Kota Kinabalu National Park

This trip into the park was broken by an opportunity to shop for handicrafts. They were abysmal. Most were rapped in clingfilm and one suspected were knocked out in a Chinese sweatshop.

It also gave the opportunity to take a photo of Mount Kinabalu. Unfortunately the clouds obscured that. But not all lost, some nice misty shots were available.

Then onto the Botanical Gardens. These were like Kew, but outdoors. Lots of orchids and pitcher plants

This is rattan, what they make cane furniture, and indeed canes, out of. Needless to say they remove the outer covering spines. Otherwise six of the best really would be a cruel and unusual punishment!!!

If you look up in a rainforest, this is what you see.

 

We proceeded to a well-earned lunch, but in a horrid Chinese restaurant. It wasn't just the food. On going to the toilet I found that it was (a) a squat toilet and (b) a broken squat toilet. You may ask how one could break a hole in the ground, but they had.

Outside they had some big tanks, one filled with turtles like this. I fear they were not for decoration or entertainment.

A neighbouring establishment did at least have some pretty orchids. A Malaysian version of the hanging basket

After lunch our merry band  (the others being Chinese with little English) headed off to our next excursion, to climb into the forest canopy.

Bear Grylls eat your heart out. Don't I look intrepid?

 Up is very up.

...and down is very down.

 The rope ladders are very wobbly. Safe, but not for the faint-hearted.

While the rest went on to bathe in the Poring Hot Springs, the last organised part of the trip, I instead headed off on my own to see the Kipingit Waterfalls. Well worth the excursion, not least to be on one's own with nature.

 One has to be careful of one's footing up here - the tree roots grow over the top rather than down below the soil.

 From the waterfall I slipped into the butterfly enclosure. Lovely, but butterflies are so hard to photograph. And the more spectacular they are the harder they are to pin down (well without literally pinning them down which I think would be frowned upon).

 But then while I was trying to photograph the above creature, this one promptly came and sat on my left hand.

What I missed was this, the Poring Hot Springs. Ok, they are naturally heated springs, but basically this just a series of hot-tubs. And why would I want to sit in a hot tub with someone else's kids?

Finally an unexpected addition. Cost about £7, but we could trudge off into a muddy field to see the parasitic Rafflesia. Worth seeing as its the largest single flower in the world. And here it is in full bloom.

This is a bud of one.

And this is a petal in detail

The flowers were on a farm, so one could see some other exotica too, like pineapples . 

And on the way back, a break for some more misty shots across the hills.