We are now in Sandakan after having an exciting time at Danum Valley Field Station deep in the Borneo rainforest. I am eternally grateful that my dear Father trained me in tracking and trailing.
I still remember when I was four years old and we went for a walk in the Lake District’s Grizedale Forest. When we reached the dark centre of the forest my Father disappeared into the undergrowth muttering something about having spotted a pine-martin. I was left with a copy of Jim Corbett’s Jungle Lore, my penknife and a piece of string. Using the string and penknife I fashioned myself a more than adequate shelter after night fell and my father still had not returned. When I awoke I made my own way back over the fifty miles to Lancaster. When I arrived home my Father was so overjoyed to see me he burst into tears and clasped his head in his hands.. He was so inconsolable he hardly spoke for days after. The lesson was well learned though, and on the trails around Danum I was able to point out Orang Utan, gibbon, macaques, sambar deer, moon rat, mouse deer and a host of smaller animals and exotic insects.
I cannot really believe my Father has gone, his presence is still so strong, like a kindly benevolent spirit, and when we visited the orange utan sanctuary at Sepilok as the crowds were leaving later after having watched the afternoon feeding of the orange utans an extraordinary incident took place. I had noticed in the background a tall, tanned and debonair man who looked extraordinarily like my late Father. Suddenly an orangutan rushed up and embraced him, whispered something in his ear and pointed at me, whereupon the both burst out laughing and ran off into the forest. The incident left me feeling strangely unnerved.
On the Kinabatangan River.
We are now staying in the home of Mariati, and Orang Sungai woman, who is our host while we explore the lower reaches of the Kinabatangan River. Over the course of three days we roamed the meanders, back waters and ox-bow lakes of the mighty Kinabatangan. Form our boat I spotted numerous proboscis monkeys, pig-tailed macaques, crocodile and orangutan as well as birds almost too numerous to mention, including several species of brightly coloured kingfisher and hornbill including the rare helmeted hornbill, the largest of all the hornbills. An impressive sight as it flew slow above us across the wide brown river. Claire and Viv, my travelling companions were most impressed with my knowledge and skill at spotting and photographing wild life.
That night while trying to photograph an enormous crocodile, at least six meters in length, from the riverbank I received a sudden push from behind and was sent sprawling and sliding down the muddy bank towards the open jaws of the beast below. Luckily I was able to grasp a liana and haul myself to safety. I was furious at losing the shot and now only have a photo of a croc some 30 centimeters in length.
I find it hard to believe someone could have deliberately pushed me. Surely it was an accident? The bank was deserted when I gained my former position. Later that night coming back from a walk around the kampung I shone my torch into the bushes looking for the red reflection of the eyes of tarsier, potto or musang when the beam fell upon the figure of a man standing in the shadows. It was none other than the mysterious man from Sepilok who had looked so like my father. He stepped forward, dashed the torch from my hand - why are torches so fragile? I seem to get through at least six on every holiday - and ran off into the darkness.
Back to the UK.
After the Kinabatanganan it was time to return home with Claire while Viv went on to seen the temple of Angkor Wat. Another strange incident took palace just after I had climbed the steps of the plane at Sandakan airport and had turned to have one last look at beloved Sabah when I saw the mysterious figure once more. This time he was just outside the departure lounge, standing on the edge of the runway, dancing in a bizarre fashion and shouting something like, I cannot be certain of this, ‘Free! Free at last! Cambodia here I come!