Borneo – Wayumi Journeys

Borneo is the third largest island on the planet, with about 750,000 square kilometers (288,000 sq miles). The island is not one but divided among three countries: Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) and the Brunei Sultanate in the north, and Indonesia (Kalimantan) to the south, with a total population of about 22 million people.

It is the biodiversity, biogeography and phylogeography of fauna and flora that had attracted Alfred Russell Wallace and biologists all over the world, and modern eco-tourists with a passion for wildlife.

The Borneo rainforest is one of the oldest in the world around 140 million years old and is one of the few remaining natural habitats for the endangered Bornean orangutan. It is an important refuge for many endemic forest species, including the Borneo elephant, the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros, the Bornean clouded leopard, the hose’s palm civet and the dayak fruit bat. The high complexity of the Bornean tropical rain forest has created many niches that accommodate a rich diversity of fauna.

There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps). Borneo is also home to the world’s largest flower, the “corpse flower” (Rafflesia arnoldii), which can reach nearly 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter. This can be seen in the foothills of Mt Kinabalu, the highest elevation in the island (4,095 metres (13,435 ft) above sea level). There are 100 species of amphibians. 288 species of terrestrial mammals and 600 species of resident birds. There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo. The Borneo river shark is known only from the Kinabatangan River.

Itineraries. Our trips to Borneo are currently focused on Sabah, given the tourist infrastructure, and mainly on the rainforest. We usually start and end in Kota-Kinabalu (KK), the capital city of Sabah, which boasts an excellent modern airport.

A sample itinerary (all tailor-made)

1-2 Kota-Kinabalu (KK). Excursion to Mt Kinabalu.

3- Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

4-6- Kinabatangan River

7-8- Lahad Datu. Tabin Wildlife Reserve

9-11- Danum Valley Rainforest Lodge

12- Kota Kinabalu

Extensions to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (off KK), Bali, the Indonesian Archipelago (including Komodo).

Detailed itineraries upon request.

PHOTO GALLERY KK and MT. KINABALU