Sabah tourism wants wetlands river cruise operations standardised

KOTA KINABALU: It will probably be better if one main entity is put in charge of river cruise tourism offering views of fireflies and the Proboscis monkeys among others, in Klias and Weston off Beaufort.

This was because it could help centralise management and the operations while providing standard guidelines and policies that could ensure the sustainability of the activities there.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said there were too many operators doing the same promotions and activities at these places currently.

“There is no clear guideline or policy on how best to go about bringing tourists here,” he said after attending the Elephant Film Festival here on Saturday.

Most tourists went to Klias and Weston, and even Labuk (Sandakan) to sightsee and watch the fireflies and Proboscis monkeys.

However, the guides had different views and rules for the tourists, with some detrimental to the ecosystem there.

As such, Pang said he would like to call upon all the operators and players in these areas to discuss this matter.

“It would be feasible if one entity, say the local communities there, fully manage and take care of the Klias and Weston tourism activities,” he said.

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Sabah’s first railway station proposed as historical heritage site

KOTA KINABALU: Assistant Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Kamarlin Ombi yesterday proposed that Bukau in Beaufort be made into a historical heritage site since this was where the first railway station in Sabah was established.

Speaking to reporters after launching Railway Gallery at the Sabah State Museum near here yesterday, Kamarlin said although signs of the rail tracks were no longer there, a small gallery could be erected to show this data so that the facts would become known to the future generation.

He added that this would be an asset and would help promote tourism activities at the area.

He also said the Sabah Museum planned to gazette the Melalap Railway Station into a heritage site sometime this year.

Earlier, Kamarlin said the railway services in Sabah was introduced by the British North Borneo Chartered Company.

He said the construction of the railway track in Sabah, which was then known as North Borneo, started in 1896 and was spurred by the production of tobacco and rubber in the 1880s throughout the early 1890s.

The managing director then, William Clarke Cowie, who was responsible for starting the construction, believed that the construction of the railway tracks would encourage the opening of more commercial plantations.

The work began in 1896, with the construction of the tracks from Beaufort to Weston by English engineer Arthur J. West. This track was completed in 1900, and was followed by the construction of the 90-kilometre track from Beaufort to Jesselton which was handled by a British firm, George Pauling and Company.

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The Magic of Light at Weston River

Sabah has many beautiful places which are only reserved for people actively seeking for them. I noticed Weston when I saw many stunning sunset photos of Weston being shared everywhere on Facebook and Twitter. That’s why I traveled 125 Kilometers from Kota Kinabalu to Weston town last month, to see the magical moment with my eyes. However, I find more interesting things than a nice sunset.

Weston the Historical Town

Named after a railway engineer, Arthur J. West in 1889, Weston town was an important meeting point for trains and ships, due to its strategic location back in the old days of British colony era. Today it becomes just another “remote” Sabah town between Beaufort and Sipitang. Few knows that Weston is the town which North Borneo Railway first constructed.

Probably one of the oldest wooden school of Borneo, Che Hwa school is a two-storey building constructed in 1932, and funded by donations from timber tycoons, charcoal merchants and shopkeepers of Chinese community*. In 1930s, many Chinese lived in Weston, the period when Weston was a key hub. Now this school has only 5 teachers and 7 students.

Weston River was used to be called “Jump-Jump” River because of the mudskippers here. In late afternoon, you would see many villagers gather around the boardwalk, fishing and playing RC speedboats there.

British government abandoned Weston port when they learnt that the shallow water of Weston is unfit as a deep sea wharf. Now this jetty is a favorite spot for local anglers.

Weston Jaafar River Lodge

The lodge is a 2-storey wooden building built on riverside and surrounded by dense Nypa palm (or Nipah). Nipah swamp forest, which has existed over 70 million years, is one of the oldest forest type in the world.

River Safari & Wildlife

It was around 5pm after we were done with tea break, everyone couldn’t wait to start the river cruise. The cool thing about wildlife sighting here is – we don’t even need to move our legs to look for animals.

Weston River is part of the largest wetland (Klias Peninsula) in Sabah. Wetland is a generic term that covers different aqua-ecologies such as coastal areas, river, lakes, mangrove, peat swamp, nypa swamp, etc., and it is the important habitat for some endangered Borneo wildlife such as Proboscis Monkey.

Very soon our guide spotted a saltwater crocodile taking a nap on the muddy river bank. It is about 3 Meters in length.

Couple of months ago, a 1-Meter crocodile was found in city drain and made news headline. Haha, compared to this beast, that city croc looks more like a gecko. FYI, crocodile never ceases growing throughout its life, it can reach massive size if it lives long enough.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: The Magic of Light at Weston River

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Extinct tropical raintree species discovered in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Foresters are excited about the discovery of three tropical raintree species that were thought to be extinct in Sabah.

The rare dipterocarp species, known locally as Keruing Jarang was found in the Siangau Forest Reserve, near the coastal town of Weston, about 100km from here.

The discovery was made during a survey of the area by a research team from the Forestry Department.

In a statement here yesterday, Sabah Forestry director Datuk Sam Mannan said the species Dipterocarpus lamellatus was last recorded at Beaufort Hill in 1955.

The only other record was from Labuan in 1951.

The island today is virtually devoid of any natural dry land forests, said Mannan.

“It is a very exciting development for us,” he added, saying the research team also encountered four other rare dipterocarps in the reserve.

The survey was part of a statewide inventory by the Forestry Department to determine the conservation status of dipterocarps in Sabah, he said.

Forest botanist John Sugau said that of the 267 species of dipterocarps known to exist on Borneo island, 183 were found in Sabah.

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Sabah River Safari - Garama, Klias or Weston?

From Lost Borneo blog:

One of the most popular day tours for tourists to Kota Kinabalu is the River Safari Tour.

For those who can’t make it to the East Coast of Sabah, the River Safari gives visitors to Kota Kinabalu the best chance to see wildlife in its natural surroundings. The tour starts around 2pm when tourists are picked up from their hotel for a 2-hour car ride to a river jetty.

The river cruise begins from about 4.30pm and lasts until the sun sets and the sky turns dark. During the evening cruise, the main attraction will be the proboscis monkey, a primate with a huge pendulous nose found only in Borneo. At night, the attention turns to the beautiful lights of the fireflies that dot the trees by the river side. It is one of the best day tours in Kota Kinabalu and should not be missed.

What few tourists know though is that there are actually 3 rivers that are currently being used by tour operators and while all 3 rivers offer almost the same thing, that is proboscis monkeys and fireflies, in truth, they are very different, and would affect how much the tourists enjoy the tour, depending on what they would like to see most.

Almost all tour operators never specify the name of the river that they are going to, and even if they do name the river, you might actually be taken to a different place instead. So, it is very important that you INSIST on where you want to go if you have a particular river in mind.

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Spectacular Weston

WESTON: The craving for the best fishing ground was what first led Eric Tan and friends to Weston, an old laid-back town nestled in mangrove, riverine and gymnostoma swamp forest some miles south of Beaufort.

Fish talk led them to one Haji Jaafar, and soon the group hired a boat for a ride along the Si Jam Jam river.

“I felt the serenity and tranquillity and I knew that there was no turning back,” said Eric, a fishing enthusiast and businessman.

The Weston Association is extensive in bays and estuaries and with it hundreds of proboscis monkeys, various other types of monkeys like the macaque and silver langours, monitor lizards, giant mudskippers, smooth otters, flying foxes and snakes, crocodiles, kingfishers, egrets, eagles, and a whole range of birds and other wildlife.

Continue reading (Incl. pic) at: Spectacular Weston