The Orangutans of Sepilok

Our day started very early with a trip to the Kota Kinabalu Airport. We flew from KK to Sandakan for the day, located on the east coast in the Province of Sabah. Sandakan is a key destination for eco-tourism with many of Borneo's best sights such as the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary Rehabilitation Centre, Kinabatangan River, Danum Valley, Gomantong Cave, Turtle Islands National Park, and the the Memorial Park with a pavilion dedicated to the history of one of the major WWII Prisoner War Camps. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we could not visit all of these places - Sepilok was 45 minutes from the airport - each way.



















I consider Sepilok, not only a major highlight from this vacation but a MAJOR highlight of my life. The opportunity to observe these GLORIOUS creatures up close, in their natural environment, is an experience that will NEVER be forgotten. It is difficult to imagine & explain the suspense as you wait & look in the distance, hoping to see an orangutan. We were lucky on the day of our visit - we saw 12 orangutans. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the weather was dry with clear skies (rare indeed for the rainforest region). We were told that on some days they do not feel like coming out for their twice a day feeding. On this particular day, they were eager to come out and play.

After a 15 minute walk through the rainforest, we ended up at a obervation platform which was surrounded by long-tailed macaques - a little naughty. We were warned to keep our distance because they could get a bit aggressive. Some people got within 1/2 metre to take photos which is quite dangerous considering that one had a tiny baby - if you look closely you can see its tiny head poking out.



After almost 1 hour, our friends finally came out to visit, eat some bananas and wash it all down with milk. Their timing was impeccable & we were smiling in awe at their beauty. Here is the first one to come swinging down the rope.



One-by-one they slowly made their way to the feeding platform and the park rangers.



They were playful and affectionate with each other.



Big and small, young & old.



This is my favourite photo of the entire trip. After they were contently full from their late morning snack, they would just "hang around" enjoying the view. A few of the macaques hung around too, at a distance, of course.