Sabah: Rafflesia quest

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When: July 2023 weather : hot 30C

Nikon P900, Nikon P950, LeicaQ3

After descending Gunung Alap, it was a short drive to the Tambunan Rafflesia Centre, where we had to register and pay the admission and viewing charges of about 150MYR for 3 of us. paperwork took an inordinately long time before we were instructed to follow their car and guide to the botanic gardens a few minutes away where the trek to find the Rafflesia Pricei would start….

The Tambunan Rafflesia Centre, a government administered facility
There was a useful poster there that showed the three different types of Rafflesia commonly seen in Sabah….we were going to seek the Rafflesia Pricei here in Tambunan and then take the long drive over to Poring to see the Rafflesia Keithii

We were told that the trek into the forest in the Botanic Gardens was about 25min return but it was more like 25 min each way, up and down slippery mossy steps or muddy terrain. Not suitable for those of frail disposition. After 20 min or so our guide pointed to the first flower we saw, a 4-5day old Rafflesia Pricei….it needed a scramble down a steep muddy slope to see it….

4 to 5 day old Rafflesia Pricei, the smaller of the two Rafflesia we were seeking….the contrasting white and orange patterning was stunning even thought the flower was past its prime.
Close up of the R Pricei which shows a burn mark on the petal from direct sunshine hitting it
stunning even in black and white

We soldiered on through the forest dark and deep…..

pretty bamboo copse
a moment of colourful relief came in the form of a wild begonia
we finally arrived at a freshly opened R Pricei…it had only opened that morning! Here we can see the flower petals emerging from its spherical black petaled base…
Freshly open R Pricei…this species is about 60cm in size and is the smaller but arguably the prettier of the two species we were seeking today
Here is a bud which is black which eventually grows
and peels apart at the top to reveal underlying brown and white pattern….

Our guide had suggested that instead of seeing only the R Pricei in Tambunan, we should consider seeing the larger of the two species as well in Poring which was another 1.5 hours away due east in the region of Mt Kinabalu. We headed towards the Poring Hot Springs where we were told that there were private gardens which had the larger Rafflesia Keithii…..we eventually arrived at Poring Hot Springs where we were initially disappointed at not having seen any private gardens with signs of Rafflesia in bloom. We were then told to drive PAST the hot springs and then we saw a sign that advertised that Rafflesia was in bloom!. Negotiating a price for the 4 of us, we followed a motorcyclist a few minutes down a track….

where we arrived at the Manut Rafflesia Garden….
and there, under the shade of some trees was the Rafflesia Keithii in its full glory…72cm
R Keithii
close up of R Keithii…and no it does not stink as everyone seems to think
detail of the rim and inside
macro detail..there is less white and orange contrast and less patterning than Pricii
the heart of R Keithii
the circle of life is evident here….here is a dead flower
and this represents the next generation….

Having finally seen both species of Rafflesia, we started our long journey back to Kota Kinabalu, negotiating nearly 3 hours of twisty winding and wet roads. We had an excellent dinner at Delicious curry house and breakfast again at Lok Tien Dim Sum (It was that good!) to end our Sabah sojourn on a high.

Our great Sabah adventure allowed us to enjoy much of the flora and fauna of this part of Borneo and it truly justifies its moniker of the Amazon of the East.

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