Where/how to hire a guide in Borneo? (4 Viewers)

[jurek]

My trip to Borneo was several years ago already, but in Crocker Range I birded on the road and inside the Rafflesia centre around the buildings. For mt Kinabalu, I stayed just outside and the gate was open well before dawn and after dusk. The main problem was that dense fog and rain formed at the mountaintop in the late morning and descended down. So birding was mostly rushing to the top before dawn and trying to see as much as possible before the fog comes. Then rushing down to see a little more before the wave of fog and rain gets there, too.

Birding is challenging, but most people do it on their own. Infrastructure is pleasant, however the number of species is so great that 6 days for the highlans and 7 for Danum was minimum, and you still miss low density species.

 

[AveryBartels]

No real reason to stay inside the park at Kinabalu, but if cost isn't an issue for you you certainly can. As near as I can make out they don't actually close the gate into the park so you can enter/exit whenever. That being said, the small gate above the Liwau restaurant blocks vehicle traffic before 7am. We had good success just walking up the road to the Timpohon Gate on Day 1, and then taking a taxi at 7am to Timpohon Gate the next morning and birding our way down. It does get foggy/rainy in the afternoons so they can be a bit of a bust.

Obviously as I did the DVFC rather than Borneo Rainforest Lodge I can't really compare the two but from what I can tell, they both hold pretty much the same species. You might have better luck finding a guide at the latter but really, you are paying ~$300USD/night more for a luxury experience and canopy walkways (not my favourite way to bird personally). Again, if cost is no impediment than go for by all means go for BRL.

From what I can make out from others' reports/ebird checklists, for Crocker Range the birding is usually along the main road around Rafflesia Centre and Gunung Alab substation which has some hides, somewhere. You might consider hiring someone like Jason Bugay (aka @horukuku), linked in an earlier message, to guide you for a couple days in Crocker/Trusmadi. That way you don't need to worry about renting a 4x4 as he could presumably provide. You can stay in cheaper accom in Tambunam or at the very expensive (though apparently somewhat basic) Jungle Girl Camp but it seems like you kind of need local knowledge to effectively bid the area. There is also a private Bulwer's Pheasant hide somewhere near Tambunam (as well as one at Trus Madi).

I feel like maybe Borneo doesn't quite get enough independent birders who want to be guided for the local guideds to really have figured out how to effectively sell their services, hence the extraordinary pricing. I was told something like $600USD/person for my friend and I to go look for the Bornean Peacock Pheasant at the hide near Telupid (including transport for the day) - absolutely ludicrous.

 

[jurek]

I did not stay in Crocker Range, I simply driven before dawn from Kota Kinabalu and in the afternoon driven to Kinabalu NP headquaters village.

You may check this trip report. It is a bit old, but provides answer to many of your worries. Also, the cost was ca $1900 for 20 days. Even considering inflation etc.etc. it is many times less than what they quoted you.

https://www.cloudbirders.com/be/download?filename=JUREK_Borneo_08_2014.pdf

 

[nicolas1970i]

Thanks both for the additional info.

I'll definitely try to contact @horokuru to see what advice or help he can give me

 

[nicolas1970i]

Looks like I left it too late for Borneo Rainforest Lodge, they only have Premium Villas left, and at limited availability.
I'll try to stay at the DVFC. What is the most efficient way to contact and book? I've only found information through agents so far, but that's OK for me if it works and they respond quickly.

I also didn't get any answer to my email to Maliau Basin, I'll try their WhatsApp. Is the place accessible by regular car, or is a 4x4 necessary?

 

[AveryBartels]

Looks like I left it too late for Borneo Rainforest Lodge, they only have Premium Villas left, and at limited availability.
I'll try to stay at the DVFC. What is the most efficient way to contact and book? I've only found information through agents so far, but that's OK for me if it works and they respond quickly.

I also didn't get any answer to my email to Maliau Basin, I'll try their WhatsApp. Is the place accessible by regular car, or is a 4x4 necessary?

contact via whatsapp for the DVFC office in Lahad Datu is in my trip report

 

[nicolas1970i]

What are good resources for Borneo birds' calls/songs?
I have the Merlin app, but for sounds Borneo covered very sketchily compared to other regions.
I used to manually download tracks on my phone from Xeno Canto a long time ago, but I hope there is something ready to use somewhere...

 

[AveryBartels]

What are good resources for Borneo birds' calls/songs?
I have the Merlin app, but for sounds Borneo covered very sketchily compared to other regions.
I used to manually download tracks on my phone from Xeno Canto a long time ago, but I hope there is something ready to use somewhere...

I've sent you a PM

 

[Alanuae]

Hello,

So I didn't have much luck with my previous questions, they were probably too vague - I've since made progress in researching my trip.

From what I understand, the birding circuit is pretty much standard (looks like it'll be a Sabah trip exclusively, unless I have a lot of time, or other interests take me elsewhere), and reaching the different hotspots, even on one's own, is not a problem.

If I wanted to organise my solo trip independently (I can ask for an agent to sell me a whole package, but the cost for a private solo tour will be astronomical... ), and take care of my accommodation/meals and transport, would it be possible to hire a bird guide at each location ? I know that for Danum the Borneo Rainforest Lodge already provides guides, and Tabin too (although I don't know if theirs are private, or if they only do group activities), but what of Mt. Kinabalu, Sepilok, Sukau... ?
Are they available in situ, or do I have to hire someone, and take them with me on the trip, from KK ?
I remember that Birdlife had very helpful pages for local guides in South Africa, but I can't find something equivalent for Malaysia/Borneo.
Do you have any resources to suggest ?

Thanks in advance !

Hi I’m also visiting Borneo late March early April next year and also looking for information on birding spots. As you mention the rates from the private lodges are totally unrealistic. I’ve decided to hire my own vehicle for two weeks and visiting Mt Kinabalu, Sepilok, Kinabatangan River and Tabin. Info on local guides would be helpful.

 

[nicolas1970i]

Hi Alan,

Here's a few things I learned from my trip this year.

March-April is probably a little early, especially for Pittas. I was guided in Danum by Wang Kong (the DVFC attributed him to me), who is pretty much a legend for the area, and as hard as we tried for the 3 days I was there, we didn't see a pitta (maybe just Hooded and Black-and-Crimson, the only two I saw on this whole trip), and heard very few of them. He told me that they only start getting active in mating season, from May, June-July offering the best chances.
If you can delay your trip by a month or two, I think it might be a good choice.

One area which I found very good for independent birding is Trus Madi, the lodge sits on a ridge with steep slopes on both sides, you can just stand on a 50m stretch of the dirt road right next to the lodge (they have a good garden too) and you will see everything fly around all day, at eye level, it's awesone.
Again, I was there in April, but they told me in May trees start fruiting and it becomes even wilder.
To see Bulwer's Pheasant is a bit of an expedition though (you have to drive to the hide), and quite expensive, I didn't try.
If you decide to go, better to book way ahead, as it's small and if a group comes (birders or entomologists) it'll be booked solid.

Another thing is, from my experience, $100/day seems to be the floor for bird guiding fees in Borneo.

EDIT: just noticed you mentioned Tabin. I opted to skip it as it was just insanely expensive for a solo traveler - even though their cabins look very nice - and the standard package doesn't even include specialist birding guides, you would share generalist guides with other guests. To have your own bird guide adds another crazy amount of money

 

[Alanuae]

Hi Alan,

Here's a few things I learned from my trip this year.

March-April is probably a little early, especially for Pittas. I was guided in Danum by Wang Kong (the DVFC attributed him to me), who is pretty much a legend for the area, and as hard as we tried for the 3 days I was there, we didn't see a pitta (maybe just Hooded and Black-and-Crimson, the only two I saw on this whole trip), and heard very few of them. He told me that they only start getting active in mating season, from May, June-July offering the best chances.
If you can delay your trip by a month or two, I think it might be a good choice.

One area which I found very good for independent birding is Trus Madi, the lodge sits on a ridge with steep slopes on both sides, you can just stand on a 50m stretch of the dirt road right next to the lodge (they have a good garden too) and you will see everything fly around all day, at eye level, it's awesone.
Again, I was there in April, but they told me in May trees start fruiting and it becomes even wilder.
To see Bulwer's Pheasant is a bit of an expedition though (you have to drive to the hide), and quite expensive, I didn't try.
If you decide to go, better to book way ahead, as it's small and if a group comes (birders or entomologists) it'll be booked solid.

Another thing is, from my experience, $100/day seems to be the floor for bird guiding fees in Borneo.

EDIT: just noticed you mentioned Tabin. I opted to skip it as it was just insanely expensive for a solo traveler - even though their cabins look very nice - and the standard package doesn't even include specialist birding guides, you would share generalist guides with other guests. To have your own bird guide adds another crazy amount of money

Thanks for the information. I’m unfortunately limited to that time of the year so will hopefully have some luck.

 

[ParisNorway]

I can honestly recommend Sukau River Homestay and their Kinabatangan river tours. Price in 2024: MYR 100 per night with 3 meals per person, MYR 60 per trip per person. They do 3 trips a day. We thought we might do a few tours, but during our 3 night stay, we just took ALL the tours available because the tours were awesome. The guide Shah is super knowledgeable. Their boat isn't big. The homestay has a total of 2 rooms, so you may travel with people from the other room.

Homestay conditions: you live with the family and use the same bathroom. The standard of the rooms and bathrooms is very basic. There is no hot water in shower, there is one micro washbasin in common area. The food was nice, simple and homemade. The owner Maria likes to talk about local nature, as well as about her family, farm and life in Borneo. Staying here, you feel that the locals love the nature and even though crocodiles eat their ducks and hornbills steal their chickens, they talk about wild animals with passion and fascination, keep a diary of the species they encounter, etc.

I think that due to the quality of the trips, it is worth turning a blind eye to the basic standard of stay. We saw many proboscis monkeys, langurs, a gibbon, several species of macaques, an elephant crossing a river, 5 crocodiles, 2 snakes, several monitor lizards, a civet, a ruffed cat and a hyper-rare fish-hunting cat, flat-headed cat. Trips last 2-3 hours, but sometimes they last up to 4 hours if there are a lot of interesting things. It's not like the hour has struck and we're rushing back to the guesthouse.

About the birds:
We encountered 40-50 species of birds, including 5 species of hornbills. It might seem like not much, but we aren't 100% birdwatching crazies (YET), and we took the tours with a couple of other guests, so we didn't want to force looking for obscure species. Anyway, the guide Shah (Maria's brother) has knowledge of species, and is in Whatsapp/Facebook groups with other guides. So if you have target species, I think you can make special arrangements for special tours. From conversations with Shah I know that he worked with film crews on longer projects, he also helped some guests to find the infamous Bornean ground cuckoo. Shah's English isn't perfect, but after you get used to Malaysian pronunciation it gets easier to communicate. He also has an English field guide book with him, this helps a little.
Oh, and the Homestay has their own private nesting booth for hornbills, so even at home you have a constant show of male oriental pied hornbill coming to feed the female staying with two nestlings.

Contact the hostess Maria via Whatsapp: +60 13-870 0908 (+60138700908)

We arrived in a rented car from Kota Kinabalu, but they can also arrange a transfer from Sandakan.

 

[Whistlingthrush60]

Yeah, I imagine those agencies probably almost never had to deal with a demand for a private tour of 1 pax, so they haven't really figured out how to price them. That's as generous as I can be in my interpretation 😄
I'll still try to get some local contacts before I get there

Nicolas,It is 2024 now.If I may ask how did your solo trip go?We do have the same questions you had and hope you could give us some answers as we are about to embark on a tour with same specific needs!Cheers!

 

[Alanuae]

Nicolas,It is 2024 now.If I may ask how did your solo trip go?We do have the same questions you had and hope you could give us some answers as we are about to embark on a tour with same specific needs!Cheers!

I’ve just done a trip to Sabah. Self drive from Kota Kinabalu. Bird guides are a must unless you know the bird calls yourself and the area. Local guides can be hired if you enquire at the lodges. The professional guides charge 100 US$ a day but local young guides are about 100 ringgit a morning which is great. All the guides were excellent in my opinion and worth it.

 

[Whistlingthrush60]

I’ve just done a trip to Sabah. Self drive from Kota Kinabalu. Bird guides are a must unless you know the bird calls yourself and the area. Local guides can be hired if you enquire at the lodges. The professional guides charge 100 US$ a day but local young guides are about 100 ringgit a morning which is great. All the guides were excellent in my opinion and worth it.

Thanks Nick,We are doing the same with the car.First night will be Tambunan for 3 nights.And 3 nights near mount kinabalu.
As you suggested is there a local guide contact we could get in touch.Appreciate your help

 

[Alanuae]

Thanks Nick,We are doing the same with the car.First night will be Tambunan for 3 nights.And 3 nights near mount kinabalu.
As you suggested is there a local guide contact we could get in touch.Appreciate your help

Alan here. Best to enquire at the park entrance or the guy I used was Lerry Dominic Log in to Facebook.

 

[nicolas1970i]

Nicolas,It is 2024 now.If I may ask how did your solo trip go?We do have the same questions you had and hope you could give us some answers as we are about to embark on a tour with same specific needs!Cheers!

Whistlingthrush, I've posted a few post-trip impressions a little higher up in the thread, do you have other specific questions? I got the contact details of guides in various locations from Jason Bugay Reyes, when some of them were unavailable they gave me the number of colleagues, and so on.
I can pass you those details by PM if you wish, but you can also follow a similar "thread" by starting with others that have been suggested here.

 

[Kalva]

I've sent you a PM

Would you share the Bird Sound alternative for Borneo tat you used. Also were you able to book DVFC via Whatsapp and how did you make the payments. Thanks

 

[AveryBartels]

Would you share the Bird Sound alternative for Borneo tat you used. Also were you able to book DVFC via Whatsapp and how did you make the payments. Thanks

Check out cloudbirders.com, there you can find trip reports from myself and others by filtering for Borneo (East Malaysia) and "independent" as mode of travel. I give the contact info that I used and there are more recent reports that also give the contact info they used (I believe in all cases via Whatsapp). Payment can be made by credit card (I think?) or cash (for sure) at the DVFC office in Lahad Datu when to arrive there.

 

[Andy Adcock]

In the meantime, I've received a quote for a 7D/7N birding trip from KK to Lahad Datu, encompassing Crocker Range, Kinabalau NP, Sepilok and Kinabatangan. That is, excluding from the standard circuit the nicer lodges at Danum and Tabin - which I could add by myself as they've got their own guides.
Price is 29.000MYR for a private solo tour, works out at around US$900/day. I don't really understand how that is possible. That's way more than the daily price of a stay at Borneo Rainforest Lodge (which also gives a private guide to their guests). It's also about 3 times more expensive than the price of a solo guided birding trip I did in Brazil (Manaus and South East) a couple of years ago.
I really don't get it.
Might have to just rent a car, if I need to, and do it unguided

If you're staying at lodges e.g Sukau, you can hire guides there.

The reason it's so expensive to take a guide with you, is that you have to pay their accomodation and food on top of guideing fees. Accomodation at the lodges is expensive, Borneo Rainforest Lodge was $150 per person, per night back in 2000 and there will almost certainly be an internal flight too if you're going to Sukau so you've got his airfare in there as well.

You will probably have a driver too as guides don't generally like to do the driving and his accomodation will have to be paid too, along with his food, even so, $900 per day seems excessive.

If you're relatively new to Oriental birding, stick to a traditional, unambitious itinerary which is Sabah and pick up guides at each location, not hard to do.