Wildlife of S. E. Asia and S. America. A Photo Journal by Francis Burlingham.: Merarap Hot Springs in Sarawak and Poring Hot Springs in Sabah. Rafflesia and Butterflies.

Introduction

Over the last few years I have been lucky enough to live in Thailand, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia and now Brunei. In my spare time I have had the opportunity to travel fairly widely, camera in hand, in search of wildlife. In these posts I aim to share some of these experiences and show you some of the extraordinary wildlife that can be found in these regions. All of the photographs you see within the posts and pages here are my own unless otherwise stated. Copyright © Francis Burlingham 2015

Wednesday, 1 January 2025

Merarap Hot Springs in Sarawak and Poring Hot Springs in Sabah. Rafflesia and Butterflies.

I recently travelled with my family by road from Brunei through Sarawak and then on to Sabah, taking a detour to Merarap hot springs along the way. The hot springs lie a few hours along unsurfaced roads on the route to Ba'kelalan from Lawas. The small hotel lay on the banks of a jungle river with numerous hot springs that had been turned into large pools for bathing. It was an idyllic spot and its remoteness made it a wonderful place to unwind and connect with nature.

View from the Merarap Hot Springs Resort Buildings

The hots springs were a source of minerals for many colouful butterflies that settled on ground that had been soaked by the hot water. Male butterflies extract the minerals and excrete the waste water.

Trogonoptera brookiana (Brookes Rajahs Birdwing) Merarap Hot Springs Sarawak Malaysia

Papilio nephelus sunatus (Black and White Helen) Merarap hot springs Sarawak Malaysia

Neorina lowii (Malayan Owl) Merarap Hot Spring Sarawak Malaysia

Some of the butterflies at Merarap were endemics, found only on the island of Borneo.

Prioneris cornelia (Bornean Sawtooth) Merarap hot springs Sarawak Malaysia

Cepora pactolicus (Bornean Gull) Merarap hot springs Sarawak Malaysia

The river bank at Merarap Hot Springs.

The river bank at Merarap was home to a few water monitors. I saw no other large animals other than a Bornean yellow muntjac deer, but unfortunately it was too quick for me to photograph.

Varanus salvator (Water Monitor) Merarap Hot Spring Sarawak Malaysia

Merarap Hot Springs by night.

From the Merarap hot springs I also explored the road to Ba'kelalan as it snaked its way through the Sarawak Highlands on the way to the Indonesian border. Ba'kelalan and the hot springs can only be accessed by 4WD vehicles and so I was glad of my Jeep

My Jeep and I at Long Semadoh

Long Semadoh village and rice paddies on the road to Ba'kelalan

Long Tanid village and rice paddies in the valley on the road to Ba'kelalan

After a couple of nights at the hot springs we set off for KK and the Shangri La Rasa Ria in Sabah for a bit of luxury. The resort has its own nature reserve and I was a able to photograph a couple of snakes at the entrance.

Tropidolaemus subannulatus (Bornean Keeled Pit Viper) Shangri La Resort KK Sabah Malaysia

Dendrelaphis caudolineatus (Striped Bronzeback) Shangri La KK Sabah Malaysia

After a refreshing few nights at the Shangri La we headed over the mountain to Poring hot springs in search of Rafflesia; the biggest single flower in the world. We were not disappointed and found four blooms across two different sites. The sites were cultivated as Rafflesia gardens by local families who were lucky enough to have the plants growing on their land. The biggest bloom we saw was 78cm across.

Rafflesia keithii Poring Hot Springs Sabah Borneo

Rafflesia keithii

The Poring hot springs themselves were a busy tourist attraction and lacked the charm of Merarap. However I was able to get my camera out on the trails in the surrounding forest.

A giant pill bug as long as my thumb.

Callosciurus orestes (Borneo black-banded squirrel) Poring Sabah Malaysia

Troides helena (Common birdwing) Poring Sabah Malaysia

Troides amphrysus (Malayan Birdwing) Poring Sabah Malaysia

Papilio helenus (Red Helen) Poring Sabah Malaysia

After a pleasant night at Poring Hot Springs Sutera Sanctuary Lodges where we found these large beetles and this lizard, we headed back to Kota Kinabalu for a couple of nights before heading back to Brunei.