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3 days in colorful Porto

London: Travel guide for return visitors

Lookout spots, new neighbourhoods, unusual photo spots & breakfast locations

Exploring Madeira with the new Nikon Z 6

Powered by Nikon Austria (Advertisement)

Turin: Discover Italy’s culinary heart

With GROM Gelato (Advertisement)

5 summer days in South Tyrol

The perfect blend of alpine & mediterranean experiences

A multifaceted look at female traveling

powered by Chloé NOMADE #ChloeGirls (Advertorial)

Lofoten in winter: An arctic adventure

One week itinerary for Norway's North

Venice in winter

Trying to find the quiet side of Venice

The #femaletravelbloggers project

Changing the perception about female travels

Hotel Review: Strand Hotel Swakopmund, Namibia

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marionpayr

Travel photographer and storyteller. 📷🖋Empowering womxn to explore & create. Engaging in acts of travel, photography & conservation. Vienna based. Member of @bellcollective. Co-Founder of @printsforwildlife.

Did you know Borneo has some excellent beaches and Did you know Borneo has some excellent beaches and marine protected areas? 🐠🤿🏝️🐚 (Advertisement) I honestly had no idea Borneo even had beaches like this — soft white sand, turquoise water, and with Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park an incredible marine protected area where you can snorkel or dive right off the shore. This is Manukan Island, just one of the little islands along the west coast of Sabah. It’s located only a 15 minute boat ride away from Kota Kinabalu (and the international airport)—so you visit for an easy day trip, but you can als stay overnight (which we did before leaving for the airport the next afternoon). There’s only one resort on the private island, so when all the day guests leave on the last boat you have the place to yourself. Manukan is an amazing mix of lush rainforest and tropical coastline. By day we wandered from jungle trails to the beach, and at night we fell asleep to cicadas, jungle concerts mixed with the sound of waves crashing just beyond our room. Our stay at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges at Manukan Island (@suterasanctuary) was a wonderful way to unwind after days of jungle explorations — and the food there ended up being some of the best we had in all of Borneo. (A special shoutout goes to the avocado icecream!! 🥑🤩). The team surprised us with beach breakfasts and romantic dinners in a cabana, we saw monitor lizards pass by and enjoyed one of the best sunsets of the trip here. Thanks again to @flyscoot and @sabahtourism for having us! ✨♥️
Final set from our time at Sepilok and Kinabatanga Final set from our time at Sepilok and Kinabatangan River. (Advertisement). One week can sometimes feel like the blink of an eye. And then when you look back at it you can see why. Every instant filled with wonder, a place so vibrant and alive it makes you soak up every second like ambrosia. Liquid pure energy. Thank you again to @flyscoot and @sabahtourism for allowing us to bathe in this energy of the rainforest. We will be back!
A low-light challenge & an unforgettable encounter A low-light challenge & an unforgettable encounter. (@nikondach Advertisement). Most of the time, I shoot wildlife on my NIKKOR Z 180–600mm f/5.6–6.3 VR. It’s my workhorse when on safari.
 But a while back I first tested the NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena with gorillas in Uganda and completely fell in love. I knew I had to get this incredible lens one day. Fast forward to today: It has become one of my favorite pieces of glas—especially for dense jungle environments with challenging light conditions. In Borneo, I was hoping to shoot orangutans with it… but unfortunately they never came close enough for the 135mm focal length. But then came the perfect moment for the Plena lens to shine. 
One evening at dusk, with almost no light left, we had a magical encounter with the endangered Bornean elephants. And this is exactly where the Plena’s capabilities were much needed: * f/1.8 aperture is a saviour in extreme low-light situations * Fast, reliable autofocus, even in challenging light * Exceptional sharpness on subjects and very smooth bokeh for backgrounds * Beautiful compression and cinematic look I know it might not be an everyday type of lens, but when the Plena‘s time comes you’ll fall in love head over heels. ___ Normalerweise fotografiere ich Wildtiere mit meinem NIKKOR Z 180–600mm f/5.6–6.3 VR.
 Aber letztes Jahr habe ich mich in das NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena verliebt. Ich wusste sofort: Das Objektiv muss in meine Sammlung. Bei meiner Borneo-Reise vor ein paar Wochen hatte ich es eigentlich für die Orang-Utans eingepackt… aber die kamen leider nie nah genug. Aber dann kam der perfekte Moment: Es war Dämmerung am Kinabatangan Fluss, wir waren mit dem Boot unterwegs und auf einmal tauchen die bedrohten Borneo-Zwergelefanten direkt neben uns am Ufer auf. Ein absolut magischer Augenblick, aber fast kein Licht mehr... Und genau dafür liebe ich das Plena so:
• f/1.8 ist die Rettung bei wenig Licht
• Autofokus funktioniert auch bei extrem wenig Licht
• Knackscharfe Ergebnisse mit wunderschön weichem Bokeh
 Das Plena ist vielleicht ein Objektiv, das man nicht ständig nutzt – aber wenn die Situation passt, ist es ein absoluter Traum. #NikonCreator #NikonDACH
Borneo (wildlife) collection ✨ Here‘s a series of Borneo (wildlife) collection ✨ Here‘s a series of some of the eclectic (and often times endemic) wildlife species of Borneo—plus a few in-between moments mixed in to give you a sense of the landscape as well. I came for the orangutans, but I fell in love with the diversity of species here. It’s a full display of nature’s variety, from colorful birds to flying snakes and mystical rainforest elephants. Let’s see if you can recognize all of them? 1: Paradise tree snake (by the way: this snake is also called Paradise Flying Snake because it can glide through the jungle by flattening its body and making lateral movements 🤯) 2: Orangutan (this young one was about 1-2 years old 🦧🥰) 3: Mist hanging in the rainforest along Kinabatangan river—this is the place where we went on river cruises for three days (highly recommended!) 4: Black and red broadbill (although I think it should be called blue bill 😅) 5: Bornean (Pygmy) elephant 6: Wallace’s hawk-eagle 7: Bornean Keeled green Pit Viper (yes, its venomous 🐍) 8: Tree Giants at the boardwalk of Sukau Rainforest Lodge 9: Bornean (Pygmy) elephant 10: Oriental pied hornbill (just one of the many species of hornbills found on Borneo) 11: View of a boat cruising on Kinabatangan River This is just a snapshot of the biodiversity of Borneo, which we got to see in one short week. Despite covering just about 1% of Earth’s terrestrial land area, Borneo is estimated to hold around 6% of global biodiversity and a high level of endemism (species found nowhere else), making it a global biodiversity hotspot of great importance. Needless to say I absolutely loved it and was fascinated by each new species we saw 😍 On www.thetravelblog.at I have just released a full travel guide for Borneo with sample itineraries and important tips and info if you ever plan a visit!
Proboscis monkeys in Borneo. I caught a first gli Proboscis monkeys in Borneo. I caught a first glimpse of a small group of proboscis monkeys on our boat transfer from Sandakan down the Kinabatangan River to Sukau and I was completely mesmerized by their otherworldly appearance. During our time in Sukau we were lucky and saw many more—each with a very unique face—but it took us a while to find a good view of a dominant male. The males’ famously long noses are actually a sign of dominance: the older and more dominant the male, the longer and more pronounced the nose. The first photo in this carousel shows one of them—isn’t it incredible? 🤯🤩 Proboscis monkeys love the riverbanks—we spotted them perched in shoreline trees, lounging in groups, and even jumping between trees and crossing the river using fallen logs. Their fate is bittersweet though: proboscis monkeys are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and populations have declined dramatically due to habitat loss. Estimates vary, but many sources put the wild population in the low thousands (some estimates ~7,000), so every protected stretch of river and mangrove matters. The Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary is one place that they can still call home—protected by ecotourism. So each visitor supports their survival, which hopefully will help recover their populations. 🌿🛶 ✨ On www.thetravelblog.at you can now find my full travel guide for Borneo with more tips for a visit! #Borneo #Kinabatangan #ProboscisMonkey #Wildlife #Conservation #ecotourism
Rainforest hideaway in Borneo. (Advertisement) We Rainforest hideaway in Borneo. (Advertisement) We spent three wonderful nights at Sukau Rainforest Lodge (@sukaurainforestlodge)—deep in the rainforest along the Kinabatangan River. I absolutely loved staying there for a few reasons: 🌴 The lodge is perched right on the banks of the river, surrounded by lush rainforest — the kind of place where you wake up to jungle sounds and mist shrouded riverbanks in the morning. 🛎️ Sukau Rainforest Lodge has 20 rooms and villas, which are all built on stilts to blend into the environment and help protect the forest floor, natural hydrology, and fragile ecosystem along the riverbank. 🛶 Every morning and afternoon you go on boat cruises that take you right into the heart of Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary—a stronghold for Borneo’s extraordinary biodiversity, with chances to spot orangutans, proboscis monkeys, rhinoceros hornbills, Bornean elephants and more. ♻️ The lodge is committed to conservation and sustainable tourism. It is fully self-reliant on water through rainwater harvesting, and uses solar-heated water for showers, waste is carefully managed (organic composting, a bio-septic system to avoid river pollution). ✨ Through its non-profit arm BEST Society, the lodge channels mandatory guest contributions into community development and conservation efforts — from clean-water tanks for rural villages to habitat restoration and wildlife protection projects in Sabah. 🎥 The lodge has welcomed David Attenborough when he was filming in Borneo, which speaks volumes about the quality of the place. If you ever plan to visit Borneo I can highly recommend staying here. It’s a place where you can truly disconnect and reconnect with the wild. Thanks to @borneoecotours, @sabahtourism and @flyscoot for having us! ✨
Etched in my memory forever: Bornean elephant enco Etched in my memory forever: Bornean elephant encounter. (@nikondach Advertisement). I‘m still in awe after seeing Bornean elephants for the very first time in my life. I knew chances weren’t high to see them, so when we encountered a large herd of about 60-70 individuals that evening it was a truly unforgettable moment with one of the world’s most endangered gentle giants. 🐘 Fewer than ~1,000 of them remain across Borneo, according to the latest assessments. These elephants roam mostly in the north-eastern forests of Borneo — across Sabah (Malaysia) and parts of Kalimantan (Indonesia). In undisturbed forests, their home-ranges can cover 250–400 km². But in fragmented landscapes — where habitat has been degraded or broken up — they may range over as much as 600 km² to find food and water. Over the past decades, large parts of their habitat have been cleared: logging, expansion of agriculture (especially oil-palm plantations), mining and infrastructure have wiped out or fragmented vast tracts of forest. As a result, these elephants are increasingly squeezed into isolated patches — making their survival precarious and creating more conflict with humans. Ecotourism is a form of land use that can protect their home ranges and make sure forests are conserved rather than cleared, hopefully giving the Bornean elephant a chance of survival in the future ✨ That evening when we first found them during our boat cruise it was way past sunset and already getting dark, but my NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lens pulled through beautifully. Without such a fast, wide-aperture lens, catching moments like these in super low light simply wouldn’t have been possible. Settings Photo 1: ISO 7200, 135mm, 0 ev, f1.8, 1/500 s #nikondach #nikoncreator
Cruising along the Kinabatangan River on assignmen Cruising along the Kinabatangan River on assignment for @flyscoot 🛶 (Advertisement | @sabahtourism) Staying at Sukau River Lodge, felt like stepping deep into Borneo’s wild heart — and meeting some of its most gentle giants: the Bornean elephants. There are only about 1,000 of these elephants left in the wild, and their population is highly fragmented across Sabah. 🌿 Why are their numbers so precarious? * Massive deforestation for oil palm plantations, logging, and infrastructure has shattered their forest homes – pushing elephant groups into isolated pockets. * This fragmentation doesn’t just shrink their space — it restricts their movement, reduces genetic diversity, and even raises the risk of inbreeding. * During floods, the tiny remaining habitat becomes even more crowded, intensifying human-elephant conflict. 💚 But there’s hope — and a role for us: eco-tourism is a powerful way to help protect what’s left. By choosing responsible wildlife lodges (like Sukau), we support conservation efforts, local communities, and the creation of forest corridors to reconnect fragmented elephant habitats. 🛶 Tips for wildlife-spotting at Sukau River Lodge: 1. Take early-morning and late-afternoon boat cruises — this is when elephants are most active. 2. Bring binoculars and a camera with a tele lens — forest edges and riverbanks are where elephants often appear and you might only catch a glimpse through the thicket. 3. Listen to and hire local naturalist guides — they know elephant movement patterns & how to minimize disturbance. 4. Respect the wildlife: stay quiet, don’t interact with the wildlife and always follow guide instructions. Seeing those elephants in their riverine forest home was deeply humbling. It’s a reminder: our travel choices can help these beautiful creatures survive. 🐘 #Borneo #Kinabatangan #SukauRiverLodge #ElephantConservation #EcoTourism #WildlifeTravel
Here it is—my favorite orangutan encounter… 🦧♥️✨ Here it is—my favorite orangutan encounter… 🦧♥️✨ Before this trip I was secretly swaying the universe. Maybe—and if only for a second—we could see a baby orangutan? I didn’t know how high the chances would be, but nature‘s generosity can sometimes be abundant. This was such a moment. A mother had brought her tiny baby to one of the platforms at Sepilok Orangutan rehabilitation centre. At first he was hiding behind her and only for milliseconds we could get a glimpse of his head of hair peaking out. But as time passed he got more comfortable, relaxed and playful. We spent a good half hour there watching them interact, play and feed together. Precious moments shared with us, a display of trust and the magic of nature. Still have to pinch myself…. ✨
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