Despite visiting 3 ATM's there was no cash in Semporna. This would not normally be an issue but as we are heading for a 3 day, 2 night trip to Nature Lodge on the River Kinabatangan and we have to pay for the trip on arrival we kind of need the cash! We had instructions to get on a bus heading for Sandakan or KK and ask to be dropped off at a cafe called Medan Selera in Bukit Garam where we would be picked up by our guide at 1.30pm. This all went very smoothly but we still had no money as Bukit Garam is only a small place, as one Indian Malay chap pointed out when we asked him if there was an ATM anywhere.

Following our pick up from Bukit Garam we were driven for about another hour until we reached a platform by the side of the river where a boat came and picked us up to take us over to 'Natures Lodge'. On arrival at the Lodge we were given a welcome drink of rose water and asked to settle our bill - mmmmm! Fortunately she was very understanding and we agreed that, as they were sorting out a minibus to take us to Sandakan after the trip, we would stop at an ATM and give the money to the driver.

The Lodge has been built out of recycled wood and is located right on the edge of the river but in the middle of the jungle. We were staying in a 6 berth dorm - D was the only boy which makes a nice change as it is usually me who is in the minority! The river is the second longest in Malaysia and the lodge is located in the lower basin which is a large forest covered flood plain. The area is also referred to as a secondary jungle area - it is called this because it underwent large-scale logging and land clearance for the introduction of oil palm plantations until the government put a stop to it in 1970.

In total we went on 4 boat trips up the River Kinabatangan, 2 at dusk and 2 at dawn. We tended to see more animals at dusk than at dawn in fact we had some really good sightings, here are some of the things we saw:

Pygmy Elephants, Crocodiles, Poboscis Monkeys, Long Tailed Macaques (monkeys), Wild Pigs, Storks, Hornbills and beautifully coloured Kingfishers. But no Orangutans - boo hoo! We also saw tracks for the clouded leopard but never actually sighted the real thing.

The scariest thing was the crocodile - we were sat watching it and at first it opened it's mouth and then suddenly it ran into the water. I was scared to death it was gong to appear by the boat and eat us but Khai assured us that it was more scared of us than we were of it (who's he kidding!!) and that it would now be hiding by the side of the river under the water.

On the evening of day 1 we went for a night trek through the jungle close to the lodge - I think everyone was more obsessed with ensuring they didn't get any leeches than anything else. We did see some sleeping birds and a frog but unfortunately we didn't see any of the monkeys with big eyes (can't remember their name!) that we were hoping for - it was still quite good walking through the jungle at night though.

On Day 2 after our early morning river cruise we went on a jungle trek to a nearby oxbow lake, again we didn't see much wildlife but we did see plenty of leeches. D had 1 and I had about 5, fortunately we both managed to pull them off before they'd reached our waistlines in search of blood. Again though it was really pleasant wandering through the jungle - you just have to keep pinching yourself to remind yourself where you are!!!

The accommodation and its location had a really nice atmosphere and we had a couple of hours downtime in the afternoon of Day 2 so it was really nice just to sit by the river and relax.

I have to say the highlight for both of us were the dusk river cruises because as well as seeing the animals in their natural environment we also saw some cracking sunsets!