Road to Borneo

Nomadic Road's September 2018 Road to Borneo expedition took a group of overlanders 900 kilometres across the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, over eight days. The route mixed tarmac and dirt roads, working through one of Southeast Asia's most biodiverse regions. Borneo is home to some of the oldest rainforests on Earth, and even a focused 4x4 route across Sabah passes through more ecosystems than most travellers see in a lifetime. September is the tail end of the dry season in Sabah, with stable weather, heavy humidity and the occasional afternoon storm. The convoy worked across coastal sections, palm-oil country, and into the older forested interior. Wildlife encounters varied: proboscis monkeys along rivers, hornbills overhead, and the occasional orangutan sighting in rehabilitation areas. The cultural mix of Malay, Chinese and indigenous Bornean communities gave each stop its own character. Driving days were shorter than on Nomadic Road's longer expeditions, with more time built in for stops, wildlife and the slow rhythm of tropical travel. Several nights were spent in jungle lodges, with the constant sound of insects and frogs that anyone who has slept in tropical forest knows immediately. The convoy crossed several rivers, navigated muddy sections after rain, and made one of the route's longer coastal runs in clear weather. The 2018 Road to Borneo expedition delivered a part of the world that rarely shows up on overland route maps. Tropical, dense, and quietly demanding, it was Nomadic Road's introduction to Southeast Asia at scale.