Mount Kinabalu - Kota Kinabalu

(Amy) After our amazing day of diving/snorkelling off the southern coast of Borneo (we also got a glimpse of the Philippines from the boat!) we got a shitty night bus back to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. This was just a normal bus where they proceeded to play crap Malay music and blast the air on the whole way, and we arrived at the sociable hour of 5am. Luckily our hostel were nice and let us in for a sleep when we got there! When we got up for the 2nd time we spent the day wandering KK trying to find clothes for me to wear for the climb, which proved surprisingly difficult considering there is about 20 malls in KK. We gave up and went to the very average beach, and gave up on that when the rain came. However we did eventually find clothes, which was a relief! We ate cheap noodles at the night market and went to bed because it was still raining! 

The next day we went to the nearby marine park and got the boat to Sapi island to do the longest island to island zipline in the world (apparently...). It was all over very quickly but was absolutely hilarious because you can go at the same time. 

Unfortunately the heavens opened again and the boat crossing back to the mainland was a pretty terrifying experience- I have never been so glad to be back on solid ground. The day didn't improve to much ad we trekked through the monsoon with our bags to find a minibus to the mountain, and the driver couldn't see out the window for a good proportion of the journey due to it constantly steaming up... Didn't seem to bother him too much though! We eventually arrived at our little mountain resthouse just down the road from the national park, and tried to get some sleep in preparation for the climb! 

In the morning we filled out all the relevant forms and met out mountain guide, called Nice, who had apparently climbed over 1000 times and does it 3x a week. He soon found out that Harriet has a boyfriend, so tried to make me a deal that he would carry me down the mountain the next day if I would be his girlfriend... Politely declined that offer thanks! We started the ascent at 1700m, and the trail was mainly steps for the first 4km or so, but gradually got more rocky as we got higher. The whole way we were in the cloud, and torrential rain for the last 2km which meant we were freezing by the time we reached the Laban Rata resthouse at about 2pm. This part of the climb took about 4 hours, and was 6km in total, to reach 3270m. We got into some dry clothes and warmed up a bit, had some food and spent the afternoon playing cards and hoping the rain would stop! 

We all went to bed at the absurdly weird time of 7.30pm and tried to get some sleep before the alarm went off at 2am.. We were praying it would stop raining otherwise there was a big chance the trial would be closed and we wouldn't be able to go to the summit. 

It had finally stopped raining!! We ate a bit of 'breakfast', donned many layers and head torch and set off at about 3am. The first part of the track was narrow and slow, but we eventually managed to pass people and keep plodding the 2.7km to the summit. Everyone is pretty quiet and it's a pretty cool sight to look back and see all the headlamps winding up the mountain beneath you. It took us about 2.5 hours in the end, with some really steep rocky bits, and the altitude making it seem a lot harder work than it was! The stars were incredible and we could see the lights of KK in the distance, which is well over an hours drive away.  It was so cold at the top but we stuck it out for the obligatory success photo and then sunrise. The clouds were still there so the sunrise wasn't as good as it could have been, but still incredible! 

A bit of light on the horizon...

We made it! 

People still en route up to the summit with a smaller peak in the background

On the descent we got more of an idea of what we had actually climbed up. A lot if the the last 2.5km was just steep rocks with ropes to haul yourself up, and almost abseil back down! 

(haz's equally cheesy photo is on her camera!) 

Looking back up towards the peak

Above all the clouds

When we got back to the Laban Rata, we had breakfast and then began to go down the route that we came up The day before, taking about 3 hours. We passed a lot of the Sherpas on the way, who have to carry everything up to the Laban Rata- all the food etc for 200 people. So much respect for them for going up and down each day with 30kg on their back! 

Some of the track down from Laban Rata

We got the bus back to KK and spent the next 24 hours wandering KK and killing time before we caught a flight to Bali the next day. From the plane we got a great view of Mount Kinablau- pretty sure the plane was about the same height! The city on th Coast is Kota Kinabalu, and the massive mountain in the background is where we climbed to. 

Kinabatangan river - Semporna

(Harriet) Well! The last few days have been some of the best yet. Borneo is surprising us every day with weird and wonderful creatures and scenery. We took the bus from Sepilok to the river and checked in at a lovely little resort where we had our own little hut (next to a champion snorer) and there was a pretty stream flowing through the camp. We went on a river cruise straight away and quickly a mangrove snake was spotted curled up on a branch. As their colouring suggests they are poisonous and apparently good swimmers, I wasn't too keen on the boat lingering directly below it! 

We also saw a few monitor lizards, birds, monkeys and a 'small' crocodile!! Apparently they can grow to 6m! 

It was great to see the monkeys in their natural habitat however I was glad we'd also seen them up close as the promiscuous monkey nose is really something and you just can't do it justice from a distance. The river was busy but not crowded and the Japanese cameras were out in full force, always entertaining, although a shame as they spend more time adjusting their zoom than they do actually watching the animals! 

After returning to camp we had a lovely dinner with the rest of our boat, after which it started to rain. And rain. It was soo loud I thought the roof might fall in. Our evening cruise was cancelled (thankfully) ! and so we ended up playing cards all evening with 2 guys who were also staying the night, which was nice. 

We awoke early and got back on the boat for 6am. There was really thick fog and we wondered how anyone would be able to spot anything in this weather, however we were not disappointed- the guides are very good at their jobs! The river was beautiful as the mist lifted, it felt very eerie and calm. 

We again saw lots of little things like lizards and birds but the climax was when we pulled up to the banks and saw, just above us,  two orangutans, one with a baby! They were having their breakfast and the baby was hanging upside down, with binoculars I was able to get a glimpse of his face, he was gorgeous. It was such a special moment, we were so happy to have seen them! 

After breakfast we slept and then went for a walk in the jungle. Our guide pointed out many trees and insects which you really didn't want to touch and i found it interesting to learn about the habitat of the animals, GCSE geography came flooding back to me as we saw the process of succession demonstrated in the canopy above. At one point the guide stopped suddenly, hearing rustling. We all crouched down just in time to see a young grey gibbon flying past through the trees! They are so fast so it is rare to see them, we couldn't believe our luck! 

In the afternoon we went back to the river where the animals were all out again. It was monkey mania, I think I counted about 20 in one tree! 

As we were heading back the sun was setting, and the colours were stunning and kept changing.It looked as if the clouds were on fire. 

The final trip to the river was possibly my favourite. The sky was completely clear and it was almost a black moon so you wer able to see thousands of stars. Cruising along the river we saw numerous crocodile eyes reflecting back at us, before they sunk below the water... Below the boat!? We saw a tiny croc having his dinner and I couldn't believe how much growing he has to do! Kingfishers were spotted as well as 3 magnificent owls whose eyes were so striking you couldn't look away. The boat stopped just below one of them and I could see the trees and then the stars beyond, it was an unforgettable image. 

I didn't want it to end but sadly it was time to say goodbye to the amazing river and head south to Semporna. The only thing that escaped us was the elephants, but you can't have everything! 

The bus was local but fine and when we arrived at the station we hopped into one of the most beaten up cars I have ever seen to take us to the town. To be honest, Semporna is a bit of a dump, it smells and has a number of creepy men hanging around. However, our hostel was cool and we booked on a dive/snorkel tour for the next day. Yet again, we were wowed by what we saw. 

We stopped at 3 sites on Mataking island and at each one I saw tons and tons of fish in the coral, in fact I think I saw the entire cast of finding nemo! But I also saw over 30 green sea TURTLES! I've never been close to turtles before and I was able to swim right above them, I had to resist reaching out and touching them! I was so close to one I could see every wrinkle in his neck- it was truly one of the best experiences I've had! We also saw a barracuda and Amy saw a tiny seahorse and an octopus! Borneo is clearly full of life above and below land! 

We weren't able to take any photos under water but as you can see the beach was also beaut. 

Altogether it's been an incredible past few days, and we are now back in KK counting down to our climb! We've met a few people now who've done it and we are expecting sore legs for days afterwards!!