Slept great given last night’s ordeal! Head hit the pillow and was out like a light.
Today is the day Becky has been waiting for…..the orangutan sanctuary….but first brekkie….buffet style! Id gone for the toast and beans and Becky the noodles with fried banana (how she ate that for breakfast I’ll never know)
The sanctuary didn’t open till 9am but we were there at 8.30am waiting in anticipation 😂 we decided to check out the information centre first as we had time to kill which gave more details about the orangutans.
The sanctuary is made up of a junior section and a separate food platform. All of which you reach via wooden walkway’s. As we headed towards the junior section we got stopped by a ranger as an orangutan was casually walking along the walkway. You had to stay 5m back from them. The excitement was building already.
As we reached the junior section we decided to sit next to the window rather than sit back on the seats. We were like two little kids at Christmas waiting for our presents. Out they came hand in hand with a ranger. They use this section to teach the orphaned babies found in the wild how to climb, play, forage and also a feeding area. It was awesome to watch, I became very jealous of there flexibility straight away 😂
We spent around 30mins sitting watching them play and mess around before a giddy Becky suggested we go to the feeding platform early to get the best spot! She wasn’t wrong we were the first ones to arrive a cool 30mins early again but who cares we had our pick of the place! A ranger came up to put fruit around and lucky there was a mum with her baby already waiting, and getting impatient stood at the top of the step tapping her foot😂
Must have been there before us 😂 after 15 mins or so there was a ruffle in some trees next to the food area….it was like something out of Jurassic park just waiting for the T-Rex to come out. It wasn’t a T-Rex but it was an adult male…..huge…..no joke this thing must have weighed at least 80kg. No surprise that the other orangutans left as it was time for the alpha male to feast!
The sanctuary was closing for a few hours so we decided to head across the road to the sun bear sanctuary to catch a glimpse at the smallest bears in the world.
As we walked along the viewing area we spotted a couple in the shade behind a tree so we parked up to watch for a while. They started rolling around and wrestling each other which was good fun. A ranger was giving us more information on them as all the bears were ex pets……who would want a bear as a pet I don’t know. Anyway he was explaining that one of them depended so much on human contact and would self harm repeatedly to get medical attention as it’s only form of human contact 😣. Our battles against the nationalities came again in the form of two very fat Australians being very loud and disturbing the bears…. Becky’s face said it all….I kept my mouth shut for once. We walked away and headed towards the other viewing area for a look. Lucky for us it was lunch time for the bears where we stood. Rangers throwing different fruits and nuts into the area. The bears are more confined than the orangutans next door, they aren’t allowed to leave the sanctuary whereas he adult orangutans are free to go where they want, as we found out last night! anyway as we seen those fat Aussies heading our way we decided to go grab some lunch before heading back to see King Louis 😁
Walking back to our hostel we noticed a makeshift cafe so we decided to eat here. Language barrier once again and the local couldn’t understand English or read it in her own language……she was a decent cook though…. vegetable fried rice with eggs….we ordered one to share but with the barrier she ended up making two to Becky’s surprise……eat up and shut up that’s the motto 😁
There was a presentation taking place at 2pm which we didn’t want to miss and another feeding time at 3pm. The presentation was all about the sanctuary and a charity which helps fund the area and other causes. Becky holding back the tears watching one of the animals being released back into the wild and I was trying to keep my eyes open. The video was great but put me in a dark room and my head started nodding back and forward. The video ended with the charity asking to adopt an orangutan……..TOO RIGHT! ( That would have to wait as it was feeding time).
Our walk towards the platform was cut short as once again there was an orangutan on the platform walking along the edge this time though he was not interested in going back in the trees but along the walkway towards us! The ranger kept telling us to move up and up and up until the orangutan was rushed away with a ranger holding a stick……Aye what’s that going to do if it comes for you…..it moved on to our disappointment as it was amazing to see it so close….worth the risk if you ask me.
The mum and bab showed up at the nursery for feeding time, she was teaching how to forage!
Standing at the feeding ground once again. There were lots more around us this time compared to this morning which was great to see. The best was yet to come as at the main feeding station the ranger once again shouted for everyone to move to another area as…..THE BIG ONE WAS COMING…..had a chuckle to myself as it was funny hearing him shout it. This beast comes along the walkway too heavy to swing from the trees to has to walk on the ground most of the time. It decided to sit on the railing and just watch us all. It must have been maybe 5m or 6m away from us and if it decided to attack we were f#*”ed.
It cleared away the food area again with all the other orangutans deciding to hang from the ropes around otherwise there would have been trouble. A ranger told us this was actually a wild dominant male, who had come to the sanctuary on its own accord in the search for a mate, and here it seems to stay, and is approximately 70-80kg. The flanged face and the muscle development takes about 9months to grow (or lose) when it comes into dominance.We got to view it for maybe 15mins or so until we were told the park would be closing and we had to leave 😒.
Tonight’s plans are to head to the other hostel for tea as it’s the more expensive place to stay so the food should be good and tomorrow catch a bus to Sandakan.
South East Asia 2019 