A Kinabatangan river cruise was high on our to-do list while in Borneo as I had read so many good things. After lots of research and digging I found River Junkie, a booking agency that advertised a 3 day 2 night stay at the Natural Sakau Bilit Resort located on the lower Kinabatangan river sanctuary.
They offer various lengths of stays and you can even come for the day if that is all your schedule allows for. I do recommended to stay at least one night as the day trips are only 1 boat ride in the evening so you have a lot less chance to see animals.
About the Lodge
The resort provide pick up and drop off at many popular accommodation in Sandakan and Sepilok, including the airport. We got picked up at 12:45 and had a very bumpy ride to the resort. My stomach was doing summersaults a lot of the journey as some of the roads aren’t great in Borneo.
The walk to your private lodge itself is beautiful, with a raised wooden walkway which weaves between the jungle trees.
The lodge was spacious with comfy beds and a mosquito net around them, although ours had lots of holes in. Luckily we had brought our own, check out our packing list for more travel essentials. Our bathroom even had toothbrushes and a mini toothpaste provided. The shower was cold, which after being outside in the heat was quite refreshing, however first thing in the morning it was not the one!
We just accepted that being in the middle of the jungle there probably was not much hot water however on the final evening I couldn’t help but think it was strange that I hadn’t heard anyone complain about it, so asked someone if they had hot water and they did! A little too late by then but it was funny to hear Tyler’s squeals in the morning!
They have a big open plan living and dining area which we had constant supply to filtered water, tea and coffee. It was a beautiful wooden building with a big balcony out onto the Kinabatangan river. A great spot to have a morning coffee watching the Macaques swing through the beams above getting up to mischief!
The Itinerary at the Lodge
The lodge has a set itinerary for each day.
Early wake up at 5.30am to have coffee or tea.
6am Boat ride to catch the early birds (literally birds) and hopefully some crocodiles. (1 hour)
7am Breakfast which was a buffet of eggs, noodles, toast and fruit
9am Morning walk through the jungle looking for wildlife (1 hour)
12.30pm Lunch buffet and free time
3.30pm Tea/coffee and a cake or some sort of snack
4pm Boat ride (2 hours)
7pm Buffet style dinner
8.30pm Night time jungle walk (45 min)
It was a good schedule with optional free time to relax and sleep or like us wander into the local village where we met some very friendly kids who had just finished school. All of the locals were so lovely and friendly, everyone wanting to say hello and see who we were. We felt like real tourists! They also arranged for us to plant a tree, hopefully one day it will grow big for the Orangutan to swing upon!
We were really lucky and got to see crocodiles, orangutang, probiscous monkey, water monitor, lots of amazing birds and snakes. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the elephants, however we did see their tracks which was still cool!
The guides were great! You could tell they had a big passion for where they are from and the tourism industry. They all had very good English, and we only had to do that ‘nod and smile’ when you don’t really understand a few times! They had a great sense of humour and our guide would get just as excited as us when we saw the orangutang moving around in the trees.
other things we enjoyed
The fact the communal area/dining hall had big tables which meant we all sat down and ate together. Getting to know people from all over the world, sharing travel stories and plans ahead, created a real sense of community.
It was also so handy that they rent out wellies, torches and binoculars at a very small price! They did have some drinks available to buy but they were more expensive than you would find in the city. If you think you may want extra snacks or drinks I would bring them with you!
Overall we would definitely recommend doing a stay by the Kinabatangan River and of course Borneo Natural Sakau Bilit Resort. If you liked our Kinabatangan River Cruise post, why not check out our Borneo Travel Itinerary for more activities!
