The rain continued for most of the night but had stopped by early morning. Our guide, Mike, told us to meet for our first activity at 6.30 am. This seemed a bit cruel on the face of it but we did as we were told, even though it meant falling out of bed at 5.50 am! We were soon on our way to the famous Canopy Walkway which we had heard so much about. The walkway is high above the ground and consists of several long stretches of narrow wooden pedestrian footbridge suspended between viewing platforms built on the trunks of five giant trees in all. The whole walkway, about 300 metres in length, is slung across a deep river valley and you actually enter and leave it at ground level which we found quite surprising. The highest stretch is about 26 metres above the ground which is quite a long way up whichever way you look at it but of course the main cause of concern is that it wobbles, quite a lot, with every step you take! Having said that, it was a truly wonderful experience and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. We were lucky with the weather as it was dry and clear and it was really special to be so high up and looking out at the Canopy of this 130 million year old primary rainforest, an area of exquisite and peaceful natural beauty.

As with all our excursions into the forest there was always more to see so we eventually moved on. At every turn Mike alerted us to something of interest. Plants, such as the Elephant Ear Yam, A huge millipede and some scary looking ants, a beautiful red leaf monkey to name but a few, and looking back up the road we saw a wild boar watching us with interest. Really glad he didn’t want a closer look! We were back at the Lodge just in time to grab some breakfast before it finished and with instructions to meet back at 9.30 am for our long trek to Coffin Cliff.

We set off on this walk knowing that it would be quite tough as we were heading for the highest viewpoint in the area. Our guide insisted that we all carry walking sticks to help us along the way as the ground can be quite treacherous. We had just turned off the main track into a dense part of the forest when disaster struck for Amanda (well semi-disaster anyway!) as the soles of her walking boots started to come away from the uppers and began to flap in a most embarrassing and irritating way. Not too much of a surprise as, living in hot and humid climates as we do, we are used to the soles of shoes going rotten and disintegrating without much warning but what a time to choose. Why did it have to happen now! Anyway, can’t possibly let a little thing like broken boots get in the way of a trek through the jungle so on we went.

Our walk took us over more suspended walkways (why must they wobble so much!) and deeper into the forest. Every so often Mike would call a halt and point out something else to wonder at. We saw not one but two groups of Borneo gibbons playing in the trees and craned our necks for some time watching them. Apparently it is quite unusual to see them, and we also saw some long tailed Macaques.

The terrain became steeper and steeper and those walking sticks came in very handy for steadying the way. The soles of Amanda’s boots flapped more and more and she wondered if they were going to manage to stay attached or if they would come off completely! We were all drenched with sweat because of the incredibly high humidity and the steepness of the climb but, nevertheless, eventually reached Coffin Cliff, an ancient burial ground from long ago. We climbed up some flights of stairs onto a raised platform to see the burial chambers which are high in the cliff as the ancient tribes’ people believed that to be buried higher up put them nearer to their gods and also allowed them to look over the valley. We saw the remains of hardwood coffins which had been soaked for weeks in water to make them soft enough to carve on. We also saw a pile of bones which scientists confirm are from an old woman.

From Coffin Cliff we took another steep climb up to the highest viewing platform where we were able to look down on the Lodge below and even pick out our own room down by the river. It was a long slippery descent through the trees and Simon managed to pick up a leech on the way. A very unwelcome visitor which was quickly sent on its way but not before it had started the blood flowing. Nasty little things they are, although I’m sure their mothers love them!

Almost at the bottom we stopped at the Jacuzzi Pool where we had been promised a swim. No! Not at the Hilton Hotel. This was a pool at the bottom of a waterfall in a beautiful, shady glade. The water was icy cold but we were so hot and dripping from the heat and humidity that we were delighted to take a refreshing dip and cool down before heading back to the Lodge for lunch. An added unexpected bonus (or not!) was the numerous little fish in the pool whose one aim in life appears to be to nibble the dead skin off your feet. I know people pay good money for that sort of spa treatment but it’s a very strange sensation and one that is not entirely welcome in the middle of the forest.

It had been a long, hot trek but really enjoyable. Amanda's boots survived the whole journey ... just! However, they were then consigned to the bin, I'm afraid.

Back at the Lodge we discovered that Amanda had also been bitten by a leech, on her stomach of all places. There was no sight of the culprit so we can only assume that it attached itself after we came out of the pool but was knocked off almost immediately without being noticed when getting dry and dressed again. There was no pain and they are not harmful but the wound was still bleeding the next day so a real nuisance.

Mid afternoon and we were off out again, once more in the back of the open truck but this time we were off in search of elephants as the guides had been told he exciting news that there was a herd of pygmy elephants in the vicinity. We were jolted about in the back until our teeth rattled, but at least it wasn’t raining this time.

We found the elephants on the road that had brought us to the Rainforest Lodge the previous day. It is the only way in and out so hope nobody was planning to try to get to the airport or they might have been somewhat delayed! There were more than a dozen elephants including several babies. They were feeding from trees and grass at the sie of the road and drinking and bathing in the muddy puddles. A dozen of us sat in the back of the truck watching them for about an hour and we must have taken at least a thousand photos between us! The elephants kept coming slowly towards us and as they got closer our driver kept backing further up the hill. A safety precaution as elephants can be quite dangerous if they decide to charge. Luckily they didn’t seem in the mood for games like that and we eventually left them, still occupying the road, to continue in peace.

Almost back at the Lodge we had more exciting news. There was an orang-utan nearby! There was a slight problem because with no ladder it seemed that the was no way to get us out of the truck but the enterprising driver backed up against a steep bank and we all piled out. Just a short way down a very slippery path into the forest and we saw our very first orang-utan in the wild. She was way up in a tree sitting on a branch and soon we could see that she had a baby with her too. They were busy eating and looking down at us watching them. We stood watching for quite a while and many more photos were taken. We were told that this orang-utan is called Lina and her baby is called Kate (after Kate Middleton who visited with Prince William last year). We were just so happy to have seen orangutans as there are no guarantees hat you will find them. It’s a very special memory to take away with us from Borneo.

Time for another meal and then out once more with Mike for a night walk. Trundling through the forest at night, trying not to trip over tree roots and lianas whilst wondering what might be dropping on your head may not be everyone’s idea of fun but it’s another experience to add to life’s rich tapestry. Amongst other things we saw a ball millipede, which, somewhat obviously, curls up into a ball. There was a leaf hopper, a firefly, a bird whose name I can’t remember curled up fast asleep on a branch, an owl, and some truly amazing luminous mushrooms which shimmered in a ghostly way when we turned all the torches off. There were also plenty of snails and other such small fry who should not be forgotten.

So ended another memorable day in which the weather was very kind to us as we had no more than a few drops of rain which is quite unusual in this part of the world. No doubt tomorrow will make up for it!