Here we are in Sabah Borneo We've had a great few days exploring the environs of the Kinabalu National park. Having hired a motorbike for four days to take us there and back we were able to ride between the park stations and see the different aspects of the park. We'd found a room in a hotel close to the park entrance which gave us amazing views of the surrounding area, and pitched ourselves there for the duration. Our first full day found us scaling paths crisscrossed with tree roots, climbing up the lower slopes of the park. It was another beautiful day, and even in the shade of the trees we sweated profusely as we trekked our way through the forests. We had to wait until the second day to see two of the things we had been searching for during our time in Malaysia - the Rafflesia, and a humongous stag beetle. The Raffelesia is apparently the worlds largest flower so we were expecting something a metre across. In reality, we found two flowers both about half of this, but thankfully not giving off the usual smell of rotting flesh. We didn't hang around long after spotting the flowers as the bamboo bridge we'd crossed to reach the blooms was playing host to an army of ants, who were intent on hitching a lift with us back to base, so snaps in the camera we beat a hasty retreat back to the bike, knocking ants off our trouser legs as we went.

The stag beetle was a little easier to photograph as it had obviously met its demise some time earlier, and a fellow trekker had conveniently positioned him on a fence post for others to see him too. Having spent the day before climbing through the undergrowth with a stick looking for the elusive creatures we were relieved to actually see one in the flesh so to speak. They are certainly impressive looking insects, although it was disconcerting to find they have wings under their shiny black casings. We've encountered some large insects on this trip, but the thought of this one flying towards you would definitely bring Hitchcock like scenes to mind. Back on the bike the journey around the outskirts of the park area proved to be one of the most scenic we have experienced on this trip. Beautiful views of the mountain, and surrounding terraced slopes, sporting small groups of wooden iron roofed houses, grassy areas and primary forest.