Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Tale of Three rivers - Garama, Klias and Padas


NAMED after an English governor and internationally famous for its Dutchman and Grade 3 waters... that’s Beaufort.

The Dutchman is the Proboscis Monkey, an endangered species nicknamed Orang Belanda (Dutchman) by the locals because of its red face, potbelly, large nose and golden brown fur. It’s found in large numbers on the Garama and Klias rivers.

Grade 3 waters refers to the scale for white water rafting offered on the Padas River.

In fact, the district was known as Padas before it was renamed after Leicester P. Beaufort, an English Governor in late 19th Century. Now, it is also known as the Venice of the East for its “off-the-ground shops”, a practical way to cope with the annual floods.

The town is located 95km from Kota Kinabalu, a journey that takes 90 minutes by car and two hours by train. Beaufort is one of the major towns along Sabah’s only railway line and a transit stop for those boarding the railcar to Tenom or heading to Menumbok to take the ferry to Labuan.

Continue reading (incl. pics) at: Tale of Three rivers - Garama, Klias and Padas

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