Day 144 Tues 15 Nov Klias River

Today we drive south of Kota Kinabalu towards the Klias River in the hope of spotting some wildlife on a river cruise. On the way we pass by the City Mosque  - built on a man-made lagoon, which creates a feeling that the mosque is floating above the water. The prayer room can accommodate up to 12.000 worshippers at one time and houses also three madrasah (religious schools). 

We also pass the larger Sabah State Mosque -  a masterpiece of architecture with dove-grey walls and glittering majestic domes with gold inlay. Up to 5000 worshippers can be inside at one time and it has become a popular place for visitors from all over the world. During prayer time Muslim women can visit the mosque as a special balcony is built that can fit 500.

These are just bonus items along the way as we still have a 2 hour drive ahead of us to get to "Klias River Base Camp"  with only a quick stop to enjoy the delicious picnic lunch prepared by the fabulous Asa.  We arrive, in the rain, and walk  the short distance from the road along the wooden covered walkway tinto a grass compound complete with  'Kampong' houses, built on stilts with bamboo walls and thatched palm leaf roofs and a large dining lounge over the river where we are given tea and "local" cake - which the girls decide must be radioactive. They do bravely sample but do not eat more than a nibble!

 

Safety first as we are issued with life jackets and make our way to the boat.

 

The Klias Wetland is the biggest wetland reserve in the state and is home to varieties of flora and fauna and we are not disappointed as we quietly make our way along the river.

We catch our first sights of Proboscis, silver leaf langurs and long tailed macaques perched high in the trees above the mangroves- sadly our cameras didnt have enough zoom to photograph these amazing primates but the girls are in "animal heaven" as we are treated to several sightings of each monkey.

We even spot a trio of hornbills flying over the river as the sun begins to dip - this apparantly is quite unusual.

We motor back to the lodge and have supper before donning life jackets again and venturing back onto the boat - this time in the dark. Fireflies are well known at the Klias River and we only had to travel for about 5 minutes before we stopped. Our boatman flashes his torch on  and off in the dark and suddenly we were in the midst of a sea of little lights. Virtually impossible to take pictures of the fireflies in the dark hence no pictures here.  An amazing sight with thousands of these little lit flies on several of the largest trees - turning them into huge Christmas Trees.