We spent 2 nights here on the "Birders Tour" which gives you 5 cruises (2 each day and one at night) and the presence of the local legend that is Robert Chong.
The camp is 1.5hrs drive from Sandakan (arranged by the camp) and is perfectly located on the Kinabatangan river for spotting wild orangutans (one of which is frequently seen by the very entrance to the camp!), the hilarious proboscis monkey, macaques, silver-leaf monkeys, eagles, kingfishers, crocodiles and all manner of hornbills and owls (which you can only see on the night cruise though).
The camp is just about perfect - large rooms with a fan, a bed and a bathroom - what more do you want in the jungle?! The food was surprisingly delicious too - a buffet of 2 meat and 2 vegetable dishes, all of which hit the spot. You can do a couple of strolls around the camp itself but we came back with leeches on us, be warned! The cruises go at 6.30am - when the monkeys go foresting for food, and then again at 3.30pm - when they're chilling in the trees before bedtime.
It was a hectic 2 days but worth every penny spent and every ounce of energy sapped (you can have less cruises if you want, of course). All the guides are great (Herman can mimick owl calls perfectly so we were lucky enough to see two rare owl species on the night cruise) but the best is of course the owner, the Don, Robert Chong. His knowledge and good humour made each cruise an absolute pleasure. We could see the boats from other tours speeding past us, missing all the best views - whereas Robert would often stop the boat and just let us drift for a while - waiting quietly for the wildlife to show itself. I'd be amazed if the people on the other tours saw anything of note.......
We cannot recommend this place highly enough - it was absolutely the highlight of an amazing holiday and whilst it wasn't cheap you won't regret a single penny of the cost.
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