Sipadan, Malaysia – Scuba Junkie Sipadan

Trip Report written by club member Ruth Moxon

Sipadan Island is often described as one of the world’s most extraordinary dive locations, and the Nautilus Scuba Club Cairns had the privilege of experiencing its beauty first-hand. From 26th May – 2nd June 2025, 21 divers and 2 non-divers made their way to the Scuba Junkie Resort on Mabul Island, the perfect base for eight days of world-class diving.

Borneo Land Excursion

Trip Report written by club member Samantha Bruce

After an amazing week spent in the tropical paradise that is Sipadan Island, we transferred back to the mainland where…

We said goodbye to Group 1 who had a long car ride ahead of them late at night (suckers!) & my family (Michael, Judith, Samantha), the Freeman’s (Rob & Chris) & Claire spent the night in the small sea side town of Semporna to de-gas.

An early morning flight took us from Tawau to Sandakan – where we stayed at the edge of the famous Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve which is home to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. After a week of seeing only other divers and eating only chicken & rice – it was a shock to see so many tourists in one area and have access to pizza.. as well as a very hot rainforest with no sea breeze!

That afternoon we ventured to the Orangutan Centre for the afternoon feeding. It is home to orphaned, injured, mothers & baby orangutans. Wild orangutans can visit during feeding time too, we saw a wild male.

That night we had a nighttime guided walk through the Rainforest Discovery Centre (DRC), a trip highlight for all of us (minus the sweat!!). A walk to the top of the canopy on a sky walkway allows for unparalleled views for the famous red giant flying squirrels who would launch themselves and glide up to 150m over the top of our heads. From there we curled through the park, relying on our guide to point out wildlife, such as a slow loris with its baby and the many creepy crawlies, like the bioluminescent scorpion we walked past and had no idea, both pictured below. 

Day 2 we checked out the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, which is conveniently located directly opposite the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. This was quiet and lovely. Home to 43 Sun Bears, the smallest bear in the world, who are rescued from the illegal pet trade, injured due to illegal hunting or deforestation to rehabilitate and release or live in a dignified permanent home. After lunch we then had a very potholed bus ride to our next destination, the Kinabatangan River. Unfortunately, due to increased rain the last few days, the river had flooded the entrance to our resort… so we carefully waded through crocodile infested water to the entrance. Pictures below – said entrance flooding, lovely views from our two cruises a day (6am & 4pm) and our makeshift ramp to reach the boat daily!

During our 2 days on the river, we saw many long tailed (pictured below) & short tailed macaque, proboscis monkeys, water monitors and allegedly an orangutan shoulder (can you spot the orangutan in the photo ?!). For bird lovers – we saw peregrine falcons, stork-billed king fishers, storks, hornbills (rhinoceroses, oriental—pied), just to name a few!

We crossed over with group 1 as we jetted up and down the river — just before they headed off to see the infamous pygmy elephants (lucky ducks!!) But fear not, dear reader, as we saved our luck for the last portion of our adventure, Danum Valley.  

Danum Valley was by far my families highlight of the trip. Nestled far within the Danum Valley Conservation Area (2-3 hour on gravel road via car) is a gorgeous eco rainforest resort that has hosted the likes of Prince William and Princess Catherine. You are surrounded by towering layers of rainforest every which way you look – somehow it is different during each time of day, low cloud, thunderstorms, sunshine, the immense density and power of the rainforest was magnetic. 

We were welcomed by our private guide, Casey, who was assigned to us for our stay. A wealth of knowledge and passion for animals, Casey’s goal was to see all the birds one could see in Borneo – of which she was only half way there. She was able to differentiate the sound of a frog (which sounded like a bird), to a type of monkey (also sounded like a bird) to birds (which sound liked birds). That night, we ventured out onto the canopy walk where we had our first leech casualty – Rob. There were four walks a day on trails and a nighttime game drive around the accommodation for animal spotting (gibbons, macaques, tarantulas, snakes, leeches, more leeches, did you know there are like 700 species of leeches?!). I fear I cannot emphasise the leeches enough, if you brushed against a plant or dared look down on your shoes, you always had a leech attached to you at any one time. Some of us did not get any braver despite the aggressive exposure therapy. Claire, Michael, Rob and Chris went rafting down the river. The more adventuresome hiked the Coffin Cliff Trail – an old trail to Indigenous burial sites and panoramic viewpoints of the rainforest canopy (see pictures). Others (myself), enjoyed massages and the infinity pool that lay at the base of the rainforest overlooking the river.

My personal favourite in Danum Valley was bush bashing to find wild orangutans – below is Beth a 44yo female with her baby, Lan, born in 2021. She has had 4 babies whilst she has been within Danum Valley – dating back to the early 2000’s. She is the oldest female Orangutan in the park. 

After a relaxing three days spent in this absolute hidden gem, we left certificates in hand (picture below) on a very long and bumpy drive back to Tawau… where we said goodbye to our group who were spending another night in town. Many delayed flights later, we are back in Melbourne, much richer after spending our time in Borneo. We loved Sipadan and exploring the mainland and are very grateful for Danielle for organising such a fun trip!!