Our jungle camp at the tip of Borneo

We spent three nights up near the tip of Borneo, where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea, a windy, deserted and beautiful part of the world.  

As if to emphasise the jungle nature of the camp, we arrived in darkness, seemingly passing through dense forest to find our way to our little huts - we had two huts, one for Louis and I, one for Jules and Frankie.  There was an inner tent, with just enough room for two people to lie down, surrounded by a mozzie net, and then a small area - still under the “outer” thatched roof - to leave your bags and sandals. It was very cosy. 

There was a communal area where you could chat, get water and play with the 2 week old kittens, which the boys did at every opportunity. 

Very comfy as long as you don't stand up. 

Jules and Frankie off with the fairies

The compost loos

The camp is owned by Howard Stanton and his wife, a lovely local lady called Lorina. They also own the Tip Top restaurant by the sea some 20 minutes walk away, serving delicious food and being a relaxed and comfortable hang-out for backpackers.  He has ambitious plans to extend the camp with larger tents, as well as open a cafe there to serve Rungus (local) food. This will complement the restaurant he already own a couple of kms a way on the coast where we ate most days.   He is building a nature reserve, a museum and an education centre, all part of a wider plan to make the jungle more accessible to schoolchildren and visitors alike. 

The beach by his restaurant is wonderful.  It is so warm, you walk straight in without having to commit to “going under” to get wet.  The waves were pretty big so we didn’t need to mess around with snorkels, the wave jumping was fantastic fun and the boys loved it. At one point Louis and I went a little too far out and were nearly caught out by a sequence of half a dozen much bigger waves that towered over us as they approached - we dived under a few of these together as we hastily made our way closer to shore, but you could feel the force as they ripped across your shoulders and the back of your necks while you were under water letting them pass!  Louis to his credit didn’t panic at all, although did say quite urgently that he wanted to go back now!

Plenty of things to do at the beach

....not forgetting "Danger Jenga" at the restaurant

We rented a little motorbike for the afternoon and, just as the heavens opened, Louis and I tootled off with Jules and Frankie following us in our rented car.  We’d caught the tail end of a typhoon coming across the South China Sea and the wind and rain was fierce.  It reminded me that it was a shame I’d lost my sunglasses as the rain was stinging my eyessomewhat as we followed the coastal mud track. We were looking for a turn off that would take us to a little island, joined by a sandbar at low tide.  After a couple of blind alleys, we ran out of road in this little village. Some young boys of Louis age were there and giggled when we said Hello.  One of them said “Hello” to us, looked at Jules and added “You’re cute” before scampering off in fits of embarrassed giggles.  

Nicer and sunny before we started.......

Some big puddles after the rainstorm

I did't actually drive with him hanging off the side.....

We asked a chap about the island and he explained where we needed to go to find the island and we duly left, following his instructions. When we got there the wind was now blowing sideways.  We donned out ponchos, that had previously only once seen action, on our trek in Nepal. The wind made them look skin tight, which looked good on Jules in a ‘bedraggled chic’ kind of way, even though she didn’t admit it. 

Jules and Louis sporting a new style of rainwear  

Windswept!

The tide was low enough for the sand spit to be visible, so we crossed, but with the waves threatening to cover it, didn’t want to spend too long on the other side.  Louis and I climbed up to the top of the island and then returned lest we get cut off. 

We jumped back on the bike and set off for the actual Tip of Borneo, you can see where the seas meet in a very rough and wavy part of the ocean, and the point is guarded by a lighthouse, which is no doubt a welcome sight for sailors in these dangerous waters. 

Boys with Augustin

Next morning Howard took us for a jungle skills walk, teaching the boys all sorts of useful things like how to get rubber from a rubber tree, which leaves you can eat, how to get water from bamboo and how to make a “water still” in the ground.   Hopefully they’ll never have to survive in the jungle, but you never know.....

There were a bunch of backpackers at the restaurant and we befriended several, including Augustin, a charming French man from Strasbourg travelling with his Simon and some friends, whom we later met again in Kuching.

We slept surprisingly well in the little huts and made sure we used the eco-friendly compost loos last thing before bedtime - apparently there are centipedes out at night with very nasty bites so you don’t want to encounter these, even though Howard does apparently have the antidote.

Baders with Howard at his restaurant