Honeymoon Adventures
Samantha and Klaas spent two weeks in Borneo and found it to be the perfect honeymoon location.
The why's and where's
We were keen to do something a little out of the ordinary for our two week honeymoon and chose Borneo after speaking to friends who had been recently. It was undoubtedly the right decision and I wouldn't want to change a thing. We planned a combination of adventure and relaxation, some jungle with plenty of beach time. After two nights in Singapore (where we literally slept solidly for 2 days after all the wedding organisation and the big day itself) we flew into Sabah and headed straight for the Kinabatangan River Valley. The experience was everything I had hoped for and much, much more. We spotted a very high number of primates, on occasions getting to within 30 feet of macaque, gibbons, proboscis and we even came across an orang-utan mother with her young…it was very special. Even our guide said that he rarely had such luck in one day.
The Kinabtangan River
Not being a bird lover I didn't think I would fine our feathered friends of much interest but the sheer size, majesty and colours of the herons, eagles and buzzards (the list goes on and on) couldn’t fail wouldn’t fail to impress anyone. I loved the names that our guide Ren rattled off as naturally as the alphabet…did anyone see that Blue Crowned Hanging-Parrot or that Pygmy White Eye!
Throughout the two days we were at the Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge we made a number of trips on small craft to spot various creatures at the prime time of day. The atmosphere at the lodge was excellent and this was due to the brilliant local team who inspired us all with their knowledge and love of the local region. The boat outings were a great opportunity to get to know fellow guests a little better and to share experiences that we all knew we were unlikely to repeat. John if you do happen to read this; thanks for the first aid on my broken nail!
The Orang-utans
Having left the Kinabatangan River we made our way disappointingly but very satisfied back to Sandakan where we spent a night at the Sabah Hotel. The town itself is pretty unremarkable but the hotel had a nice section of rainforest as a garden (like you do!) and a very welcome pool with bar. We also made a trip to the Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary where we treated to a fantastic few hours at feeding as one orang-utan after another came out of the forest to eat and amuse their adoring crowd!
Lankayan Island & the turtles
Our next stop was to be a few days on Lankayan Island for a few days – we had wanted to visit Selingan 'Turtle' Island but hadn't been able to secure a bed. We needn't have worried about not seeing turtles as we spotted several whilst snorkelling off the beach at Lankayan…what a wonderful experience and so much better when unexpected. The island is a great spot to just kick back and do nothing for a few days. You feel a million miles from the office or home and there's plenty of space to escape other guests if needed. The bar and restaurant was always the hub of activity and we were lucky enough to meet some great people during our time on the island.
The honeymooners walk off into the sunset
We returned to the mainland and flew to Kota Kinabalu where we spent the remaining week of our honeymoon at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria. A stunning hotel and easily the most luxurious that I have ever stayed in. We had a wonderful week which I won't go into any detail on…it was our honeymoon after all!
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