WILD BORNEO - JULY 22 - August 1, 2024

TOUR DATES: July 22 - August 1, 2024
LOCATION: Sepilok, Kinabatangan River, Deramakot Forest Reserve & Kinabalu National Park.
PRICE: $9250.00 AUD per person (twin share). Single Supplement: $400.00 AUD
PAYMENT: Payment is via EFT transfer via online banking or contact Craig to make alternative arrangements.
RESERVE A PLACE: Deposits of $1000 AUD per person accepted to reserve a place (non-refundable within 60 days of tour commencing).
FITNESS LEVEL: A basic level of fitness is required for this tour with only a few short elevations and short walking distances.

IMPORTANT: To ensure the best wildlife photography experience, this tour accommodates FOUR GUESTS ONLY.

the tour

Join Nicolas Rakotopare and Craig Greer for ten days visiting incredible wildlife locations on the Malaysian island of Borneo. 

This small-group tour is designed for wildlife watchers and photographers of all levels. Craig and Nico will assist you in improving your skills while viewing and photographing some of the planet’s most iconic and unique species. The tour is also educational — you will soak up an abundance of interesting facts about the wildlife we find and photograph. During the tour we will have time to review and process images, with Craig and Nico helping you improve your skills in this area.

Just want to see the wildlife without the photography? This tour is also for you. Wild Borneo is a well-paced tour that provides ample time for both wildlife watching and photography.

The wildlife highlights on this tour will include Orangutans, Gibbons, Proboscis Monkeys, frogs, reptiles and, of course, dozens of beautiful and unique birds.

Supported by two of Borneo’s premier local bird and mammal guides, Craig and Nico will put you in position to shoot some stunning images while providing simple yet empowering advice to improve your camera skills. 

Are you a budding wildlife filmmaker? Then this is also the trip for you - Nico’s film-making skills are in high demand. He has shot and edited dozens of nature and conservation films for organisations like Threatened Species Recovery Hub, Channel 4 (UK), the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and more Nico has had footage broadcast by BBC Earth, Netflix, ABC, SBS, PBS and other services. Nico was recently awarded for his rainforest photography and won two categories at the Canopy Awards 2022 and was shortlisted in the 2018 Birdlife Australia Photography and Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Awards.

Nico lived for six months in Borneo, sharing his time between amphibian research and documenting the natural wonders the island has to offer.

Craig’s bird and wildlife photography has been published widely by conservation organisations such as Green Adelaide, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Birdlife Australia, South Australian Museum, Monarto Zoo and in various field guides. 

Craig was also a finalist in the 2021 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year and 2019 Australian Bird Photographer of the Year.

ITINERARY

Day 1 - Sepilok
July 22: Transfer from airport or your accommodation to Sepilok. This afternoon we visit Sepilok Forest Reserve and its famous Rainforest Discovery Centre trails and tree-top walk. Here we aim to photograph a wide range of the nearly 350 recorded bird species, including Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Banded Kingfisher, Rufous-collared Kingfisher, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Black-and-Yellow Broadbill, Black-and-red Broadbill, Verditer Flycatcher, White-bellied Woodpecker, Bornean Bristlehead, Grey and Buff Woodpecker, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Raffle’s Malkoha, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot, Bream-vented Bulbul, Asian Glossy Starling, Purple-naped Spiderhunter, Thick-billed Spiderhunter, Ruby-cheeked Sunbird, Plain Sunbird, Wallace’s Hawk-eagle, Blue-eared Bee-eater, Red-bearded-Bee-eater, name a few. All eight honrbill species like Rhinocerous, White-crowned, Oriental Pied are also present. Potential mammal species include Orangutans, Macaques, Giant Flying-squirrels, Tarsiers, Colugos, Gibbons and more. We will also spend time looking for the beautiful Bornean Keeled Pit-viper and take time to stop and photograph any other reptiles, frogs and insects we encounter.

Accommodation: Sepilok Forest Edge Resort. Meals: L, D

Day 2 - Sepilok
July 23: Today we will continue to explore the Sepilok Forest Trails searching for and photographing more of this region’s abundant wildlife before dinner and then a night walk in search of the local “night life”. The rainforest comes alive at night with an incredible number of nocturnal species such as the bizarre and beautiful Sunda Colugo, Horsfield’s Tarsier, Red and Cream-coloured Giant Flying Squirrels, an abundance of frogs, reptiles and more.

Accommodation: Sepilok Forest Edge Resort. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 3 - Sepilok
July 24: Today we will continue to explore the Sepilok Forest Trails searching for any species we may not have encouuntered on Days 1 and 2. We will also visit the Sepilok Orangutan Rehab Centre to see the great work being done to protect these iconic and endangered primates. We will have dinner before another nocturnal walk in search of more of Sepilok’s incredible nocturnal biodiversity.

Accommodation: Sepilok Forest Edge Resort. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 4 - Kinabatangan River
July 25 This morning we will make the two-hour trip to our accommodation at the Kinabatangan River. The Kinabatangan is a hotspot for various primate species, including unique Proboscis Monkeys, Orangutans, Long-tailed Macaques, Pig-tailed Macaques, Silvery Langurs, Maroon Langurs, Pygmy Elephants, and more. The Kinabatangan River also provides habitat for a vast number of bird species including Oriental Pied Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Helmeted Hornbill, Black Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill, Wreathed Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Black-crowned Pitta, Hooded Pitta, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Grey-headed Fish-Eagle, Lesser Fish Eagle, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Oriental Bay-Owl, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Greater Coucal, Asian Palm Swiftlet, Edible-nest Swiftlet, Mangrove Whistler, Mangrove Blue Flycatcher, Sunda Frogmouth, Large Frogmouth, Bornean Falconet, and various Kingfishers. Over the course of the next two days we’ll take river cruises in search of these species and more.

After dinner we will take a nocturnal river cruise in search of Buffy Fish Owl, Brown Wood Owl, Large Frogmouth, Oriental Bay Owl, Flat-headed Cat, and more.

Accommodation: Borneo Nature Lodge. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 5 - Kinabatangan River
July 26: Today we will take two more river cruises to make the most of both morning and afternoon wildlife activity. After dinner we will take another river cruise to find any species we have not have seen the previous evening.

Accommodation: Borneo Nature Lodge. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 6 - Deramakot Forest Reserve
July 27: While Borneo is home to hundreds of incredible bird species, it is also an internationally recognised hotspot for unique mammals. Today our tour will continue to Deramakot Forest Reserve where day and night 4x4 safaris will take us on forest tracks to target some of these species. The jewel in the crown of this area is the secretive yet iconic Clouded Leopard, and our guide is an expert at locating this species. Other targets include, the Bornean Orangutan (we found and photographed 16 individuals in July 2023), Pangolin, Binturong (Bear Cat), Bornean Pygmy Elephant, North Bornean Gibbon, Maroon Langur, Slow Loris, Horsfield’s Tarsier, Sunda Colugo, Malaysian Sun Bear, Otter Civit, Marbled Cat, Moon Rat, and more. Deramakot is also an excellent place for birdwatching, with a record of more than a hundred species of lowland bird species in the reserve including Red-bearded Bee-eater, Black and Red Broadbills, Fluffy-backed Tit-Babblers, various bulbuls, all eight species of hornbill, Whiskered Treeswifts, Minivets, Banded Pittas, Bornean Falconets, Oriental Bay Owls, and the endemic Bornean Bristlehead are also present.

Accommodation: Deramakot Chalet. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 7 - Deramakot Forest Reserve
July 28: Today we will have time for birding around the accommodation before we take more 4x4 safaris in this incredible forest in search of more birds and mammals to view and photograph.

Accommodation: Deramakot Chalet. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 8 - Deramakot Forest Reserve
July 29: Today we will be photographing more great forest species in Deramakot.

Accommodation: Deramakot Chalet. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 9 - Kinabalu National Park
July 30: Today we make our way to Mount Kinabalu National Park. Mt Kinabalu is the third largest island peak on Earth and hosts an abundance of flora and fauna including 326 bird species. Our beautiful accommodation, Hill Lodge, sits at 1585m elevation and provides the perfect base to find and photograph a wide range of montane species. Some of the new species we are likely to encounter include Ashy Drongo, Chestnut-hooded Laughingthrush, Indigo Flycatcher, Golden-naped Barbet, Whitehead’s Trogon, Green Magpie, Fiery Minivet, White-browed Shrike-Babbler, Mountain Serpent-eagle and more. In the evening we will search for and photograph forest dragons, frogs, insects and more.

Accommodation: Hill Lodge. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 10 - Kinabalu National Park
July 31: Today and this evening we spend more time finding and photographing the exotic species of Kinabalu NP.

Accommodation: Hill Lodge. Meals: B, L, D.

Day 11
August 1: Depart Kinabalu to airport for return/onward travel.

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