Baco

Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest island in Asia. The island is politically divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south. The East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak make up about 26% of the island. The Borneo rainforest is considered one of the oldest rainforests in the world and home to 221 species of terrestrial mammals. Just two of these mammals were on our list of must sees while here; the endangered Bornean orangutan and the peculiar proboscis monkeys. Thus we settled on our first excursion into the Jungle, a trip to Bako National Park, the home of the big nosed proboscis monkeys.

Bako contains a wide range of vegetation – swamp forest, scrub-like padang vegetation, mangrove forest, delicate cliff vegetation, and more. Bako also contains a rich variety of wildlife, and a coastline covered with small bays, coves, and beaches. Visiting Bako, we were told we were almost guaranteed to see wildlife. Long-tailed macaque monkeys and silver leaf monkeys are ever present, wild boar are often found rummaging around the park, squirrels and monitor lizards are also common, and of course, the rare and unusual proboscis monkeys.  

We met at the hotel lobby at 8:30 and loaded up for the ride. Our tour guide Alex was extremely knowledgeable and outgoing, and never stopped talking the entire day. He was the best guide one could have on an adventure such as this. Also with us was a young couple from California, Keith and Robin. Our first stop was about an hour's drive at a small typical fishing village. We transferred into a old fishing boat and then were on our way to Bako. The numerous houses along the banks were aged and dilapidated. Many were on stilts, and most had docks reaching the water's edge with their rickety boats attached. At one point we pulled over next to the bank to watch a small crocodile sunning itself, and also saw many walking fish, or Mudskippers, crawling about on the land.

After a 15 minute boat ride, we arrived at Bako National Park. The tide was already retreating and the boat was unable to reach the dock, so we removed our shoes and socks and waded to shore. I thought perhaps it would have been better had Alex not stopped to let us see the crocodile, because the warning signs near where we saw the crocodile still had us on high alert. As we exited the water and made our way across the sand to the main compound, we walked right up to our first Proboscis monkey. It was perched in the tree right above the trail. As if it had rehearsed to amuse the visitors, it moved around from branch to branch giving us plenty of good views. Bako is home to approximately 275 rare proboscis monkeys, found only in Borneo. The male is an odd-looking creature, with a huge pendulous nose and a large pot-belly. Both male and female are covered in reddish-brown fur with grey limbs and a long white tail.

As we were fawning over the weird looking monkey, two wild pigs came up to greet us. They were not afraid of us at all, and poked around hoping for a scrap of food. While the monkeys were not exactly pretty, these pigs were downright ugly. Their faces were covered with what appeared to be long brittle looking brown beards and they obviously had not visited the local bathhouse in far too long. Although Bryan managed to pet one, Mark refused to sit on one as I kept encouraging him to do, I thought that would have made a great photo.

We hiked for a few hours through the jungle following rough trails that wound in an out of the jungle onto various beaches. The trails were obviously well maintained, but had few man-made structures except for a network of beach walks and narrow bridges that spanned swampy areas. At the end of the walk we waded back into the water and onto the waiting boat which returned us to our starting point at the National Park. We entered the compound for a nourishing buffet meal of local foods.

During our meal on the front covered patio area, we watched as a couple walked away from their table for a moment, leaving their plates exposed on the table. A small monkey, a long-tailed macaques, had been nearby watching intently and waiting for the opportunity to make its move. It scurried down to the table and helped itself to the rest of their food. The scavenger then hopped on a short wall and scurried across it right by our table. We were fully engaged eyeing the little beast when it spontaneously leapt to our table and hurled itself at Mark, fangs protruding, and let out an awful hiss. Mark simultaneously let out a shriek, grabbed his plate, and immediately went airborne landing a couple tables away. The monkey was not deterred and turned toward Bryan’s plate. Bryan calmly pushed his plate forward and let the critter help himself. With a handful of chicken, it leapt back to the wall and was soon back up on the roof.

After lunch we spent a little more time in the jungle. We passed many tall Durian trees, saw a flying lemur, and a got close up to the venomous Wagler’s pit viper. Alex explained that the pit viper senses its prey and enemies by heat, and during the day the temperatures are so hot that the snake can no longer distinguish a living creature even when it is right in front of its nose. He proved the point and got within an inch of the snake's face, much to our discomfort, and in spite of our pleading with him not to do it.

As time came for us to depart, Alex looked at the sky and told us a big storm was coming. He had brightly colored yellow plastic ponchos for each of us, and even against several people’s wishes he strongly insisted that we all wear them. Next he took all of our shoes, cameras, or anything else we were carrying and proceeded to wrap them all in plastic bags. We admitted the sky looked grey on the horizon, but we all thought he was being a bit excessive. Still Alex insisted, and said when it hits there will be no time to prepare. We obliged and we were soon back on the water headed toward the fishing village.

About five minutes into the ride it did start to rain, although very lightly. We could see the drops hitting the water around us. Just moments later rain was starting to blow under the little canopy and was starting to hit us in the face. The boat was just large enough to hold a maximum of ten adults, and had an open sided canopy that covered most of the vehicle. But even the canopy was not enough to shield us as the wind started blowing the rain underneath it. I pulled the thin plastic hood down and lowered my head to face the bottom of the boat. Another moment later large drops of rain started pounding us from every side. Bryan commented that it felt like being pelted by paint balls, and it certainly did. The rain continued to get exponentially worse until it seemed like a full blown monsoon. Lightning was cracking and the rain was beating down so hard and so fast it was impossible to see outside of the boat. We were all clutching our gear, each other, and our seats to try and keep from getting blown off into the waves. The hammering rain was so loud and fierce it was like nothing any of us had ever experienced before. We had to yell just to hear each other over the amazing torrent. Then almost as quickly as it arrived it slowed again, and by the time we arrived at the village the rain was entirely gone as if nothing had happened. We all crawled from the boat, battered and shaken. It was so good to be back on solid land and out of stormy crocodile infested waters.