Well we are down to the last full day of this part of our trip. A lazy morning around the pool we left at 11am to the war memorial in Sandakan. This is a memorial to the 2,500 servicemen plus locals that died at the hands on the Japanese. They made them walk and walk on death marches which no one survived. Well worth a visit and a somber reminder of the sacrifices others have made so we can be free. Then off to the airport for the short 45 min flight to KK. ...

Used to early mornings now... 7am departure from Turtle island and the boat driver really put his foot down so it was a thrilling ride back to Sandakan. Straight into the coach for a short ride to the Sepilok Orangutan rehabilitation centre. This is a managed and protected area of rain forest where Orangutans can roam freely and it also has a kindergarten for orphaned Orangutans. We walked to the feeding area and saw a few, but the main event was watching the b...

Now to say the today has been amazing is a real understatement. We are all really privileged to have been to Turtle Island. We left Sandakan on a 1 hour speed boat ride to a small island (took 30 mins to walk around) miles from anywhere. Imagine paradise island with sand and corals, well this was well and truly it. We arrived 11am and after a quick lunch we hired some snorkeling gear and spent the afternoon in the water viewing all different fish all colour f...

Up very early for a morning river safari, so that meant a 6am wake up and then off onto the river again to see what animals and birds we could spot. Did not see as many animals today but a few birds and unfortunately not the pigmy elephant. We saw Shepherd Eagle Short Tail Makat Silver Langur Anjautan bird Oriental pied hornbill Long Tailed Makat Banana Snake Little Egritv Rhino Hornbill After this we jumped in the coach for a 2 hour trip to our next ...

8am coach left the lovely hot spring lodge for a 5 hour road trip to our next location the jungle lodge. Not a great journey as the roads although tarmac have a large number of deep pot holes in them so you can't travel very quickly. Got to our location around 1pm and after a lunch and settling into our rooms we set off on the fantastic river safari. There are many types of monkeys to spot some more easy than others. Very unusual to see the Orangutan but we sa...