A long bumpy mini bus ride from Sandakan bought us to the riverside village of Sukau. The aim was to search for the big five along the mighty Kintabangan River. So late in the afternoon, we set out with dozens of other boats to see what we could find on the two hour cruise.

The first hour was overcast but fine and the river guides found a group of Pygmy elephants grazing by the river. It felt a bit of a circus with so many boats vying for the best view, but for a few minutes we managed to observe them munching away on what sounded like bamboo.

As we ventured into smaller estuaries, the screeching monkeys could be heard and although we couldn’t see them, the movement of branches indicated they were all around. Some were even throwing fruit down at the boats close by.

No sign of crocodiles or orangutans, but the chances of getting a clear sighting diminished rapidly as the rain started, first gently then in bucket loads! Our ponchos helped keep parts of us dry, but with an hour of the cruise still to go, my glasses fogged up and I probably wouldn’t have seen much anyway!

It was certainly a cruise with a difference, the river guides seemed unfazed and just carried on…all I wanted was to get off the river, into some dry clothes and save the precious camera!