Back to Borneo, Teens and Tweens

When our boys were 2 and 3 years old, we took them to Borneo. I didn't really know much about the place before that, it just sounded a bit crazy and wild. Mainly though, It sounded altogether different from the Centre Parks type holidays that everyone seemed to recommend to us but sounded grim. Logistically it was tricky, we took lots of canned food and first aid stuff together with the bulk of nappies and buggies that all trips with small children require, but the wildlife, the scenery, the adventures - everything screamed at us that we really should return. And so, with the boys now 12 and 14, accompanied by our 9 year old daughter -  we returned.

Borneo is huge in every way. Divided between Malaysia in the North and Indonesia in the South, collectively it is the Worlds third largest island. Almost all the land is concealed beneath vast dense rainforest, cross-crossed by wide rivers and narrow creaks. So much of the wildlife is unique to Borneo, most famously the Orang-Uran, but are also joined by Pygmy Elephants, crocodiles, Hornbills, dozens of types of bats and snakes in this hugely expansive menagerie. The choice of riverside rainforest lodges, traditional local longhouses, river wildlife spotting cruises and overland treks is bewildering. 

The temptation to cram too much into a holiday can be overwhelming. One of most important lessons learnt for a good family holiday is minimising the amount of actual travelling. We had scheduled 10 days in Borneo as part of a 6 week holiday, and as this was supposed to be the rest and relaxation bit - we picked an island resort for our entire stay. This had the downside of eliminating the "big" wildlife, particularly the Orang-Utans, but kept the best of the rest. 

Located a convenient 15 minute boat-ride from Kota-Kinabalu, itself the location of Malaysian Borneo's main international airport, Gaya Island is a stunning island paradise. Surrounded by white sandy beaches and so densely packed with rainforest that passage by vehicle is impossible, it formed a kind of beautiful Greater Borneo in miniature. We stayed in the aptly named Gaya Island Resort, one of a small number of eco-resorts on the island which clung to the hillside by the sea. Despite the buildings all being concealed in the rainforest, they gave up enchanting views across the clear blue sea to Mount Kinabalu in the clouds. 

The resort itself takes its eco-responsibilities seriously, minimising motorised transport around the resort and employing a team of expert naturalists and natural wonders to see. The highlight of this is a small aquarium beside the resort's private beach. This is home to an impressive collection of coral and local tropical fish, but the added benefit of an expert guide with the time to take us all individually through the best bits, in a manner bizarrely presentable to all our ages and levels of knowledge. The aquarium fulfills another critical function of nursing injured turtles back to health before releasing them back into the sea, local fishermen know that this is the place to bring them and several pass through their tanks each season.

The journey to the private beach can be a mini-adventure in itself. For an easy time, the resort offers a speedboat shuttle from the main hotel pier to the beach. However you can also join one of the resort's naturalists for a trek through the rainforest, taking in the fascinating plants and terrifying snakes along the way (we only saw 3 types on our walk, of which only one was deadly, but cobras have been spotted before). The funniest animals were the bearded pigs which exist in quite large numbers around the beach and resort, standing around with their ugly hangdog expressions in this corner of paradise.  They were joined by dozens of extremely mischievous long-tailed macaques taking delight in flinging nuts at the tourists below, definitely the favourite for the children.

We spent one day in Kota Kinabalu, partly for a day out but mainly as a break from the exorbitant costs of dining in the resort. Popularly known as KK, this has been the major administrative centre and gateway to the region since colonial times. Whilst a large part of the town feels like a polluted chaotic dual carriageway, its original backpacker corners and traditional markets still exist and are well worth a visit. It can be challenging (and risky) to encourage children to try local food, which makes it all the more satisfying when you end up having a splendid meal in a local shopping centre for under £1 a head (albeit that we had meet or payment of a McFlurry bribe for pudding).

To me now, I think Borneo has the best of everything for a children's holiday regardless of whether they are 2, or 14, or somewhere in the middle. It's exotic and different, and feels that way with the tropical heat, the incredibly accessible wildlife, and the stunning white beaches and clear blue coral-filled sea. But it's also safe, English is widely spoken, things work. You could spent months exploring the innards of the island, or a week enjoying the surface of it as we did. I'd love to go back, but think next time we will be older and perhaps our children will start their story - "when our parents were 75 and 80 we took them to Borneo".

Pelican Beach, Belize

“Well, I have to admit, you definitely got this one right”.

These were the words of Mrs _H as she stood under the palms on the soft white beach of the tiny island we had to ourselves looking across the clear Caribbean sea with only the reef surrounding the lagoon in front of us in sight. In the distance, a few similarly tiny palm covered islands could just about be made out. 

This was long intended to be our trip of a lifetime, and the resulting discussions of where to go, what to spend, had been lengthy, as had the actual journey to get there. But once there, this was the ultimate paradise island. There were so many things that made Pelican Beach Resort so perfect – the setting, the size, the service, and so on – but the ultimate thing is that while we were there, this felt like our own secret island. The resort has only a handful of rooms, each in its own separate chalet, all named after the local bird-life. With August being the low season, we were the only guests, so had the entire island with its facilities, and a bunch of attentive staff to take care of us. The freedom that the children had to run around was absolutely unique, there really was very little option for them to get into trouble.

Active excursions might have seemed thin on the ground. There was no concierge desk to book us onto a series of planned activities for the week. However we managed to busy ourselves with a series of trips out on the boat owned by the resort, captained by the brilliantly named Ishmael, and occasionally joined by his cousin Nelson (honestly, I am not making this up). They happily took us out snorkelling and fishing. Whilst the children managed to hook up numerous little fish off the reef, I was assisted in catching a barracuda one afternoon which we took back to the island to eat. Nelson meanwhile inadvertently hauled a nurse shark on board (which we didn’t eat).

The lagoon created by the reef outside our chalet was perfect for shallow swimming and snorkelling, or canoeing when we felt energetic. Even here we saw numerous colourful fish in the crevices of the reef, seahorses and jellyfish lurking under the little pier, and one on occasion another Nurse Shark.  Our regular evening canoe trips revealed more, looking for Turtles a huge Manta Ray surfaced under the front of our canoe. The boys delighted in the deadlier animals, Ishmael pointing out a Reef Shark in attack mode on one trip (fortunately a good distance away), Ospreys were nesting in the tops of the palms and on the tip of the reef, and the staff of the hotel delighted in sharing stories of previous guests and deadly stingrays.

This was a holiday that we were all sad to reach the end of. But the journey away was still an adventure in itself, Ishmael’s trusty craft taking us to the sister resort on the mainland, where we transferred to the smallest airport to catch the smallest plane that we had ever been on. It felt like an estate car with wings, pulling out from a small shed. I was terrifically excited, but our 5 year old slept through the whole flight.

It will be the beach that we will always remember. I would not describe myself as a beach person, and for this reason had generally avoided the Caribbean. However this was the trip to demonstrate just how it feels to be completely, utterly, relaxed.