Borneo Rainforest- Day 2

June 6, 2018

Today was officially our second day in the rainforest but it was our first FULL day.  We met our guide, Ali, right after breakfast and began our 4 hour morning hike.  We had ambitious plans for the am: to hike up the coffin cliff, then to the look out point, then around to the waterfall and finally to the "jacuzzi" pool...around 6km...before lunch.

Misty morning-
this is the view from our balcony/patio

On the top of the hill you can just make out the look out platform-  

Kong enjoying his breakfast high up in a fruiting tree

Heading into the forest

Giant millipede

Hawk Eagle

To the remains of an ancient burial ground-

The river people we met in Kinabatangan are the descendants of the the people buried here.  Their ancestors believed that elevated ground was more sacred and closer to heaven.  They would carry their dead in coffins made of ironwood up to this limestone cliff and lodge the coffins in holes or caves in the cliff.
Only discovered about 20 years ago, these remains are believed to be about 250 years old.
The blowpipe used for hunting was still in this one.

Everyone is drenched in sweat but guess who gets the reddest face award??

A bit further to go to reach the top-

Ahhh- the view!!

Some may not feel it was worth the effort...
thankfully, our next leg is to the waterfall.

Not one but 2 leeches!
Matt's not afraid-

No words for how wonderful the cool spray of the water feels on a red face...
The next water hole we come to, we get to take swim in!

A mother and baby orangutan!
Meet Kate and Lina-

The natural jacuzzi-

Look who also has a leech...
This guy crawled in through the zipper opening of Nash's zip-off pants...so sneaky-

A special surprise treat in the jacuzzi pool- some call it the "fish pedicure"-
These tiny scavenger fish swim up and not so gently exfoliate (bite off)  the dead skin from your feet and legs...

One of Matt's leeches (the tiger leech) got his fill & dropped off-
this one (brown leech) is about ready to go too-

With empty water bottles & tired legs, we headed back to the lodge for lunch and a swim.  Matt & I let the boys lounge for the afternoon while he and I took another hour long walk with Ali.

Our evening plans included another night safari, this time on foot with torches a.k.a. flashlights...
Here are some of the new critters we observed on our night walk.