Sunday, October 5, 2014

Borneo, Malaysia Day 4: Ox Bow Lake River Cruise

            The morning cruise was meant to see different types of birds and reptiles but we got to see a mix of everything, including another siting of pygmy elephants! The siting of the elephants was better than the first siting. We got a better look. I was the one to point out the elephants. We even saw a very tiny baby.  Also, on the morning cruise we got up close and personal with some macaques. We were so close we could touch them. We were able to get amazing pictures! Other animals we saw were Wallace’s Hawk Eagle, Blue Throated Bee Eater, White Chested Hornbill and a Water Monitor.
            The story with the monitor is a funny one. We were approaching a dead tree that was in the water and Ally states that this is a perfect spot for a monitor. She was looking so hard for the monitor that she didn’t see the one posing for her on the branch exactly where she said it would be. I will never let her down on that one.
            We headed back to the lodge and ate a late breakfast and then went on the Jungle Trail. We saw macaques above us in the tree but not really close. We saw insects such as centipedes and saw signs of elephants but the one thing we really saw were mosquitos. I was eaten alive! Good thing they didn’t bother me much later and the bumps and redness went down because it did not look good. The picture doesn’t even show how bad it really was. The trail was not exciting for us because we didn’t see anything and because the walk for me was uncomfortable with all the bugs so we were glad the trail ended quickly.
            We then had another evening cruise scheduled. Our goal for this evening cruise was to see more elephants, find some snakes, and see a crocodile. We saw many macaques but since we had seen them so many times and had already got really good pictures we didn’t want to stop. We spotted Rhino Hornbills which Ally was keeping an eye out for because they are rarer. We saw more proboscises and stopped to try to get better pictures but they like to be higher in the trees and are cameras couldn’t capture a good image.
            It was starting to get dark so we were heading back to the cabins but all of a sudden I spotted more elephants. I saw them even before the guide, who is trained to look for them, saw them. I almost jumped out the boat I was so excited. Let me tell you, I have a good eye too. This was the best siting of the elephants we had. (With each cruise the siting of the elephants got better and better and we were able to get really good pictures and videos). This was a herd of about 15 elephants with babies and teenagers. They came right down to the water to eat some tall grass. We stayed there for a long while just enjoying the spectacular view. Finally, we turned around and headed back but as soon as we turned the boat the guide pointed across the river. Swimming on the other side was a crocodile. It was getting dark and the crocodile was far away so it was hard to see but Ally took a video and you can see the crocodile a little swimming across the bank of the river. We didn’t want to get too close because it is dangerous.

            We went back to the lodge and enjoyed our dinner and last night. We really liked this part of the tour and the lodge we were in. 






















































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