THE RAINFOREST


Clockwise from top left: posing in the park; bamboo chicken at the Eco Village; tubing; jungle waterfall


Around the corner, the Sumbiling Village


is a small camp of simple rooms and tented accommodation. The restaurant serves up rustic food for hungry hikers – like chicken stuffed in bamboo and roasted over an open fi re. Guided forest treks explain the fl ora and fauna of the area, or Sumbiling can arrange bespoke special interest tours like cooking or photography. “The Rainforest Discovery walk is 100% natural,” says Charles Whyte from Dial a Flight. “There were no constructed pathways and we waded across rivers and tramped through muddy ground. The guide gave us a real feel for the jungle, showing us which plants are used for food and medicine and how people have lived off it for centuries. There are easy and hard routes so most people can enjoy it.”


NATURAL ASSETS Ulu Ulu Resort is the national park’s only rainforest resort and its headquarters. It can be reached only by longboat and the exciting journey on the Temburong River involves splashing upstream through the rapids with plenty of chances to spot hornbills soaring above and monkeys in the trees. The park’s most famous attraction is its canopy walkway, which rises to over 60 metres above the shimmering forest and is accessed by several scaffold towers which guests climb by ladder. The best time to experience the breath-taking view is at sunrise, when the jungle is swathed in mist and its waking inhabitants call to each other across the trees. Charles Whyte from Dial A Flight says the


“best thing” about the sunrise canopy walk is that it just gets better and better as it goes on.


ULU TEMBURONG WILDLIFE


Tom Chong, Tour Guide, Sunshine Borneo Tours


What can


visitors to Ulu Temburong possibly spot that we didn’t? Mammals seen at the park include mousedeer, civet cats, otters, wild boar, deer, macaques, langurs. Birds are plentiful too, including leafbirds, fairy bluebirds, drongos, eagles, egrets and


How can visitors make sure they spot wildlife? You need to be in the right place at the right time, with a bit of luck! At night we use eye shine to spot them. In order to do this, we put our torches on our noses and if you get the angle right you will see points


kingfi shers. Reptiles species include fl ying lizards, fl ying geckos, fl ying snakes, coral snakes, cobra, python, barking gecko and monitor lizards.


of light shining back at you - that’s the animals eyes!


Why is eco tourism important to Brunei? This is how Brunei can use its forest resources sustainably, ensuring our commitment to be the Heart of Borneo.


BRUNEI BONUS


“From the moment I hopped into the fi rst long boat and we set off into the jungle, it was incredible – primary, unspoiled rainforest, and yet so accessible. The way Ulu Ulu resort is set up with all the rainforest walkways allows everyone to get right in the depths of the jungle, without leaving any signifi cant footprint on it. It’s eco- tourism at its best!” Andy Rae, STA Travel


“We started walking in the pitch black, with just a torch to pick our way along the wooden walkways. As you come into the light you start climbing and from the canopy walkway you watch as the sun rises above miles of rainforest,


stretching as far as you can see with the hooting sounds of gibbons all around.” Ulu Ulu Resort offers another tour which relies


on total darkness. The Night Jungle Walk covers a smaller area than daytime treks and reveals some unusual nocturnal creatures.


“The night walk was great because it taught us


how to look for things independently, by using our torches to look for the refl ection in creatures eyes,” says Ave Kaljuste from Travel 2. “The jungle is more active at night and we got right up close to horned frogs, lizards and a leaf cutter whilst beautiful fi refl ies fl oated above us.”


ACTION STATIONS Ulu Temburong offers the chance to really get off the beaten track and explore, but Ulu Ulu’s guides are also on-hand to show visitors some of the jungle’s most beautiful attractions, such as its spectacular waterfalls. “The Waterfall Trek was probably the highlight


of my trip,” says Carly Shave from Tailor Made Travel. “I’d recommend it to active people as the trek along the stony river bed was fairly strenuous – although there are different levels you can do. Sitting on the rocks under the cool waterfall makes it all worth it!”


If you pick your spot carefully it’s possible to


cool off with a swim in the river too, and Ulu Ulu Resort can provide kayaks and rubber tubes to explore in. “Tubing comes really recommended,” says Sophie Campbell from First Choice. “You get in a little rubber doughnut and fl oat down the river. Sometimes it’s calm and peaceful and sometimes the rapids spin you round! After some long, hard treks it was a great way to end the trip, cooling off and having some fun on the river.”


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IN FOCUS


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