Danum Valley

The next day we fly east across Borneo to Lahud Datu, on the Celebes Sea for our trip to the Danum Valley Field Station. On the way we see the dreaded Oil Palm plantations that are decimating the forest and orphaning orang-utans. Our three hour road trip to the Field Centre is pretty ghastly but we finally arrive to hear all the strange sounds of the jungle at night.

Next day, despite buying some leech socks I soon attract such a number of leeches from our first walk in the jungle that my enthusiasm for wild places and lots of slippery mud soon evaporates! It is small comfort to see the brilliant blue and black Asian Fairy Bluebird even though Hugh missed it. This does not just mean I have seen a species he has not, but indeed an entire bird family! Hugh claims this is inconsistent with our prenuptial contract.

Day two and we are lucky enough to see an orang-utan and her small baby from the verandah at breakfast, which inspires me to leave the leach-less place of safety and face my fears in the jungle. I not only see the orang-utan again but also a Bornean gibbon, a pig-tailed macaque and a troop of red leaf monkeys. I remove the resultant leeches with only one or two screams of horror and feeling a lot like Angelina Jolie I bravely cross the scary swing bridge across the river in the rain. And who said I was an urban princess?

By day three we were set to leave. Hugh had seen neither a Pitta nor a Pheasant, so he faced ridicule at the hands of serious twitchers around the world. Fortunately the last morning walk before breakfast yielded both, and the muddy bumpy drive back to Lahad Datu unearthed the mythical Bornean Bearded Pig. Our last night in Sabah is spent in the luxurious Tanjung Aru Resort where we appreciate hot water and alcohol after suffering without either in the Danum Valley. A great end to a South-east Asian adventure!