We booked a two night stay via the internet. Annie, who owns KJC and Sepilok Forest Edge Lodge was very responsive and detailed in her description of what we would get in terms of boat trips and walks. Other lodges weren’t so forthcoming and were somewhat evasive on how many boat trips there would be and the duration, what happens if it rains etc. The price was better than most of the other lodges, which probably reflects the fact that this is a ‘camp’ rather than a lodge.
First impressions weren’t great. We were picked up at our hotel in Sandakan in a very scruffy mini bus, filled with an accumulation of junk and no air con. We were then driven the 2 hours to the boat dock at Bilit, the nearest village to the camp. We had to struggle down planks of wood over a muddy bank to reach the boat, and were then taken on a scenic 20 minute journey down the river. We passed the plush looking Myne Resort, and rounded a bend to see what looked like a logging camp—a couple of wooden huts perched on a muddy bank. I was just about to joke to my partner ‘this is probably our hotel’ when I noticed a rough wooden sign saying ‘Kinabatangan Jungle camp’. I began to regret not paying the extra to stay at Myne Resort.
We got off the boat and struggled across more loose planking over a metre of thick mud. From there on, things improved. The camp is all made from dark wood, and there is a reception area/restaurant from where you can (just) see the river through the trees.
Our room was in a wooden 2 storey block at the back of the site. It was small, basic, but very clean, which is not easy to maintain in the jungle, and lets not forget thats where you are. I would have scored this 5 points for cleanliness--the one black mark was that there were a couple of old used soaps left in a soap dish in the shower. I'm 5'11 and this was at eye level for me, the maid is probably 5 foot nothing which probably explains this!
There is no air con but there is a fan and we found that cooled the room adequately—we actually slept better than we had in any room on the trip to that point. There is only hot water between 6 and 9 at night but due to times of boat trips we didn’t find that to be a problem.There is a wire fence around the camp to keep out elephants, and wildlife often visits, including wild pigs and , whilst we were there an orangutan which built a nest and spent the night with us!
We stayed two nights and there were only a maximum of 7 guests whilst we were there.This meant that everyone tended to sit and eat together and there was a definite group/camp atmosphere so this probably wouldn’t be ideal for people wanting to keep themselves to themselves. The food was good and plentiful with buffet style when there were 7 guests and set meals when the number dropped to 4.
We went on 4 boat trips and a jungle walk, accompanied by knowledgable guide Hamza. It was the good reviews of the trips which swayed me towards KJC and we weren’t disappointed. We saw loads of proboscis monkeys, orang-utan, gibbons, otters,crocodiles, snakes, lots of birds, everything except the elusive elephants..(reading the guest book I would say about 1 in 7 people managed to see elephants)..
We also found out that the somewhat rough and ready appearance of the camp was due to severe flooding which had happened during January.In fact the waters had only subsided 2 weeks before our visit, hence the muddy foreshore etc. We were very lucky and had no rain during our visit. Had it rained I would guess the days would drag with no trips to break up the time—theres not much to do in camp other than talk, though there is a makeshift badminton court!
The staff are very friendly and helpful and both Hamza the guide and the boatman were good at spotting and identifying wildlife.
In summary, if you’re looking for a luxurious, romantic retreat, it may be best to shell out and stay at somewhere like Myne Resort. If you want an authentic jungle experience where you really feel that you’ve stayed in the jungle, but with basic good food and cleanliness then KJC is right for you.