Wet and Wild in Tabin Wildlife Reserve - Part Deux

I managed to salvage these from my camera's memory card, and some are from my handphone camera :

View half way towards Tabin on a gravel road - my kidneys and their friends had a smashing good time.

Fresh elephant droppings/shit/dung just that morning - which was why Stephen said we have to go out for 'elephant-hunt' the same day.

Seladang footprints, or should that be hoof prints? We didn't see any though.

My favourite tree - the majestic, elegant Kompassia Excelsa - or locally known as the Menggaris, a.k.a. the honey tree / tualang / tapang.

Carved tree-trunks serve as pillars in the reception building.

My River Lodge. Mine was the furthest from the rest; all the units to the left and right were unoccupied.

Super-cozy room. Loved it!

View from my balcony at the back. The lodges are nicely spaced away from each other.

Eight seemed to be my lucky number for the day. I was seated 8F on the aircraft, given lodge No. 8, and joined a group of 8 people for the weekend :-) Niiiicceee! (okay not including the camera incident)

Boardwalks join the river lodges, the Sunbird Cafe and the Hill Lodges on the other end.

Reminder.

View of the river and the Otter Deck from the cafe. Apparently the river otters don't come out during the rainy season. But they showed us a short video where the otters were soooooo adorable!

This leads to the Hill Lodges. Where ever you are in the resort, the bustling river can be heard. Very peaceful.

Green Initiative.

Short briefing from Stephen before our safari starts!

The very last picture from my camera :-) At least it was a happy one! And off we go!

After the heavy rain, before discovering my camera was soaked. That's why I was still smiling. Taken using my Nokia.

I don't remember what we were stalking here - maybe it was the bearded pigs.

At the Lipad mud volcano pit - the earth spouting some mud out. Not much. It has no smell and is not hot.

Morning walk and birdwatching on our last day.

Can you tell I'm still on a high a week after Tabin?

:)

Wet and Wild in Tabin Wildlife Reserve

Hey :)

*Haha, please don't conclude anything based on the title above :P *

I've been trying to muster the inspiration to blog for the past few days but alas, my muse is missing in action.

Anyway, before this weekend looms I'd better get it done a.s.a.p. This trip almost did not materialise but thankfully, thanks to the graciousness and kindness of friends I made it there. Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my little heart.

Well - I can sum up the weekend in one word - FABULOUS. Totally above my expectations. Despite the weather (what's a rainforest without the rain?), we had the most amazing wildlife experience that made me think twice that perhaps, I may be needing more of this Jungle Jane adventures in order not to be too excited! (Note to self : More jungles, please)

Oh. My camera died on me after getting soaked in the rain. That's the short story. So some of these pics are courtesy of my fellow travellers in the same group :-) They're a really fun bunch and know how to have a good time! Some pics are too big to fit in, I need to resize them later.

After check-in, briefing, lunch, settling-in, and afternoon tea, we started our safari right up till dinner time.

The next day, we had a very early start to head towards the Lipad Mud Volcano, followed by a trek to the Lipad Waterfall. Got our certificate hand-printing session in the afternoon, followed by another night safari after dinner. The following morning was also an early call as we went birdwatching.

Yupp, we had a full schedule.

Pacat-check : clear.

About to start our trek towards the mud volcano.

Stephen, our guide, is a walking jungle encyclopedia. He was spouting common and scientific names for trees!! There are so many interesting things in the jungle! (And I thought I already knew enough. Obviously a delusion :P) Pic : RAA

View of the mud volcano from the fifth level of the observation tower. The spouts were small, apparently it depends how much mud that the earth wants to spout out.

I did not jump in :( so I just did a facial spa :))) It did feel smoother later. We filled some bottles to bring back :) Everyone had dirty muddy hands hence not many pictures were captured here.

Just before jumping into the river after the mud volcano. Pacat-check : clear. The water was so refreshingly cold!

Group photo with Stephen. Pic : RQ.

My cert with mud hand print. Eh, Dato' Michelle Yeoh was also here before (last year?). Her cert is displayed at the reception.

View from my bed. The room was superbly cozy I did not feel like getting out of bed while it rained :)

View from my balcony - directly overlooking a river! Love love love the sound of the flowing waters. This was taken during the rain.

After the rain the river looks almost perfect for white-water rafting! And yeah, it's always teh-tarik brown.

Our premium sighting - a Bornean Pygmy Elephant :))))))) right at the resort entrance. Pic : RAA.

Later, his family - altogether 5 of them - decided to join him. The little one was so cute!! Pic : RAA.

The Flying Lemur aka Colugo. It did not fly though as it was starting to rain. Pic : RAA.

Those are the highlights of wildlife we saw - oh, we also saw the Sun Bears!!! However we were so excited and the bears were too, no one managed to capture a decent picture. We also saw black gibbons, leopard cats, civets, mousedeers (greater and lesser), various birds, butterflies and of course insects.

I really had a wonderful time in Tabin - it's the perfect weekend getaway. One day I will return for another jungle session - hmm, this time with a waterproof camera.

I Love Tabin! :)