June 10, 1997

When we arrived in Sabah, we knew we would go directly to Uncle Tan's Bed and Breakfast near Sandakan. Our Lonely Planet guidebook indicated that Uncle Tan's wildlife jungle camp was the best value and the best option for exploring eastern Sabah, and the bed and breakfast was "very friendly and a great place to stay".

We arrived at the Bed and Breakfast Thursday afternoon, June 5, met the enthusiastic (and loud!) Susan, who works for Uncle Tan, and soon had made arrangements to go to the jungle camp the following day.

On Friday Bob and I, two other travelers, and Mrs Tan and the two children joined the driver in the van to the village Kinabatangan, where we took a motorboat up the river to the jungle camp. We met Dominic Harmer, who had been staying at the camp for a month to study storm storks for his Ph.D., and with Dominic and Tracy Coxon and Greg Scudds, the travelers who had come to the jungle camp with us, we planned a short hike for early Saturday morning. We discussed the areas in which we were likely to see orangutans, proboscis monkeys, otters, elephants, and other animals. On Saturday morning, we met Uncle Tan for the first time, who had arrived late the night before after completing a week of Medical/Dental camp. (One or two times a year Uncle Tan sponsors a week or ten day "camp" of volunteer medical people who travel at their own expense to Sabah, bringing medical supplies, to tour, at Uncle Tan's expense, various remove villages, and provide free medical and dental services. An outstanding service.)

We discussed with Uncle Tan the short walk we planned to take. I was eager to go early, so Bob and I left before breakfast while Greg and Tracy stayed for breakfast. We told Uncle Tan we would return in time to eat.

Elephant in Jungle at Sunrise

We walked on the path on the far side of the lake in front of the camp, then went on to the round lake as planned. As we were looking at animal tracks in the mud, Bob pointed out an elephant moving through the trees just ahead. We followed, but lost track of the animal, and it was not very long before we realized we had also lost track of exactly where we were. Bob and I have much experience in the forests of Washington State, USA, but Bob has more off-trail experience than I. He believed we would reach the third lake by heading south from where we were. By 10 o'clock, however, we realized we must have become turned around some way, because we should by then have reached the lake.

Uncle Tan's bed and breakfast and jungle camp are well equipped with information on trekking through the jungle, the layout of the camp, what to do if you should lose track of where you are, etc. We had read everything available, and knew that searchers would soon be coming after us. We called out for help every ten minutes, according to the instructions as we remembered them, and stayed in the place we were, but never heard the responding calls. We had a little water with us, so before nightfall we made beds of leaves and grass and settled in for the night. It was really very pleasant to sleep in the jungle, with the comforting sounds of hundreds of animals and birds surrounding us.

Jungle Pool

Sunday morning we walked toward what we thought was the sound of motorboats on the river. A primary concern was finding a water supply, but of course we also hoped to find the river and therefore a sure way back to camp. But even if we did not find the river, if we found water we knew we could stay for maybe three or four weeks if necessary, but had no doubt at all that Uncle Tan's searchers would find us long before that time. At about 11 o'clock, Sunday morning, we found a large pool, with fishes and a fair sized turtle, that made a splendid water supply. We filtered it through our handkerchiefs and drank as much as we wished. Although we had no food, we are hefty and strong and actually felt no hunger at all, only occasional thirst. With the water supply we again settled in for a day of calling for help, but knew that we may have been gone far enough away from camp by that time that it would take the searchers another day to find us. We knew they were looking, though, from everything we had read before and from the complete confidence we had in Uncle Tan, and also from the sounds of boats on the river and, that afternoon, the sounds of airplanes.

As we made camp for the night, we realized that if any plane or helicopter was looking for us, we would have to find a clearing where we could be seen. Since this meant leaving our excellent water supply the idea worried me considerably. Bob was confident we would find more water, maybe not as clear as what we had, but there had been many puddles, and of course we would have the morning dew.

So Monday morning, we headed south-east, the direction from which we'd heard the motorboats, calling for help all the way. I thought we must be not very far from the river because of the lower brushy growth and tall grasses on the muddy ground. It was very tough going through the tight growth and at this point Bob's spirits sagged. As he had encouraged me the night before, I tried to be encouraging that morning. Sure enough, by 10 o'clock we found what seemed to be a very good stream. We filled our water bottles and followed it, shortly we realized that we were following a manmade ditch, straight and regular, with great piles of mud on each side, but we couldn't figure a purpose for it. Then we could see that the jungle was thinning out considerably and there was a clearing ahead. With water again at hand, and a clearing a short way ahead, we knew we would be found.

Malaysian Plantation

As we emerged from the brush we realized one possible reason for the ditch - irrigation. We had come to a huge palm oil plantation. The motors we had heard were the plantation generators. Following a truck track to the top of a hill brought us in sight of plantation buildings a few kilometers away. In a short time workers from the fields were escorting us to their village, feeding and caring for us and filling us with joy. In a few hours we had been taken by car to the highway and were on the way to Uncle Tan's bed and breakfast by bus.

Thinking back on our experience in the jungle, I am very grateful we had it in just the way we did. The time together so reliant on each other was good for Bob and me, even after so many years of marriage, and the jungle became a wonderful friend with hundreds of thousands of generous inhabitants. But underlying the entire adventure was the certain knowledge that we would be safe, we would be found. We never had a moment's doubt in Uncle Tan and the thorough search we knew he was mounting. Reading his diary and reviewing the carefully documented search confirmed our belief. If we come to Sabah again, we will definitely come to Uncle Tan's jungle camp, and will encourage anyone else to do so. Uncle Tan is an outstanding servant to the East Sabah community. An experience with him is a wonderful adventure. We wish him well.

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