Back in the thick of it

We knew we were coming back home from the tropics to subzero temperatures and snow, so when life gives you lemons . . .

Going home - Singapore airport

We had a long haul flight through the night from Singapore back to Zürich, so to keep us awake until the early hours of 01:30 we took a dip in the airport pool (well worth it), and a short trip to the butterfly gardens.

On the move and back to KK

We're back in Kota Kinabalu for Frith's workshop and the beginning of the student field course. Few final preps before the return back home.

Sunrise at Danum

Up nice and early to see the sunrise this morning from the observation tower, with stunning ever-changing colour views over the rainforest canopy. Magical.

After the sunrise. 

Tembaling Waterfall, Danum

Beautiful walk out to Tembaling Waterfall today, which was a six hour round trip through the forest of Danum. No complaints about leeches (there were hundreds!!), and kids loved the walk through the rainforest.

Back to Danum Valley

The children chose to revisit the Danum Valley for our last weekend in Borneo. Lots of wildlife to see again — gibbons, red leaf monkey, otters, snakes, birds and butterflies — and the young, sharp eyes of Bea and Ili are excellent spotters in the rainforest.

An oriental-pied Hornbill (Bea took this one). 

Birdwing butterfly. 

Bornean Gibbon - sound better than they look!

Red-leafed monkey. 

Borneo Forest Dragon (Bea took this shot). 

Otters on the Sangam River, Danum (another one of Bea's). 

A spot of forest climbing

You can guess who climbed up this vine in the forest first (the largest and reddest monkey in the family)! Better than a day in the school gym.

Gomatong caves

They should perhaps be called Gomapong caves instead of Gomatong. Disgusting and awesome at the same time, the Gomatong caves in Borneo are home to tens of thousands of swiflets and bats. They're beautiful limestone structures without doubt, and awesome to see the flocks of bats coming out at dusk through the holes in the caves and the roof vents, but being inside was stomach-turning stuff. The floors are thick with s-h-i-t-e and cockroaches, and the stench is awful. It wasn't harvest time when we were there, but they do harvest bird nests for bird nest soup for the Chinese market which the swiftlets make with their saliva — um, yummy (urrrgh!!!). Spotted a pair of red langurs while we were waiting for the bats which were much more appealing!

Best hold your nose — they didn't imagine it could be this disgusting. 

Tonnes of bat s-h-i-t-e at the back of the caves. 

Awaiting the bats (Wrinkled-mouth bats), which are picked off by raptors
as they exit the caves in vast numbers. 

Ropes for harvesting the birds' nests. 

Fieldwork at Deramakot, Sabah

Fieldwork in the forest this week so it was hard hats on (forest rules!) and walking where it was hot, very humid and muddy, but not too much trekking to do so Bea and Ili managed the walking through the forest no problem impressing all the locals and field assistants. Ili's like a little deer and has even conquered her fear of leaches (well, almost)!!  Both kiddies were very intrigued by all the animal footprints they found in the wet sand on the banks of the forest river, where we saw bearcat, otter, deer and civit (footprints that is). Pics of the Pygmy elephants we saw are on another post!