BV-45: COMBO TOUR 3D/2N (Turtle Island and Kinabatangan River)

09.30 Meeting with the guide at the hotel reception or Sandkan airport. Departure to the city marina.
10.30 Arrival at the pier, registration.
10.45 Departure to the turtle island Selinan (Selingan). The trip takes about 1 hour.
Selinan Island is where turtles come to lay their eggs (mostly green turtles). In 1977, a national park was created, which includes three islands – Selinan, Bakunan Kecil and Gulisan. The main goal of the park is the protection of turtles (the biggest threat is the sale of turtle eggs on the black market).
11.45 Arrival on the island, accommodation.
12.30 For lunch. Free time to swim and snorkel.
17.00 Lecture on Turtle Island.
18.00 Dinner.
19.00 When it gets dark, the turtles swim ashore to lay their eggs. Accompanied by a ranger, guests are taken to the turtles, which go into a trance during laying and cannot see what is happening around them. Accompanied by a ranger, guests will have the opportunity to release the hatched turtles into the sea (incubators have been created on the island, where the eggs are transferred from the beach and buried in the ground, the territory of which is carefully guarded).
Constantly walking around the island in the dark is prohibited so as not to disturb the turtles.

06.30 Early breakfast.
07.00 Departure from Selinan island.
09.00 A visit to the Sun Bear Rehabilitation Center in Sepilok, which was opened in 2014 to save cubs that have been taken into human hands as pets, used for money or orphaned. Currently, 45 bears live in the center. Bears are returned to the natural environment.
10.00 Visit to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. Cents was established in 1964 to save animals from extinction and bring them back to a permanent life. Most of the animals come here as babies, after the death of the female (man-made or due to disease). Babies learn to be steady by the age of seven. There is a feeding platform where food is brought twice a day at 10.00 and 15.00. Orangutans who have already been released come to this feeding. You can also visit the nursery where babies are fed with milk bottles and cared for like human children.
11.00 Departure to Labuk Bay, which lasts 20 minutes.
11.30 The beginning of the feeding of long-tailed monkeys.
The Labuk Center was established in 1994 and is the only place on the island of Borneo where you can see them very close, as they are used to humans, but feeding the animals yourself is prohibited. The center of Labuk was started by a Chinese businessman who decided to leave the mangrove forest for the animals and started planting a palm plantation so that the animals would have a place to live. Now, every day the proboscis monkeys receive food consisting of special pancakes and vegetables.
12.00 Departure to the Kinabatangan River. This is the longest river in the state of Sabah and one of the richest ecosystems in the world. Animals are often found on the banks of the river – orangutans, proboscis monkeys, elephants, crocodiles, gibbons, bearded wild boars, macaques. Many different birds can also be seen on the banks of the river.
14.00 Arrival at the hotel, registration, lunch, free time.
16.00 After tea and snacks, we go on a river cruise to observe animals and birds.
18.30 Return to the hotel.
19.00 Dinner, free time.
20.30 Walk through the forest with a flashlight to see animals that are active at night. A boat trip to observe nocturnal animals is possible for a separate fee.

06.00 Light breakfast. Departure for a morning cruise on the Kinabatanan River to see how nature wakes up. This is the best time to watch the birds and orangutans that go out to feed after the night.
8.30 Return to the hotel and breakfast.
10.00 Transfer of room, departure to Sandakan. For an additional fee, you can enter Gomoton Caves on the way, where swallows live, whose nests are a profitable business for local residents. Orangutans and chestnut langurs are also often seen near the caves.
12.00 Return to Sandakan hotel or airport.