Leech bites-0, mossie bites-too many to count, serious head injuries-4 (all Jan!!)

Danum Valley

6 October

Spent night at Meridien in KK and got upgraded to a club room! After hardly any sleep cos we needed to be up at 4.45, we were amazed at the enormous breakfast that arrived in our room at 5.15! Left for KK airport at 5.45 and had our breath taken away by the sight, from the terminal, of Mount Kinabalu rising from the morning mist. So beautiful. Flew to Lahad Datu over the mountains and forest. Met at airport by BRL staff and taken to office.Realised we were sharing the ride out to the lodge with two Americans, Aaron and Claire. They were such interesting people. The journey was mostly off road for nearly three hours and both Paul and Claire found it a bit hard going as they suffer from motion sickness. Aaron and I just chatted the whole way about American politics and the state of the world. They've just moved from New York to Oregon to be nearer his Mum. He is seriously into photography and when our driver spotted a pygmy elephant mother and calf, Aaron pulled out the most amazing camera equipment, which had Paul's eyes on stalks. We only saw a flash of grey as it walked off through the forest.

Arrived at lodge to warm welcome. Realised with glee that we would be with Aaron and Claire the whole time with a guide for just for the 4 of us to do whatever we wished-excellent. Had lunch overlooking river and primary rainforest. Very hot and humid. Short orientation walk in rain after lunch. Night drive after dinner but only saw deer, owls, fireflies and a couple of birds. Realised that leeches would be a large part of our lives over the next few days. We cut a dash in our leech socks!

7 October

Long hike after breakfast (about 4 hours). Very hot and walk very steep but Paul and I coped really well with it and were quietly pleased with ourselves. Saw a gibbon family swinging through the trees right above our heads and stayed to watch for ages. It was great. Walked on up to viewpoint which was amazing. Quite hard getting back down as rain had made the whole thing very slippery.

After lunch we saw a group of rhinoceros hornbills near the lodge! We also saw a fish eagle fly along the river. Had a nap and then we walked again and this time we saw a whole pack of long tailed macaques by the river. There was a huge alpha male and about 20 others including a couple of babies and some playful juveniles. Watched til they moved on.

After dinner we all sat and chatted together and watched a whole army of ants moving the corpse of a preying mantis up one of the pillars in the lounge (open on all sides). It was a real team effort which was very much trial and error. They had attached 'guide ropes' to it and some were pulling whilst others pushed. They struggled for ages and then decided to sever some bits-limbs mainly-to make it more manageable. Eventually they got it all dragged into the crack in the pillar some 8ft off the ground which was obviously the way in to the nest. Aaron explained that ants share 75% of their DNA with siblings which makes them more inclined to be altruistic. I've developed quite a liking for the little/enormous critters!

8 October

Very hot and incredibly humid today. 6.30am walk to canopy walkway. Hard going but rewarded with sighting of red leaf monkeys. After breakfast an exhausting walk because of humidity but saw monkeys again and also sleeping flying lemur. I started to feel unwell so Paul and I headed back to the lodge once we got to the road. I had to skip lunch. Took 'Instants' and slept, missing afternoon walk. Instants do exactly what the name suggests and I was able to go on night walk which was surprisingly rewarding on the insect front. Saw incredible spiders, venomous centipedes, angle headed lizards, huge crickets, scorpions and much more. We were also lucky enough to see a mouse deer.

9 October

Final walk after breakfast, which was the absolute pinnacle of the trip. Walked over to the river to find a pack of red leaf monkeys playing in the trees above our heads. It was a show of breathtaking agility for over half an hour. Periodically they would drop down to have a look at us and the little baby was particularly curious. Whilst all this was going on a bearded pig strolled down to the riverbank and stood watching all the activity. Then a family of gibbons appeared on the other side of the river. Hornbills were flying through the air and two iridescent kingfishers flew past. It was like something from a wildlife documentary. Our guide got on his walkie-talkie to alert other guides but nobody was close enough and so we had the whole show to ourselves. When we got back to the lodge, the guide manager said that he couldn't believe what he was hearing over the radio. He said that when there had been heavy rain the animals often came out in large numbers. We were just in the right place at the right time.

Left the lodge feeling happy and rewarded. Said goodbye to Aaron and Claire and set off for Kota Kinabalu.