Our Story
The beginning
Hornbill Lodge is an eco-friendly accommodation on the banks of the Kinabatangan river and a mecca for wildlife enthusiasts. With a total of 16 newly-renovated rooms and maximum capacity of 40 visitors, our comfortable accommodation is a perfect base from which to explore the tributaries and forests in the Lower Kinabatangan region. Our visitors come from around the world and whilst we may occasionally cater to group tours, the majority of our guests are solo travellers, friends and families.
We are wholly owned by River Junkie Tours, a fully licensed tour operator with a solid reputation in offering unbeatable value tours throughout Borneo, allowing us to offer tours to Turtle island, Sepilok and destinations further afield in combination with time at the Kinabatangan river. Hornbill Lodge's outstanding location, on a quiet bend in the Kinabatangan river, offers guests direct access to both the forest and the river and the opportunity to explore this area of outstanding biodiversity both by boat and on foot.
We are wholly owned by River Junkie Tours, a fully licensed tour operator with a solid reputation in offering unbeatable value tours throughout Borneo, allowing us to offer tours to Turtle island, Sepilok and destinations further afield in combination with time at the Kinabatangan river. Hornbill Lodge's outstanding location, on a quiet bend in the Kinabatangan river, offers guests direct access to both the forest and the river and the opportunity to explore this area of outstanding biodiversity both by boat and on foot.
The future
Beyond tourism, we aim to make a difference to the people, wildlife and land surrounding us by providing alternative livelihoods, engaging in respectful wildlife encounters and participating in habitat restoration initiatives.
Community engagement
Engaging the local community in ecotourism and offering an alternative livelihood to hunting, logging or unsustainable forms of farming is essential if we are to protect the forest around us. The majority of our staff are employed directly from the villages around us and, through working in ecotourism, they are able to support their families in a sustainable way. Our local guide training programme, enables aspiring nature guides to train alongside our experienced guides. It is our hope that this experience will help to foster a sense of pride for the surrounding local environment and a desire to be part of protecting it.
Forest Preservation
The Sabah state government gazetted the "Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary" in 1997 protecting a total of 26,000 Ha in the Lower Kinabatangan region. Further efforts by conservationists to extend this area to cover a broader part of the river have so far gone unanswered. Our goal over the coming years is to develop a Forest Preservation Fund which will be used to purchase or secure the lease of native forest that is otherwise prone to conversion into plantations. In addition to securing the future of the remaining forest, we will implement a reforestation program aimed at restoring vital areas of degraded forest and provide a better habitat for the area's wildlife.
Wildlife monitoring
Our experienced guides conduct wildlife monitoring on every cruise and nature walk, recording sightings of orang-utans, langurs, hornbills and more to help us build a clearer picture of seasonal changes, behaviour patterns and newcomers around the lodge.
