It was serendipity - we went on the Mangrove Tour because we just inquired what there was to do in Semporna apart from walking the town and climbing Bukit Tengkorak (Hill of Skulls). The staff at the hotel front desk whipped out a piece of paper and showed us the tour programme courtesy of the Semporna District Office for visitors/tourists during the Regatta Lepa period from the 19th to 22nd April 2012.
In the morning we climbed the Hill and in the afternoon we opted for the Mangrove tour/River cruise, in search of riverine wildlife, especially the elusive proboscis monkey. We were driven from
Semporna town to a village,
Kampung Tunggulangan, 20 km. away. Before getting to the jetty via a wooden walkway in the mangrove, we see many long-tailed macaques feeding on bread on a platform especially built for this purpose. I think visitors will not be too disappointed with the river cruise if no proboscis monkeys are sighted, because at least another type of monkey has been spotted.
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| Macaques on the feeding platform (CNB 2012) |
We get to a hall at the jetty for refreshments and washrooms (if you have to go), and then collect our life jackets before going on to board our boats.
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| Life jackets all ready for pick up (CNB 2012) |
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| A in the boat, our guide with binoculars (CNB 2012) |
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| A relaxed me on board (AB 2012) |
The boats go very slowly in the two rivers that we traversed - the
Sungai Tohok (Tohok River) and the
Sungai Buaya (Crocodile River, because there are crocodiles in this river. But we did not see any, sheesh...). The boatman is ever alert for any signs of animal life in the mangrove trees on both sides of the rivers.
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| The verdant green mangrove trees (CNB 2012) |
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| Upside down doubles of the trees (CNB 2012) |
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| The tranquil waters of Sungai Tohok (CNB 2012) |
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| A bend in the river (CNB 2012) |
Suddenly he revs up the boat engine for quite a while, and just as we were wondering what the heck ....(?), a beautiful Brahminy kite appears in the sky above. The boatman throws some chicken skin into the water, and the eagle elegantly swoops down and scoops up the 'food' before flying off, to no doubt enjoy its meal somewhere. (I have seen this before in Langkawi, but it still never fails to fascinate!)
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| A Brahminy kite resting on a dead tree (CNB 2012) |
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| A Brahminy kite in flight (CNB 2012) |
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| Sunset at the estuary (CNB 2012) |
We spot some more macaques in the trees, before we spot the elusive proboscis monkeys, or
monyet Belanda (Dutch monkeys, for their large noses and pot bellies), as the locals call them. Three sightings were of single males/females (too far to spot whether they had the large pendulous noses of the male or not). Then just as we were on the way back, quite near to the jetty in fact, we spotted a whole family of them! This certainly made our day. (Note: The Proboscis monkeys have other monikers - the 'flying Dutch man' because they seem to fly from tree to tree, also the 'red chili' - though I'm not telling you why. They are also both arboreal (living on trees) and amphibious because they are able to swim from island to island.)
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| A monkey silhouette in the trees (CNB 2012) |
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| A lone Proboscis monkey spotted in the trees (CNB 2012) |
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The family of proboscis monkeys probably 'bedding' down
for the night (CNB 2012) |
The very serene boat cruise, broken only by excited whispers of animals being spotted and cameras clicking, is a gem for Semporna eco-tourism. Hopefully, instead of heading straight out to the Sipadan islands, tourists would discover the Borneo Semporna Proboscis River Cruise first.
19 April 2012
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