Sukau Rainforest Lodge to Sandakan - March 16th

We left the Sukau Rainforest Lodge at 9:00 AM for a 2-hour boat ride to Sandakan and the next part of our adventure. The orange dots on the map at the left show our journey along the Kinabatangan River and then into the Sulu Sea. 

I haven't talked about the controversies around palm oil plantations and logging in Borneo. The information below was extracted from this article.

"Beyond the obvious deforestation that results from clearing lowland rainforest for plantations (86 percent of deforestation in Malaysia from 1995-2000 was for oil palm plantations), there are other environmental impacts of oil palm cultivation. Several studies have found a significant reduction (on the order of 80 percent for plants and 80-90 percent for mammals, birds, and reptiles) in biological diversity following forest conversion to oil palm plantation. Further, many animals will not move through plantations while others, like orangutans, become crop pests putting them at risk of defensive poaching by plantation managers. The use of herbicides and pesticides can also impact species composition and pollute local waterways. Drainage systems required for plantations (oil palm plantations in Borneo are often established in swamp forest) may lower water tables, affecting neighboring forest areas. Further, destruction of peat lands increases the risk of flooding and fire. Land-clearing fires set by large oil palm plantation owners were the single largest cause of the massive 1997-1998 fires in Borneo."

The biodiversity is amazing in Sabah area of Borneo and the Malaysian government is working hard to protect and conserve remaining forest, however there is big money involved and according to our guides, lots of corruption in the Malaysian government.

Unfortunately the Indonesian part of Borneo is behind in their conservation efforts but hopefully this will change in the future before it is too late.

Rainforest Discovery Center Canopy Walk
Upon reaching Sandakan, we headed to the Rainforest Discovery Center.  Its main attraction is its 1200 ft canopy walk and a favorite spot for birders.  We walked its length and climbed its highest tower but didn't see anything of note.  Best time is first thing in the morning or the night walk.

Sandakan Memorial Park

Next we headed to the Sandakan Memorial Park which is built on the grounds of the former Sandakan WWII prison camp and is dedicated to all the prisons that died on the Death Marches...a horrifying story.

We next headed to the Sabah Hotel...our destination for the night and our first good internet in five days.

Sabah Hotel Lobby




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