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Chris DicksonChris Dickson
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traveled in 52 countries Read more Sydney, Australia
  • TravelerBorneo 2024
    1
    Day 11

    Kota Kinabalu (2) and recap

    April 16 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After the early starts and sticky rainforest and bouncy, hard boat seats it was great to arrive back in KK, still sticky, of course, but looking forward to a few days of idleness.

    We stayed on the waterfront, with the islands of the Turku Abdul Raman Marine Park just offshore, and the most incredible sunsets, although it took a few days before we got out of the bar in time to see one.

    With Grab (the Malaysian Uber) cheap and efficient, it was a simple matter to venture downtown for shopping or dinner.

    After we had been here for three days, we got news of the eruption of Mt Ruang, a volcano on an island to the east of Sabah. Winds sent the ash our way, causing flights from KK to Kuala Lumpur to be cancelled. The hotel filled up as people had to extend their stays; some people were advised that the next available flight for re-booking was not for a week.

    As it turned out, we weren’t affected, and all too soon we were heading for home, with some great memories in tow.

    With an amazing and unique set of wild animals, and beautiful places and settings from which to see them, culture and history ranging from head hunters through to the Second World War, and mostly very friendly and helpful people, Sabah proved to be a great destination. Plus it’s reasonably cheap!

    Of course, the trip wouldn’t have been anywhere as good without Steve and Kim, travel companions par excellence! Great experiences are always better when shared with good friends and loved ones!    Read more

  • TravelerBorneo 2024
    Day 9

    Tabin

    April 14 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    It took a long morning’s bouncy travel to reach Tabin Rainforest Lodge, nestled on the edge of the Tabin Wildlife Reserve and close to the coast.

    Where our Sukau lodge was quite large and full, with numerous helpful and friendly staff and excellent service, our Tabin digs had only six rooms, a few staff and NO WHITE WINE.

    We decided to stay anyway, and late on our first afternoon cruised down the river, past kilometres of nipah palms, to the coast.

    The atmosphere was fabulous as we made our way slowly back in the encroaching darkness, then, near to home, we came to the fireflies. What a sight! Hundreds of tiny, flickering pinpoints of light in the trees; they were quite captivating, especially from our peacefully floating viewpoint on the boat.

    Then, our eyes becoming more and more attuned to the darkness, we looked to the sky, and had another wonderful moment under the canopy of stars that we city people don’t often get to see.

    The following morning we visited two bird hides.

    Firstly, the Bornean brown cuckoo, a very obliging bird who turned up with his mate and alternately pecked and looked around until we had taken our fill of photos.

    The second hide was that for the Sabah partridge. Here is an excerpt from the diary:

    7:30 - arrive at bird hide
    7:35 - leaf drops from tree
    7:40 - start playing female Sabah partridge sounds over loudspeaker
    7:41 - male Sabah partridge shows up, starts calling out expectantly
    7:50 - tourists go off to have hot breakfast, Sabah partridge still calling out expectantly
    7:55 - Sabah partridge shakes head, looks around and goes home alone and disappointed.

    We also took another spin on the river and down to the sea and saw some Irrawaddy Dolphins, then drove up a narrow twisting tributary - think “The African Queen” - to see the flying foxes roosting.

    In the late afternoon we took a hot, sweaty walk through the jungle, not seeing a lot but kind of enjoying tripping over tree roots and dodging vines as we stumbled along.

    On the morning we left Tabin, we visited one more bird hide, deep into the forest. We clambered through a muddy gully and slipped and stumbled up and down hill until we reached the hide, whereupon they played the female call over and over for forty minutes. Then we all gave up and sweated and puffed our way back to the vehicle. Just goes to show that the twitchers of the world have more patience than we do.

    And that was the end of the rainforest adventure. We are now en route back to Kota Kinabalu for some (we think) well-deserved R and R.    Read more

  • TravelerBorneo 2024
    2
    Day 6

    Sukau

    April 11 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    It was a two-and-a-half hour ride by speedboat up the Kinabatangan River to Sukau Rainforest Lodge, where have spent the past three nights.

    On the trip up our guide told us he would stop to show us any significant wildlife sightings, but we didn’t need to stop, mainly because he was asleep for most of it.

    We arrived around four in the afternoon, and soon boarded a small boat to look for wildlife. It was oppressively hot and sticky, but peaceful yet fun buzzing around from one side of the river to the other as the guide pursued possible wildlife.

    Africa has its “big five” - the lion, leopard, buffalo, giraffe and elephant, and Australia its “big four” - the kangaroo, emu, platypus and tall poppy. In Borneo there is the orang utan, proboscis monkey, hornbill, crocodile and pygmy elephant.

    We saw our first orang utan in the wild very quickly, shortly followed by a host of proboscis monkeys. The monkeys are apparently quite easy going and will happily help to groom members of other monkey species - this is not surprising, as anyone lumbered with a nose the size of that on the male proboscis monkey would have to be pretty easy going.

    From the right angle the males look like a chubby Mr Magoo without his glasses.

    Hornbills were also plentiful, although a little harder to see in the tree tops. Of the rhinoceros hornbill variety, however, there was only the briefest of sightings.

    Then there was the crocodile, which was also plentiful, both large - very large, in fact - and small.

    Of the pygmy elephant, though, there was no sign whatsoever. Our guide kept promising that there were elephants in the area, and each boat excursion included the enticement that they were “waiting for the word” that the elephants were down by the river. What rot.

    In all, we spent eight hours numbing our bottoms on the slightly padded seats of the boat, and came away very happy with the animal sightings and the experience. Especially in the early mornings, the air was cool, the mist was rising from the still river and there was a sense of anticipation about the day - and the big breakfast awaiting our return.

    One of our boat trips was at night. No pygmy elephants, funnily enough, but we saw lots of small crocodiles, (luckily) small snakes and some incredibly colourful kingfishers and other birds of different varieties. It was a bit surreal zooming across the blackness of the river, with the guide using the only light on the boat to scan the bank for animals, rather than watch where he was going.

    And it was peaceful. We stopped the engine (deliberately, I hope) and drifted for some time under a canopy of stars and in the enveloping silence. The waxing moon, in its last nights, shed a tiny reflection on the otherwise dark river.

    With this peace and tranquility in mind (and the multitude of animals out there waiting to poison and/or eat us), we move on to the Tabin Conservation Area, and… the leeches.    Read more

  • TravelerBorneo 2024
    1
    Day 4

    Sepilok

    April 9 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Sepilok is about half an hour from Sandakan and was a great start to the jungle part of our trip.

    First up was the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, where orphaned young and otherwise deserted animals are nurtured and prepared for life in the wild.

    They are the most amazing animals (mum rears her baby for up to nine years before they go out on their own) and we spent some time watching the juveniles and then the older animals feeding. They are fed only a small amount so that they will go and forage for more by themselves, and possibly become completely independent.

     Next stop was the Bornean Sun Bear Centre.

    Bornean Sun Bears have a few natural disadvantages, chiefly of which is a gall bladder that secretes bile that in some cultures is regarded as a powerful aid for libido/period pain/household cleaning.

    Then they may be captured as pets and have their claws removed, which (as the claws are bone) is excruciatingly painful and (as they rely on their claws to climb trees and dig for food) means they cannot survive in the wild.

    As sun bears eat termites, they also play an important role in keeping the trees healthy.

    In the afternoon we braved the hot sun and humidity and visited the Rainforest Discovery Centre.

    We walked high into the trees on the three hundred metre canopy walkway, constantly on the lookout for animals. For this part of the visit, though, the pickings were slim, with some distant bird sightings, two squirrels and a lizard.

    Then we waited in a large group for dusk, enjoying the slightly cooler air and the peaceful atmosphere high above the ground.

    Everyone was waiting for the red giant flying squirrels to perform their tricks. All eyes were focused on a box fastened to a tree, from where two little eyes peered out.

    Finally, he made his move, climbing out and up the tree before gliding gracefully down about thirty metres to his destination. All eyes were on him, but they had to be assisted by torches, as by this time it was quite dark. Steve was brilliant, his torch tracking the entire flight like a pro.

    Then we were taken along a series of bush tracks in search of night animals. Again, though, animals were scarce. We saw an incredibly vivid blue kingfisher, a scorpion, and a small pit viper that could easily have been stomped on; other than that it was down to lizards and stick insects for our entertainment.

    We’re now heading up the Kinabantangan River to Sukau Rainforest Lodge, for the part of our adventure.    Read more

  • TravelerBorneo 2024
    Day 2

    Kota Kinabalu and Sepilok

    April 7 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Our Borneo trip started in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s largest city and seemingly home to the most gridlocked traffic to be found anywhere.

    It was coming up to Hari Raya, the Malaysian holiday marking the end of Ramadan, and people were out buying in preparation for a two-day public holiday later in the week. We walked to the Sunday Market for a look around and were enveloped in the heat and crowds. It was even worse in the local shopping centre.

    We stayed on the waterfront overlooking the fishing fleet, a bunch of somewhat tired-looking boats that never seemed to leave port, although occasionally a couple would do a kind of dance around each other and the the other moored vessels before pulling up somewhere else in the fleet.

    Our proximity to the fishing port also meant that going outside meant not only hitting the heat and humidity after our over-chilled hotel, but also the smell - a mixture of the odours of fish both fresh and dried.

    We went out to the Mari Mari Cultural Village for some insights into the ethnic tribes of Borneo and came back having tasted rice wine and rubbery pancakes and seen fire-making, cooking, blow pipe dart firing, tribal chief meeting and a cultural dance show that was pleasurably brief. It was a good afternoon; the large numbers of visitors were shuffled through with the precision of a Swiss Watch and the female guide was energetic and personable.

    A flight with Firefly to Sandakan - $A35 each, 40 minutes flying, 1 hour 10 minutes queueing - brought us to our next destination.

    We stopped at the War Memorial Park, commemorating the death marches that started in Sandakan and ended with the deaths of 2,434 prisoners of war. Only six survived. There isn’t much there other than a nice walk, a plinth and a few bits of ruined machinery, but it was a very poignant reminder of the human capacity for cruelty.

    We reflected on the death march as we drove out to Sepilok, where tomorrow we will investigate the orang utan. In the meantime, we have enjoyed some lizard spotting and a pleasant dinner overlooking the lagoon.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 32

    Oxford

    October 9, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    This will be the last footprint for this trip; we are heading home due to the sad passing of Chris Andrews, our dear brother-in-law and friend.

    With two days to get to London to catch a plane, we had very much a flying tour of some of the sights from North Yorkshire down to Oxford, where we had to return our car and hop on a train to Heathrow.

    We left lively Whitby and followed the coast north to Staithes , another picturesque fishing village with connections to Captain James Cook, RN, white person discoverer of Australia (although the Dutch beat him to it on the west coast).

    From Staithes , we headed inland to Rievaulx Abbey, travelling over fog-covered hills and through numerous tiny villages with twisting, narrow streets.

    Rievaulx was interesting, a ruin that would put many others to shame, and looking extremely handsome under the grey skies. The monks slept 140 to a dorm, ate mainly vegetables (and didn’t talk as they did so) and attended eight church services a day, so perhaps the grey skies were looked upon as a plus.

    We also popped in to Knaresbrough, which has a wonderfully picturesque bridge carrying the railway over the River Nidd, with great views, boats on the river and families strolling about everywhere. It was more than nice enough for us to spend a couple of hours wandering down to the river and, with an ice cream, back up again.

    We stayed a night in Harrogate, then headed down to Oxford, from the outskirts of which this footprint originates.

    With time of the essence, we had one place to see in the Cotswolds, so we chose - unsurprisingly - Bourton- on-the- Water.

    On a Monday afternoon in October it was crowded, so on Saturdays in June must be impossible. It was also incredibly photogenic, a warm, sunny day for a change, and the trees beginning to change colour. Naturally, there were also huge numbers of local people with their dogs in tow. Whether on a bus or train, or in a pram or carry bag, a cafe or a museum - the canines of Britain are well looked after!    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 29

    Whitby

    October 6, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    We hired a car in York and made our way to the coast, emerging, via some incredibly narrow roads, at Robin Hoods Bay (or, at least, at the Pay-and-Display car park at the top of the hill).

    Today, it takes five hours to travel from Sherwood Forest to Robin Hoods Bay by public transport, and presumably it took quite a bit longer in the 14th century, when Robin Hood was actually (or, maybe not actually) alive. So it’s probably safe to assume the place doesn’t have much to do with him or his merry band of outlaws, other than a name.

    It was, though, a picturesque tangle of narrow streets leading down to a small cove with a few fishing boats, a couple of pubs and a heap of shops selling all manner of twee nick-nacks.

    Whitby, just up the coast, was different. Bigger than we expected, and a bit brasher - it has Pleasureland, Funland and Fun City all in a row on the waterfront - it was good fun.

    We walked up the hill to Whitby Abbey, part inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula tale, and window-shopped for Whitby Jet. Jet is a black gemstone, apparently now largely forgotten beyond Whitby, related to coal and made popular by the original influencer, Queen Victoria. It’s not every gemstone that will burn if you set fire to it.

    Friday evening in Whitby was pretty hectic, and we enjoyed a few drinks watching the sun go down over the beautiful and historic - yet bustling - old port.

    Our last Whitby experience was a day out on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

    We travelled from Whitby to Grosmont, where we had a look around, then walked about six kilometres to Goathland on a track following a previous railway alignment. It was incredibly peaceful walking through some wonderful scenery for a few hours.

    With moorland topping the hills above us, black-headed sheep dotting the lush fields, a multitude of small bubbling creeks all around, and the occasional walkers with their dogs, it was all rather quintessentially English.

    Goathland was the fictional town of Aidensfield in the television series “Heartbeat”, and the magnificent Goathland Railway Station has featured in the Harry Potter movies and a host of other productions.

    We continued our train experience on to Pickering, enjoying the varied countryside all the way, then returned to Whitby.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 26

    York

    October 3, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Our first stop after the boating adventure was York, just a few hours away by train.

    York has a fair bit going for it - Viking heritage, city walls, narrow winding streets and a magnificent cathedral - York Minster - where we kicked off our exploration.

    Most likely, this will be the only church we will visit on this holiday, but it was well worth it. Completed a mere 551 years ago, it is a massive stone structure plonked in the middle of otherwise low-rise York. We spent a bit of time admiring the interior, particularly the windows, as well as wandering around the outside.

    We also enjoyed The Shambles, the nearby cluster of medieval narrow, twisting streets abounding in retail opportunities for every manner of souvenir.

    An unexpected surprise (for us, at least) was the beauty of the River Ouse and the Museum Gardens, complete with some medieval ruins, that lie close by.

    Somewhat to the south was the remains of York Castle, and Clifford’s Tower, named after Roger de Clifford, who gained immortality-of-name when he was executed for treason and hanged in chains from the tower walls.

    We largely skipped the walls, the Viking stuff and the justifiably renowned Railway Museum, as we had visited them previously. Actually, Chris did go to the the railway museum, but it had closed early due to a private function. Waited 23 years and travelled 20,000 kilometres to go there again, but no bitterness here!

    We also took a short train ride to Bradford, and visited the Bradford Industrial Museum, built in 1875 as a worsted mill, and now housing all manner of engines, looms, spinning machines and other assorted gear. The machines were interesting, but the human and social impact of the inventions was what we went for.

    It was, in fact, reassuring to know that children under nine have been prohibited from working in factories since 1819, and that the same, enlightened, legislation prevented children from 9 to 16 from being forced to work more than a 12-hour day.

    We are heading next to Whitby, on the North Yorkshire coast, and hoping that the rain takes a break.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    2
    Day 25

    Stoke-on-Trent

    October 2, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Well, it was all a bit strange. The water situation, mainly because the toilets wouldn’t work without it, was a bit dire. Ironically, though, it was pouring with rain.

    We drove through the rain for two hours until we found a water point. Don and Chris filled the water tank, standing in the rain, quite cold, drinking a beer. At the same time, Sharon and Kim had hot showers (while still at the water point, so as not to deplete the supply) and warmed the boat to dry the clothes out.

    We chose a good canal - the Macclesfield - to cruise along. It was quiet, although there were quite a few boats moored along the banks (some a bit derelict, it appeared). The rural scenery - green pastures, sheep, farm buildings, even the occasional re-purposed mill - was beautiful on the sunny days (that is, once), and wonderfully atmospheric on the wet ones, even when your socks were wringing wet from the rain.

    We did have quite a lot of rain on our way back to Stoke-on-Trent, and another toilet situation (collectively, that is, not personally).

    Being extravagant with our water, and - truth be told - our alcohol consumption, it soon became odorously apparent that we urgently needed a pump out. More rain-soaked driving ensued, before we reached the nirvana of the pump-out station, where a friendly, apparently olfactorily challenged, man removed the offensive material from the boat.

    Armed with beers purchased from the boat yard, we tackled the Bosley Locks with gusto, pleased to se the rain subsiding and that there were people on the canals even more inept than we. The rain was easing, but the ground remained saturated as we made our way down from locks one to twelve.

    The following day (after another stylish celebration, this time at the Church House Hotel in Congleton) we strolled through the final lock and, after another half-hour of exhaust fumes in the Harecastle Tunnel, made our way back to the marina and returned the boat.

    Wet weather notwithstanding, the whole narrowboat experience was great. By the end of the trip we were steering the boat like pros, barely hitting anything (not too hard, at least) and giving other people tips on operating the locks and good pubs to visit.

    We have now said our fond goodbyes to Don and Kim after a great few weeks, and are en route to York to start the next stage of our trip.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2023
    Day 19

    Macclesfield

    September 26, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    This is the first of two posts from our time on the narrowboat cruising up the Macclesfield Canal. Apologies - it’s a bit long.

    We left Inverness and, after three hours in the car, two in the train and a short walk, we checked in to a quite fancy guest house in Carlisle. We had a quick look at the castle and the cathedral, but to be honest Carlisle and its people seemed a little down-at-heel and one afternoon was enough for us.

    It took a good part of the following day to get to Stoke-on-Trent and the marina at Etruria, where we got our orientation and set off on the good, if narrow, ship, Mollie.

    We cruised off confidently, and didn’t bump into a single thing during the few hours of our first day’s sailing. We also, though, completely failed in the find-a-pub stakes, and had to eat on the boat for our first night.

    The following day we faced our first nautical challenge - the 2.6 kilometre Harecastle Tunnel. We went through in a convoy of about five boats, and spent just over half an hour seeing nothing but the lights on our boat and the ones immediately ahead or behind.

    It was cold and wet - the tunnel roof was frequently dripping - and steering straight enough to avoid the tunnel walls was near impossible. Hopefully, the boat company have plenty of spare paint.

    We spent that night in Congleton, a short climb up some stairs from the Queen’s Head pub, and celebrated the tunnel in style. Actually, we seem to be celebrating everything in style on this trip!

    The Bosley Locks were next on our route.

    The narrowboat guidebook described the Bosley Locks as like waiting for a bus - you see none for hours, and then a whole lot turn up at once - and this was the case for us. We had only done one lock before the Bosley flight, then suddenly we were faced with twelve in a row.

    Fortunately, there were Canal and River Trust volunteers on hand to help with the gates and paddles, and we were through mostly without incident, other than a few more scratches to Mollie’s sides.

    Except, that is, for the very first lock. Chris at the helm cruised confidently out of the lock, only to meet a boat going in. Steering to the right, it passed safely, but the narrow canal pound, coupled with the sharpness of the entry turn to the following lock, meant he suffered the indignity of having to push the boat back on course with the pole.

    We also had a couple of opening bridges to contend with before yet another stylish celebration, this time at the Old King’s Head pub at Gurnett Aquaduct.

    Day three on the boat was much less eventful, cruising through attractive rural countryside, and in sunshine. This was exactly the sort of canal trip we had thought about.

    We cruised on past all shapes and sizes of narrowboat, old mills and farms, up as far as High Lane, where, after another stylish dinner, we went back to the boat to think about the consequences of running out of water and therefore not being able to flush the toilet - something we perhaps should have thought of earlier.    Read more

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