The airport in Sandakan (the city near Sepilok) is small but modern. Our checked bags came through super fast and then we hired a Grab taxi to take us to our hotel which is a lodge located on the edge of the Sepilok-Kabili forest reserve. It's set up like a bunch of cabins in the jungle.
Our home on the range
Since we got there in the afternoon, we spent the time just walking around the hotel grounds.
We had dinner at the hotel - there aren't really any places around in this area to eat other than in the hotels - it's pretty remote.
My wife had the nasi goreng (fried rice)
Lamb curry
served with
The vast majority of our hotel's menu was western and not inexpensive. They also had a selection of pizzas. Even though we didn't eat every meal here, I think our total restaurant bill for 3 nights (added to the room bill) was as much as one night's stay! But this is all relative, the hotel is RM500 per night (about US$100)
We also had their specialty tea:
Breakfast in the morning:
No explanation necessary. She also had
I wasn't particular thrilled with the breakfast menu so I just had something light - I normally don't eat breakfast at all
Not a bad croissant and Sabah tea
But the real reason people come to Sepilok is this:
Founded in 1964, it was opened with the purpose of rehabilitating orphaned or confiscated orangutans. Orangutans are mostly solitary animals, primarily due to food pressure. So if a mother has twins, she will typically abandon one of them as there may not be enough food around for her to support two youngsters for the 8 or so years that the young will stay with its mother.
The orangutans wander around the center on their own - the visitors are confined to various walkways and platforms. This sign greets you almost immediately:
The first area you come to is the area for adolescent orangutans who are being more actively taken care of by the center. These youngsters are developing the skills to be able to survive in the wild. They have a building (air conditioned!!!!) where you can watch them playing and feeding.
We were told that we were quite fortunate as it is rare to see the old alpha male make an appearance. They usually see him only a few times a year.
Adolescent mother with infant
The ropes lead off into the forest and they can come and go whenever they want.
Another area is a feeding platform in a different spot in the jungle. Sometimes no one visits the platform when the food is put out - especially if there's already plenty of food in the forest. Sometimes they want to walk down the path near us:
There are staff around to make sure you don't follow the orangutans or they don't get too close to you. Not only are they wild animals, but since they are so close to humans, genetically, they are capable of catching human viruses. Any time you see staff near them (like at the feeding platform) they wear latex (nitrile?) gloves and wear N95 masks.
