near future we can learn to utilise the earth's resources not only for the survival of our own species but for the survival of every species.

It was now time to visit one of the many protected wildlife sanctuaries that I had been so inquisitive about, the lower Kinabatangan River Wildlife Sanctuary. The river is a stretch of 560km that connects the Sulu Sea to the mountains of Sabah, making it the second longest river in Malaysia. As we enter the estuary of the river the water becomes murky brown and to each side of us lies kilometres of dense rainforest. Only a few small villages inhabit this part of the world, with a minimal population of around 200 people per village. We stay in the Abai Jungle Lodge, traditional cabins across the river from the Abai village, set up by a local tour company. In the afternoon we get the opportunity to plant trees in the open clearing of Forest. I dig a small hole and place a young sapling in the ground. In 8 years time this young sapling will grow into a fruit bearing tree to feed the next generation if inhabitants. It may seem like a long time but each tourist that comes here gets the chance to plant a tree and ensure the conservation of this environment. Even our tour guide informs me he has planted over two hundred trees in his career.

After our contribution to the forest, we embark on a cruise up the river in a small open-top river boat. As afternoon falls, the temperature starts to get cooler and many of the forest's inhabitants migrate to the waters edge which allows for some great wildlife spotting in this untouched wilderness. A place where the wild Bornean Elephants roam, Proboscis monkeys jump from tree-top to tree-top, Crocodiles lay still under the mangroves, the solitary Orang-utans make their nests and the Kingfishers and Hornbills watch over the forest with the best views of all.

As the sun sets over the mangroves, the sky paints colours of purple and pink and the sounds of cicadas take over. The trees become still as the forest goes to sleep and the only lights to be seen are from the fireflies who take refuge in the trees by the banks of the river, flickering exquisitely like hundreds of small Christmas lights. We sit in our boat in complete darkness listening to the sounds of the jungle and in this serene moment I look up into the sky and see the natural shimmer of thousands of stars. It's these precise moments that feed my love of travel. Borneo you are truly amazing.