Young Travel Writers 2015

Under 12 Runner-Up: Mia Grace Brown, 9

Last updated 21st July 2022

Author: Mia Grace Brown
Age: 9

One day when I was on holiday in Borneo I had an amazing day at Bako National Park. It all started when I woke up at the Lime Tree hotel in Kuching. I knew we were going to see a rainforest and I was really excited. After breakfast (I had red jelly and banana bread) we set off in the car and soon arrived at a jetty – we were getting a boat!

It was a very foggy morning and really early. We got our life jackets and walked down to the river – you could see people getting their boats ready to go fishing and some people were washing their clothes in the river. We got on our boat and it sailed down the river and out into the sea towards Bako. Soon we arrived at a giant rainforest, it was Bako. We got out of the boat and had to paddle to the shore, there was a beautiful beach with stone cliffs and lots of trees and everything was very quiet.

We walked up the beach to the park headquarters and got our maps for walking the trails. Then we started our walk. There were lots of beautiful plants and I saw a big red dragonfly on a tree. It was boiling hot but it felt damp and water dripped off the tall trees. The path led us into the rainforest and we climbed over tree roots and jumped over streams. Everything was green and we could hear the sounds of insects chirping in the trees. Eventually we came out of the forest and we were at another beach and there, up in the trees, were the proboscis monkeys with their long noses! It was brilliant to see them.

We cooled our feet off in the sea and then we got a boat ride around the rocks in the sea called ‘sea stacks’ that were all different funny shapes like a snake and a lion! The boat took us back to headquarters and we went to the cafe. We spotted a big wild boar looking for some food, and lots and lots of macaque monkeys. My dad went to take some pictures of them.

My brother and I got an ice cream and sat outside the cafe with our mum. Soon dad came back and told me there was a baby monkey with its mum in a tree so I ran to have a look. All of a sudden I saw another monkey creeping up to the table where my brother and mum were and I went to warn them. We grabbed our bags and I saw I had left my tub of ice cream on the table. The cheeky monkey was too quick for me and he stole it. He ran off and ate my ice cream up a tree! My dad took a picture of the monkey enjoying my ice cream.

I loved my adventure in Bako.