Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Malaysia

Seeing orangutans in the wild, swinging through the jungle, has always been a dream of mine. However, as it is very difficult to enter the Indonesian Borneo, where the majority of wild Bornean orangutans live, I decided to do the next best thing.

The Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, in Northern Sabah, has been helping in-need orangutans since it opened in 1964. The Centre encompasses 43square kilometers of protected land and provides medical services and rehabilitation for orphaned orangutans. It's nursery is out of bounds for visitors, but the orangutans can be seen during the designated feeding times.

After hearing and reading different reviews regarding the amount of orangutans that can be seen during the two feeding times, we decided to take our chances and attend both the morning and afternoon feeding sessions.

I am so glad we did!

We were fortunate enough to see a young female orangutan during the morning feeding session, along with the rambunctious macaques.

Then, during the afternoon feeding session, we stayed at the viewing area while everyone else left. Secretly, I was hoping the young female took a liking to me and would come close to me, maybe for a hug, for a touch. Of course I knew that would not be in her best interests, but one can always wish. Whilst waiting, an older female with developing check pads came up to the feeding platform for a late lunch. However, the young female stole her spotlight by swinging on the ropes, slyly making her way over to the viewing platform. She walked along the railing and came quite close. The staff however, weren't as thrilled as the half-dozen or so tourists staying around. The staff work hard to ensure the orangutans are rehabilitated, with hopes of them one day being released and becoming self-sufficient. Needless to say, unnecessary contact with humans won't help achieve this. So the staff tried to get the female back into the jungle, eventually leading her into the dense forest.

Totally amazing. 

Read more about the center and rehabilitation process here.

Shoushan 壽山 and Monkeys Galore at Monkey Mountain, #2

We enjoyed Monkey Mountain so much the first time, we decided to head back and hike another route. This time, we persevered and found the entrance near the Gu Shan High School. We parked the car in the large parking lot, shaded by a rock face. We took the wooden stairs by the vendors selling hiking gear, to the trail and began the ascent.

The northern parking entrance

We began our hike here

Just the same as the southern side of Mt Shoushan, the trails are very well marked in Chinese and English.

Before we knew it we were face to face with some friendly, and also not so friendly, mountain Macaques.

This little guy was chilling waiting for
some orange from a fellow hiker.

We were strangely fascinated to see some gym equipment occupying some shaded leaf littered areas of the trails.

Jeff couldn't resist

The board walks took us to numerous caves, view points and banyan trees. The vegetation changed from coarse and dry to soft and lush throughout the hike. We ended up walking the entire route that day. In part because we had lots of energy, and in part because we got a little lost. Regardless, the hike was enjoyable and entertaining.

A view of the eastern side of the Kaohsiung

And the view of the east 

During the last 15 minutes of the descent to the temple, a few minutes north of where we began our hike and parked the car, we stumbled across a troop of monkeys making their way up the stairway. The numerous amount of placid monkeys at the bottom can be attributed to the temple and large amount of visitors feeding them. Definitely the place to go if you want the monkeys without the hike.

Hanging out on a side trail 

Can you see the monkey in the background?

See how close you can get to the Macaques in this short video I took

 

Shoushan 壽山 and Monkeys Galore

Shoushan gives me a feeling of deja vu - it is similar to that of Cascades D'ouzoud; a large waterfall in Morocco that is home to many Barbary apes. It was a destination we wanted to visit, but that kept being put off. When we finally went, we were very glad we did and wondered what had taken us so long.

Shoushan, or Mt Shou, is located on the western side of Kaohsiung. It is home to various temples, a zoo, a military base,university, walking, hiking and mountain biking trails, wild dogs and many Formosan Rock Macaques. Shoushan stands tall to the side of Kaohsiung and is visible from our apartment's kitchen window on clear, non-polluted days.

Jeff and I had tried to hike there previously, but the poor signage and lack of parking, as well as our lack of navigational skills, left us driving around the city in all directions. So after some research and advice from friends, we made it.

We parked just before the zoo, in front of the February 28 Memorial Park and walked up the stairs. We followed the signs and found ourselves on a pleasant 2 hour hike, surrounded by Taiwanese locals and non-threatening macaques. The main paths are well signed, with rocky short cuts interspersed throughout the trails. The higher up the mountain we climbed, the more macaques we encountered.

Where we began our hike

Take the stairs to the top, and keep going

The view of the city from the top of the first stairs

Try your luck on some of the smaller trails

We went a little off trail and ended up at an
army base.
We were offered some help from some
locals and followed their lead.

The view of Kaohsiung and the 85 story building

Short clip of the view from the highest vantage point on Shoushan

Short clip of a family of macaques grooming and goofing around 

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