Meet and Learn: Orang Utan; Sun Bears; Tropical Rain Forest Ecology

Spend one week in magical Sabah, Borneo- based in an enchanting rainforest hill top lodge a few minutes from the world famous Orang Utan rehabilitation centre at Sepilok, and with magnificent views over the surrounding rainforest. All food included in the most amazing roof top restaurant.

Start dates:
Aug 13th 27th Sept 3rd Costs, including 7 nights accommodation and all meals on twin shared room basis, three AWF courses, (Orang Utan, Sun Bear and Rainforest Ecology), and all entry fees is £995

They have two programmes that allow visitors to the study and enjoy the wildlife along the Kinabatangan River.

The first is a three day 9two nights)package that includes 3 river cruises, a trip to the orang- utan study site to see first-hand how research is done (only 300 visitors permitted a year), a trip to the Gomantong Limestone caves to watch a million swifts and bats exchange their aerial shifts with bat hawks swooping down to catch a few!, and a trip to the Sepilok orang- utan rehabilitation in Sandakan.

There are two accommodation options: a family homestay or at a simple village B&B. Cost for the package is £495 per person for 3-8 people. All costs include private overland transport from Sandakan to Sukau and back, food and accommodation, entrance fees to the Gomantong caves and Sepilok and also include a 10% community conservation fund.

The second, four day (three night) programme includes 4 river cruises, 2 trips to the Gomantong caves (one in the morning for a beautiful walk amidst lowland primary forests for bird watching), a trip to the study site and also a visit to the edible swift community conservation project, and a trip to Sepilok.

The programme cost for 3-8 people is £695 pounds per person. This trip offers the possibility of seeing elusive elephants if around. Sukau is probably the best place in South East Asia to view large mammals. Some wildlife that can be almost guaranteed to be seen: Proboscis

monkeys along the river and its tributaries, long-tailed and pig-tailed Macaques, Maroon Langurs, Egrets, Sea Eagles, Kingfishers, Oriental Darters, Hornbills. If lucky: Bearded Pigs, Saltwater Crocodiles, Sabah's famous Pygmy Elephants, and Bornean Gibbons

The highlight:
Definitely the trip to the orang-utan study site to view orang-utans in the wild and how research is being conducted by research assistants that all come from Sukau - and see how sometimes communities and conservation are not on opposite ends! RAE would like especially to highlight that research and conservation can bring sustainable revenue to a community that lives next to a protected area.


About Red Ape Encounters

only utilises local based services such as boats and overland transport as well as village homestays and B&B's and all local guides. RAE was founded to initiate a sustainable community based orang-utan ecotourism experience that increases revenue to the community through research and conservation activities.

Sukau has about ten lodges that are all owned by externally based businesses that employ locals as basic wage employees and not even guides. RAE was formed in 2003 by HUTAN and the Sabah Wildlife Dept along with DANIDA to increase sustainable tourism revenue to the village. As stated above - all services engaged by RAE are from the village so tourist dollars do stay within the community.

RAE additionally contributes 10-15% from proceeds through a community and conservation fund that is made available to the community every year to initiate independent community and conservation projects (putting up electric fences to prevent elephants from destroying grave yards, supplying substitute material instead of illegally harvested wood bark for fish and prawn traps, funding of a cultural troupe to keep alive musical traditions, school scholarships, in the future- garbage disposal and waste management - Sukau does not currently have one) etc..