Typical Itinerary
2 week itinerary
The volunteer programme involves 9 days working with the local communities within the Ulu Moyog area. Duties will vary depending on the needs at the time, but may include teaching English to primary and pre-school children, teaching English to adult villagers, assisting with rubber harvests, updating and renovating classrooms, playgrounds and other facilities and assisting with women’s activities.
During your time in Borneo there will also be two excursions allowing you to see more of the area. The first is to Klias Wetland, a mangrove forest reserve. You will go on a boat tour where you may spot the rare and fascinating Proboscis as well as an array of other wildlife.
You will also visit the renowned Sepilok orangutan sanctuary. This involves a short flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan. You will watch as orphan orangutans that have been released into the reserve come for their daily morning feed.
An outline of your itinerary will be:
Day 1 Arrival, transfer to the Camp and orientation
Day 2-6 Community project work
Day 7 Trip to the Kilas Wetland Reserve
Day 8-11 Community project work
Day 12 Sepilok orangutan sanctuary visit
Day 13 Community farewell
Day 14 Departure and transfer to Kota Kinabalu airport
3 week itinerary
The 3-week programme is similar to the itinerary above. You will spend a total of 14 days working on the community projects and in addition to the Klias Wetland Reserve trip and Sepilok orangutan sanctuary visit you will also visit the tip of Borneo. This will be an exciting early morning start as you set off on the journey from Kota Kinabalu to the tip. The scenery here is incredible as you come across deserted beaches and views north across to the Philippines. After lunch you will visit a traditional longhouse of the Rungus ethnic group, where a whole community lives and sleeps within one large building.
4 week itinerary
Volunteers participating for 4 weeks will spend a total of 16 days taking part in community development project work. The activities include those as per the 3-week itinerary as well as time working on a forest regeneration project (three days volunteering, plus two days travel). The project is located in Batu Puteh, on the lower Kinabatangan River. On your journey there, you will see the incredible Mt Kinabalu, stop at a small market town and visit the war memorial gardens commemorating prisoners of war who died in the Japanese camps.
You will then take a 15 minute boat ride down rive to the eco-lodge in which you will stay. The lodge is on the edge of an ox-bow lake making it an ideal place to spot wildlife such as monkeys and crocodiles! Soak up the tranquillity of the area from the raised platform sleeping area.
During your time on the project you will be working with the local community to help regenerate growth amongst the edges of this lowland dipterocarp reserve.
Duties may include;
-
- Working in the nursery transplanting seeds and saplings
- Working in the forest planting seedlings in the designated areas
- Clearing areas all ready planted of secondary growth
You will usually travel to and from the reserve by boat, which is a great chance to spot yet more wildlife. Once within the reserve it is not unusual to be visited by orangutans and proboscis monkeys! On the way back to the Ulu Moyog there will be time to stop off at Poring Hot Springs to soak your limbs and relax!
Please note: due to the nature of volunteering, it is important to remain flexible as duties are dependant upon the needs and priorities of the village at the time you are there. The itinerary is subject to change.
Please contact the South East Asia team if you would like a more detailed itinerary for the 2, 3 or 4-week volunteer programmes.
