Borneo & Komodo by Dale Morris
Every one of my 15 previous ORYX Photo Tour trips to the magical island of Borneo has produced something spectacular. Whether it was an especially close and personal encounter with an orangutan and her dependent baby, or a river full of pygmy elephants splashing around like children in a swimming pool, it’s always been wonderful.
But this year’s trip stands out as something truly special.
My guests and I experienced so many firsts…
For instance, this was the first time I encountered no fewer than 15 different orangutans on a single trip. Some were high up in the trees and difficult to photograph, but others came down low and offered us incredible opportunities to capture them on our memory cards. One particularly curious little baby kept descending from the vines to take a closer look at us, only to be scolded by his mother, as if she was saying, “Stop it, dear. Don’t go playing with those humans.”
On the Kinabatangan River—our first destination—we explored the waterways and tributaries aboard our private boat and encountered all kinds of wonderful wildlife. Proboscis monkeys, macaques, rhinoceros hornbills, and many other beautiful birds all put on great shows. The highlight, though, was our encounter with the elephants. The Kinabatangan River is perhaps the best place in all of Borneo to see them.
I’ve seen the endangered Storm’s Stork here before, but this year marked the first time I witnessed dozens of them together. This appears to be good news for this elegant yet beleaguered species.
Another first occurred during our visit to the magnificent Gomantong Cave. This vast cavern is home to millions of swifts and bats and is famous for the harvesting of edible bird’s nests—cup-shaped structures made from the swifts’ own hardened saliva. The resultant soup is, as one might expect, flavorless and mucousy, and holds about as much appeal to me as a smoothie made from snot. Yet in some countries, bird’s nest soup is considered an extreme delicacy, fetching upwards of $1,500 per kilo. To each their own, I suppose.
Importantly, it’s a sustainable harvest: only the first nest of the season is collected (before any eggs are laid), allowing the birds to build a second, which is left untouched so they can raise their brood in peace. Harvesting is extremely dangerous work, involving men who climb flimsy bamboo ladders and scramble across precarious scaffolding tens of meters above the cave floor, with little to no protection from deadly falls. This was the first time my trip coincided with the harvesting event, and it was fascinating to watch these nimble climbers ascending and descending through holes in the cave roof.
At dusk, millions of bats stream out of the cave in a continuous, undulating ribbon across the sky. It’s one of nature’s most incredible phenomena.
Our second stop was Tabin, where—again, for the first time—we saw a young orangutan very close to our accommodations. But the stars of this reserve are the gibbons. A family of five treated us to an incredible acrobatic performance, swinging like living pendulums between the tallest trees. Gibbons rarely sit still long enough for decent photos, but in another first, they came down low to feast on figs, allowing us to capture some truly amazing shots.
Night drives here revealed leopard cats and civets, several owl species, and even a glimpse of a Malaysian sun bear as it bolted across the road in front of our open-air safari truck. I’ve never seen a Malaysian sun bear in the wild before.
Our final destination in Borneo was the breathtaking primary rainforest of the Danum Valley. Here, trees the size of skyscrapers block out the sun. Red leaf monkeys and macaques forage among the branches. And of course, orangutans traverse the canopy in search of fruit, leaves, and sweet strips of tree bark. One of our guests was particularly eager to see a tarsier, so we made a special effort during our night walks. These nocturnal, boggle-eyed prosimians are incredibly cute—but notoriously difficult to find. However, ORYX employs only the best local field trackers, and before long our guests were photographing a tarsier just three meters away.
This year, the luxury lodge at Danum introduced a new activity: rafting down the Danum River. My guests and I spent a peaceful afternoon drifting through one of the most magnificent rainforests on Earth. We passed hornbills, herons, storks, and kingfishers in an ambiance so tranquil I nearly drifted off to sleep. Yet another first.
The final “first” came during our extension to Indonesia’s Komodo National Park—a new add-on that ORYX is offering to our regular Borneo wildlife tours. We cruised through aquamarine waters aboard a stunning traditional phinisi sailing boat, stopping at islands and snorkel sites along the way to see and photograph the incredible—and somewhat intimidating—Komodo dragons.
These massive predators can reach over 3 meters in length and weigh up to 70 kilograms. They are, frankly, terrifying. Our local guides carried two-pronged sticks to hold back any charging dragons and deftly flick them away if needed while we crouched low for that perfect shot.
We visited both Rinca and Komodo Islands on three separate land excursions, timing our visits to avoid crowds. As a result, we encountered seven different Komodo dragons, which we had all to ourselves.
The snorkeling around Komodo is superb: warm, clear blue waters filled with vibrant coral reefs and a kaleidoscope of colorful fish.
Oh—and there was one more “first” to add to the list. As my guests and I floated through the ocean, waterproof GoPro-style cameras in hand, a giant manta ray—easily 5 meters across—glided beneath us. It was a truly otherworldly experience, and one I’ll never forget… until perhaps next year, when Borneo and Indonesia may surprise us once again with a whole new list of first-time encounters.
Come join me and find out for yourself.
