Visit to East Sabah

Last week I made a special visit to the village of Batu Putri in East Sabah, where there is a successful, community-run tourism project called Mescot.  I had a nightmare bus ride to get there, with the bus breaking down by the side of the road.  We had to wait in the dark until they got it going again and then there was another few hours swapping buses.  A six hour bus ride turned into ten hours!  Oh well, I got there eventually and it was worth it.  I spent the first night in the home of a member of the village and the next night at their local 'Ecocamp'.  Actually the Ecocamp seemed like luxury compared to the trek which I did the week before!  Here is me luxuriating at my own little lodge at the Ecocamp.

Luxuriating

Maybe I got a bit carried away

The highlight of the ecocamp visit was probably the boat ride along the river nearby.  We saw lots of lovely birds and even some orangutans (its rare to see them outside of an enclosure).  We got out of the boat to try and get a closer look but on the way we happened past a huge wasps nest.  The wasps went crazy and some of the others got stung!

Dusk on the water

The next day, an early morning trip to Sepilock, where there is a famous Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre.  Here are photos from the feeding time.

I did a night walk then evening, hoping to see the famous Borneo 'Tarsier' but no such luck.  

Still, I saw some pretty cool snakes such as the small but deadly green adder.