Travel to Danum Valley

We left the Kinabatangan River Lodge early and drove to Latum Datu, where we switched cars and drove to the Danum Valley Conservation Area. On the first part of the drive, the road is paved and mile after mile of land is palm oil plantation where the rainforest has been cleared away. The second part of the drive was along a bumpy unpaved logging road, which passes through secondary (previously logged and regrown) forest and primary forest areas. Sadly, we passed dozens of trucks carrying logs from the rainforest. It is disheartening to see such beautiful pristine areas destroyed. Hopefully, tourism to this area will help heighten awareness of the need to protect these fragile and unique environments.

We arrived at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge at lunch time and quickly settled into this fantastic setting, which is located in protected primary rainforest in the Danum River Preserve. The private chalets on stilts feature an outdoor bathtub overlooking the river, quiet and peaceful porch, and fantastic views. As I am writing this, small bright blue birds are flitting about. Certainly this is the most luxurious of the places we have stayed on the trip.

In the afternoon, we walked in the primary rainforest, which has large palm leaves, gorgeous ferns, gigantic elephant ear plants, and very tall trees, many of which are hundreds of years old. In the forest, we saw the smallest squirrel, the pygmy squirrel and a large pill millipede. We also had a troop of red leaf monkeys pass right over our heads. After returning to the lodge, we had a nice dinner and then a night drive, where we caught glimpses of the leopard cat and two types of flying squirrels.

Interesting Fact: Many trees here have buttresses, or winged areas a the base. Since the rich rainforest soil is very shallow, the trees do not develop deep tap roots. The buttresses help stabilize the trees.