William and Kate to tour Borneo Rainforests and Tuvalu Islands

The rainforests of Borneo will soon be welcoming some truly eminent guests into its natural folds. Well, one is referring to the young British royals, Prince William and Kate Middleton who have a hectic schedule ahead of them, to some of the globe's most exotic destinations over the next few months.

William & Kate to travel to Singapore, Malaysia and

the Solomon Islands Credit: Aka.media.entertainment

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be jet-setting off, in the second leg of their royal tour, visiting one of the world's most remotely populated islands. It is believed that during this visit to the rainforests of Bornea, the royal couple might be lucky to come face-to-face with some orangutans.

Borneo Tropical Rainforest Resort, in Miri,

Sarawak Credit: Images.Hotels-world.com

William and Kate are also likely to be enlightened about the efforts made to preserve the globe’s oldest rainforest, said to be dating back to a whopping 130 million years. Other countries included in the royal itinerary are Singapore, Malaysia and the Solomon Islands with the couple making an overnight halt at the Pacific Islands of Tuvalu.

Way back in 1982, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip first sailed off to the tiny Commonwealth nation. Now thirty years later their grandson William and his wife Kate will be the first members of the royal family to visit the islands.

Tulava islands shown in a map

Tuvalu is a circular archipelago of tiny islands, lying midway between Hawaii and Australia, covering a total area of barely 10 square miles. It is the fourth-smallest nation in the world with a miniscule population of 10,000 only.

Most of the island is barely 2ft above sea level, which means that if the sea levels continue to rise due to the polar ice caps thawing, the entire island will be wiped out flat in no time.

A traditional welcome is accorded to all visitors who arrive by sea to the tiny island. As per Tuvalu custom the visitors are welcomed by being carried ashore, shoulder-height in canoes. That was just how the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had been ushered as well years ago.

However, since William and Kate will be visiting Tuvalu by flying directly to the island’s tiny airport, they will be welcomed with a garland of flowers instead. Tuvalu has some of the best diving locations in the world and it is barely wider than a six-lane motorway for most of its length.

Vaiaku Lagi Hotel on Tuvalu Island where William and

Kate are expected to stay. Credit : djw25.smugmug.com

William and Kate are expected to stay in the island’s only plush hotel namely the Vaiaku Lagi Hotel which has 16 rooms. The royal couple’s tour itinerary announced by St James’s Palace is as follows:

They will be arriving in Singapore on Sept. 11, 2012. After which they will be traveling to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and the province of Sabah in Borneo. From Malaysia the royals will be flying to Tuvalu via the Solomon Islands.

The final leg of their tour will be to the Polynesian island on September 19, 2012. This world tour by William and Kate is in celebration of the Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee as Her Majesty’s representatives.

A Nanumea lady performing 'fatele,' the

famous colorful and unique form of

Tuvaluan dance.

This will be William and Kate’s first foreign tour since visiting Canada and America in July last year. The couple will be accompanied by an entourage of nine persons. It will also include a hairdresser for the Duchess.

The royals and the entourage will use scheduled flights to get to and from the Far East, with a combination of small charter aircraft and planes provided by the Malaysian government for the shorter hops.

Other accompanying the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the trip are Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the Duke’s private secretary; Rebecca Deacon, the Duchess’s aide and “girl Friday”; Sir David Manning, the foreign office adviser, three press aides, a personal assistant and one orderly.

The tour details are expected to be made public next month only.

Source: Daily Telegraph.co.uk

British Royals Visit to Tuvalu in 1982