Borneo wildlife holiday

Planet

Wildlife:
A large portion of this trip is dedicated to observing the abundance of diverse wildlife in Borneo. Our care for the natural environment and indigenous species in the area extends even beyond careful briefing, meticulous waste disposal and payment of National Park fees which help to protect the wildlife. This particular trip directly supports the Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary which rehabilitates injured, orphaned and captured Orang-utans into the wild. At 43 square kilometers, Sepilok is the largest sanctuary of its kind in the world and so this is a great place to find out more about these loveable monkeys and to make a donation or buy souvenirs. We are also involved in the Turtle Conservation Project, HUTAN- an NGO that specialising in Orang-utan/elephant research throughout Eastern Sabah, and several community-based programmes.

UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

People

Community:
We use locally owned hotels, restaurants and employ local guides and operators. This keeps our tourist money in the host countries by providing income for people in the area. In Mulu National Park the Penan people, and others are employed by the park thereby our trip helps to maintain their livelihood and unique forest dwelling culture. En route to the Mt. Kinabalu we stop at Nabalu market where villagers come to sell their produce and handicraft- Tea, medicinal herbs, fruit and vegetables are just some of the things produced locally. We also have a tour of a tea plantation where we spend the night in a traditional Rungus bamboo longhouse. This is a great way of providing income for these communities whilst gaining a completely authentic experience. We are keen to emphasise that interaction with indigenous groups should not be a one-way street and so our guides will teach some Bahasa Malay so those travelling can interact with local people.

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.