BORNEO CULTURE AND WILDLIFE SCHOOL TOUR
Kota Kinabalu- Sandakan- Sepilok - Sukau
Malaysia / Borneo tours for students are a fantastic way to put learning about biology, ecology, and zoology into real life context beyond what they could learn in a classroom, though this itinerary goes one step further and additionally includes cultural immersion into the region, as well as Australian WWII history, Australia having had a heavy presence here during the war years. The natural beauty of Borneo offers the perfect backdrop for educational tours; students will visit wildlife rehabilitation centers, and observe the feeding and nursing of orangutans and the endangered Malayan Sun bear, as well as heading on jungle trekking safaris to observe wildlife in their natural habitat. They will plant trees in rainforest regeneration projects, and visit traditional tribal homes for cultural insight into the region.
Your school can incorporate a wide range of projects into this suggested itinerary to suit your trip's outcome. See our Project Types.
Trip code : BRO9364S
Duration : 8 days
Destination : Malaysia
Travel Dates : As required
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Discover the rich ecosystem and rainforest in Borneo
- Learn about different tribal minorities, their culture and tradition
- Learn about the Allies' involvement in Borneo during the World War II
- Take part in a community project, forest restoration or wildlife preseravation project
- Engage in studies of society and environment
- Participate in team building exercise and group-trekking
- Enhance perspectives, develop appreciation for diversity and differences
- Develop communication skills within peers and in a foreign environment
- Discover a world more beautiful, diverse and colorful than any textbook could ever portray
- Develop skills for students through a meaningful overseas experience
HIGHLIGHTS
- Experience the diversity of various local ethnic groups and their ways of life
- Observe Orangutans at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
- Attend an orangutan feeding
- Spend time with endangered Sun Bears at the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre
- Observe Proboscis Monkeys at Labuk Bay Proboscis Sanctuary
- Cruise on Katabatangan river and experience the richness of local wildlife
- Fun and educational jungle trekking to observe the diverse ecosystem
- Tree planting project to aid in the regeneration of the rainforest
- Visit Sandakan Memorial Park to learn about Australian involvement in the area during World War II
DAY 1
On arrival at the Kota Kinabalu airport, your group will be welcomed and transferred to your hotel.
Overnight on Kota Kinabalu.
This morning we meet at hotel lobby and depart for a KOTA KINABALU CITY tour. This tour will take students to all the must see places in the city including the Atkinson Clock, which is the oldest structure in entire Sabah (since 1903), which survived World War II and still serves to keep time today. Signal Hill is the city’s highest point and observation view on its deck goes as far as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park islands while the City Mosque is spanking new and sits surrounded by a man-made lagoon. You’ll visit the Sabah Museum where plenty artifacts lie, the Sabah Foundation building and the local handicraft market to pick up handmade souvenirs (pearls are abundant there).
This afternoon, we depart for the MARI MARI CULTURAL VILLAGE. As you enter through the suspension bridge, students will be awed with the sight of the river flowing. Visit each tribe’s traditional house and do some in house activities and stopover at demo huts. A highlight of the visit will be a cultural performance for students to gain a deeper understanding of the village people and their unique way of life.
Overnight in Kota Kinabalu.
Today, students take a short flight to Sandakan. On arrival in Sukau, we visit the Australian War Memorial to pay tribute to those who died during the Sandakan death march, and during the Second World War. This war memorial provides insights into Australian involvement in this region and our involvement during war this period of history.
Overnight in Sandakan.
This morning will be spent at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. At this Centre, students can observe man’s closest relative “the Orangutan” being rehabilitated to become wild in their natural habitat and experience a walk in the Tropical Lowland Dipterocarp Forest of Borneo. Your group can witness the feeding of Orangutan from the feeding platform and visit the baby orangutans in the Orangutan Nursery.
In the afternoon we travel to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. This centre improves the living conditions of rescued sun bears, students will learn about the many conservation issues which face the bears and how they rehabilitate the bears.
Overnight in Sukau.
This morning we depart for the Sandakan jetty, for a boat ride up to the Lower Kinabatangan River Sanctuary. This is a wonderful journey of discovery which starts from the waters of Sulu Sea of Sandakan Town through a magnificent scenery of the Mangrove Forest.
We stop for lunch at Abai Jungle Restaurant. After lunch, we cruise up river to Sukau village in search of primates especially the Endemic Proboscis Monkeys, birds and other wildlife.
On arrival in Sukau, your group will check in at Kinabatangan Riverside Lodge.
Later in the afternoon, we take another river cruise to Menanggul River, a small tributary of the Kinabatangan.
Overnight in Sukau.
Wake up by the calls of gibbons and hornbills. Early this morning, we take a river trip to the Ox Bow Lake to observe wildlife and experience the early morning river atmosphere.
You will then head back to the lodge for breakfast. After breakfast ,students depart on a trek through the surrounding secondary rainforest to a nearby oxbow lake. The trek will take approximately two hours (round trip), with a rest at the oxbow lake, and along the route your naturalist guides will point out plant life that has medicinal or survival purposes.
After lunch you will be transferred to the tree planting site, where each team member will plant a seedling near the river. This activity helps regenerate the rainforest in one of the many 'gaps' or fragments along the river as part of the 'Kinabatangan - Corridor of Life (CoL)' programme. In the late afternoon, the group will join a river cruise from the lodge in search of wildlife and bird life along the river banks. After dinner you will join another night jungle trek behind the lodge, looking out for nocturnal species of mammals, birds and amphibians.
Overnight in Sukau.
Today after breakfast your group will travel by boat to Sandakan and then tranferred to the airport. End of our services.
All of our school tours include the below standard inclusions:
FIRST-CLASS SERVICE
- 24/7 local assistance and travel guidance
- Medical kit
- Airport Meet-and-Greet welcome service with the local tour guide
- Assistance with project coordination for community project/services or mission/immersion trips
- Destination and trip Information Packs
- A unique "local-host" experience exclusively offered by Tweet World Travel
VISAS
- Malaysia Visa
FLIGHTS
- Domestic flights within a tour in the economy cabin
ACCOMMODATION
- Stay at excellent hand-selected high-quality 3 or 4- star accommodation in a central location or adjacent to monuments or strategically at the edge of a wilderness.
- We guarantee that students will be located together within the same area in hotels
SIGHTSEEING
- Entrance fees at monuments
- Comprehensive sightseeing as per itinerary
- All local government fees & tax
TRANSPORTATION
- Arrival and departure airport transfers in private air-conditioned vehicles
- All touring in private air-conditioned vehicles
- Locally based professional drivers
TOUR GUIDE & TOUR LEADER
- English-speaking local tour guides who live and breathe the destination – they will bring your itinerary to life
- On top of local tour guides, we will provide an experienced Local Tour Director. He or she will oversee the entire journey, accompany your group every day and connect you to the people, places and encounters in a way you’ll never forget.
MEALS
- Welcome & Farewell Dinner
- A Unique & Varied Dining Experience
- Full Breakfast Daily; Select Lunches and Dinners (B=breakfast; L=lunch; D=dinner)
The price depends on the below:
- Projects your group would like to participate
- Desired outcome/Learning objectives for students
- Accommodation level
- Travel date
- Group Size
- Duration of the tour
- Sightseeing
Your Malaysia visa is included in our tour and we act on your behalf to apply for the visas, all necessary documents relating to your visa application will have to be provided to us at least 90 days before your departure. If you fail to provide the necessary documents before 90 days prior to your departure, we will not be held liable for your visa application.
The visa fee included in our tour is not refundable in any circumstances.
Important Note:
- All travellers must have a valid passport for international travel and most countries require at least 6 months validity from the date of return and some countries require a machine‐readable passport.
- If you provide all necessary documents relating to your visa application in less than 90 day before departure, an additional fee of $120 per person will incur.
- It is your sole responsibility for any fines, penalties, payments or expenditures incurred as a result of such documents not satisfying the requirements of those authorities
- Travellers might need to present the visas at multiple checkpoints and may be refused to fly out of their countries, if the visa documents cannot be presented. If such an event occurs, we won’t be liable, and the travellers will be deemed as “no-show”. Please check our term and condition for a ‘’No-show” penalty.
