Gomantong Caves and a definate orangutan sighting

I am researching where to take the children for a field trip and as they went to Sepilok to see the Orangutans last year , I thought the famous birds nest (for the soup) caves could be a good field study trip.

They are a network of mainly two caves and they are huge. The first one, the black cave so called because it delivers black nest which are dirtier, with feathers and twigs than the more valuable white ones which are pure swift saliva. The benefits are said to be many from clearing skin of acne, everlasting youth and asthma. It is a beautiful board walk through the forest to the cave, on entering the cave you are elevated above the 3m + of bat guano, deposited by the other major residents.

There was a huge recycling project under way by the cockroach and dung beetle population, which must well outnumber all the other residents, the floor of the cve appeared to have a life of its own.

The swiftlets are just starting to build their nests now, I can see many swooping over the lake below my room, they need plenty to drink to make thise nests. The collection is now strictly controlled in to two period, one just before the eggs are laid, probably in march and the next after the chicks have fledged. It would be good to return for the first collection as these cave are very high and the harvesters are suspended on ropes attached to hook put in by early chinese collectors thought to be more than 5 hundred years ago. It is assumed those early pioneers were expert climbers to get up there initially.

When we emerged we were directed up a steep climb to the top of the cave and then on to the more inaccessible white cave. We didn't venture in, there was no board walk and the guano was too slippy! Although the rangers were wandering in and out in just their flip flops . 

 We were guided down, thank goodness, as our way up was more than a scramble on very slippy rocks, in very sticky trousers and even slipperier sandals, by a couple of rangers who pointed out an orangutan who is quite docile and lives around their camp, pinching their rice. We got to within 3m and he was very chilled. It is difficult to get a clear photo because of course he is a man of the forest. It was amazing to be so close while he was just pulling leaves off the tree so noncholantly.

On the way back down we came across a pythons den and the ubiquitous leech. Our guides made us go in to the bathroom to strip off in order to ensure we didn't take any home with us!

On the way back we we called in at Sukau where we may also take the children jungle camping over night and take a night cruise up the Kinabatangan river although I have yet to work out where to get tents for 30 kids when I can't even find an ATM within 2 hours from here, its certainly one way of living cheap.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!! have just seen my first elephant.

 I was returning from supper, in the dark and the rain, I didn't have a torch as I now know my way quite well. I am staying in the rest house about 100m from Mr Chee's house where we eat, Mr Chee is away at the moment for CNY so I was returnng quite early, to do some more lesson planning. There was a lot of noise from the rain on my brolley and I was also amazed by the volume of the toad and frogs singin in the rain. I then realised I could hear something very large moving through the garden, Which is where I normally walk through to my room but had decided to go by the road as there was so much water and mud. I stopped to listen and look although it was very dark and considered if it would be the elephants and if it was, which way I should go, then I looked down the road again and just saw one standing there, not 10m away, I quickly decided to make a run for it back to the house not sure if there were any more around. I made it and managed to explain to a couple of men nearby. Linda, the housekeeper, speaks pretty good english and so we spent the next half an hour trying to find out if they had gone, we heard a trumpet from a little up the hill, but as it was difficult to know how many there were we didn't know if there were any still around. We could see the destruction of the papaya trees and coconut palms in the garden so there must have been more than one. Interestingly the men use the shout 'Nellie' to shoo them away, is this where the song arises from? Eventually they decided that they had probably gone so we made a run for it to the rest house, then the men ran back, they wern't too pleased to be in the open. They didn't have very powerful torches and with the noise of the rain, it makes you feel very vulnerable without good sight or hearing. Oh well I have just about stopped shaking and will treat my self to a cherry liqueur chocolate to calm my nerves. I had asked Mr Chee if we could go on an elephant hunt, if he heard where they might be,

 lesson for today – be very careful what you wish for, they may be called the Borneo Pygmy Elephant, but small they ain't!!!!!!!!!!

Sandakan and Chinese New Year

We have a long weekend as there are two public holidays for CNY, so I decided to go to Sandaken to help to oriatate myself, Toby the other volunteer kindly came with me to show me around. We managed to miss the bus in the orning but Mr Chee kindly organised a truck to take us there, Sandaken is quite a small provincial town but was originally the Britsh capital of Sabah.  

I visited the Sandaken Death March memeorial which is on the site of the WWII POW camp in which only 6 of the more than 2000 POWs survived, a very harrowing story.

This is Sim Sim the stilt village which was the original town. All lif takes place on the water, there are some very fancy houses and gardens.

We visited the temple at midnight on new years eve expecting to see fireworks, but nothing materialised, perhaps because they are not allowed in Malaysia (although there were a few the next evening) It was interesting to see the chinese community come to honour their ancestors with incense sticks and other offerings. We also visited the big buddist temple on new years day to see the festivities.

We went out to the Rainforest Discovery Centre, which is next to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (I am waiting to got to this until you visit Simonne) It is a fabulous learning resource and great to get up into the canopy although again it was too wet to see many birds. However did I see an orangutan? I was strolling along a trail when I could hear something moving around the trees, I was struggling to get my camera out and hold on the the brolly to keep it dry, what ever it was was a primate and orange, but it didn't seem large enough for a lone orangutan but too big to be an orange monkey sometimes mistaken for the old man of the woods, you look at the photo and see if you can tell. It was quite scary as I was on my own and very few people in the centre due to the weather and public holiday. 

I did manage to see a couple of birds too.

May the Year of the Dragon be good to you all.

Visit to Laha Datu

We were to set off early to LD but Africa time has extended to Borneo and we eventually got off one and a half hours later and having to be towed and then change vehicles, We were off to the Humana main office to collect some books for the schools,

Tabin Venning founder of Humana took us to a bay side seafood restaurant in the hope of spotting some crocodiles as well as good food, we certainly got the latter although there weren't any visible crocs due to the high tide We did see a snake swim away from us .

Tabin explained that Human is funded by the plantations, a very little from UNHCR and Unesco but more latterly from EU under their promotion on Human Rights, for child and family life but with a probable sub motive for keeping immigration from EU borders.

Humana's latest intitiative is with the sea gypsies around Lahad Datu and Semporna. These are stateless people living on the waters betwen Sabah indonesia and Phillipines are are viewed in a very similar fashion to European gypies and as they have no papers they do not exist for any of these governments and so have no access to schools,health care and one assumes justice. The Human Planet series on peoples of the sea features these people and was filmed off LD.

Well here I am in Borneo

 The world is becoming ever smaller. I had always thought of this third largest island as a very faraway exotic place, but 2 x 6 hour flights an over night in Kuala Lumpur and a quick short hop found me in at the Melanking Palm Oil Plantation Estate Number 1 school.

It has not had the same cultural shock as Uganda on many levels, primarily as the heat and humidity are similar to Dar es Salaam although in stark contrast to the beautiful, clear, crist frosty departure from Meldreth. The people are very friendly and the children so pleased to see another adult in the class room. They are pretty well behaved although somewhat noisier, keen to learn but in much better classrooms in terms of building; there are tiled floors, not dirt, fully plaster walls, not brick only 30 – 40 pupils per class, not 150; and full electricity, even glass in the windows and a fan. How ever there is no formal curriculum or associated text books. The teacher uses a similar system of repitition on rote learning, for a wide range of abiities and ages in each class so any assistance from volunteers is valued.

My accommodation is truely luxurious compared to Uganda, my journey from the airport was with Mr Chee the manager of the plantation in air conditioned SUV on very maintained roads, I even managed to nod off after my very early start so no comparison with the terror of that initial bus journey out of Kampala, to an unknown destination. I have a large well maintained, clean and even airconditioned room, and the power has only stuttered once. I have a fabulous view from my veranda across a lake about 50m below.

I am much more remote in that it is over an hour to the nearest town and there is only a slow internet connection in the office which has somewhat limited opening times given my school commitments so please be patient for any response to e mails. I did buy a sim for my smart phone to use as a modem but the signal strength is insufficient for this.

There is one significant cultural shock in that we called into the oil mill on my way in only for Mr Chee to received warnings that the elepants are causing damage to the plantaion and the garden fences; on my first walk of the day I also spotted a 1m long monitor lizard darting into the lake and swimming off, so I think that close encounters of the wild kind a more likely here.`