Monday 30 December. Off to Sepilok via Gomantong

We set off at 08.30 for Sepilok, with the plan to stop after about half an hour at Gomantong. I must confess I had little enthusiasm for visiting these caves, described as wading through guano heaving in cockroaches. In fact the reality was fascinating, although the description was not totally off the mark. The cave is absolutely massive and I was imagining the staging of an opera there. The only problem would, of course, have been the guano which was indeed heaving with cockroaches and also watched over by some giant centipedes. What was missing from the description was that visitors walk on a boardwalk that goes round the cave and means one's feet are clean at the end of the visit. The cave system is used by swifts for nesting and the site is home to a carefully regulated birds nest soup industry. All in all, it was very educational and awesome.

Once that visit was complete, we headed on to Sepilok Nature reort, about two hours down the road. Again I was the sole passenger, this time with the guide as driver. He seemed in quite a rush to get home and seemed intent on some pointless overtaking, which rendered me a silent backseat driver. Anyway, we arrived safely - and in good time.
Sepilok revealed itself to be a lovely resort and I had a very nice chalet - 12A.

Once I had settled in, I headed down to the orangutan and sun bear centre, deciding to visit the latter today and the former tomorrow.
It is an interesting but somewhat sad place, founded to rescue bears that idiots think might make great pets - until they grow to a size that makes clear this was a foolish idea. The bears are well cared for and able to roam around outside and practise their skills like climbing and foraging. Each bear is written up and I was particularly struck by one that had so imprinted with humans that it would be impossible to release back into the wild - it was clearly psychologically damaged and engaged in self-harm. Very sad.

That evening, I eat at the resort - It was a lovely setting.