Expedition Overview

This 4 week Borneo adventure will give you a real taste of the variety of terrain and landscape as well as the chance to immerse yourself in a rural community. The mountain is just a small part of an amazing 1 month expedition involving community and environmental project work, wildlife viewing, a remote jungle trek and the finale, climbing the highest peak in SE Asia, Mt Kinabalu.

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The expedition was everything I expected and more. I have learnt a lot about being part of a team, and developed a greater tolerance of others

Megan Cooper – St Swithun’s School

The Expedition

This 4 week Borneo adventure will give you a real taste of the variety of terrain and landscape as well as the chance to emerse yourself in a rural community. The mountain is just a small part of an amazing 1 month expedition involving community and environmental project work, wildlife viewing, a remote jungle trek and the finale, climbing the highest peak in SE Asia, Mt Kinabalu.
 

Highlights

Elements Of Borneo Team Mountain Expedition

Community

 

Working and living alongside a rural Sabahan community will be one of the highlights of your Borneo experience. Their warmth and generosity despite obvious hardships is incredible. In line with our camps in Africa, our camp has been established in partnership with the local community, providing a connection not only to much needed project work but also into the social heart of the village. The range of activities you can be involved in include teaching in the primary and pre-school as well as teaching English to the village elders themselves, refurbishing the school classrooms or assisting with harvesting and planting. The main element of the community project is linked into the Marine Awareness Programme, which you can read about below in Ocean. As with all rural communities you can become involved in the nightly games of football, volleyball or badminton or simply watch, chat and make friends with the other bystanders. [Read More]

 

Wildlife

 

 

This phase of your adventure will be conducted on the banks of the mighty Kinabtangan River in eastern Sabah. The river runs from the heart of Borneo and is steeped in history since it used to be the only way of getting into the deep interior jungle. Communities along the banks have developed mini eco tourism projects in order to create alternative streams of income. You will participate in an environmental project, helping to reforest areas where the jungle has become sparse. This is hard work in the heat and humidity of a Borneo jungle but your reward is the opportunity to see wildlife at close quarters from a boat. The banks of the river are teeming with life including crocodiles, wild boar, occasional elephants, assorted birdlife and at least 8 different species of primates which of course includes the Borneo Orangutan. Several of these great apes nest near your work site so you may the chance to get up close and personal with one. If you fail to see one at the work site then your day trip to Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary will certainly guarantee you see a number of them up close.  
[Read More]

 

 

Ocean

 

Since Borneo is an island the ocean is never far away. Some of the beaches are amongst the most secluded and under developed you will ever encounter. Your community camp is in the north of the island very near to the Northern Tip of Borneo which has a stunning beach. On your days off you will have the opportunity to snorkel or relax with a BBQ on the beach.

 

 

Mountain

 

Although not strictly a mountain trek, you will be walking in one of the most remote and wild jungles in the planet.  Long Pasia is a very remote community in the very south of Sabah and is steeped in tradition and folk lore.  The surrounding jungle has been under threat for many years from logging and the community, working with WWF, have developed an eco tourism project which includes homestay and guided jungle treks.  The area is one of the richest plant diversity sites in Borneo in particular for orchids, rhododendrons and pitcher plants.  In addition the people of the area have an interesting history as fierce head hunters.  There are many ancient legends passed down through the generations which make this a fascinating place to spend some time as well as being thick and untouched jungle.  The trek will see the team walking for up to 5 days with a local guide; teams will be carrying all their own supplies and equipment for the duration.  Teams will camp wild near the trail, ensuring they have a minimal impact on the local surroundings which will include leaving nothing behind.  They will have the opportunity to learn about the pristine rainforest environment as they progress, being taught how to live and survive in the jungle including finding sources of wild local food.

 

As you arrive in Borneo you may be lucky enough to glimpse the impressive Mount Kinabalu.  At 4096 metres it towers over Sabah although is hidden by cloud most days.  If you feeling adventurous you can sign up to carry out the two day trek to the highest point in South East Asia – if you are into mountains then this is an opportunity not to be missed.  The trek takes you from a starting point of 1800 metres to approximately 3300 metres on the first day with a distance of 6 kms.  This usually takes between 4 to 6 hours and you reach the lodge to watch the sun set above the clouds.  After a nights sleep you will awoken by your guide at 0230 and you will start your trek by torchlight to the summit.  This is a further 2.6 km and takes approx 3 hours, getting you to the summit for a spectacular sunrise.  This is an amazing moment – but don’t forget you still have to trek down again.  It takes another 6 hours or more to trek back down to the park gate where you will be picked up and whisked back to civilisation and a hot shower.   

 

 

Travel Dates

These will be decided in conjunction with your school and all 1 month expeditions run during the school holidays.

Terms and Conditions

Download our Terms and Conditions

Essential Information

View our Safety, Equipment, Education, Flights and Insurance Pages.

The expedition was everything I expected and more. I have learnt a lot about being part of a team, and developed a greater tolerance of others

Megan Cooper – St Swithun’s School

Education & Development

For a start, it’s a seriously exciting experience and something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. The overriding purpose though is to provide you with an opportunity to develop as an individual within a team environment. In particular we will use the expedition to develop your ‘life skills’.

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  Responsibility:

  
  Are you ready to shoulder the responsibility? If you decide to sign up for a Team you need to realise that we will be looking to you to assume responsibility for raising the funds for your trip. We will of course be asking your parents and school to assist and we provide guidance and advice. The responsibility to achieve your goals before and during the trip however is yours.
  
  

• Leadership:

  
  The expedition gives every member of the team the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. You will take turns in leading elements of your expedition. We are going to let you make mistakes and learn from them. It’s an amazing training ground for life.
  
  
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  Teamwork:

  
  Our Team sizes vary from 10 – 50 and every day, in everything you do, you and your friends will take on challenges you thought impossible. We will show you how to set goals, plan, risk assess and achieve. You are going to learn a lot about other people but not as much as you learn about yourself.
  
  

• Communication:

  
  Making things work on expedition is tough even under the best of conditions. You will need to communicate effectively not just amongst your team, but also with the indigenous Malaysians who will work alongside you every step of the way.
  
  
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  Initiative:

  
  Problem solving and improvisation are essential skills when working in the developing world. There’s not a Hardware store in sight, if you need a ladder you have to make it! Things rarely go as planned so you will learn to have a contingency permanently up your sleeve.
  
  

• Sense of Achievement:

  
  Be in no doubt that at the end of your expedition you will have established an impressive benchmark of achievement at an age where life is just starting. As you step confidently off the plane in UK , your self-esteem, sense of worth and pride in what you have achieved will be deep rooted in your personality.
  
  

• Education & Employment:

  
  The few skills we have just described are highly valued by both employers and further education institutions. Whatever you decide to do after your expedition we feel confident that you will be better equipped to face the challenges ahead knowing what you have already achieved. Many of our past expedition members can vouch for the fact that their experience in Borneo has helped them get the place they wanted in University and strengthened their CV or resumé.
  
  

It has made me a more confident person and proved to me that with hard work I can achieve my goals.

Sarah Dainty - Devizes School

Team Gallery

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Movies

Camp Borneo Video

This video gives you a great insight into what community project work involves and what to expect from life in camp Borneo.

It has made me a more confident person and proved to me that with hard work I can achieve my goals.

Sarah Dainty - Devizes School

Fundraising For Your Expedition

As you have no doubt noticed, expeditions are not cheap! We purposefully launch our expeditions over 1 year prior to departure to allow sufficient time for Team Members to raise the funds. Whilst it may seem impossible, there are thousands of young people who travel with Camps and other organisations every year who face the same challenge.

It is important that you plan how you are going to raise the money and our advice is based on how those before you have managed to do it. You can even visit our Tribalzone (forum) and ask the tribal community what is working for them and exchange ideas. The majority of our teams manage to raise the money quite easily but the difficulty is not spending it!!

Here is our advice:

1. Plan your diary from now until the expedition departs - Highlight all the holidays where you can work and earn money and blank out the periods when you will have to concentrate on exams. We want this to compliment your exam results not ruin them!!

2. Don't rely on one source of funding - Successful fundraising will be a combination of different events and ideas. Be innovative and try different things to increase your chance of success.

3. Breakdown - Amounts seem more achievable with weekly/ monthly targets.

4. Ask family to make a contribution - Many work a system of fund matching what you can earn and save.

5. Keep going - It can be daunting at the beginning but the sooner you start fundraising the easier it will be. Any problems - don't hesitate to contact us.

6. Enjoy the process - Organising and hosting events can be good fun, it brings teams together, it's also and opportunity to try new things and push yourself.

Good Luck!

The top five fundraising ideas:

 

1. Part-time work
2. Odd jobs
3. Corporate sponsorship
4. Supermarket bag packing
5. Sponsored events

 

When you book with us your team will receive our fundraising resource pack. Which contains really useful help & advice to get you started.

The trip has given me experience and confidence in staying somewhere so different from home

Elizabeth Palfrey — St Swithun’s School

Read the latest news from our Projects in our Project Diary. Discuss your trip with other travellers in the Forum. Or get a look behind the scenes in the Staff Blog. Also, why not take a look at some of the photos in our Gallery or watch the camps DVD online in our Videos section?

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I have loved every minute of it and gained a different perspective on life. The best 28 days of my life. Hard work that made a difference, combined with the most fun, I’ve ever had.

Charlotte Winckley – Gordon’s School