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Borneo Expedition - NEWS

Photos

Gallery 1 - Mari Mari Cultural Village / Kota Kinabalu / Mamituk Island

Gallery 2 - Mount Kota Kinabalu  / Kundasang War Memorial /Sabbah Tea Gardens

Gallery 3 - Sabbah Jungle / Kampong Bulu Village

Gallery 4 - Sepilok Oranguntan Sanctuary / Kinabatangan Wildlife Park

Gallery 5 - Tambunan Orphanage

 

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Borneo  -  Summer 2012

What can I say!  The trip of a lifetime for 22 girls and 4 staff who set off from Heathrow on 12th July bright and early.  I know there were nervous parents and excited girls who could not wait to start the journey for which they had been saving for 2 years.

City, Jungle, Mountain, Orphanage, Tropical Island all rolled into one.  

There were tears of joy and frustration, pats on the back for a job well done and memories that will be talked about for the rest of their lives.

You can see the journey we took on the school website. It may enthuse you and encourage you to sign up for Madagascar 2014.

Mrs Saddler
Trip Organiser

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“Borneo was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I loved every moment. Getting on top of the mountain was a huge achievement and playing with the children in the orphanage was one of my favourite parts of the expedition”

Jessica Abrey

Arrival: After a 15 hour flight we touched down in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Borneo. After a walk around the town  we noticed how cheap all the goods were.  On the first day we also visited the Dusan tribe centre just outside the capital where we cooked rice the local way, went inside the tribal huts and took part in the dancing.

Jungle: We arrived at the jungle village and we were greeted by the families we were going to stay with for the next three days; we introduced ourselves and talked about our lives back in London and they told us about their lives in Borneo. Then they presented a local dance by the children with adults accompanying them on the gongs. We got the chance to join in the dance at the end and try out the local Borneo gongs for ourselves.

The next morning we were up bright and early. We then walked down to the local village house and we were able to meet a lovely lady called Florence and some of the children who lived around locally. We all played with the children and tried to teach them a bit of English and they tried to teach us bits of Malay which was a very interesting experience.

Daniella Everitt

We then started our trek into the heart of the jungle passing by the local pineapple orchard. The trek was in the foothills of Mount Kinabalu and walking up and down the hills on a slippery surface was challenging, especially when you’re trying not to fall down it!  We eventually made it into the jungle camp after 5 hours of solid walking.

Florence then cooked us a delicious local meal. Our next task was not easy as we were required to put up our own hammocks which did not go too well at first.  The hammocks were incredibly comfortable and led to a good night’s sleep.

In the morning our local guides showed us how to cook rice and to cut bamboo to make cups.  We also had a go firing darts through a blowpipe. We then made our way to the 2nd camp which gave us an amazing view of Mount Kinabalu. “ Exploring the jungle was the most exciting experience in my life” Rhianna Ghandi

Mount Kinulabu

Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in South East Asia at 13,455 ft

Climbing the mountain was probably one of the hardest things we did on our trip to Borneo. When we first started climbing, we were really excited but we soon began to realise how difficult the journey was going to be. We felt relieved every time we saw somewhere to stop because we all desperately needed a rest and something to drink. It was really cool when we got higher up and walked through the clouds as it reminded us just how high we were climbing!

When we did eventually reach the log cabin, after 6 hours and 6km of uphill walking, we were all exhausted. Some of us decided to play scrabble and what we called ‘extreme mountain UNO’. We had to go to bed early that night to prepare for our early departure.

The next morning we had to get up at 1:30am to be ready to leave at 2:30am for the walk to the summit.  We were all excited to be able to use our head torches (or at least some of us were).  There were ropes that you had to use to climb up the mountain face and a few of us started singing the Indiana Jones theme tune while we climbed them.

When we finally reached the summit we were all ecstatic! After climbing the mountain we spent a fantastic night in traditional long huts at Sabah tea plantation.

Emer Flavelle

“Although the climb up the mountain was incredibly difficult, it was well worth it once we had reached the summit!”

 Akansha Ramakrishnan

Tambunan Orphanage Sabah

The highlight of the trip for me was the Orphanage.  Each group had four days there. When we first got there, the children and staff lined up and we had to say hello and shake their hands.  

While we spent some time unpacking and settling in, the older children invited us to play volleyball.  They beat us every time but it was still really good fun!  In the evening, we organised some ‘ice breakers’ to play with the younger children.  It was amazing for both groups to see how they appreciate the games and toys we had bought them.  

Next day, the Orphanage had a ‘family day’ (group 2), which gave us a chance to spend a whole day with the children.  Both groups were very lucky with the weather as it was boiling!  We also got the chance to go and bathe at a local waterfall which was great fun!

To help the orphanage we spent time painting murals on their walls. Both groups managed to paint pictures of flowers, a Japanese cartoon character, Noah’s Ark, fishes and sea, numbers and letters .

The final night was an emotional night as we had to say farewell to all the children and staff. There was a delicious dinner and afterwards the children and ourselves  sang for each other and we received a presentation from Sister Rose who was in charge of the orphanage. Then we had to say our sad goodbyes.

“My favourite part of Borneo was playing with the children in the orphanage and teaching them English games. They were very friendly and loving”

Verity Supple

Sepilok and Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary

Sepilok is a centre that takes care of orang-utan monkeys who have lost their parents in the wild. The major threat to the orang-utan is the loss of habitat. We had noticed on our journeys, that most of the jungle had become palm oil plantations.  The palm oil trees seem to go on for miles and miles.  
When we arrived at Sepilok we were in time for the feeding of the orang-utans. One orang-utan even blocked our path at one point. The orang-utans are looked after at Sepilok with the aim of releasing them once they are ready to face the wild. This is extremely beneficial for the orang-utans, and creates a wide knowledge worldwide, in order to protect the orang-utans.

Nearby was Kinabatangan Wildlife Centre which was absolutely amazing. We stayed on an island by the
Kinabatangan River.   We viewed the wildlife from the motorboat, but still warily looked into the waters every so often for alligators. We saw Pygmy Elephants, Orang-Utans, and Proboscis Monkeys, many birds as well as snakes and lizards. It was absolutely fantastic!

After that we went white water rafting, which was very exciting when our boats bashed into rocks and many people fell into the waters – even though we were clinging onto the sides for dear life! We then afterwards were presented with the most delicious barbeque and ate to our hearts content, travelling back to Kota Kinablu absolutely shattered!

On the final day we went to the beach for one last time. It was a very emotional time as we looked back at all we had done over the past few weeks and looked at the beautiful country that we would be leaving behind. But also, enjoying the last final bit of sunshine and topping up on our tans before we got on that flight, returning to the UK.

Jade Hunt

“It wasn’t just the awesome activities that made the trip so great, it was also the interesting people”

Ashling O’Brien
 
“It was well worth the hard work. This trip was challenging at times but that is what makes the experience even more rewarding”

Billy Hansell
 

 

 

 

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Group 1

Date	Location / Activity
Saturday 14th July	Kota Kinabalu
Sunday 15th July	Kampong Kiau – village guesthouse
Mon – Wed / 16th July – 18th July	Jungle trek around kampong kiau -
Thu Fri sat 19 20 21 July	Mount Kinabalu National Park
Sunday 22 July	Sepilok – Orangutan centre
Monday 23 July	Kim Nature Lodge – wildlife sanctuary
24 – 27 July	Tambunan Orphanage  – Charity project
Saturday 28 July	Travel back to Kota Kinabalu
Sunday 29 July	TAR islands – snorkeling coral reefs
Monday 30 July	White Water rafting – Kiulu valley
Tuesday 31 July	Shopping in Kota Kinabalu
Wednesday 1 August	Depart
Thursday 2 August	Arrive in UK

Group 2

Date	Location / Activity
Saturday 14th July	Kota Kinabalu
15 July – 18 July	Tambunan Orphanage  – Charity project
19 July	Kampong Kiau – Village Guesthouse
20 – 23 July	Jungle trek around Kampong kiau -
24 – 27 July	Mount Kinabalu National Park
Saturday 28 July	Travel back to Kota Kinabalu
Sunday 29 July	TAR Islands – snorkeling coral reefs
Monday 30 July	White Water rafting – Kiulu Valley
Tuesday 31 July	Shopping in Kota Kinabalu
Wednesday 1 August	Depart
Thrusday 2 August	Arrive in UK

Map of Sabah (Interactive)