Borneo’s Magic Lure

THE name "Borneo" has long meant magic to travellers, and it remains a great place to explore.

Today the third-largest island in the world is divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

The Malaysian part of Borneo is known as East Malaysia, and consists of the states of Sabah and Sarawak.

Often called the Land Below the Wind, because it lies below the typhoon belt, Sabah occupies the eastern part of North Borneo.

Sabah has the South China Sea on the west, and the Sulu and Celebes seas on the east.

Mountainous and largely carpeted by lush tropical rainforests, its population of nearly two million is made up of 32 colourful ethnic communities.

Kota Kinabalu, the capital, lies in a fertile lowland plain where most commercial and administrative activities are concentrated.

But the "real" Sabah is found in its countryside.

Kinabalu Park has been listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site, due to the diversity of plantlife and wildlife there.

Mount Kinabalu provides a challenging climb amidst a lush virgin rainforest, where you can find hidden hot springs in cool high altitudes.

Sipadan Island, off the south-eastern coast of Sabah, has been one of the top five dive sites in the world for years.

This is attributed to unique underwater geography that encourages proliferation of wildlife. Leatherback turtles, barracuda and white- tipped sharks are a common sight while diving in Sipadan.

Sabah is also home to the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, which was founded in 1964 to rehabilitate orphaned orangutans.

Today around 60 to 80 orangutan are living free in the reserve, which consists of 43sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve.

In addition to those apes, around 25 young orphaned orangutan are housed in the reserve’s nurseries.

The facility also provides medical care for dozens of other wildlife species. Some of the other animals which end up being treated at the centre include sun bears, gibbons, Sumatran rhinos and the occasional injured elephant.

While visitors are welcome at Sepilok, they 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 learn the skills they need.

Before the creation of a reserve in the area, many young orangutans were victims of the illegal pet trade. They were caught during logging or forest clearance, or captured by poachers.

The Malaysian Government has clamped down on illegal trading, outlawing all such practice and imposing prison sentences on anyone caught keeping them as pets.

Whilst some of the orangutans raised as pets can never be returned to the wild, others can be rehabilitated. But it is a long process that takes up to seven years.

Once found throughout South-East Asia, this species of ape now survives only in small populations across the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

The orangutan is the largest tree-dwelling mammal.

Males grow to around 5ft tall and can weigh up to 200 pounds. Females however only reach half that size.

Orangutans can live for up to 40 years. They are highly intelligent animals and share 96.4 per cent of human genes.

If you skip Sarawak, you’ll miss something special.

The state has a superb system of national parks, beautiful beaches and a diverse, thriving tribal culture whose hospitality to strangers is unmatched.

The Land of Hornbills – situated on the north-western coast of Borneo – beckons the visitor with its rich rainforests, intricate weave of rivers, pepper plantations, and the diverse cultures of its indigenous people.

Sarawak shares its borders with Indonesia’s Kalimantan province in the south and Brunei and Sabah in the north-east. It is Malaysia’s largest state, and has one of the most pleasant cities in all of Asia, Kuching, as its capital.

Two-thirds of Sarawak’s land is covered in rainforests and its population of 1.7 million is made up of 23 ethnic groups.

Sarawak’s indigenous peoples have a strong sense of identity and have made their mark in government, education and the media.

A unique history has given Sarawak a character of its own, distinct yet very much a part of Malaysia.

(c) 2007 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.