Borneo home stay & jungle adventure for GapBreak volunteers

Selamat Pagi! Everything is going fine and dandy with the Borneo group! Over the past week 'Team Borneo' have been very busy. Each day being thrown into new situations and facing different and exciting challenges. The beginning of last week was spent soaking up the last of our time at camp Tinangol.

We completed our aims in construction work at the kindergarten and enjoyed our last days teaching at the existing kindergarten, saying our farewells to the beautiful children. We organised a 'sports day' for the children of Tinangol village - but, with a turn-out of 40 kids and a lack of sporting equipment, we had to be creative. This led to games of tug-of-war, several races and the invention of both coconut shot put and coconut bowling!
Our last day at this camp was definitely a great one: chilling out in the long-house, beading and enjoying one of Rokiah's famous dinners; chips, potato salad and milo coated donuts. We were lucky enough to have a farewell party thrown by the camp staff. Styling our outrageous 'party clothes' (purchased at the night markets) we said farewell to Zul, our friends at camp and to rice wine!

In the morning, straight back on the bus and ready for an 8-hour journey to our next destination, Batu Puteh! On arrival, we were all amazed by the beauty of the Kalibatan River, the magnificent divider between the village and the lush jungle. We were introduced to our camp leaders Braun and Yahya, who welcomed us to Batu Puteh and told us to pair up for our home stay. The next four nightswere spent in a traditional home stay; eating, sleeping and interacting in a new and exciting way. Whilst in home stay, we definitely had to adapt quickly to our new environments; having bucket showers, eating with our hands and performing a dance in traditional dress. For all of us this proved to be a tough, but a very worthwhile experience and opened our eyes to the way of life of everyday people.

If we weren’t challenged enough by the home stay though, the one night jungle stay was definitely a challenge. We were lead into the jungle by our leader, Braun. Everyday, taking a power-boat down the magnificent river, spotting various types of wildlife along the way. Proboscis monkeys, gibons and various species of insect and bird. We experienced a 3 hour jungle trek, a foot spa from the river fish and had to assemble our very own hammock beds for a long and exciting night.

Surrounded by the sights and sounds of the jungle and accompanied by heavy rains and an abundance of insects, we all managed to get a sound sleep. Whilst in Batu Puteh, we also were given the opportunity to assist with reforestation- attending to seedlings in the nursery, slashing land for the use of planting trees and planting over 90 trees which are expected to help with reforesting an important area of jungle.

One of the definite highlights of our time at this camp, was our trip to Sandakan - visiting a Buddhist temple, learning about the death-marches at memorial park and visiting Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary. These were all experiences that allowed us to learn about different aspects of the culture and to see some amazing creatures up-close.

Today, we are awaiting a bus and boat ride to Mantani island! We're eager to soak up some sunrays, enjoy the sights and put our skills to good use in conserving the marine environment. We look forward to this stage of the trip and excited for what the next few weeks will bring!!

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer and doing Gap Year Work in Borneo? Antipodeans Abroad specialises in educational and volunteer travel overseas – find out more here