Bako National Park, Sarawak Borneo

Bako National Park is a protected area of untouched Borneon jungle surrounded by sea on 3 sides with no hotels, no shops and basic amenities and contains some unique flora and fauna including the elusive proboscis monkey as well as bearded pigs,the usual array of cheeky macaques, hornbills, slow loris,flying lemars,pit vipers, owls, lizards and a variety of bird and insect life. After a couple of days of heavy rain in Kuching we caught the local chicken bus to the park which was a grand total of £1.30 for the pair of us which took about an hour. It dropped us opposite the jetty where we paid our park conservation fee of 20myr (£3.60) each and bought our boat tickets (40myr/£7.50) as this is the only way you can get into the park as there are no roads and the jungle is too dense and the mountains too steep to walk. It's a bit like when they enter 'Jurassic Park' in the movie where everything is raw and exciting.

Jungle is massive

     The boat took about 30 minutes to get there but we had to be dropped off on the beach (above) as the water was too shallow to get to the jetty as it was low tide. We waded through the water nervous to the fact that there were salt water crocs in the area that had been spotted so we tried not to hang around in the water for too long in case we ended up being a tasty snack for them as the water was murky from all the rain previously so visability was poor and we were loaded up with all our food that we needed for the next 2 days.
     Luckily we made it to the beach in one piece where we were met by a local who advised us that some of the monkeys were laying in wait for us in the trees ready to steal our food stash so to be careful and hold the food close to our chest as they would snatch it if you let your guard fall. Again we avoided any confrontation from any primates and managed to get to the park headquarters unscathed.

Do not trust this monkey as he is an alcoholic trickster.

We had booked a jungle lodge for 2 nights so we could explore the park in more detail although it is possible to do the park on a day trip but it's a long day and can be a bit too rushed as most the animals are about only at sunrise and sunset plus many are nocturnal.
   We went for an afternoon walk into the jungle on our own to start with to explore but soon found the heat and humidity were energy sapping even though we are used to heat being here for over 6 weeks so have acclimatized accordingly. Another issue was because we were sweating so much the mosquito lotion we had on was just rolling off us so was useless. We made it to a monkey look out point but failed to see any wildlife after half an hour so plodded back to headquarters for a rest.
   After some dinner we signed up for the guided night walk with a park ranger. We did not expect much as what can you see in the dark? But we were really surprised as we saw a slow loris, pit viper, an owl, and a flying lemur as well as lots of weird birds that were sleeping in the jungle,stick insects,catfish, poison tree frogs, lots of big creepy spiders, and a bearded pig.

Mr bearded pig said razors were over rated.

    Next day we woke early and after breakfast left base in the cooler dawn air to walk into the jungle into a dense region where there was a waterfall where you could swim in the pools. It was only 2 miles each way but in the heat and the mountainous terrain it took us 2 and 3/4 hours to get there. The paths although marked well enough were challenging which made progress slow, trying to avoid flooded areas, river beds, massive tree roots and rotten bridges. When we arrived we had brought our swimming gear but on inspection the water was a dark brown colour so you could not see what was in it or how deep it was and we were not sure if it would have snakes in it or if it carried dangerous parasites. Anyway the heat was unbearable so I found a pool which seemed to be safe enough so went for a paddle up to my waist and sat in that to cool down. After a picnic lunch a few other people arrived which destroyed our intrepid explorer ambience but we got chatting with them and passed the time swapping stories. The trek back was never ending and now it was the afternoon so the heat was at its height of the day. Our water supply was dwindling fast so we had to preserve it so we would make it back which took another 3 hours. The only animals we saw was a massive woodpecker hammering away and a fairly large lizard who we spooked. Apart from that nothing. The jungle though was really impressive with a wide variety of trees and terrains.
   That night after dinner we decided to go for a sunset walk on the beach to watch the bearded pigs hunting crabs. Big mistake! We sat on a log and were bitten by sandflies relentlessly through our clothes. Poor Kathy had over 20 bites attained in the 30 seconds we were sitting there so had a very itchy nights sleep. I was more lucky and had only a handful on my arse. Even so we slept really well as we were so knackered from the day's walking.

Deadly pitcher plants (well deadly if you are an insect)

    Next day we booked a boat to take us back to the mainland but 1st went on another walk to a lookout out point to try and spot the elusive proboscis monkeys but even after a very sweaty 45 minute climb we failed to spot any from our vantage point. We had seen plenty of macaques though and even watched one trying to steal an ice cream out of a girls hand when she had her back turned to it! Luckily someone warned her and she was able to take evasive action before the monkey could surprise her. They were also partial to a beer and would swoop down off the roofs of the lodges and steal your tinnies if you left them on the terrace table outside and continue to party back in the jungle until the early hours with your can of Tiger.

Mowgli was not home when we called around.

   The tide was back in this morning so we got the boat from the jetty this time so the crocs had to do without breakfast that day. Now we headed back into Kuching as this turned out to be a good base for venturing out for day trips so we set up base back at our same hotel who were looking after our luggage. We  were disappointed not to see any proboscis monkeys but this is nature and the animals are wild so we knew this was always going to be a possibility so were not too upset as we did have plans to see them at other locations on our travels in the future.