Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo hails from Perth and so considers the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix as one of his home races. We hear from the 28-year-old about the road to Marina Bay.

What’s the morale like within the team?

It’s strong. I think after the start of the season, like testing and the first couple of races, everyone was a bit down, a bit frustrated as it looked like another kind of long season ahead, if you will. But I feel like everyone has picked themselves up since then; it’s all positive for now. I think everyone’s acknowledged the position we’re in and they know that if we want to make it better for ourselves then we’ve got to put the work in and that’s also from my side as well. These cars have been a bit trickier to drive and maybe the balance isn’t perfect so I’ve got to figure it out a bit more and put the work in to make it better for myself also.

What’s your mindset like when the European season closes and you have the flyaways ahead with Singapore up first?

You kind of reset and go again for another push, one last push I guess. And Singapore requires more preparation as well because it’s normally the longest and hottest race of the year. So physically you kind of take a reset and start-up again mentally. It’s obviously nice for me going that way because it’s closer to home and I enjoy those few circuits.

Singapore will be the biggest fitness test this year. How are you feeling about that?

I think it’s a challenge I’ll certainly welcome. The last few years I’ve put emphasis on that with my training and my preparation before Singapore and I think the results I’ve shown being on the podium three years in a row shows that. So that’s an area of the sport which I feel like I thrive off. I’m not saying I’m the fittest guy on the grid or the only guy that trains but when it comes to that kind of specific training, I feel like I’m definitely putting in what I have to and making sure I’m prepared as well, if not better, than anyone. The aim is to be better prepared than everyone. It’s certainly one [race] that if a driver doesn’t quite take some of those real physical ones seriously, if they’re out enjoying their weekends more than they should, then I definitely feel it will show this year.

What do you think the event has brought to the sport?

I think since Singapore has been on the calendar, it has certainly brought interest from all over the world. It’s actually a race that everyone talks about. Obviously it’s close to home, close to Australia; you know we get a lot of Aussies flying in for that race, but also Europe and even in the States. It’s kind of like one of these iconic races now, which is pretty impressive for a track which hasn’t even hosted 10 Grands Prix yet. I think hats off to them, they do it really well. I think the weekend runs awesome and for us to kind of juggle that European time zone whilst we’re out there is unique so I think that’s cool. And the track’s built a bit of a reputation for being probably the most physical one and the longest race of the year. There’s a lot of hype and excitement that comes with that race and I certainly enjoy it on the calendar.

Was your second place last year your biggest highlight at the Marina Bay Street Circuit?

That was great. I feel like at least since I’ve been with Red Bull [Racing], and had a chance to race closer to the front, I’ve always had some good races in Singapore. But last year was cool to at least obviously keep the race going until the end and give everyone hope that maybe I’ll get him, maybe I’ll get him. But again physically that was rewarding for me to be able to push that hard until the end and show that I wasn’t fading or anything. That was a bit of a testament to the work I put in before the race also so it was rewarding, and people were like it sucks, it was a shame you didn’t win, this and that, but I was happy. I would’ve loved to have won, sure, but I definitely left Singapore feeling pretty content with how the weekend and the race went.

With thanks to FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

Wandering Yogi, Lee Carsley, takes a trip of extremes.

Borneo is known for its beautiful beaches and ancient rainforest, home to so many of the world’s plant and animal species, including the most famous of them all, the orangutan.

Sabah, one of the Malaysian States to make up Borneo, has another unenviable reason to earn a reputation. It produces 12% of the world’s total palm oil supply.  With over a fifth of its land under palm oil plantation, Sabah contributes 30% to Malaysia’s total palm oil production. Malaysia and Indonesia combined, supply 85% of global demand.

I wonder as we make the three hour flight from Singapore into Kota Kinabalu, how Sabah manages to balance its amazing biodiversity with the rampaging global thirst for palm oil.

Singapore to SABAH

The choices on what to do in Sabah are adventure based. You can hike the 4,095m-high Mount Kinabalu, or dive the famous Sipadan Island. Spend some time at the beach, visit the orangutan, and of course go rainforest wild. We opted for a five-day light adventure designed by myself, traversing Borneo from the rainforest to the sea.

The best time to travel is between March and October when it is driest.  We were there in February. It was incredibly hot and the mosquitoes were persistent. Something also to note, because Mount Kinabalu is considered an extreme hike and Sipadan Island is ISIS territory with kidnappings of tourists a weekly occurrence (so much so that they are no longer reported), neither place is covered by travel insurance. Just bear it in mind.

To reach the rainforest, it was one short plane ride from Kota Kinabalu (KK) to Sandakan and a depressing 30-minute drive through palm oil plantations to Sepilok. The digs were cheap, as are all digs in Sepilok – but ours was a mere 10-minutes walk to the orangutan reserve. Our room was small, dark and smelt of mould. Food was MSG central, and breakfast was for carb-otarians.  However, we were there for the orangutan and were incredibly excited for the next morning to come around.

The Rainforest

In Sabah, you have two conservation centres to visit the orangutan. One is a public/private partnership in Kota Kinabalu, the Shangri La Rasa Ria Nature Reserve. Here they foster young orangutan from infancy until they are old enough to be transferred to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre further north. The latter, opened in 1964 by an English woman named Barbara Harrison, has been rescuing orangutan from logging sites, plantations, illegal hunting or those kept as pets ever since. The orphans learn living skills with humans and others of their kind and once they reach a certain age, they either stay near the centre or move into Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve which is about 4,294 ha of mostly virgin rainforest. Today around 60 to 80 orangutan live freely in the reserve.
It also has a nursery area where younger orangutan first learn to be outside and play on a large climbing frame. The viewing area consists of two large indoor seating areas with a large window that overlooks the play area. Great for the kids and kids at heart.

Borneo is not iPhone camera territory – you need a 400mm lens and a good camera to get the best nature shots. Sepilok’s viewing area is some distance away from the orangutan, and you can pay about US$300 a day to rent a 600mm lens inside the Centre, but I would not recommend it. The cameras have a tendency to look like guns – the orangutan have long memories, even longer arms, and are very strong. There have been a few stories about tourists losing their cameras to a seriously pissed orangutan.

There are two open feedings every day; 10am and 3pm. The morning feed is jam-packed with tourists, but they depart for other adventures soon after. Your ticket is for the whole day so I would suggest the 3 o’clock session – we were able to quietly enjoy the orangutan, whom without a large audience, became braver.

Across the road is the Sun Bear Conservation Centre, home to about 44 rescued sun bears. They are the smallest bears in the world, found only in South East Asia and their biggest threat is down to illegal hunting (either for their body parts, or as pets).

They are darned cute-looking but they are extremely territorial. Their long claws are used for hunting for ants, and to inflict nasty wounds on other bears that wander too close. We saw two involved in a nasty fight over a tree stump. I have a picture of a woman from a Lao conservation centre with one arm, thanks to a sun bear. But don’t worry; you never, ever get that close to them here. Hence the camera lens.

Kinabatangan River

The river starts high in Sabah’s Crocker Range and winds 560km down to its mangrove swamp estuary into the Sulu Sea. We took a two-hour drive north from Sepilok through those damn palm oil plantations, hopped on a short boat ride before arriving at our river ‘resort’.

The World Wildlife Fund states Kinabatangan is one of only two known places on Earth where 10 primate species can be found including the Bornean Orangutan, the Proboscis Monkey, Macaques, Caped Langurs (called the Beckham monkey by locals due to their punk hair cut) and Bornean Gibbon.

You can also expect to see crocodiles, hawks, eagles, at least three varieties of hornbills, kingfishers, and so much more. If you’re very lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the Pygmy Elephant feeding on the edge of the riverbank as we did. We spotted a mother and her baby, swimming across one of the river tributaries.

Evening river cruises are busy and you will be competing for photo angles but that is when you will see the most orangutan, gibbon and monkeys. Morning cruises are less touristy, and the time for eagles, egrets and reptiles.  Just don’t forget that big lens!

One Sunday night, we took a night walk with no real idea of where we were going but it appeared to be around our resort.  Listening to the sounds of ‘Nearer my God to Thee’ coming from a nearby community chapel, we spotted a mouse deer, a rare marbled cat that looked a little like an Aussie possum dressed in cat clothes, and any number of sleeping baby kingfishers and parrots. We also took home some leeches, so bring matches
and salt with you.

The Sea

Heading back to KK took the better part of a day, but we arrived in our island resort in time for a sunset tipple. There are two resorts quite close to KK; Gaya and Bunga Raya. The former is home to a marine ecology centre and pluses include morning fish feeding of giant trevally; 5* for both food and location; as well as ocean stilt villas and on-beach accommodation. We stayed there but visited Bunga Raya, a short private boat ride away, for its beautiful beach and its great ‘sandy toes’ bar and dining area – although it let itself down on lack of choice for the plant-based eaters among us.

We also took a three-hour hike across Gaya Island, where we lost 2.5kgs and 4.5litres of water from our bodies. We went diving and saw turtles, loads of fish and the amazing coral diversity (83 staghorn corals have been recorded in Sabah Borneo), – but also experienced the uncomfortable underwater sensation of reef dynamiting, despite its prohibition in national parks.

When it came time to leave, it was a short 15-minute private boat ride back to KK, then to the airport, before arriving back in Singapore the same day. We are fortunate to literally have one of the most unique eco systems on our doorstep. Go visit it, come back, and together let’s commit to keeping it for our children’s children.

Top Tips

• Sunscreen & mosquito repellent – loads of it.
• Decent camera & lens – hire a 400mm lens http://sg.camerarental.biz – ANZA discount applies.
• Cover your shoulders & knees when out in public, particularly in the north.
• Stay in the rainforest, rather than just visit it.