Final stopover before returning Home

During our final stopover, we see the huge red cliffs of Dover .... well the equivalent, in the Sabah Sea















We take a visit to the local fish market of Sandakan - this young lad is very proud of his catch that morning ...














Just had to take this little one's photo - so much like Aruna!














This rather splendid, colourful and elaborately decorated Bhuddist temple was found bedecked with flowers, fat buddhas and flamboyant decorations



































Who, me?


















There were lots of Nazi looking symbols in reverse - but these ancient Chinese hieroglyphics were far more ancient and signify peace and enlightenment (exactly, quite the reverse)














Yellow and red lanterns with just one out of line ...



























These fat little buddhas were simply everywhere!














Beautiful views from the edge of this cliff top temple














We leave this centre of meditation and reflection, spiralling back down to the earth that people have to work and live in......














... and they start very young - couldn't resist little Antony's endearing charms - just had to buy some useless trinkets!














We visited a local equatorial garden, with some very unusual exhibits ....














.... yes it is a phallic fungus which ejects thousands of fertile spores ......................














On the quayside we could see these multi-coloured tropical fish - impressive or just plain cool?














No you're not seeing things, these are Paget's feet - the tiddlers loved them!















For our last 3 days we treated ourselves to the warm, sultry Pacific Harbour Resort. It boasts 11 swimming pools, a sumptuous golf course played in the cool of the night under floodlights, not to mention a harbour littered with billionaires' yachts!




























We felt all at sea in the Olympic size swimming pool!














We say farewell to our exciting, exhilerating journeys with so many memories, mixed up emotions, hellos and goodbyes, to all the different people we have met and places visited.
Hope you've found it interesting!

Here's looking at you kid!
























Our bungalow balcony at the lodge, complete with very early primate.
Arboured walkways stilted above the jungle floor, to keep most of the snakes out of our rooms














Our lovely guide,Captain Jack Sparrow also serenaded diners by night.....














.... but was always ready for us to board our launch for the next wildlife-spotting trip














this one upriver again, to witness red, silver and proboscis monkeys





























































Our final river trip from home base, provided perhaps the highlight of the whole week...















... no, not her again, but....















.... spotted in the distance from our launch.....
















.... no not him, but a more magnificent male.....














calmly treading the riverbank, obligingly for our cameras















munching en route, and even giving us a friendly full-frontal, before retreating to find his hauntingly calling harem, hidden in the deep.

Borneo - jungle lodge

We travelled a half-day up river, passing ever sparser settlements, to arrive at our lodge, where we spent four days tracking local wildlife....













...Jane trying some creek fishing, watched by














young and old alike....















and returning to the relative luxury of our bungalow to reapply lotions and potions, preventative and remedial, not least the endless and poisonous anti-malaria tabs.














Some of the orang utans were far from camera shy




























We boarded sea-going boats at Sandakan's town jetty, for an hour and a half's journey to Turtle Island














reaching this idyllic haven where everything is dedicated to protecting and studying turtles; an average of 10-20 females beaching every night inseason to deposit their huge clutches of eggs.














...the one we were lucky enough to witness was a newcomer, and we counted her 115 eggs plop into the warm and incubating sand.










































Dawn the next day showed up many turtle trails in the sand and the island's rangers reported 18 productive maternal landings.














We returned through early fishing boats to Sandakan.