An action packed and early start on Christmas day for us. Up at 4.30 to shower and pack and leave the hotel by 5.30 am for our 7 o'clock flight from KK to Sandakan. En route we had our first fearsome view of Mount Kinabalu out of the left side of the plane. After our short 50 minute flight we were meg by our comfy air con bus and whisked along to our main highlight of the day - Sepilok Orang-Utan sanctuary. After a brief video about the programme, we headed down to the viewing platform where they put out the food in the morning. Despite the noise made by the many visitors (the price you pay for going there on a holiday I guess) we were treated to a view of a female and her baby, as well as a lone male. Some cheeky little monkeys came after their food and there was a comedy moment where the orang-Utan chased them around the platform around the tree. After around half an hour they had finished their breakfast and swung off into the jungle. Despite the vaguely zoo-like nature of the visit, it is impossible not to be captivated by their expressive faces - with over 96% DNA identical to humans, it's no wonder we feel an empathy with them. The fact that this was not a zoo was brought to our attention in quite dramatic fashion. Retuning along the boardwalks we saw a couple of venomous snakes. After a quick visit to the cafe for an early lunch, Jon decided to go back for a photo of the snake. As he rounded the corner of the visitors centre, he was startled to come face to face with a large male orang-Utan. If he had been 10 seconds later he would literally have bumped into it at the corner. In his usual unflappable style he moved out of the way quick sharp and took some photos. Ever generous he then came and found the rest of our group to let them know. I asked what he did when he saw it and ever to the point he said "I nearly s*** myself!!". Mr orang-Utan caused quite a stir as he went on the hunt for altogether different food than at the platform, coming up trumps as he discovered a discarded packet of crisps - most human-like he settled down on a bench with the bag in one hand and helped himself with the other. All he needed was a can of Tiger beer and he could pass for one of the lads. Our excitement at Sepilok meant we were running a little behind schedule, but to be honest we didn't need long for the rainforest canopy walk. It seemed a bit like "Disney does the rainforest" after our more natural and authentic experience in Mulu. A quick tour around some gardens was also pleasant and we did see some unusual trees and plants, including some beautiful orchids.
Back to the bus again and on through endless miles of palm oil trees - the main crop here in Sabah and the main reason for the decimation of do much of the rainforest. Arriving at a jetty around 3pm we took a motor boat across the wide, brown, log-strewn river to our lodge. A quick checking to our little bungalow, then back to the jetty for our afternoon boat trip. We were lucky enough to see many different types of macacs (monkeys) and the rare proboscis monkeys indigenous to Borneo. Quite a few bird too, including a very rare rhinoceros hornbill (a bit like the guiness bird). By the time we got back it was already dark and not long till dinner. So for Christmas dinner we had rice and chicken and watermelon for dessert - probably the healthiest christmas dinner we've ever had! Amazingly enough, despite our remote location we were able to get wifi, so picked up emails and messages and even managed a Skype call home!