Sabah in the island of Borneo

Taking the opportunity whilst visiting friends in Kuching, I decided to visit Sabah, the only other Malaysian state aside from Sarawak in the island of Borneo.

Not knowing much about Sabah, I decided to visit the tourist information office. There the friendly locals advice me of the top 10 things to do in Sabah. I didn’t manage to achieve all 10 in that list, but I managed some. I am quite satisfied and would surely come back to explore this part of the island of Borneo more in the future.

 

1) First on the agenda is the ‘Wild Man of Borneo” One would say I should be sick of seeing theses animals as I had seen them in Sarawak, the other Malaysian state in this magnificent island of Borneo. But funnily enough, I find I still want more. So off I went to visit the world’s oldest and largest OrangUtan Rehabilitation Centre, located at Sepilok. These are where the orphans or pet orang-utans are taught how to survive independently in their natural habitat. These orang-Utans are in danger of extinction due to the rapid loss of their natural habitat. Modern men are fighting with the Wild man for space. Sad….

 

2) Rest & relaxation is something all tourists look for as part of their holiday. When you are in Sabah, indulge in lots of rest and relaxation in the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, only 10 mins by boat from the capital Kota Kinabalu. This park is made up of 5 beautiful tropical sandy beaches namely Gaya, Mamutik, Manukan, Sapi and Sulug.

3) I am one of the ‘lazy’ tourists so I didn’t hike up the Kinabalu Park, a World First Heritage site, boasting the magnificent Mount Kinabalu. My brother who is more adventurous than me went up to the submit (4101meters). He reckons that is the highlight of his Sabah trip. This hike is not for tourists like me as it takes a minimum 2 days but along the way, you will be rewarded with exciting wildlife encounter.

4) While my brother was up the mountain, I was soaking it up in the Poring Hot Spring. Indeed a rejuvenating, natural and therapeutic hot spring. Here the sulphuric hot waters of the spring fed into the open-air Japanese style baths. I don’t have to go to Japan for this!

5) That night went to the Selingan Turtle Island and watched the giant turtles lay eggs on the beach. The eggs are then transferred to the hatchery by humans (a little helping hand from humans). There I witnessed the release of the baby’s turtles into the sea, apparently 365 days a year. Wonderful experience.

6) Rafting, now that is my cup of tea! I saw the local life from a rubber deck of a rapid raft. Sounds strange but this are truly wonderful. We head south to this small town of Kiulu and ride down one of Borneo’s scenic rivers over gentle rapids (just right for me), pass lush green jungle forest (neck cramp from looking for wild life), pass the local towns (dusuns), orchards and villages.
 

7) I am not a diver but I was told that if you are, don’t miss the Sipadan diving site, considered to be the world number one site. Fancy that! Sipadan offers deep and shallow diving, wreck and reef diving and snorkelling.
Nightlife in Sabah is fantastic, eating out at local food stalls at the waterfront with life music. Such is life…

9) The town of Sandakan or capital of Sabah is similar to most towns in Malaysia. I am not much of a shopper or temple fanatic but it is still a wonderful experience.
 

10) Sabah Museum is not as good as the Kuching Museum in the sister state of Sarawak (in my humble opinion) but within the 17.5 hectares of lush green natural and planted jungle (botanic and zoological gardens), lies the Sabah museum (full of Sabah rich cultural heritage).

If I were to visit Sabah again, I would still visit my favourites (listed above 1-6)

Sabah : Beautiful by Nature

Its jungles are home to the orangutan, a huge tourist draw - and there's plenty more where that came from. Joanna Booth reports

It wouldn’t make a great ‘lonely hearts’ advert: ‘Ginger. Hairy, bulky body. Long arms, short legs. No tail. Seeking fun with fruit. GSOH.”

However unattractive they sound on paper, in person, orangutans are irresistible. Every year thousands of tourists feel the draw of these great apes and head to Borneo, the large island in the South China Sea that is one of the only places they can be found.

Orangutans may be the headline act, but Borneo has plenty more wildlife to offer including pygmy elephants, macaques, monitor lizards, huge-beaked hornbills, and comically droopy-nosed proboscis monkeys. Turtles nest year-round and the rich reefs produce beautiful corals and teem with brightly coloured fish.

There’s culture too; from the thriving city of Kuching, full of mosques, temples and colonial buildings, to the remote villages of the Iban jungle tribes, where visitors can stay in traditional long-houses.

Though Borneo is just one island, there are three countries in it. The lion’s share of the north belongs to Malaysia. The states of Sabah and Sarawak are the most developed for tourism and the most visited from the UK. Also in the north lies the tiny, oil-rich state of Brunei, easily visited from Malaysian Borneo.

The great southern mass of the country belongs to Indonesia. Remote, and divided from the north by huge mountain ranges, it’s less visited by UK travellers. A lack of road and air links make it time-consuming and inconvenient to travel between Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo, so recommend clients don’t try.

Sabah

For short trips, Sabah has much of what travellers look for from a Borneo adventure. The capital city, Kota Kinabalu, is accessible by air from Kuala Lumpur, and is one of the major tourist gateways into Borneo. Sabah’s most popular upmarket beach hotels, the Nexus Resort Karambunai and two Shangri-La resorts, the Tanjung Aru (see below) and the Rasa Ria, aren’t far from Kota Kinabalu.

The Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary near Sandakan is a must-see as visitors can get relatively close to orphaned and rescued orangutans. Feeding times are 10am and 2.30pm.

Many visitors take river cruises down the Kinabatangan River between Sandakan and Sukau, where they’ve a good chance of spotting proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, macaques and hornbills.

To be in with a good chance of seeing the apes in the wild, clients should visit the Danum Valley. The huge basin is a conservation area, and there’s a 40-metre-high canopy walkway through the trees, giving a bird’s-eye view of the wildlife, which also includes gibbons and even the rare clouded leopard. Tours are organised by the only resort, the Borneo Rainforest Lodge, which has comfortable chalets overlooking a river valley.

The Kinabalu National Park is 56 miles outside of the city, and is home to Mount Kinabalu. At 4,095 metres it is southeast Asia’s highest peak. The climb, which takes two days, isn’t for the faint-hearted.

Off Sabah’s coast are beautiful islands. Turtle Island, as Selingan is often known, is the hub of the ecotourism industry. Visitors go to the island in the afternoon, enjoy the beaches and then stay in basic accommodation overnight. Once night falls, tourists will be allowed to watch a hawksbill or green turtle laying its eggs.

Sipadan Island, a slim limestone pillar reaching 700 metres from the sea floor, is a diver’s paradise. Clients might see tens or even hundreds of turtles, barracuda, reef sharks and bumphead parrotfish.

3 Day Selingan Turtle Island, Kinabatangan River, Sepilok Tour

A good chance to see numerous species of birds and other wildlife until nightfall.

Travel departing from:-

Perth from $1809*

Melbourne from $1959*

Adelaide from $1969*          

Sydney from $1976*

Brisbane from $1979*

 Day 1 Kota Kinabalu / Libaran Island / Selingan Turtle Island

Pick up from your Kota Kinabalu hotel and transfer to the airport for your flight to Sandakan. You will then be met on arrival in Sandakan and transfer to the jetty to board boat for Libaran Island. Check into your accommodation. Explore the nearby village and observe life in a fishermen's village. In the late afternoon, take a boat ride to Selingan Turtle Island. Watch turtle laying eggs on the beach, transfer of the eggs to the hatchery and release of hatchlings to the sea. Return to Libaran Island for overnight

Day 2 Libaran Island / Kinabatangan River.

After breakfast, return to mainland and proceed by land to Gomantong Caves. Explore the biggest bird's nest caves in Sabah where the bizarre edible bird's nest is harvested as they have been for hundreds of years. The caves are also home to more than a million bats.The birdlife around the cave is particularly rich, with crested serpent eagles, kingfishers, Asian fairy bluebirds and leaf birds often sighted. Continue the journey to Sukau by the Kinabatangan River. Check in to Sukau River Lodge. Boat trip to watch the curious proboscis monkeys gather by the river bank. A good chance to see numerous species of birds and other wildlife until nightfall.

Dinner. Slide show. If weather permits, night walk to search for stick insects, frog and beetles. Stay overnight at the Sukau River Lodge.

Day 3 Sepilok Orang Utan Centre / Sandakan

After breakfast, return to mainland and proceed to Sepilok Orang Utan Centre. Witness the feeding of orphaned orang utans. Walk along a jungle trail and observe the tropical lowland rainforest. Numerous wildlife may be seen. Transferto the airport for your flight back to Kota Kinabalu. Transfer back to Kota Kinabalu Hotel. Tour ends in KotaKinabalu at approximately 3.00 pm.

Inclusions

• • Return economy class airfare to Kota Kinabalu including prepaid airfare taxes.
  • 1 nights pre accommodation at the Langkah Syabas Beach Resort in a Run of House Room with breakfast.
  • 3 day / 2 night Selingan Turlet Island.
  • Kinabatangan River and Sepilok Orang Utan Centre Tour including return flights to Sandikan.
  • Transportation in air conditioned vehicle.
  • English speaking guide.
  • 1 nights post accommodation at the Langkah Syabas Beach Resort in a Run of House Room with breakfast.
  • Return seat in coach airport transfers in Kota Kinabalu.

Travel Dates

• Valid for travel 1 May - 11 November 2011.
• For more information call 1300 411 560