Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 506

open-air bathrooms and balconies, and there's an on-site
café serving simple meals. Two scheduled daily transfers
to SORC are included in the price. Dorm RM30 , double
RM135
Sepilok B&B T 089 534050, W sepilokbedandbreakfast
.com. Opposite the Rainforest Discovery Centre, this
unpretentious option offers four lodges with various
configurations of basic dorms and a/c private rooms, with
a com munal vi be tha t draws the backpacker crowd. Dorm
RM31 , double RM68
Sepilok Forest Edge Resort T 089 533190,
W sepilokforestedgeresort.com. Spick-and-span en-suite
a/c chalets and fan-cooled dorm and rooms in a wooden
longhouse, set amid lush grounds, just 500m away from
SORC, with a jungle trail and jacuzzi for guests (RM8).
Birdwatching trips and stays a long the Kinabat angan
River can b e arran ged. Dorm RM45 , doubles RM95 ,
chalets from RM250
Sepilok Jungle Resort T 089 533031, W sepilokjungle
resort.com. Great location just a 5min walk from the
orang-utan centre, set in the jungle in a lovely lakeside
location. Try to nab one of the renovated rooms with a/c;
the older rooms are a bit shabby and institutional-looking.
Dorms lead off from a small living area behind the
restaurant. Dorm RM28 , double RM105
Uncle Tan's Mile 14, Jln Sepilok T 089 535784,
W uncletan.com. Run by one of the oldest adventure
operators in Sabah, this sociable guesthouse is located
300m from Sepilok Junction and is a firm favourite with
backpackers. Although the huts are pretty basic, full board
can be arranged for a reasonable price. They also arrange
cheap wildlife-spotting trips to their jungle camp at
Kinabatangan (see below). Dorm RM38 , double RM100

and photography forbidden). he
conservation programme works together
with locals, discouraging them from
poaching turtle eggs by offering them
more money for leading them to a
nesting turtle (as opposed to RM2-3 per
poached turtle egg). Visitors may also
participate in setting baby turtles loose
from the hatchery. his new conservation
programme is a better and more
affordable way of seeing turtles than
the nearby Turtle Islands National Park,
visits to which are both hugely expensive
and mismanaged.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By boat Stays on Libaran Island include boat transfers (by
arrangement) from downtown Sandakan (daily in peak
season; 45min). During rainy season (Nov-Feb) the Walai
Penyu Resort on the island may shut down as the seas are
too rough for safe passage there and back.

6

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Walai Penyu Resort Booked through Nasalis Larvatus
Tours T 088 230534, W insabah.com. This glamping resort
consists of luxury tents with beds inside on a raised
platform right by the beach, the best outdoorsy bathrooms
you'll ever see, and a shaded veranda where you're served
delicious, mostly Malay, meals. Book at least a week in
advance as there's onl y space f or 16 guests. Two days and
one night all-inclusive RM445

SUNGAI KINABATANGAN
he wide cappuccino-coloured ribbon
that is the Kinabatangan River cuts a
long path into the jungle of east Sabah -
560km long, to be precise. he area
around, hemmed in by ever-encroaching
palm-oil plantations, is one of the best -
and most accessible - places to see
wildlife in Sabah. Pygmy elephants are
spotted on the riverbanks during dry
season. and you're likely to see wild
orang-utans, proboscis monkeys, gibbons,
macaques, wild boar, and huge monitor
lizards in the forest flanking the river.
Swimming is not a good idea, particularly
in the river's tributaries, as they're
favoured by crocodiles. he resident bird
life - four species of hornbill, Brahmin
kites, crested serpent eagles, egrets,
stork-billed kingfishers and oriental
darters - is equally impressive. It's much

LIBARAN TURTLE ISLAND
Off the northwest coast of Sabah and
part of the Sandakan Archipelago,
LIBARAN is one of the larger islands,
easily accessible by boat from Sandakan.
he island has a small community of
fishermen at one end and a turtle
conservation hatchery - part of the new
Turtle Conservation Programme designed
to protect endangered green turtles - on
the other side of the island. Visitors can
stay overnight on the island at beachside
accommodation run by Trekkers Lodge
and Nasalis Larvatus Tours, a liated with
Nature Lodge (see p.510). At night,
wildlife guides watch for turtles coming
ashore to lay eggs and lead visitors to a
nearby spot where they may observe the
turtle without disturbing it (flashlights