We booked a 3 day 2 night trip to the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp with 'Borneo Icons' http://www.borneoicons.com/ in Kota Kinabalu. Our guide Charles was a treasure, he drove us from KK to the camp, seven hours of sight-seeing and commentary on Borneo lifestyle, traditions and wildlife. The lodge was great, the rooms clean and insect free, the dining area pleasant, the food excellent and the service from all the staff was genuinely warm, helpful and endearing. We were late in the season and the camp was very quite so we were given their full attention and made to feel really special. Fida, Eva, Lina and Ayna were all lovely people who made us very welcome. Owner Robert can be very proud of his staff.
The dining area overlooked a part of the jungle which was a familiar haunt of some local wildlife so we were treated to views of monitor lizards, wild boar, storm storks, monkeys, black squirrel and so much more!
We had a trek though the jungle track which surrounds the camp which was interesting and VERY muddy, make sure you take up the offer of wellies! We didn't catch sight of too much wildlife on this occasion but our guide picked some fern which she took back and cooked for our supper, it was delicious!
We had a total of 4 river cruises with our guides Herman and Joker, they were fantastic at spotting the birds and animals lurking in the riverbanks so we saw pygmy elephants, orang utan, monkeys, crocodile, snakes, horn-bills, kingfisher and even had an evening cruise when we enjoyed the sensation of cruising up the river in warm monsoon rain.
If you want a friendly informal and customised experience of the Borneo Jungle then I can wholly recommend the Borneo Icon company and the Kinabatangan Jungle Camp

From the moment we arrived at the pick up point to the moment we were dropped off at our next destination the staff looked after us like we were friends.

Though we arrived at the jetty in the dark it was sensational cruising along the river as it created a sense of mystery and travel into a lost world. When we arrived we were met by Ms Fide a bubbly happy girl who remembered me from last visit, years ago. Her attitude of "nothing is impossible" works well for me, I love a positive slant and she had it in bucket loads.

We hadn't been there more than half an hour and we had seen a giant monitor lizard nick- named "Zombie" and "Tom" the civet.

Our room was fanned, large, clean and perfect and hot water too.

Our first boat trip we saw a wild orang utan, proboscis monkeys, macaques and silver leaf but the afternoon spin was an absolute highlight as we came across not one very rare pigmy elephant not 2, not 3 but about 40! Many had young ones with them and then to cap that off they swam across a creek right in front of us, pushing the little ones up the bank and letting out the occasional trumpet. Having been here at least three times before i have seen the monkeys, crocs, hornbills and snakes so this was truly incredible!

Our guide Herman spotted the elephants from the opposite bank and Marshall the boat skipper got us in really close and kept us in a great position. Top work from both of them. Did we get some pix? Oh you betcha and they'll be on asianimages-adammartin.com in a few days time.

Eve kept the food coming which was some of the best we had eaten whilst in Sarawak and she was never short on a smile.

Overall the staff are perfect, helpful, courteous, knowledgeable, easy going and friendly. the accommodation was clean and comfortable and the animals did all the right things for us.

But if you could get rid of the leeches I'd be even happier. i hate things that suck blood whether they be leeches, mosquitoes, ticks or vampires - kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out, i reckon.

Adam
asianimages-adammartin.com
saigonunseen.net

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.

We had a one night away from Sepilok Forest Edge Resort which is managed by Annie, the owner Robert's wife. This is truly a great jungle experience so don't go expecting some five star hotel. If that's what you want perhaps the jungle isn't the place for you. This place is authentic to its surroundings with wooden chalets and outside dining. The staff were keen and enthusiastic, chatting about all manner of things. The guides were passionate about wildlife and were able to point out so much wildlife on our river cruises. creatures that I couldn't spot so easily. The food was great and so much of it. 'Eat more' we were told by the smiling staff when the buffet wasn't going down quickly enough. We paid 480 RM each for one night which included all transport (private car & boat), two river cruises with a guide plus lunch, dinner and breakfast. We missed the elephants, but saw so much more. A truly memorable experience.