Farewell Kinabatangan

Hunter’s departure saw meat back on the menu… in a big way! On the flip side we were now running solo without our hockey star to remove the log jams from the anchor chain.

On the way back out we stopped by at the village of Abai for some of those yummy fresh water prawns. This was my favorite stop! Elephants passed by not far from the boat and we fell asleep to the sound of their trumpet. Our nightly ritual of showering on the back deck with the cold river water could now be conducted ‘sans clothing’.

The next morning we strolled around town meeting the locals. Here we met Ghafar and Jarima who run the Moido Waloi Homestay. They immediately invited us for a tour of their garden and rice paddy, and then showered us with fresh coconuts, biscuits and mangoes. We made plans for them to visit the boat later that day with promises of smoked fish and fresh veges. Yummy! It was a great afternoon with lots of laughs – the no smiling in photos must be a cultural thing?

Further down the river Sloop managed to sneak in the dinghy for a trip down a creek where we met more monkeys, proboscis, eagles and kingfishers.


We managed to get out the river with only 5cm to spare under the keel. Sloop was rewarded finding a fish on the foredeck that jumped onto the boat – sadly no one would fillet and steam it for him. Off to Sandakan for some chores and preparing for the next leg to the Semporna & Sipidan area.

This is the East coast at Sandakan and our planned route to Tawau - our turn around point.

Note: If you were interested to stay in the Moido Waloi Homestay, this can be arranged through Ghafar on +60109314303 or the Sandakan Tourist Information centre. Highly recommended - great people and lovely location - living with the locals.