Overview:
Pick-up time: 07h40 ex Sandakan Airport
Flight Schedule: Preferably MH2042, BKI/SDK, 0700/0740
Includes: Full Board meals & accommodation in Sukau
Day 01 Sandakan / Sukau (L/D)
Meet at hotel lobby or airport. Proceed for visit to Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary and watch the feeding of orangutan in their natural habitat. Then proceed overland to Gomantong Caves famous as a source of swiflets' nests, the raw material for Bird's Nest Soup, an expensive Chinese delicacy. Journey takes about 2hr 15 mins. Upon arrival, walk 15 mins on plank wood through the cave. Explore one of the most fascinating caves in Sabah. Then continue overland for about ½ hr journey to Sukau. Lunch at the Lodge. Late afternoon cruise up to the Kinabatangan River to search for wildlife, notably the proboscis monkeys. Observe the simple lifestyle of the local people and, in the evening, watch with amazement as the proboscis monkeys come to feed on the leaves of mangrove trees at the river bank. Dinner and overnight at the lodge (simple & basic accommodation).
Day 02 Sukau (B/L/D)
06h15 breakfast. Take a second boat trip to cruise up river to the OX BOW Lake for bird watching. Trek the lush ravine forest at the nearby lakes. 11h00 return to lodge for lunch. Afternoon free at leisure. Dinner at lodge. Proceed for night walk if weather permits. Overnight at the lodge (simple & basic accommodation).
Day 03 Sukau / Sandakan (B/L)
After breakfast, 07h00 depart overland from Sukau to Sandakan town for lunch followed by a city tour & visit to a Buddhist Temple, Red Hill Observation Tower and the bustling Central Market. Tour ends in Sandakan Town. LAHAD DATU is a town and district located in Tawau Division, in the east of Sabah. It occupies the peninsula on the north side of Darvel Bay. Its population was estimated to be around 118,000 in 1991 and 156,059 in the 2000 census. Lahad Datu is surrounded by stretches of cocoa and oil palm plantations. It is also an important timber exporting port. The town has an airport for domestic flights. A settlement is believed to have existed here in the 15th century, as excavations have unearthed Ming Dynasty Chinese ceramics. Just east of Lahad Datu, is the village of Tunku, a notorious base for Lanun pirates and slave traders in the 19th century. Lahad Datu is a gateway to the Danum Valley Conservation Area, the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in the east, and Madai Caves further south. At the end of the 14th century, it was believed that Islam was first introduced in Sabah. This based on a jawi manuscript in the Idahan language dated 1408 A.D, which gives an account of an Idahan man named Abdullah in Darvel Bay who embraced
Islam. Lahad Datu is also home to Sabah's population of Cocos Island Malays, who settled in this area in the 1950s when the Cocos Islands became part of Australia.
