The Great Orangutan and Pygmy Elephant Project

I have always dreamed of visiting Borneo ever since I was 24 (30 years ago!) I finally had my opportunity to go this year so off I went. We were based in a small village called Sukau, with lovely locals and gorgeous food. This was a tree-planting and maintenance project along the Kinabatangan River replacing the gaps in the forest canopy, destroyed by palm oil plantations. Since orangutans and other wildlife spend almost their entire lives in the trees, not coming down to the ground unless they absolutely have to (they get water from leaves and by licking their hair), gaps in the tree line make it impossible for them to travel through the trees. Every morning, after an early breakfast at 6am, we would leave the village by seven and travel to the designated site by boat spending about 3 hours working during the “coolest” part of the day before returning for a much needed shower and nap. The highlight of every day was the afternoon boat ride to observe wildlife along the river. We initially saw lots of macaques, and also proboscis monkeys – the fellas with big noses – only found in Borneo. The island is home... I have always dreamed of visiting Borneo ever since I was 24 (30 years ago!) I finally had my opportunity to go this year so off I went. We were based in a small village called Sukau, with lovely locals and gorgeous food. This was a tree-planting and maintenance project along the Kinabatangan River replacing the gaps in the forest canopy, destroyed by palm oil plantations. Since orangutans and other wildlife spend almost their entire lives in the trees, not coming down to the ground unless they absolutely have to (they get water from leaves and by licking their hair), gaps in the tree line make it impossible for them to travel through the trees. Every morning, after an early breakfast at 6am, we would leave the village by seven and travel to the designated site by boat spending about 3 hours working during the “coolest” part of the day before returning for a much needed shower and nap. The highlight of every day was the afternoon boat ride to observe wildlife along the river. We initially saw lots of macaques, and also proboscis monkeys – the fellas with big noses – only found in Borneo. The island is home to eight species of large birds called hornbills and we had many sightings of the Rhinoceros hornbills. Speaking of rhinoceros, the Sumatran rhino stands about 4ft high so is much smaller than the African and Asian variety. Sadly, they are feared to be almost extinct. However, the description “pygmy elephant”, is misleading and I was expecting to see elephants the height of my hips paddling in the river. They may be about 4ft shorter than their African cousins, but nothing can prepare you for seeing several 8 ft giants emerge out of the canopy to drink at the riverbank. That was a definite “wow” moment. When working and trekking in the jungle, we saw many signs of elephants – footprints, disturbed foliage and poop – and were warned to stand well back if a herd came our way. I felt completely safe the whole time except on one occasion towards the end of a boat trip when it started to rain heavily. Think you’ve seen torrential rain? Think again! The boatman put the motor on full and we bounced over the surface of the river for about 20 minutes, cold and soaked to the bone. My next trip with The Great Projects is to see the gorillas in Uganda but I also have my eye on The Orangutan and Tribes Tour which includes spending time living in the long houses with the Iban, who are now the custodians of wild orangutans. (Show More)

The team at the project were superb, I cannot recommend this project highly enough you can see just how much it is benefiting the community and environment. Everyone is very knowledgeable and passionate about what they do and are keen to grow and expand their work. The project is really interesting and varied and my time with them just absolutely flew! I’d love to go back one day and see how the work is progressing.

This was my first volunteering trip and without doubt THE best thing I have ever done. From booking this trip nearly a year ago I was in good hands right up to my departure date The Great Projects Team were on hand to assist with any questions and were so helpful. I arrived in Sandakan, Borneo a little weary from the flights (understandably)! and met up with some fellow volunteers on route which was great - The Great Projects had put me in touch with some of the people going. Our driver was already at the arrivals waiting to take us onto our accommodation. When we arrived we were all so impressed by how friendly the staff were and the rooms were great, we had a dorm style room for the one night which was fun. If you love being in the great outdoors then this is the place to go. There were toilets and showers and mozzy nets over the bed and although basis (what do you expect) really comfortable and we all thoroughly enjoyed our first night there. Second day we moved on to the village where we would be staying for the next 8-9 days. The staff... This was my first volunteering trip and without doubt THE best thing I have ever done. From booking this trip nearly a year ago I was in good hands right up to my departure date The Great Projects Team were on hand to assist with any questions and were so helpful. I arrived in Sandakan, Borneo a little weary from the flights (understandably)! and met up with some fellow volunteers on route which was great - The Great Projects had put me in touch with some of the people going. Our driver was already at the arrivals waiting to take us onto our accommodation. When we arrived we were all so impressed by how friendly the staff were and the rooms were great, we had a dorm style room for the one night which was fun. If you love being in the great outdoors then this is the place to go. There were toilets and showers and mozzy nets over the bed and although basis (what do you expect) really comfortable and we all thoroughly enjoyed our first night there. Second day we moved on to the village where we would be staying for the next 8-9 days. The staff were great, the food delicious and the accommodation was comfortable. There were Macaque monkeys everywhere! We saw a beautiful owl that would visit the pier every night and a lovely snake - harmless, coiled round a big tree next to where we would sit and have our meals. Our tour guides Mark and his apprentice Mus were magnificent, so full of knowledge on the area and the animals we saw - which were A LOT!!! They were a lot of fun. Along our river tour we took every day, we saw a variety of beautiful birds from eagles to hornbills, kites to egrets. We saw Orangutans, twice we saw a mother and her baby - I was overwhelmed when we saw them. Proboscis monkeys, gibbons, long tailed macaques, pig tailed macaques, a crocodile, a water monitor lizard. A feast for the eyes for animal and bird lovers! During our stay we were volunteering in the forest maintaining the newly planted trees from last year and planting new ones - we planted 500 trees between the 8 of us in our group. The work is so rewarding at the end so you don't mind the heat and the odd mozzy bite. The work they do there is helping the wildlife - in particular the orangutans and sun bears enabling them to move through the forest safely. Due to the deforestation of the area from logging and the palm oil plantations, there has been a significant reduction of forest area for these beautiful animals to live in. The planting of these trees is vital and the restoration of the forest will repair the damage caused by years of destruction. Go and volunteer and make a difference - I promise you it will be the best thing you will ever do!!! (Show More)