Tabin, torrents, and turmoil

When I arrived, there hadn't been rain here for weeks. It rained heavily that afternoon. It has done so every day since, except when it has rained twice.

When I arrived that hadn't had another tourist in over a week. That remained true until the day I left. A retired English couple in late morning. Another couple is due was to be picked from Lahad Datu after I returned. I presume they showed. It rained rather hard as we drove down the logging road.

Being the only visitor does have some benefits. I booked and paid for the "eco-tented platform" but since all the rooms were empty, the staff couldn't be bothered messing with tents. I've been staying in a "Superior Cabin". Very nice. Very plush. But it is a bit odd that an upscale cabin has two *single* beds.

There are other odd things: The decor is nearlyl ornate, with carbed column at the resturant, balancies overloooking the river, etc. And yet, there are only two trails cut and no maps for those. Tabin is first and formost, a wildlife reserve. Danum has better trees. Many places have better hiking/trekking. Yet, the resort seems not to be geared toward wildlife viewing. The standard itnearary takes you into the forest about the time when most of the animals are hiding. Mention that you want to go early and the guide isn't terribly interested. Further, instead of being in a prime spot, the resort is at the edge, bordered by a palm plantation.

That said, there are things to see. Hornbills,a dn serpent eagles are plnetiful and easy to see. I managed a few good photos of a pygmy squirel. (5" long including tail). Night drive yielded samba dear, mouse dear, and a leopard cat. No elephants or rhinos and I haven't seen a leaf monkey of any kind. There are macaques but I've seen more than enough of them.

The rain has made a mess of the itinerarry. I thought I would finish the 3 day/2 night stuff and do a few extras. But, at the close of day 3, I think I have missed somethings.

On the first full day (3/21), we went out at 9:00am to the mud volcano. I'm sure it is spectacular when it errupts and it is supposed to be a good place to seen animals. But at mid morning with work crews hammering away at the observation tower, no animals would come. Between coming and going, we say a mouse deer, a few horn bills and a serpent eagle.

It rained relentlesly that afternoon. A group of a volunteers from Raleigh International were stuck here until about 9:00pm waiting for the river to recede so t hey could cross the low water bridge.

Next morning, we went down to the waterfall, about 9:00am. Between coming and going, we saw a small frog.

It rained in the early afternoon, though not enough to cause serious flooding on the river. I scouted the route down the mud volcano in late afternoon. A couple samba deer crossed the road in the dim light. I set my alarm for 5:00am.

The alarm went off. I woofed down a few bananas and cup cakes then noticed that it was raining a little. Just a little but I have never seen it drizzle here. I set the alarm for 6:00am and went back to sleep. When the alarm went off at 6:00am, it was raining cats and dogs. I turned it off and slept in. It was 9:30 when I finally made it to the mud volcano. I staid until a little after 11. Nothing. 'Took a quick loop around the volcano and walked back. Final score: a few macaques raiding the garbage at the research station. It rained about noon but I did managed to get "home" before the main deluge began.

All this while, the world changes. They have satelite TV here but it's not where tourist are normally supposed to go. Something about the owner thinking that tourists wanted peaced and quiet and did not want to be bothered by such things. Anyway, I've been keeping up as best I can, at least whent he power is on. (It's been off for several hours now). But while there is much and much repeated about the war. No one seems to be reporting on the reaction in Indonesdia, which is what I need to know.

This morning, I reached the mud volcano at 6:45am and stayed until the workers showed up about 9:15am. Nothing but small birds and a few distant hornbills. The Raleigh group who arrived some 20 minutes after I and started talking loudly at 8:30 were anoying but I doubt they made any difference. This natural salt lick is just not the wildlife magnet one might expect or hope for.

As I write this, I'm still at Tabin. I think I have seen what little I am going to see here so I am packing up to head back to Laha Datu after lunch. I will send from there. CNN and the BBC have barely hinted at the situation in Indonesia but it is probably not good. I need to get to an Internet cafe to find real information. Stay tuned.