Borneo: Sukau

I had made a new friend, Yvonne, while scuba diving in Sipadan and her change in schedule meant she could join me in Sukau.

We didn’t know much about where we were going but had heard through some locals that it was the best place to go boating to find monkeys and to look for the famous wild Orangutan.

Leaving Semporna to Sukau would turn into a long day with failed attempts at hitching a ride, failed negotiations and long walks in the sun trying to get settled.

We started off getting a good deal on a nice bus to the junction that would head to Sukau.

Only way there is by a private driver or taking one of the many buses that head towards Sandakan.

They drop you off at the junction and from there you can hire a taxi.

Problem with Borneo is the high prices for buses and taxis.

They are difficult to bargain with and aren’t as cheap as other places in Asia.

The taxi driver wanted almost 20 dollars to take us 15 minutes down the road.

We opted to test out luck on hitching a ride.

Thanks to Yvonne, she managed to get a truck to take us.

Our plan was to try the less busy and less known village of Bilit.

The driver was so nice and took us down the road to the next junction to head towards Bilit.

We then walked down towards bilit (3km) in the sun failing to hitch another ride.

We arrived in the super small village of Bilit and after failed attempts negotiating with the local boat guy, we failed to find a homestay for less than $140 dollars.

We were blown away by the pricing, and unhappily we had to start the long walk back to the main road.

With our big bags and smoldering sun we hit the road feeling a little discouraged.

About half way back to the junction we managed to get a ride in a palm oil truck.

We ran after the truck and he stopped and let us in. He didn’t speak English but managed to bring us all the way to Sukau for free.

We got lucky and were feeling optimistic. Once we arrive in Sukau we got lucky finding the first place available after a local recommendation.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Borneo: Sukau

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Amazing virgin rainforest in Brunei

We return from our exciting jungle adventure to Kota Kinabalu in time to meet Ruth who has flown in from Singapore. We spend the next day in KK and have a celebratory lunch for my birthday and a goodbye lunch for Carole who is heading back to Tasmania.

Ruth and I are quick to start the next adventure. We decide to travel to Kuching in Sarawak taking in Brunei travelling on local buses, on boats up and down rivers and on ferries across bays of the South China Sea. A distance of about 1000 miles. Borneo is huge - the third largest island after Australia and Greenland, and this way of travelling help us to appreciate the scale of the island and get a feel for the landscapes, the peoples and the cultures.

We are heading to Ulu Temburong National Park in Brunei to see some of the only remaining virgin rainforest in Borneo. The Park is reached only by river and is only accessed by local longboats. Having the largest oil reserves in SE Asia Brunei is wealthy and does not need to rape its rainforests for oil palm plantations.

Brunei is proud of its forest heritage. The forestry department, established in 1933, is dedicated to effectively managing the Sultanate's forests towards "attaining excellence in tropical forests" and ensuring that Brunei has a permanent managed forest estate covering at least 55% of the total land area. On World Forestry Day, 21 March, special prayers were said by the nation to express hope that Brunei's green forest will continue to be pristine and protected from natural disasters and threats of illegal logging.

We try to book to stay in Sumbiling Eco village just down river from the park. Borneo Guide travel company require prepayment but after spending all evening prior to departure trying to pay both our credit and debit cards are refused under their pay on line scheme. They then demand cash in advance - even though we promise faithfully to pay when we reach their office in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital.

There are only a few banks in Lawas just before the border and we spend a whole hour of the bus break trying but all 3 banks refuse to give enough cash. We cross borders and we are met in Bandar, a small village, by Ummi the guide at the Eco village. Her boss still demands prepayment but after another hour or so of trying (wifi-ing from her mobile to my iPad) Ruth's credit card is accepted. I am afraid our comments on TripAdviser will be very negative. (Even more annoying is that Nationwide credit card security stepped in and stopped my card as they considered all the failed attempts to be fraudulent!)

We stay in a wooden house on stilts to help keep the room cool on the banks of the Lambang River. Chicken and local green ferns from the forest for dinner. We wake at 5.15 to hear the dawn chorus and see the sunrise. Fish jump and skim the surface. Two hornbills fly over and the swiftlets fly low over the water to catch insects.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Amazing virgin rainforest in Brunei

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Complete Guide to Diving Sipadan Island

There’s only a few places on earth were you can see huge schools of whirling barracudas that engulf you, large sea turtles of different species, lurking sharks, and jammed-packed reef of angelfish, triggerfish, morays and gobies all in just one dive.

At Sipadan you will see this with every dive, many divers bring home stories of large turtles, bigger then a Volkswagen Beetle, or even stories of large groups of hammer head sharks coming up from the deep blue depths. There’s no wonder why Sipadan is recognized as the best diving in Malaysia and amongst the best in the world.

Sipadan Island is a marine paradise for divers tucked in the Celebes Sea, 35km south of Semporna off the coast of Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia and is internationally recognized amongst divers.  Unlike the other islands off Sabah’s coast, Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed. The island itself is covered in dense tropical rainforest and rimmed with stunning white sand beaches.

The location of Sipadan makes it the center of the richest marine habitat in the world, the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More than 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this ecosystem. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles and it is not unusual for a diver to see more than 20 turtles on each dive.

It also boasts a residential school of barracuda and big-eye trevally, which often gather in the thousands forming tornado-like formations, this being one of the highlights of every diver’s Sipadan trip. As if that is not enough, divers have the possibility of seeing pelagic species such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale shark; making each dive at Sipadan a thrilling event.

It is not only the big fish that amaze divers at Sipadan but the macro life is equally a highlight. Garden eels, leaf scorpion fish, mantis shrimps, fire gobies, and various pipefish are guaranteed at various dive sites. This diversity and abundance of marine life gives Sipadan its reputation of being one of the top five dive locations in the world.

The diving wonders of Sipadan are easily accessed from Mabul and Kapalai Islands. You are no longer able to stay directly on Sipadan Island, so if you wish to dive there you must stay on either Kapalai or Mabul and visiting Sipadan Island requires a permit. Since 2004 thee has been a daily limit on permits in an attempt to preserve and protect the island’s fragile ecosystem.

Permits are limited to 120 permits per day in total, meaning you should make arrangements far in advance if you wish to dive at Sipadan during your visit. The application for permits is done on your behalf by the dive shop you choose to dive with. The diving is quite good at the surrounding islands with more dive sites then you will be able to dive on a stay.

A recommended length of stay is 4-14 days and you may apply for multiple Sipadan permits, there is just no guarantee that you will get one. However, the minimum stay requirement for a chance to dive Sipadan is 4 days. Permits issued are only for Sipadan Island and you do not need a permit to dive around the other islands in the area.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Complete Guide to Diving Sipadan Island

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Higher prizes for Sabah International Dragon Boat Race

KOTA KINABALU: The total cash prize for the Sabah International Dragon Boat Race has been increased from last year’s RM47,750 to RM80,000 this year.

Organising chairperson Datuk Susan Wong said the event this year, which is held in conjunction with the dumpling festival, expects the participation of more than 112 teams.

Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Susan said the Sabah International Dragon Boat Race, organised by the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS), will be held at Likas Bay here from June 13 to 14

FCAS has again been entrusted with the responsibility of organising this event, she said, and expressed hope that the number of participants for this year will increase, as compared to last year.

“Last year, our inaugural dragon boat race attracted 112 teams, including foreign participants from Singapore, Brunei, Australia and the Philippines. This year, there will be participants from China,” she said, adding that they have contacted Guangdong Province’s Guang Zhou City, Huizhou City, Qingyuan City, Dongguan City, Foshan City, Jiangmen City, Taishan City and Hubei Province’s Wuhan City.

The prize money for the various categories now are the Sabah Head of State Trophy – RM10,000/RM5,000/RM2,000, the Sabah Chief Minister Trophy – RM4,000/RM2,000/RM1,000, the Sabah FCAS Dragon Trophy – RM8,000/RM4,000/RM2,000, the FCAS Trophy (USCCA, Mixed Team) – RM3,000/RM2,000/RM1,000, the FCAS Trophy (Men’s Team) – RM3,000/RM2,000/RM1,000, the FCAS Trophy (Mixed Team) – RM3,000/RM2,000/RM1,000, the Kinabalu Dragon Trophy (Junior Team) – RM3,000/RM2,000/RM1,000, the Kinabalu Dragon Trophy (Men’s Team) – RM3,000/RM2,000/RM1,000, the Kinabalu Dragon Trophy (Mixed Team) – RM3,000/RM2,000/RM1,000 and the Breast Cancer Survivor Trophy – RM3,000/RM2,000/RM1,000.

Susan also announced that the registration fee for this year’s dragon boat race has been increased from last year’s RM200 to RM300.

She disclosed that only the Sabah Head of State Trophy, Sabah FCAS Dragon Trophy, Breast Cancer Survivor Trophy, Kinabalu Dragon Trophy (Men’s Team), and Kinabalu Dragon Trophy (Mixed Team) are open to international teams.

The local Malaysian teams will participate in the Sabah Chief Minister Trophy and the Kinabalu Dragon Trophy (Junior Team) 20 years old and under. Besides this, there is also a special category for the Kota Kinabalu Chinese Community Associations, under the FCAS Trophy.

Continue reading at: Higher prizes for Sabah International Dragon Boat Race

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Artificial insemination to save Sabah Sumatran Rhinoceros

TUARAN: The Federal Government through the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment has contributed RM100,000 for a project to artificially inseminate Sumatran rhinoceros in Sabah.

Its minister, Datuk G Palanivel in announcing this yesterday, said the funding represents his ministry’s support for the project, which could be the last hope for preventing total extinction of the species.

“The Sumatran rhinoceros is the most ancient line species amongst the five living rhinoceros species, now on the brink of extinction. The only hope for the species now lies in bringing in as many individuals as possible into captivity, closely managed facilities, and to use advanced reproductive technologies,” he said.

He handed over the contribution to the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, represented by its deputy minister, Datuk Pang Yuk Ming, during the ASEAN Regional Forum Workshop on Combating Wildlife Trafficking at Shangri-la's Rasa Ria Resort here.

Palanivel said the project, if successful, would offer a glimmer of hope in saving the Sumatran Rhinoceros, which researchers believed are surviving only in very small numbers on Sumatra and Borneo.

The ministry, he said, applauded the Sabah State Government and its partners for their tireless effort to conserve this highly valued species.

He also informed that the ministry will present a paper on “Conservation Effort to Impede the Extinction of Sumatran Rhinoceros and Other Endangered Species” in the National Biodiversity Council, the highest government platform to discuss issues related to biodiversity conservation chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister.

He expressed hope that the paper would lead to a stronger collaborative partnership between the federal government and the state government of Sabah to ensure the continuity of the country’s natural heritage.

Continue reading at: Artificial insemination to save Sabah Sumatran Rhinoceros

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