Borneo family wildlife vacation, tailor made

Planet

Located in the biodiversity-rich region of Borneo and within the protected Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, Gaya Island is home to some of the most fascinating and exotic species in the world, allowing its guests to embrace the wealth of flora and fauna it is part of. Gaya Island Resort Wildlife Centre is committed to long-term conservation, raising awareness for sustainable seafood choices, crafting experiences and educational programmes to protect and improve the natural environment for resort guests and future generations to come with the unwavering support of Sabah Parks and local governing bodies.
Sepilok is a rehabilitation center that is considered by the Wildlife Department to be a useful educational tool with which to educate both the locals and visitors alike. They are adamant that the education must not interfere with the rehabilitation process. Visitors are restricted to walkways and are not allowed to approach or handle the apes.
In the wild orangutan babies stay with their mothers for up to six years while they are taught the skills they need to survive in the forest, the most important of which is climbing. At Sepilok a buddy system is used to replace a mother’s teaching. A younger ape will be paired up with an older one to help them to develop the skills they need.
The creation of reserve areas minimises the impact of deforestation on orangutans and far fewer young apes become the victim of the illegal pet trade as a result of these ‘sanctuaries’. Babies are often caught during logging or forest clearance or captured by poachers who slaughter the adult apes to reach them. The Malaysian Government has clamped down on illegal trading, outlawing all such practice and imposing prison sentences on anyone caught keeping them as pets.
Selingan houses the country’s first turtle hatchery, funded entirely by the Sabah government.
When the turtle has returned to the sea the park rangers recover the eggs and transfer them to the island’s turtle hatchery. The eggs are re-buried in pits that are 75 cm deep, covered with sand and surrounded by a plastic mesh. Turtle nesting data is recorded on a metal plate attached to the mesh and when hatched they are returned to the sea.
The Tanjung Aru Resort collaborates with the WWF and works with villagers from Kampung Berungus in Kudat to preserve the seagrass bed habitat of the seacow or 'dugong'. The Resort obtains a weekly supply of sustainably harvested fish and shrimp to be served in the resort’s restaurants. It is anticipated that this long-term collaboration will help restore the integrity of the marine eco-system whilst providing poverty troubled villagers with a consistent source of income. The Resort has also introduced a 'Bakashi' program which is a system using fermented organic matter to create compost for gardens from kitchen organic waste. This has resulted in a reduction in the amount of fertiliser and compost used.
MY Nature Resort maintains its eco-friendly sustainability by reducing carbon footprint such as having a solar panel to turn on the water heater as it consume more energy. Using Kimberly-Clark Biodegradable hair and body soap or toilet paper may help to overcome and protect the eco system and environment.

People

On the floodplain of Sabah’s milky-brown Kinabatangan river in Borneo, teams of local women have been working to restore the area’s degraded rainforest for more than a decade.
They hope to create a forest “corridor” for wildlife in one of the most biodiverse areas of Malaysia, which has been under pressure for years from the relentless expansion of oil palm plantations.
Our local ground agents only employ local guides and they owns and operates many eco-lodges which are included in this itinerary. Accommodation has all been locally built and is run and operated by local people so as to support local communities. They are taught to understand the need to minimize any negative impact on the local environment. Food in the lodges is sourced locally, helping the local rural communities.
Work is underway for Village settlements close to Sungai Kinabatangan to be moved to higher ground to prevent them from being affected by the recurring flood problems,