This is not a normal post, as it attempts to capture my impressions of a single event that lasted only an hour and a half.
These photos were all taken on May 25, in a truck on a night drive from my seat behind the “spotter,” who shines an extremely bright light back and forth in front of the truck, hoping to find animals by catching the reflection of their eyes as the light hits them. For the passengers on a night drive, there is little to do, but sit, and little to see, except the sweeping light and the stars. So, I decided to occupy myself by taking photographs, which, because of the darkness had exposures of several seconds. I’ve selected some of the sixty or so photographs I took and offer them for your consideration, recognizing that many of you may not find them at all appealing.
I like them quite a bit, and I want to explain why. I love their random and abstract quality. I find them direct and surprising, even jolting. For me, they evoke a sense of the forest at night. I see the spotter as painter of these landscapes and, in the way that I choose to move (or sometimes try not to move) my camera during the exposure I feel as if l am painting the painter as he paints his landscapes.
I would love to get your honest reaction to these photos, if you would take a minute or two to give that reaction to me.
K
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May 26. We arise early for a sumptuous breakfast served by our adorable butler, Jariah, in our private pavilion overlooking the river with a backdrop of forest. Doesn’t get much better than this. There is ample food for ten, at least, and we’re all embarrassed by the waste and have told Jariah that we’d like to order a more modest breakfast tomorrow. We and the Lewises have already decided that we are going to adopt (or kidnap) Jariah and bring her back to the States. We are driven to the start of the canopy walk in which we are immersed in the forest and are able to see birds at their own level. The early morning mist gradually rises and the scene is quite magical. Azmil is an expert birder and finds many species that we would never have seen, often capturing them in his scope so that we can see them clearly. He is very pleased at the Bornean bristle-heads he finds, since they are rare and many serious birders come to Borneo largely to see them. I am more impressed with the experience of walking at canopy level on suspended bridges through the forest than with the particular birds we see. I actually find it frustrating trying to find the birds in my binoculars, and they are too small and distant to photograph. This probably establishes that I’m not a hard-core birder. But it’s fun enough. It’s 11AM, and we are hot, muddy and tired, so we go back to our rooms for outdoor showers and a change of clothes, before walking on the boardwalk to the main lodge at noon. The large buffet lunch is very nice, but way too much for me, so I get them to make me a not very good cheese and tomato sandwich. We retire to the room to rest and read. I spend a bit of time cooling off in our little pool on our deck, then Carol reads and I blog on our deck, sheltered from the heavy afternoon rain that would have required cancellation of our afternoon walk, in any case. So here’s some information about the Danum Valley Conservation Area, in which our lodge, which is owned by Sabah State, is located. The area shelters more than 270 species of birds and 109 species of mammals, including Asian elephants, orangutans, deer and Bornean rarities such as Sumatran rhinoceroses, clouded leopards, and the impressive Bulwer’s pheasants. More than 100 miles of walking trails meander through the valley’s secondary rainforest. The Danum Valley also supports one of the largest remaining populations of wild orangutans, which, although difficult to spot, we have a decent chance of seeing under the guidance of Azmil. In spite of the diversity and large numbers of animals, most are extremely well camouflaged. Easily visible, though, are an incredible diversity of flora and fauna, including some of the world’s largest butterflies and moths. The Borneo Rainforest Lodge is damn near perfect, but it would be nice to have air conditioning in the room. Okay, I know I’m a spoiled, pampered Westerner. While I’m complaining, the internet connectivity is rather weak and spotty, but the fact that we have Internet at all in the forest is surprising, and I was able to learn that the Cubs had won again and were back in first place, which is some consolation for not having seen an orangutan in the wild. One more thing that is as amusing as it is annoying–the room has the most complicated light switching system in captivity. So, I’ve gotta dig pretty damn deep to find anything to complain about, but, as you see, I’m up to the task. (Honestly and confidentially, though, this place is terrific.) After about 7 hours “off”, Azmil meets us at the room to lead us off on our frog walk. Ever since meeting with a Bob Inger at the Field Museum in Chicago, I’ve been totally up for seeing frogs. And we’re not disappointed, as we see five different species. To get to one of them we had to climb up a very muddy, slippery slope. Up was tough, but I think I’d still be up there with that frog were it not for Azmil’s help getting down. In addition to frogs, Azmil spots a lizard, and, amazingly, a slow loris (a type of cat) way the hell up in a tree. May 25. After an early breakfast outside at the lodge, we are driven some two hours to Lahad Datu, where we have coffee at the main office of the local travel company and transfer to another vehicle in order to continue to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge on the shores of the Danum River. The additional 2 1/2 hour drive, much of it on windy gravel roads, takes us through logged and regenerating forest areas, providing a perspective on the challenges of conservation in this region, though, according to Juan, logging is now under control (and Ronald, a guide at the Rainforest Lodge who rode with us confirmed this). Palm oil, sold to Asia and the Middle East is the number one source of revenue in Sabah. En route to the Lodge, we stopped to see this stork-billed kingfisher. The Borneo Rainforest Lodge is located in Sabah’s largest protected lowland forest—the Danum Valley Conservation Area—that is made up of 108,230 acres of pristine virgin rainforest. The dipterocarp (broad-leaved evergreens) forest found in Borneo is considered to be the world’s tallest and oldest, having existed for over 100 million years. It is also one of the world’s richest areas for species variation with a rolling green canopy more than 200 feet (60 meters) above the ground.
Built in the style of local Kadazan/Dusan dwellings, the lodge provides tasteful, simple (we and the Lewises have the premier rooms, which can hardly be described as “simple”) comfort in a tranquil atmosphere, featuring stilted chalets and bungalows built and finished with local hardwoods at the height of the treetop canopy, affording a true immersion in nature and an up-close wildlife experience. This is a place to observe wildlife, and everything about the lodge supports this purpose: large open public spaces and verandahs, well marked nature trails, a canopy walk for tree level viewing, a well stocked library and a team of naturalists and guides ready to serve at all times. We have one of the three new units–beautiful. Comes with leech socks, pancho, bottle of prosecco and use of Swarovski binoculars, and complimentary laundry service, not to mention private dipping pool, outdoor shower and your own butler. Right on river with beautiful views. The lodge is quite special, both the accommodations and the setting. After an excellent buffet lunch at the main lodge, we have a couple hours to rest on the deck of our room overlooking the river before going out for a birding walk with our guide, Azmil. Here we are with the Lewises in birding garb, and complete with leech socks to protect us from leeches. We did not see too much, but Azmil is clearly very expert, finding a Gibbon monkey lying on a branch in the far distance and showing it to us in his scope, then succeeding in calling a pitta bird with a combination of his whistling and playing bird calls through his iPhone. We walked along the dirt road, but the forest loomed on both sides. After a couple hours we returned to our room for an outdoor shower and a change of clothes. An hour later we were picked up for a night drive in an open truck. The drive was totally unremarkable in terms of seeing animals, but being out in the forest under the stars made it worthwhile. And I took 60 or 70 photos from behind the guide with the light, creating what (to me, anyway) are interesting and random abstract patterns. I’ll include some of them in a separate post. After the drive we had an excellent buffet dinner at the main lodge, and then returned to our room to retire. May 24. Today we explore the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, with three separate cruises, the first starting at 6:15 and ending at 10, with breakfast back at the lodge. After relaxing and lunch, to avoid the heat of the day, we set out again at 4, return for dinner at 6 and then set out on a night cruise at 8PM, which lasts about an hour. The cruises are on the Menanggul and Kinabatangan rivers, as well as on Oxbow Lake. On our afternoon ride we were greeted by a lovely rainbow, Here are two examples of the scenery that we motored through and another of a log jam that was blocking a narrow channel through which we had to get in order to reach the lake. Our boatman skillfully used our boat to break the log jam, an adventure that we had not anticipated.
May 23. We had planned to rise early again for another morning of bird watching in the reserve with our guide. But on the advice of our travel agent, so as to be sure not to miss the orangutan feeding, we switched to a 4AM pickup and transfer to the airport in time for our very early flight to Sandakan, less than an hour away. Sandakan is a small city on the Sulu Sea on the eastern coast of Sabah. It is just twenty-five miles from the nearest island of the Philippines and there are tales of pirates in the waters offshore. Arrive at Kota Kinabalu airport 1 1/2 hours early. Ticket snafu is resolved rather quickly by Andrew, yesterday’s birding guide. We eat our boxed breakfasts prepared by our resort, which are quite fine, then wait for our flight. On arrival in Sandakan, we meet our guide and visit the Sepilok Orangutan Center, where orphaned and formerly captive orangutans are re-introduced into the wild. Our guide, Juan, did a good job with both birds and the other animals. Watching the orangutans was great fun. Below some birds, orangutans, bears and even a viper.
After our time at the sanctuary, we stopped to change money, then drove to the pier where we had a 2-hour motor boat ride to our hotel, broken half way with a stop for lunch. We spotted a few birds on the boat and a huge crocodile. It began to pour right after lunch, but fortunately the boat had sides that dropped down. We arrive at our lodge late afternoon. The Sukau Rainforest Lodge – Kinabatangan River Wildlife Sanctuary–situated on the shores of the Kinabatanga River, consists of comfortable, but basic, stilted bunglows featuring a close-up immersion in the local rainforest ecology. Boardwalks and viewing decks at canopy level enhance the wildlife experience. The hotel uses solar power for all its electrical needs and recently (and mercifully) added AC. AC. The owners are actively involved in local environmental projects. We are scheduled to go on a cruise in an hour, but, fortunately, it’s raining like hell. I’m not going even if it stops, because this day is starting to feel too much like an obstacle course. Lewises and Carol just decided that they agree so cruise is off for this afternoon. Since I have internet connection now and who knows what will be the case later today or tomorrow, I’ll go ahead and post now and pick up this evening’s activities in my next post. |
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