Fly to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (own arrangements), where you will be greeted by our Australian guide and transferred (included) to your hotel (included) to rest and refresh. Should you decide to travel earlier, please make your own way to our hotel this evening. We will meet for dinner, introductions and orientation. Overnight: Kota Kinabalu (en-suite hotel room; meals included: D).
Day 1: Kota Kinabalu – Lahad Datu – Danum Valley (3 June). We’ll spend the morning birding around Kota Kinabalu including a local park and the coast. We’ll look for the rare Blue-naped Parrot, Long-tailed Parakeet, Pink-necked GreenPigeon, Magpie Robin, Lesser Coucal, Olive-backed and Brown-throated Sunbird, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Common Iora, Rufous-tailed Tailorbird and Glossy Swiftlet. We’ll then fly (included) to the town of Lahad Datu for lunch, from where we spend the afternoon travelling overland to the famed Danum Valley. Located in Borneo’s heartland, this is one of the most important and magnificent nature reserves in Asia. It is brimming with luxuriant forest and amazing wildlife. Our base is the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, located on a bend in the Segama River, where the nights are cool and are no biting insects. This is one of the best lodges in Asia which also has great wildlife viewing opportunities. Over 300 bird species have been recorded at Danum, including the Great Argus, Bornean Crested Fireback, 7 species of Pitta (including the rare Giant Pitta), Bornean Bristlehead, a rich variety of babblers, bulbuls and flycatchers, and all of Borneo’s 8 species of hornbill. We’ll explore the grounds of the Rainforest Lodge before retiring for dinner and a well-earned rest. Overnight: Borneo Rainforest Lodge (en-suite room; meals included: B, L, D).

We have two full days here, and will spend much of our time birding along the quiet entrance road and on the rainforest trails. The list of birds we’ll be looking for is impressive and exciting: Bat Hawk; Jerdon’s Baza; Bornean Crested Fireback; Great Argus; Pink-necked and Thick-billed Green-Pigeons; Blue-crowned Hanging-Parrot; Banded Bay Cuckoo; five species of malkoha; Diard’s and Red-naped Trogons; Black-backed Dwarf and Rufous-collared Kingfishers; Helmeted Hornbill; many species of barbet; Rufous Piculet; up to ten species of woodpecker; Blue-headed and Black-and-crimson Pittas; Green Broadbill; the endemic Black-throated Wrenbabbler; Crested Jay; Bornean Black Magpie; and Long-billed Spiderhunter, to name but a few. We’ll also make a special effort to find some of Borneo’s most elusive specialties, such as Chestnut-necklaced Partridge, the spectacular endemic Bornean Ground-Cuckoo, Oriental Bay Owl, Blue-banded Pitta, Bornean Wren-Babbler, and Bornean Bristlehead. We’ll take night ‘safari’ in search of mammals and nightbirds. We usually encounter Sambar Deer, Giant Red Flying-Squirrel, and Buffy Fish-Owl, but there is always a possibility of some rarer creatures such Malay Colugo, Bornean Tarsier, Banded Linsang, Gould’s and Large Frogmouths, Brown Wood-Owl, and Bornean Pygmy Elephant. Overnight: Borneo Rainforest Lodge (en-suite room, meals included: B, L, D).

After a final morning’s birding in the Danum Valley area we pack our gear and have lunch, then we spend the afternoon travelling to the Kinabatangan River, another excellent birding destination. The complex ecosystem of the Kinabatangan floodplain and adjacent forest are well protected and offer a great habitat for birds, to name but a few: eight species of Hornbill, 4 species of Kingfisher, Bornean Ground Cuckoo, Bornean Bristlehead, Grey-headed Fish-Eagle, Oriental Darter, Wallace’s Hawk-Eagle, and a chance of Storm’s Stork. Overnight: Borneo Nature Lodge or similar (en-suite room, meals included: B, L, D).

A full day to explore this fascinating area with its wide central river and many narrower, meandering tributaries. These forests are full of birds: kingfishers, hornbills, broadbills, bulbuls, and many others. It’s a great place for primates with troops of Proboscis Monkeys, as well as Maroon Leaf-Monkeys, Bornean Gibbons, and Long-tailed Macaques conspiring to keep us entertained. There are many, many birds to look for here, but of particular note are the special ones, such as Lesser Fish-Eagle, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Scarlet-rumped Trogon, Hooded Pitta, and many species of kingfisher and woodpecker. This is one of the best places for Bornean Pygmy Elephant and with luck we might come across a herd in the river. Overnight: Borneo Nature Lodge (en-suite room, meals included: B, L, D).

After some final birding in the Kinabatangan River area we’ll drive to Sepilok. Along the way we’ll visit a cave containing thousands of bats and swiftlets. The Sepilok Rainforest Discovery Centre protects a patch of lowland rainforest, with a broad and sturdy steel canopy walkway and two large observation towers. The walkway offers nice views and a great introduction to lowland forest birding. We’ll also bird along the trails that run through the rainforest. Of particular interest are the rare Rufous-collared Kingfisher and the bizarre and much-anticipated Bornean Bristlehead (which belongs to a monotypic family). Night walks along the trails offer a chance to see wildlife such as Slow Loris, Bornean Tarsier, Lesser Mouse Deer, and Malay Civet, along with interesting insects such as stick insects. The gardens of the Sepilok Jungle Lodge, where we’ll spend the night, are great for some of the more common open-area birds such as Dusky Munia and Yellow-bellied Prinia. Optional excursion to the Orang Utan Rehabiliation Centre (small entry fee). Overnight: Sepilok Jungle Lodge (en-suite room; meals included: B, L, D).

After spending the morning birding at the Rainforest Discovery Centre we’ll travel to Kundasang, our base for the next few days at Mount Kinabalu National Park. We’ll settle into our accommodation for the next couple of days before heading out for more birding. Overnight: Pine Resort or similar (en-suite room, meals included: B, L, D).

We’ll spend two full days in Mount Kinabalu National Park. Birding along the trails and tracks of Mount Kinabalu is a real pleasure due to its cool climate and verdant forests. Birds we search for include Bornean WhistlingThrush, Bornean Whistler, Mountain Serpent-Eagle, the elusive Whitehead’s Trogon, Golden-naped Barbet, Checker-throated and Maroon Woodpeckers, Whitehead’s Broadbill, Sunda Cuckoo-shrike, Grey-throated Minivet, Ashy and Hair-crested Drongos, Black-and-crimson Oriole, Short-tailed Green Magpie, Bornean Treepie, the secretive Mountain Wren-Babbler, Grey-throated Babbler, Sunda, Chestnut-capped, and Bare-headed Laughingthrushes, White-browed Shrike-Babbler, flocks of Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Mountain Leaf and Yellow-breasted Warblers, Mountain Tailorbird, Sunda Bush-Warbler, White-throated Fantail, the endemic Eye-browed Flycatcher, plus Indigo, Snowy-browed, and Little Pied Flycatchers, Bornean Whistler, Black-sided Flowerpecker and Black-capped White-eye. Some of Kinabalu’s most elusive species include Red-breasted and Crimson-headed Partridges, Fruithunter, Everett’s Thrush, and Bornean Stubtail. If our timing is right, we have a chance to observe a flowering Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower (optional; small entry fee). Overnight Pine Resort or similar (en-suite room; meals included: B, L, D).

An early departure to arrive in the nearby Crocker Range at sunrise for some breakfast and to commence birding. This area of semi-montane rainforest is at a slightly lower altitude than Mount Kinabalu and is a good place to locate a handful of endemics and other specialties that are difficult to find at Kinabalu. Birds we’ll be looking for here include Crimson-headed Partridge, Goldenheaded Barbet, Sunda Laughingthrush., Black-sided Flowerpecker, Chestnut-crested Yuhina, Mountain Barbet, Little Cuckoo Dove, Grey-chinned Minivet and Bornean Treepie, an odd looking relative of the magpie. We’ll have lunch in a local restaurant and then travel back to Kota Kinabalu where we’ll enjoy our farewell dinner and complete the checklist for the tour! Overnight: Kota Kinabalu (en-suite room, meals included: B, L, D).