All photos of me by Jasiminne, obvs.
Visiting Sapi Island
Brunch was Starbucks, which I learnt is actually a sign of wealth in Malaysia as it’s too expensive for the average worker. Coming from Australia where going to Starbucks is frowned upon due to the Australian obsession with ‘independent’ cafes and coffee, it was a bit of a shock to be able to enjoy a Starbucks without feeling guilty!
As it was Chinese New Year weekend everywhere was crazy busy – including the islands – but Jasiminne assured me it’s much quieter the rest of the year. I was a bit surprised by the busyness of Sapi Island, I’m used to the likes of Rottnest Island in Perth which is always nice and quiet. I get easily overwhelmed by crowds and noise (hello highly sensitive person), so I found a nice quiet spot in the shade away from the crowds that were in the water and happily fell asleep.
We got back to Kota Kinabalu in time to shower and freshen up, get changed and go for another Chinese New Year dinner with Jasiminne’s family. I swear we ate so much food that weekend I didn’t eat for days after I returned to Sydney!! On the way to her grandmother’s house we popped into a supermarket, as I have this thing where I *love* seeing foreign supermarkets haha. I bought some Pineapple Tarts to take back to Sydney with me for my work colleagues!
Visiting The Orangutans at Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary
The flight was a quick 25-minutes despite being advertised at 45-minutes, and we flew over Mount Kinabalu which was just magical! You can actually climb the mountain if you have a few days spare – which we didn’t – and the views from the top are said to be incredible. It also felt really strange to get on a plane with just a small handbag and no proper hand luggage or suitcase.
The baby orangutans are taught over about seven years how to survive in the wild, and are eventually released into the Sepilok nature park, only coming back for extra fruit during the off-season and if they’re pregnant and in need of extra nutrients. The best chance you have of seeing these beautiful creatures in the wild and their natural habitat, is by going to Sepilok for the morning and afternoon feedings, as this is when the adult Orangutans come back for extra food to supplement their diets in the wild. You can also see the babies in the nursery enclosure, and oh my days they are SO adorable!
They’re so cheeky and aren’t allowed on the ground as they’re taught they need to stay up on the ropes (aka, trees), because that’s where it’s safe for them in the wild. On the ground is where predators are and where disease is, so they need to learn to stay up in the trees. Every time a baby Orangutan would swing down to the ground a volunteer would approach it and tell it to get back on the ropes…and then the baby would see it as a challenge, “How long can I stay on the ground until they make me move”. It was hilarious seeing the game they were playing!These two below were just too adorable, they kept hugging and touching each other.
And I LOVED this bub who was my spirit animal – just happily munching away on all the food and then looking super guilty when he realised he’d eaten so much, haha!
You have to be *really* quiet when you’re waiting as any noise scares the Orangutans away. Unfortunately there was a large tour group from mainland China, and all of them were SO noisy and wouldn’t be quiet no matter how much they were told to be quiet, so sadly no Orangutans turned up. When it was evident no Orangutans would be appearing, the greedy Macaques descended on the platform and quickly ate everything!
We spent an hour or so chilling in the museum as it was air conditioned! We swapped photos via wifi, did some yoga and exercises, and blasted music out and danced to Nicki Minaj haha. It was actually pretty funny, and while we were twerking in the middle of this museum the door opened and we both turned into statues pretending to look at the museum exhibition with the music still blaring, lol! So awks! Here’s a photo of me attempting to do a plank in the museum :/
One solitary ape appeared in the trees, and swung down to the platform to start feeding on the fresh papaya and banana. It was fascinating seeing the way she shifted around and picked through the fruit to choose the exact one she wanted, fingering the bananas to decide which one was the correct one…just like we do when we’re choosing fruit in a supermarket. Personally I always choose the ones that are still a little green, as I love unripe bananas.
The afternoon feeding was much quieter with less people, and thankfully no tour groups or loud screaming children. And then the unimaginable happened…the Orangutan climbed off the platform and walked away through the forest floor. We wandered back along the boardwalk and all of a sudden, she was there, right in-front of us. She had followed the path that the volunteers take from the platform to the boardwalk through the jungle, and so she was casually sat on the wooden rail watching us as we walked. I took a couple of photos, my hands shaking, and then a ranger appeared and told her to move on.
What a perfect end to a perfect few days. My heart was bursting from the excitement of it all! It all still seems like a total dream.Also, just a funny little note to end on; we were waiting for our taxi man from the morning to pick us up to take us back to the airport, and the guy sitting in-front of us literally raised his selfie stick to take a photo of Jasiminne and I on his phone. We couldn’t stop laughing and we kept posing for all the photos he took. EVERYWHERE we went in Malaysia and Borneo people asked us for photos/selfies or took sneaky ones. Here’s a photo of him taking a photo of us…
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What an absolute bucket list experience!
Ahhhh I'm so glad that you got your fill of monkey business! I was legit panicking that you'd come all the way to Borneo and left empty-handed (empty-eyed?). I'm so happy for you – the look on your face when Mimi popped up less than a metre in front of you was AMAZING, I won't forget that anytime soon! x
Close Encounters with Orangutans at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah, North Borneo – Posh, Broke, & Bored
IT WAS AMAZING AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE.