One month in Borneo

CAMP BONGKUD – LIV (M)

Spirits were high at our first camp and, after just four days together, no-one would have guessed that our group had barely known each other beforehand. The work site was our first stop where we learnt to hand-mix cement and lay it to create a path between the local school and sports field.

While at the camp we had the opportunity to climb the challenging Bongkud Hill where, upon reaching the top, we performed a local song and dance that we had begun practising to perform to the locals and the Chief of the village on our final evening.

On one of the afternoons we were given the challenge of educating some of the local children. We taught the younger children about health and hygiene and how to keep clean and healthy teeth. For the older children we talked about animals and their adaptations and habitats.

The final evening was an unforgettable experience. The Chief of the village and various other locals gathered to bid us farewell. They performed traditional songs and dances of the Dusun tribe and we danced our much rehearsed and slightly less impressive ‘Tinggi Tinggi’. They presented us with necklaces and the Chief made a thank you speech to our group.

MAMUTIK ISLAND – ARCHIE (E)

Mamutik is where many of us experienced scuba diving for the first time. After a short boat ride from the capital we were immediately briefed, sorted into groups and introduced to our PADI Instructor for the stay.

Whilst on the island, many of us attained PADI scuba diving qualifications, either the Beginners or the Advanced Open Water. This consisted of several theory lessons and dives after practising in the pool while the Advanced course included a night dive and a deep dive.

Mamutik was an ideal place to dive and see an abundance of beautiful coral and sea life. For our final dive we were taken by boat to see some of the best coral reefs yet. It was a very relaxing leg of the journey, with lots of time to eat ice cream and swim in the sea.

MANTANANI ISLAND – OLLIE (E) AND PHOEBE (K)

We arrived on the sandy beaches of Mantanani midway through our trip and got straight to work on building new facilities for the local school children. Despite the blistering heat, completing the work to help underprivileged children was rewarding.

Our main project while at Mantanani was conservation. Cleaning up the local beach was eye-opening with the thousands of pieces of washed-up plastic, more of which arrived daily, giving us a true vision of how human ‘throw away culture’ has ruined some of the most beautiful places on Earth.

We did however have a lot of downtime in the afternoon which we spent exploring the island allowing us to see how the villagers lived. They have no contact with the outside world and only generator-powered electricity from 6pm to 6am and it was wonderful to spend our evenings playing volleyball and card games and watching the sun go down from hammocks, as well as enjoying each other’s company.

SEPILOK – CHARLIE (I)

On arrival, we visited the Orangutan Sanctuary. We were told to make sure that all of our belongings were safe as the animals have a tendency to reach out for valuables and water bottles.

We were taken to the babies’ nursery to see all the young orangutans who were playing with each other on the swing set and finding various positions to eat a bit of banana or lettuce. The most popular was hanging upside down!

The most exciting part of the day was spotting orangutans in the trees from the boardwalk. I certainly did not expect one to jump up and casually sit on the railing right near us. He started to lead us down the walkway to the exit, like a proper gentleman, before swinging under the gazebo to say goodbye. On the way out we spotted some sun bears playing on the forest floor.

BATU PUTEH – TILLY (K) AND CHARLOTTE (K)

We headed off into the jungle for four days. After transferring the few items we were able to bring into our day sacks, we boarded a little boat and headed up the river to our camp. For the next couple of days we woke up with the sun, showered with a bucket, planted trees and somehow managed to consume nine kilos of biscuits in three days.

During our jungle stay we relocated some trees which were destined to be removed for the palm oil industry. Whilst the labour was physically demanding, it was rewarding to know we were making a difference in improving the biodiversity. At first our main fear was of the insects that we may have encountered but that was later replaced by the fear of falling due to our lack of hammock hanging skills.

CAMP TINEGAL – HANNAH (J)

Full of anticipation for our final, and said to be most gruelling, camp we arrived to find a religious community. As our first full day was a Sunday, we got some much needed rest.

Day two was a stark contrast. A large breakfast was consumed before our long, winding walk to the project site in the local town. On arrival we were delegated tasks which included mixing cement, bricklaying and filling a trench for building foundations.

We were building a community centre for the town so that the locals had somewhere safe to go and potentially receive vaccinations. The satisfaction gained from working with the locals to fill the trench and build metres of wall was incomparable to anything we had previously experienced.

The highlight here was our community Sports Day where many of the locals came out to enjoy games and competitions. The children were all so friendly and rounded off our long, thrilling and exhausting trip in Borneo phenomenally, with a dance for us all and jewellery presentation.