Poring Hot Springs Canopy Walk

We did very little planning ahead while in Borneo. Instead, we would decide how we wanted to spend our day over breakfast each day. The morning after our wonderful visit to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, we decided to head back to Kota Kinabalu. To break up the 7+ hour drive, we stopped at the Poring Hot Springs. We weren’t interested in the hot springs themselves, as the spring water is literally pumped into little bath tubs in a communal area- which is just not our style.

A variety of attractions have popped up around the hot springs, however, including a butterfly farm, tropical garden, orchid conservation centre, rafflesia flower site and a forest canopy walk. We thought the canopy walk would offer a fun perspective for viewing Borneo’s lush jungle. The canopy walk closed at 5:00pm and we arrived just after 4:00pm. Coming so late in the day meant that most of the other visitors were already gone or were wrapping up their stay, so we had the canopy walk all to ourselves. This turned out to be a very good thing, as the rickety bridges were pretty scary for our Isla… and I’m not going to lie, they had my heart pounding too!

Isla began to whimper after taking just a few steps on the wobbly canopy walk. By the middle of the first walkway she was in complete hysterics. We assured her everything would be okay and tried to encourage her along. Isla sobbed, while gripping my hand with all her might, and continued to inch forward slowly. Every step we took caused the rickety walkway to lurch in different directions, elevating Isla’s fear… and her volume. Any wildlife viewing opportunities from this unique vantage point were surely obliterated by this point. Finally, we made it across the walkway to the first platform. With four more of these walkways to traverse we knew we had to do something to help our girl conquer her fear. We hugged her and talked to her about what it meant to be brave. We explained that it was okay to be scared, but by pushing through our fears we showed bravery. We told her she was a brave girl. Isla, you can do this! Digging around in our backpack we found some water and a bag of potato chips. We offered a few to Isla to try and take her mind off the scariness of the canopy walk. While I think all our encouragement and bravery pep-talk helped a bit, I am pretty darn certain it was the promise of more potato chips at the each platform that kept her going. Regardless of motivation, it was truly incredible to watch our girl exhibit such bravery. I will never forget the determination on her face as she wobbled across each walkway, or the way she beamed with pride (and relief!) upon completing the canopy walk. The views from the treetops were gorgeous, but watching our sweet girl tackle her fears is the memory I will hold in my heart forever.