An African safari isn’t the only way to see elephants in the wild. Instead consider traveling down a winding river in Borneo.

I hadn’t been at the Borneo Nature Lodge more than an hour when I boarded a tiny boat and headed down the Kinabatangan River in Malaysia’s Sabah State. As we meandered down the slow waterway, wildlife stirred around every bend.

A host of birds, including four species of hornbills, darted in and out of the treetops; pygmy elephants — a mother and a calf — ambled through the thickets just along the shore; and a group of proboscis monkeys jostled for position in the trees.

Our guide and captain Joe Harry, a descendent of local headhunters, noted the 64,000-acre Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary has the richest concentration of wildlife in Southeast Asia. Daily, you can discover an abundance of critters moving in their natural habitat.

The profusion of wildlife has transformed the region as the economy shifts from being dominated by palm oil production to tourism with a growing number of ecolodges nestled along the river.

What’s great for aging baby boomers is that you don’t have to trek ceaselessly through the jungle or bump along in a Land Rover to see cool animals in their habitat.

Just float on.

Occasionally captain Joe would stop along the shore to let us witness something special. In one instance, perhaps 15 minutes from the lodge, he moored the boat and marched us along a path for a couple hundred yards. “Look up,” he said, and pointed to a pregnant female orangutan in a tall fig tree.

Bird watchers will dig this place. Many of the 120 species of birds that call the area home are easy to spot from the boats. The animals are used to humans, so the boats can get can get fairly close and you can grab some great photos.

In the 1970s and ‘80s, excessive logging altered landscapes and impacted animal populations. Where cloud leopards once roamed, clear cutting and the growth of the plantations decimated their population. The entire ecosystem suffered as plantations extended to river banks, encroaching on animal habitats.

Thankfully, the government began purchasing land adjacent to both sides of the river in areas where wildlife traditionally feed and gather. Since then, the animals have begun to return, including primates such as the proboscis monkey and orangutan, as well as large mammals, like the pygmy elephant.

Located on the banks of the Kinabatangan River, the Borneo Nature Lodge offered modest, no-frill accommodations. In keeping within its green mission, the lodge harvests water from rainfall and uses solar energy. The rooms were comfortable and clean and offered air conditioning in the rooms and the restaurant. Tourists may consider bringing their own toiletries and bedding as my room was missing soap, and the beds had no slipcovers and bathrooms displayed threadbare bath towels.

Suffice to say, the overall experience and our competent guide more than made up for any shortfall.

IF YOU GO

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Borneo Nature Lodge

** Transportation: AirAsia has flights daily between Honolulu and Kuala Lumpur. They increased service from three times a week in August. You’ll need to fly to Kuala Lumpur (via Osaka) and then to Sandakan (on Borneo). Airfare can cost as little as $1,000.

** Phone: 844-727-4588

** Accommodations: The Borneo Nature Lodge was $350 per day with packages available for much less. The lodge tour van will pick you up at Sandakan Airport and drive you to the lodge.

** Email: rsvn@borneonaturelodge.com.my

** On the Net: borneonaturelodge.com.my

Rob Kay writes about travel and healthy aging in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He’s the author of two Lonely Planet travel books to the South Pacific and the online travel guide Fiji Guide, fijiguide.com. He can be reached at RobertFredKay@gmail.com.