Borneo Wildlife Highlights

There were changes to this tour quite close to time of travel but they were handled well by Explore & mostly I think we were upgraded. We saw most of the wildlife that we hoped to see, thanks to the hard work & enthusiasm of both tour leader & local guides.

The tour incorporating both cultural as well as wild life aspects lived up to and even exceeded our expectations. Viewing of Orangatans, Gibbons, Rhinoceros Hornbills and many other beautiful monkeys and so forth in their natural habitats were highly delightful experiences.

Was able to see the range of wildlife in Borneo, I had hoped to view, as well as enjoying the other aspects of the trip including seeing a raffleesia in flower. Would have loved extra nights in Bilit and Tabin wildlife resorts, as would have added extra opportunities to see wildlife and substitute for outings which were rained off.

This is a tricky tour to review. It's pretty much a game of two halves. I would rate the first few days in Sarawak with a '1' to be honest, while I'd rate the Sabah part of the tour with a '5'. I think the whole itinerary needs to be rethought. Lots of information in the trip notes is out of date or misleading (rhinos have been extinct since at least 2015, Signal Hill shut). The amount of wildlife seen in Sarawak was hugely disappointing, in particular the lack of birds. I get the impression (talking to a bird guide I arranged myself after the tour) that there are issues with illegal trapping. Maybe this is being resolved but certainly the bird numbers are very low compared to other similar areas (e.g. South and Central America). The guide in Sarawak did not communicate well, he needed constant prompting to tell us what was going on. The trip to Bako National Park was a bit of a waste of time and did not live up to expectations. There just isn't any point going somewhere like this in the middle of the day when the wildlife has (mostly) taken shelter from the heat. Mulu was good though difficult to see much wildlife due to the forest being so dense there. A good local guide, Ben. helped as much as possible. Sabah was so much better. The guide, Hazli, was excellent. Understanding, communicative and went out of his way to get us to see as much as possible. The tour could have done with another day in the mountains. Our visit was far too brief - arrived at the hotel in the evening, left first thing in the morning. I went into the mountains after the tour with a bird guide from Kota Kinabalu on a trip I arranged myself and this was excellent - shame something like that did not happen in the tour. Poring Hot Springs is not like it's sold in the trip notes. You get the impression that it is natural rock pools but basically a collection of tiled dipping pools. Very disappointing. Sepilok is 'worthy' but to be honest it's a bit like visiting a zoo and just as packed. The Sun Bear centre had lots of information which was good. The highlights of the trip were definitely the Kinabatangan River and Tabin. These places were outstanding. More time should have been spent there and less time in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Memorable Trip would recommend. Good balance between urban and rural. Plenty of wildlife. Enjoyed the river safaris although if you go on a night river safari you might want to consider something to cover your mouth/nose as the boats move slowly and the air is still so it is thick with exhaust fumes from the boat engines, though it was great to see crocodiles close up at night. Binoculars and a camera with a good lens are a bonus if that is important to you. Sometimes the itinerary changed e.g. due to the weather (this happened to us in Tabin although the local guide and Clay did a good job of arranging alternatives e.g. additional vehicle safaris) and the canopy walk in Sarawak was closed for renovation (I'm sure it will be reopened now) and Signal Hill is also closed for renovation and has been for the last year. The Rhinos are extinct; the last one died several years ago. The trip notes gave us the impression that we would be seeing Orangutans in the release centre near Tabin, however, although we couldn't visit because of the weather we were assured they are only there at the time of release (a fairly rare event). The tour leaders and local guides were very good. Leech Socks and Wellingtons are available at the lodges. Wriggly, blood sucking leeches are a thing!

Overall a great trip as we were very lucky with wildlife the second week. Group size of 9 helped too and we all got along. Weather was generally kind but 100% humidity on some days hit you for six!!

There were several elements on the trip notes which were incorrect and travel times significantly underestimated. The National Park element is a wonderful experience as is Sepilok Conservation Centre.

We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We did see a lot of wildlife, though not as much as expected given the advertising for what we would see (we understand this is nature, but Borneo has definitely suffered from the palm oil plantations, the lack of birdlife was evident). The trip notes need updating - the Malaysian Rhino is extinct. Some improvement suggestions is that the tour group was too big (we had 15) for the types of activities and level of fitness needed. One less night in Kuching and instead have a night in Baku National Park would have been better. The park doesn't open til 8-9am so we missed seeing a lot of wildlife at dawn as by the time we got there it was already hot and sunny. It would have been good to know that we were changing guides half way through the tour. We found out it's because they can't work in the other state of Malaysia, (Sarawak and Sabah need different visas) but it would have been nice to know before the trip. If there was a way we could keep the same guide that would be ideal. At least if the first guide had even experienced the whole trip end to end so he could talk about what the second leg involved would have been beneficial. Other than that, we loved the holiday and the accommodation and meals were all of a high standard.

I had a great time. Explore should make it clear in their information that this is not a good time to go to Borneo to see wildlife. We were told by all the guides that we should visit when the fruit is on the trees if we wanted to see animals. As this tour is specifically marketed as a wildlife tour - it was very light on wildlife. In my opinion (and of others in the group) it should be made clear that this is not the best time of year to visit for wildlife. It was disheartening to be constantly told that we would not see various animals during this season. Also, as a wildlife tour, we spent a long time in cities - Kuching and KK. Would have been better to spend more time in the wildlife parks. I don’t think this tour should be sold during the periods when spotting wildlife is unlikely,