Danum Valley

We went to Sabah, Borneo, for a long weekend. Two days were spent in a luxury hotel where we pampered ourselves in a spa. The other two were spent trekking in the primary rainforest. Between the two, there is no doubt my favourite was the jungle. We didn’t see as much wildlife as we expected (lots of droppings but no elephants or rhinos in sight!), but we saw gibbons, orang-utans, bearded pigs, mouse-deers, squirrels, tree snakes, lizards, civets, otters, porcupines, lots of birds and butterflies, rhinoceros beetle, millipedes and centipedes, and of course my friends, the leeches! Yes, I was a leech victim, and this despite my special leech socks. My initial reaction to the bite was panic and disgust. But then once full the leech falls off by itself and all you’re left with is a bleeding mini wound and a certificate. As a joke the victims of the tiger leeches are awarded a certificate. It was an interesting experience which I do not wish to repeat. At night the noise was almost scary, we could hear the whooping and gurgling of the gibbons, the cacophony of sounds by the cicadas, frogs, birds, bats and other animals. In the darkness of the night we couldn’t see a thing, but we knew they were around us. Amazing and scary at the same time. Just in case I slept with a flashlight next to me. The flora was also impressive: gigantic mushrooms, fungus of all colours and shapes, trees 70 meter tall, orchids and other flowers and fruits. We want to go back, soon!

The bungalows we stayed in are those little houses down there.

The prey!

The predator!