Sailing deep into the rainforest up the Kinabatangan River (Malaysia’s second longest at 342 miles) is like nothing we’ve done before in 15 years of cruising.

Jungle sailing was a little difficult, a little hazardous, but man it was worth it! The Kinabatangan River is bordered by mangroves, rain forest, limestone caves and swamps.

Sailing up river through the orange water and an occasional storm, we are on the lookout for crocodiles, proboscis monkeys, orangutans, pygmy elephants, hornbills, egrets and much, much more.

But first we had to get there. The entrance is shallow, so we kept a careful eye on the depth as we navigated slowly towards the river.

Once over the estuary shoal, we picked a meandering passage through the equally shallow corners of this amazing river.