Fascinating Sabah - Wildlife Watching at Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp
Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp is beautifully situated at an Oxbow Lake formed by Kinabatangan river, near Lamag in Sabah, Borneo.
With Lamag Wildlife Adventure at Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp
Huge monitor lizard eating a dead fish for breakfast near Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp.
My stay at Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp was another highlight on my trip through Sabah, Borneo. Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp, only reachable by two boat rides and a trek through the (muddy) jungle, is beautifully located on an oxbow lake formed by Kinabatangan River. An oxbow lake is a curved lake formed from a horseshoe bend in a river where the main stream has cut across the narrow end and no longer flows around the loop of the bend. The jungle camp is about 75 km southwest of Sandakan city, and serves as the location for the Lamag Forest Reserve. Lamag Wildlife Adventure offers a very special experience by staying at Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp. Lamag Wildlife Adventure was founded and is run by locals, the so called “Orang Sungai” or river people. These communities are the traditional custodians of the Kinabatangan River and are involved in efforts to conserve its rich biodiversity. Our guides grew up at the shores of the Kinabatangan river and in the Bornean jungle. They all have a vast knowledge of the jungle and its animals.
How to get there
The jetty for the crossing of Kinabatangan River. The shores are very muddy and when the sun is shining, it gets incredibly hot.
Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp is in a secluded area in the middle of the jungle, only reachable by boat and walking. Guests are picked up by mini van at their hotel or the airport in Sandakan and brought to the parking lot outside a small village in Lamag, where the boat for the crossing of Kinabatangan river is waiting. I was picked up in Sepilok, directly at my hotel, the Sepilok Jungle Resort, together with some other guests. We drove for hours through never ending palm oil plantations with a short stop at a shopping center for lunch and to grab some snacks before heading into the wilderness. Since we had to walk around 600 m through the jungle, we could only bring a small backpack or bag with some personal items. I had a big suitcase that they stored free of charge during my stay at the camp.
The crossing of Kinabatangan river takes only a few minutes. I recommend wearing good shoes, not only for the short hike through the jungle but just to get to and off the boat. Cover up and bring a hat. There is absolutely no shade directly at the shore and on the boat and it gets incredibly hot if the sun is shining. My seat on the boat was super hot and I was glad that I wore long pants. You need to sit down in order to balance the boat. Chances are high that it is very muddy, on the riverbanks as well as in the jungle. We were lucky that it did not rain the days before I arrived, so it was not too muddy inside the jungle (but at the shore). We had to balance over logs and wooden ladders placed on the floor to get to the lake, where another boat was waiting to bring us to the camp.
What to expect
A path through the muddy jungle leads to the camp.
As mentioned, Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp is beautifully situated on an oxbow lake in the middle of the jungle. The camp is rather basic, however I was pleasantly surprised; I did not expect that much luxury in the middle of the jungle, far away from civilization! On their website, they mention having an open long house as well as some private rooms, filling those on “first-come, first-served” basis. Since I was travelling alone, I was totally expecting to be put in the long house together with a bunch of other people, sleeping in a hammock or so. But no, I had my own private single room with a real bed to sleep in!
They have toilets to sit down, with lockable doors. Rainwater is collected for flushing as well as for showering. They have bucket showers jungle style, which means there are big buckets that are filled with rainwater and a small bucket to pour water over the body. There were several lockable shower stalls with plenty of space and hooks to hang up towels and fresh clothes.
Clean drinking water is provided for 24 hours. Just bring a reusable bottle to fill, so that you can take some water to your room or to any of the wildlife cruises. During the day, they also provide coffee, tea and some cookies but remove it at night because of the Civet Cats living near the camp. The cats snoop around the camp day and night and steal everything resembling food. I saw them twice but was too slow taking their picture.
Three meals are served per day: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The meals were fantastic! The camp does not really has a kittchen with a stove, a fridge and so on because it frequently gets completely flooded. The food is cooked in the village and delivered by boat three times a day. In the morning, they serve toast, fried eggs, (chicken) sausages, rice or noodles, beans and fruit. For lunch and dinner there is rice with chicken and several vegetable dishes so that vegetarians have plenty of options. I am still dreaming of the pumpkin and the eggplant dish that I ate there.
The meals at the jungle camp were really good and there were plenty of options for vegetarians.
At the restaurant there is 24 h fresh drinking water available for free, and during the day tea, coffee and cookies.
There are chairs and tables on the covered terrace where they serve the meals. Guests can sit there during downtown in between river cruises and jungle walks, play games, chat or read. Under the hut where the rooms are located, there are several hammocks to relax in. Behind the hut and between the long house is an open area for gatherings or group games.
There are hammocks to relax during the day between river cruises.
The food was great. There was always rice with chicken and several vegetable dishes to choose from.
Beautiful sunset from the balcony at the Tajung Bulat Jungle Camp.
There is no wifi or mobile phone connection in the camp. Electricity is provided only for a few hours in the evening, to charge electronic devices and have a little bit of light before bedtime. There is no air condition in the rooms, just small fans that will go off once the generators stop working.
A path forming a loop leads into the jungle behind the camp. There were guided nightwalks to spot nocturnal animals or find sleeping birds. It is possible to do the 30 min walk on your own during the daytime. Just let the guides know beforehand that you will go for a jungle walk on your own. Since there are many (big) crocodiles living in the lake, it is not advised to get close to the shore of the lake. We saw crocodiles very close to the camp.
This big crocodile was chilling very close to the camp at the shore of the lake. There are many crocodiles, therefore it is no adviced to get too close to the shore but keep a safety distance. The boats are equipped with high-speed motors that make loud noises and big waves to keep the crocodiles at a safe distance during lake and river cruises.
What to bring
Lamag Wildlife Adventure kindly provides a list of personal items you should bring:
Towels and toiletries
medication
flashlight
mosquito repellent and sunscreen
enough clothes and shoes (long pants, shirts with long sleeves, proper jungle shoes, socks, underwear raincoat, slides)
sunglasses
hat
empty bottle to refill water
books or games
and anything else you feel like you need in the jungle, such as powerbanks (to charge your camera during the day) or binoculars to observe the animals. Bring enough clothes. It is hot and wet and chances are high that wet clothes will not dry during the night, only during the day when you can put them in the sun. Bring good shoes for the jungle walks (however, rubber boots are provided for those without proper hiking shoes or boots). For the river and lake cruises you can wear slides. They will let you know the dresscode for the activity. Very important is the mosquito repellent and the long pants and a shirt with long sleeves. The mosquitos can get very aggressive. Surprisingly, it was chilly during the morning cruises on the lake and I was glad that I had a long sleeved shirt with me.
The blue boat was our boat for lake cruises, while the little boat was used for meal and gear deliveries to the camp.
Activities
The activites depend on the package you book. I did the 4D/3N package that is not on their website anymore. There are early morning wildlife cruises before breakfast, there are afternoon cruises and night cruises on the lake as well as river cruises on Kinabatangan River. Besides the cruises, they offer guided night walks. Included in my package was a trip to Gomatong cave, which was another great experience.
The guides know exactly at what times the animals will show up on the shores of the lake or on the riverbanks. Every cruise was full of surprises. Each time we saw different animals, such as Proboscis Monkeys, Macaques, crocodiles, monitor lizards, Kingfishers, Hornbills, snakes and many more. The guides generously share their knowledge about the wildlife of Lamag.
During the night walks, you will venture into the jungle and discover more sleeping birds but also many nocturnal animals, such as frogs, slow loris or flying squirrels. During the night cruises, they will have a flashlight to point out the animals. We saw many sleeping birds on branches as well as crocodiles.The guides bring a flashlight and will point the animals out to you, shine a light on them, so that you can have a closer look or take a picture.
During the wildlife cruises we saw a lot of birds, such as Hornbills, Bornean Bristleheads or Kingfishers.
The monkeys came to the lake’s shore at night to sleep.
However, you do not have to venture deep into the jungle to see some wildlife. The Civet Cats were snooping around the camp in plain daylight when we were there, a Bornean Crested Fireback with his chicks was looking for food on the open area behind the camp, a Proboscis Monkey was crossing the lake by swimming in front of the camp and I managed to spot the biggest and the smallest squirrel in the world on the same day in the trees right next to the camp.
During the night walks in the jungle, the guides will look for animals and point them with a flashlight out.
We saw many sleeping birds. No worries, the light does not disturb them, they react to movements of the branches they are sitting on.
Is it safe?
One of the activities I took part in was a river cruise on Kinabatangan River. We saw a lot of crocodiles and monkeys as well as many different birds.
Yes, it is safe, if you listen to the guides and follow their instructions. The guides have a vast knowledge of the jungle, the wildlife and Kinabatangan River. They know how to survive in the jungle and they want to keep their guests safe. Before every cruise or every jungle walk, there is a briefing of dos and dont’s. If they tell you to not wear a headlamp because wasps in the jungle might get attracted by the light and attack your eyes, do not wear it. If they tell you to walk faster and stomp with your feet when there are fire ants in the jungle, then walk faster and stomp your feet. Wear those longs pants and those long sleeves if they tell you to do so. Layer that mosquito repellent, stay away from the shore to avoid crocodiles, keep your hands inside the boat during cruises and you will be safe. Keep quite during the lake and river cruises and you will be rewarded by seeing closely many endemic species on the brink of extinction. Keep in mind that you are not in a zoo but in the wilderness, a guest in the habitat of all the big and small animals populating the jungle, the lake and the river.
Sunset over the Oxbow Lake where Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp is located.
How to book?
If you feel ready for this very special experience of the Bornean Jungle and Kinabatangan River, contact Lamag Wildlife Adventure by E-Mail or WhatsApp. Their office guy Afiq and my private guide for my tour to Gomatong Cave is super quick in replying to e-mails at any time of the day. If the tour packages they offer on their website does not fit in your schedule or you want to add some extra tours and cruises, just ask them. Keep in mind that Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp is in the middle of the jungle and that Borneo often experiences heavy rainfalls. Sometimes they have to cancel trips because the camp gets completely flooded or they have to evacuate if the water level rises too high when guests are staying at the camp. Embrace the wilderness and you will have the time of your life at Tanjung Bulat Jungle Camp!
