Sandakan: 3D/2N Abai and Sukau Kinabatangan Safari by SI Tours Sdn. Bhd.

I went on Uncle Tan's Kinabatangan Safari during New Years 2012 and had a very good time, even though I did not see many animals - I especially wanted to see the icons of Borneo- the orangutan and the proboscis monkeys. After I returned to KL I immediately made plans to go back to Sandakan, and this time I went on the Abai and Sukau tour, as I found out that Sukau was where all the wildlife was. I was not dissapointed as I indeed saw a lot of animals on this tour.

Let me provide a run down of the tour itinerary:

Day 1 Sepilok/Boat to Abai
09:00 Pick up at hotel, proceed by land to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
10:45 Depart to Sim Sim Jetty
11:45 Scheduled boat deparure to Abai Jungle Lodge
13:15 Lunch at Abai Jungle Lodge
14:00 Check in Abai Jungle Lodge
16:30 River cruise to the Kinabatangan River and witness fireflies
19:30 Dinner at Abai Jungle Lodge
20:30 Night walk at Abai Jungle Lodge (on platforms)

Day 2 Pitas/Tree Planting/Sukau
06:30 Morning cruise to Pitas Oxbow Lake
08:00 Jungle Breakfast at Abai Jungle Platform
10:00 Tree planting, Village walk
12:00 Lunch with Villagers or Lunch at Abai Jungle Restaurant
14:15 Boat ruising upstream to Sukau
15:30 Check in Kinabtangan Riverside Lodge
16:30 River cruise to Menanggul River
19:30 Dinner at Kinabatangan Riverside lodge

Day 3 Boat to Sandakan/Market
07:00 After brakfast, scheduled departure by boat to Sandakan
08:30 Toilet stop at Abai Jungle REstaurant
10:00 Arrival at Sandakan Jetty,
10:15 Proceed to Sandakan Central Market
11:00 Lunch at local restaurant
12:30 Transfer to Sandakan Airport/Sandakan hotels

Recommended Personal gear
Insect repellent, raincoat, hat, binocular, sunscreen.

I booked this tour via journeymalaysia but the tour was actually run by SI Tours based in Sandakan. I stayed in Paganakan Dii again before being picked by SI Tours the following morning. Read more about Pagnakan Dii here.

I felt that this company was a good tour comapny. It was very professionally run, and although the price was steeper (3x more expensive) than the one I paid for at Uncle Tan's, I felt it was worth it as it provided the following:

• Electricity at both the hotels the whole time and not switched off after 10pm.
• Clean running water, instead of running river water
• Attached toilets
• 4*star treatment - provided warm hand towels and welcome drinks, coffee, tea and water provided 24 hours, some toiletries, towels and fans provided
• Safety and Transportation Features - lifejackets were provided on the boats and were made compulsory for the trips. The transportation boats were covered to ensure that we were protected from the rain and the river cruises were open to ensure maximum exposure to wildlife
• Guides- Good quality guides who are knowledgeable about birds, wildlife, sabah and history. They also had a tree-planting project where we took part in and a village lunch which was so delicious. The guides also kept everyone on schedule and we departed and arrived on time.
• Hotels- Hotels were beautiful, well maintained and clean. At Abai Jungle Lodge, there were special touches such as a Jungle Breakfast, as well as the nature platform walk where guests can walk around independently. I've spotted orangutans on those broadwalks twice, and others have spotted wildboars and etc.
• Food - I only had one average meal at Abai Jungle Lodge. The other dinners and breakfasts I had at the hotels were delicious with fresh prawns, fish, vegetables, and fruits,

The list of animals I saw (not exhaustive) during the tour is as follows:

• Orangutans
• Proboscis Monkeys
• Short-tail and Long-tail Macaques
• Crocodiles
• Rhino Hornbills
• Pit Viper and Pythons
• Eagles, Herons, Storks (Egrets) and Kingfishers
• Sambar Deer

All in all, I felt that this was a very professionally run tour and I would recommend this company and this tour to whomever who wants to visit the Kinabatangan in a luxury way (as luxury you can get in the Jungles at least).

Sim-Sim Jetty where we took our speed boat to Abai and then Sukau. The journey took 75 minutes to Abai from Sandakan.

A visual of the speedboat we took (complete with lifejackets)

Site of the Tree-Planting Project. They provide you with a serial number and a certificate with the serial number and your name printed on it for RM 15. This cash goes to the villagers of Abai.

The Jungle Platform at Abai Jungle Lodge where we had our breakfast.

Lovely nature boardwalk at Abai Jungle Lodge.

An orangutan was spotted in the Abai Jungle Lodge premises twice while I was there.

The tree planted by myself at the tree planting site at Abai.

Tour package Details: http://www.journeymalaysia.com/rainkinabatangansia10.htm
Company and Hotel Website: www.sitoursborneo.com

To read more about Abai Jungle Lodge, click here.

To read more about the Sandakan Viewpoint and lunch at Sabah Hotel after we returned to Sandakan, click here.