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Birding in Borneo ALONE (1 Viewer)

jeigenauer

Snowy Owl
Hello

I am interested in birding Borneo without the aid of a guide.

Is this wise? Possible?

Has anyone rented a car and done it alone?

Thank you,

John E.
 
I've done Kinabalu, Poring Hot Springs, Sandakan and Mulu alone. I had a great time, seeing lots of good birds (and certainly also missing many). I used public transport to these sites which was easy and cheap, but of course more time consuming than with a car.
I never encountered any problems safety wise and you might meet other independent birders in the parks to join forces or just to exchange some gem.

André
 
Well, I was travelling on the cheap side. In Kota Kinabalu hotels should not be a problem. At Mount Kinabalu and Poring Hotsprings I stayed in the dormitories of the park (4 nights each, including the climb and one night on the mountain). There are now more hotels at Mount Kinabalu, outside the park, but I heard it's wise to reserve in advance. In Sandakan I stayed in a hostel and they organised a trip to Kinabatangan River with two nights in a tented camp (cool for Proboscis Monkey). I organised Mulu with a travel agent in Miri and stayed just outside the park (five nights if I remember correctly).

Hope this helps.
André
 
hi john,
mt kinabalu national park is probably the best birding site in borneo, in terms of endemics if not total species diversity, and is very easy to do independently as andre says

other sites which are doable without a guide include pulau manukan (philippine megapode, mangrove whistler, mangrove blue flycatcher), kota kinabalu wetland park and no doubt several other good spots round the city which i didn't visit.

sepilok rainforest discovery centre, no need for a guide there

the rafflesia centre; i found it a little tricky to get there and away and to get around while i was there, but the birding when you are there is good and really easy. let me know if you want more details. of course if you have a car then really easy

it might be possible to do danum valley field centre independently although others will know more about that - not sure if you would be allowed to drive in though?

kinabatangan probably difficult to do without a guide, unless you hire your own canoe!

cheers,
James
 
Danum Valley Field Center can be done independently. Show up on (if I remember right) Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays. The drive back to Lahad Datu is on the following day. So on those days driving in, at least one 4x4 will do the driving from the reserve office in Lahad datu and bring you at the field centre in approx. 4 hrs (if there are no defunct bridges, like we had on the way back).
It is still a little vague on who is allowed to visit the Field center; even if they say that only scientists are allowed, they have everything to cater to the independent hobby birder. One thing we found out too late, was that there are cheap meals available , contrary to the more expensive full board option where you eat in the more fancy restaurant of the Field centre.

For Mt Kinabalu, I stayed 500mtrs south of the entrance in a basic hotel. There is a basic but decent restaurant a little further down the road. We never paid entrance, as we crossed the gate around 5AM (while everybody was still sleeping).
 
Contact the Sabah Foundation in Kota Kinabalu to stay at Danum Valley. Although they say it's only for bone fide researchers if there is room you can stay for a week ( and you'll need it ). I haven't got the address with me at the moment but it should be easy enough to Google. For Sepilok I'd get in touch with Sabah Forestery about staying at Sepilok Laut, in the mangroves. You'll have to take your own food but the chaps there will take you out in a boat for Proboscis Monkey and Sepilok reserve backs onto the guest house so no need to wait for it to open. Pulau Tiga has easy Tabon Scrubfowl and Nicobar Pigeon but, yet again, you'll have to take your own food. Public transport is cheap and easy so there is no need to hire a car. ( The express bus from Ranau to Sandakan is an experience in itself ).

Chris
 
I'd also recommend Crocker Range as an easy site to get to on a bus from KK, where Pygmy White-eye and the falconet are perhaps easier than the other sites already mentioned. Cheap rooms available. We also had no probs birding Sabah on public transport with no guides or advanced bookings. Go for it :t:
 
the rafflesia centre; i found it a little tricky to get there and away and to get around while i was there, but the birding when you are there is good and really easy. let me know if you want more details. of course if you have a car then really easy

James

I'd also thoroughly recommend the stretch of road alongside this spot, and it is (or at least was a few years ago) possible to get there on public transport, and stay in a cheap place a few km away, and either walk or get a cheap lift to the best stretch for birds. I'll try and add a link to how we did it and what we saw...

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=100901&highlight=bristol+kagu&page=37 scroll down to post #904 on that page for the post. More up and down that thread for elsewhere in Borneo
 
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I'd also thoroughly recommend the stretch of road alongside this spot, and it is (or at least was a few years ago) possible to get there on public transport, and stay in a cheap place a few km away, and either walk or get a cheap lift to the best stretch for birds. I'll try and add a link to how we did it and what we saw...

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=100901&highlight=bristol+kagu&page=37 scroll down to post #904 on that page for the post. More up and down that thread for elsewhere in Borneo

below based on my experiences in 2011:-

you can stay at a basic but nice place called the gunung alab resort. this is about 5km uphill (direction of KK) from the rafflesia centre (very close to the pass).

to get there you can get share taxis from kota kinabalu to tambunan which will drop you off. These leave from the south end of the minibus station in KK. It took me a while to track these down as everyone assumed i was saying "semporna" when i asked for "tambunan" - don't ask me!
I was lucky to get the last space in a car but you should probably factor in the possibility of a wait.

when you are there it's easy enough with plenty of time to walk downhill to the good roadside birding a few km either side of the centre, i wouldn't recommend walking back up though. I was lucky that the resort owner (who was really kind all round) came and picked me up for free both afternoons i was there. She also promised to drive me down early in the morning but overslept so i walked instead!

good range of hot meals at the resort, also you can buy nasi goreng etc. from the cafe at the rafflesia centre. should probably take your own breakfast, snacks, water etc. though.

getting away by public transport may be more difficult depending on where you want to go but the resort owner will probably be able to help. i was going to kinabalu NP so she kindly gave me a cheap lift to tambunan and sorted out a share taxi to ranau, although i had to wait several hours before it actually left!

one drawback of birding the rafflesia centre roadside is you will be honked by every 2nd vehicle that passes, no doubt all meant in good fun but very irritating after a while!!

cheers,
James
 
It seems like you're going to end up in Ranau, whatever you do, so try the restaurant by the express bus stop. Stunning Buffalo Gut Soup. Far, far better than it sounds ( or looks ). :t:

Chris
 
Does anyone have a rough idea of the cost to stay at some of these recommended places?

Thanks,

John

prices of everywhere we stayed are in the report I linked for 2010, mostly in Q (UK pounds sterling). eg a double room at Mountain Guesthouse outside the gates of Mt Kinabalu NP was 12Q per night, and it was 10Q for a double at Gunung Alab near the Raflesia centre. Best get more recent gen though.
 
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