New challenge at Borneo Golf Resort, Bongawan in December

KOTA KINABALU: Golfers around Sabah can expect a new golfing challenge at the Borneo Golf Resort (BGR), Bongawan, come December.

Entering the last phase of renovation, BGR president, Datuk CK Tan announced a ‘Reverse Course’ golf challenge on the Jack Nicklaus-designed greens.

“It is now 90 per cent completed,” Tan said, of the golf course which was formerly known as the Borneo Golf and Country Club (BGCC).

“I believe that golfers are excited to try the new greens.

It is exciting but challenging,” he said, adding that the renovation of the greens is completed and they are now awaiting the installation of ‘Tee boxes’.

He said this during a press conference at the Hyatt Regency Kinabalu in conjunction with the 2015 Open Golf Program which was jointly organized by BGR and Hyatt Regency Kinabalu of which proceeds of the event were donated to CSR activities and the Papar Middle School Hostel Project.

“This project began several months ago where, together with the general manager of BGR, Peter Tan, who is himself a veteran golfer, designed the greens.

Continue reading at: New challenge at Borneo Golf Resort, Bongawan in December

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5traveltheworld: Borneo: Part 1

Three months before we set off on our trip we stumbled across an Air Asia ‘flash sale’.

For around £200 return we could all fly from KL to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo; knowing we could be in KL at the right time we decided it was too good an opportunity to miss.

After snapping up the cheap fares we then thought very little about it until last month when we started researching the options for our time in Borneo.

At that stage it’s fair to say I started to doubt our earlier ‘let’s just book it’ attitude when faced with stories of long over-land journeys, trekking through rain forest infested with mutant insects and various tropical diseases, and staying in the most basic of back packer accommodation.

But today marks the end of our two weeks here and I can wholeheartedly say it has been a wonderful experience which I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat.

Our first few days were spent in the regional capital, Kota Kinabalu.

Tourists are usually drawn here for the diving opportunities in Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park.

For us it was more a case of that’s where the cheap flight came in to, but still, we decided it would be rather rude not to take a little boat out to a white sand beach and have a dip in the warm waters of the South China Sea.

The boats are much like taxis; we selected the two islands we wanted to visit and then were dropped off and picked up at an agreed time.

We also hired a couple of sets of snorkelling equipment in the hope that we could persuade the children to give it a go.

We spent a morning on the island of Manukan.

As we disembarked at the jetty we could immediately see shoals of fish in the water below.

Seeing how close to the shore the coral reef is gave the children the confidence to tackle the snorkelling.

Harriet in particular, took to it like- well, a fish to water, and spent an hour marvelling at the thousands of brightly coloured Nemo-like fish.

Even 3 year old Josie was able to stand knee deep and have silvery fish dart between her feet much to her delight.

We would be very limited in the luggage we could take on with us from KK (as everyone calls it).

The intention was to take one pull-along case and two small backpacks with enough clothes for a run of two lots of five days (we would have a chance to do washing half way in Sandakan). 

We did however need to make space in our bags for Halloween goodies.

Luckily KK has some great shopping malls so we were able to find some face paint and sweets to take on with us so the occasion could still be marked.

We were able to leave all the rest of our luggage in the hotel in KK where it would be securely stored for the ten days we were away.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: 5traveltheworld: Borneo: Part 1

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Back to Yourself in Borneo! - Riding down the river Rungan

There are 17,508 islands in Indonesia, and only 6,000 of them are inhabited. It still means, of course, lots of scope. One will consider the cultures of Java and Sumatra, the long-discovered Bali and all the rest depending on temperament.

But one should not forget Borneo, which is easily accessible from Jakarta by boat and daily flights to Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan, which is the southern part of Borneo. Among other things, Kalimantan is the home of the orangutan.

After the beach suntan has been won, the temple visited or the volcano seen, Borneo is where one can get back to nature at its arguably most natural and easily find one’s simian ancestry simply staring you in the face.

Kalimantan to the west, middle and the east largely comprises jungle that is subject to an extensive river network. This green and watery density is also the home of the Dyaks who still maintain their traditions, their longhouses and, despite all, their culture.

Alongside the Dyaks, of course, live the orangutans. One can trek the jungles to meet any and all of Kalimantan’s inhabitants, but a rather more practical way is to explore and meet them by boat.

Enter Gaye Thavisin and Lorna Dowson-Collins, two ladies who have long been determined to make tourism more than, well, just tourism. It has been reasoned that people will be fascinated by jungle travel because time would appear to be running out and the remote spots of our planet must be seen soon or perhaps never.

The River Rungan

The operation run by Gaye and Lorna comprises three river boats suitable for exploration of as much as 100 kilometres to the upper reaches of the River Rungan. Three Dyak villages are visited and local guides will take one through them, giving explanations in commendable English.

Excursions can be booked from one to four days. A river trip includes a transfer to canoes to explore the tributary oxbow lake system. This will bring one even closer to your already accelerating heartbeat and to hear the eerie silence suddenly shattered by a horrifying screech as a creature unseen gives vent to some jungle frustration.

Also to be seen are the spectacularly marked clouded leopard and the sun bear, both of which are classified “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

In residence are members of the Tarsiidae family, which are any of the several nocturnal arboreal prosimian primates of Indonesia and the Philippines, having huge eyes, long hind legs, and digits ending in pads to facilitate climbing. Long-tailed macaques and forest squirrels are also at home there.

The watery channels through the jungle enables one to undertake some spectacular bird-watching - above all several varieties of hornbills - one of them the oriental pied hornbill (most likely to have emitted the screech), Brahminy kites, stork-billed kingfishers, ibises and coucals.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Back to Yourself in Borneo! - Riding down the river Rungan

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Safe habitats for sea turtles to thrive need to be created

SEMPORNA: There is a dire need to create safe habitats for sea turtles to thrive and survive from predators and not lose their food supply, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Enviroment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.

“Sea turtles are like humans. They also face challenges of global warming. A study has shown that warmer weather pushes ocean creatures like these turtles to find new homes in cooler waters.

“Many of the people may not realize that climate change can move the food source and phytoplankton being the tiny single cell plants that make the base chain of all life in the ocean to thrive in the right condition,” he said.

Masidi’s speech was delivered by his assistant minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming when officially launching the Third Borneo Divers’ Celebration of Sea Turtles 2015 in Mabul here yesterday.

Also present was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Borneo Divers, Datuk Admund Looh.

“Located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, the crystal clear waters of Sabah are abundant with marine life.

From the richest diversity of hard and soft corals, colourful sponges, to the huge variety of fish-life and sea turtles to be found amongst our reefs.

We are indeed blessed with a plethora of marine biodiversity at our fingertips.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Safe habitats for sea turtles to thrive need to be created

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Sabah committed to protecting biodiversity, ecosystem

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah remains committed to protecting its biodiversity and ecosystem, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

He disclosed that to date over 21 per cent of the state’s land are gazetted as Totally Protected Areas (TPAs), arguably the largest in Malaysia.

This percentage exceeds the International Union for Conservation of Nature target of 10 per cent and even the Convention on Biological Diversity target of 17 per cent of various types of ecosystems.

“We are on track to expand the size of our TPAs to 30 per cent of Sabah’s land mass within a decade,”he said when officiating at the International Conference on Bridging Heart of Borneo (HoB) Landscapes and Beyond through Healthy Watershed Corridors held here yesterday.

Musa said that both the federal and state governments are placing efforts in the conservation of natural ecosystems and biodiversity which is reflected in the government’s commitment to various initiatives such as the Heart of Borneo and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Malaysia’s commitment biodiversity management is strengthened through the country’s involvement in various multilateral environmental agreements and regional conservation initiatives, he added.

According to him, the State Government through the Sabah Forestry Department has always been committed to the HOB initiative and has in fact designated about four million hectares of the state’s landmass, mainly comprising important inland and highland forest ecosystems, as part of this programme.

The initiative is very much in line with the mission of the Sabah Forestry Department to plan and implement management of the state’s forest resources in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management, incorporating biodiversity conservation, Musa stressed.

HoB member countries, according to Musa, recognise the interconnection of forests, wetlands and coral reefs, and the necessity to maintain ecological corridors between terrestrial and marine biodiversity.

“The health of watershed corridors between the HoB landscapes and reefs are vital to ensure that clean water reaches the people, and also to wetlands and marine ecosystems where wildlife is abundant.

Likewise, lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands within HoB landscapes and beyond are indispensable for supporting life, and must be conserved and restored. The earthquake in June this year has not only affected livelihoods of those living within and adjacent to the highlands of Mount Kinabalu, but has also severely affected rivers and water sources.

“While this was a natural disaster, we should draw lessons that reasons such as poor management of resources have an adverse impact on our environment,” he said.

Musa said another contribution the success of Sabah’s efforts in conservation is the commitment to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

There are six Ramsar sites in Malaysia and the Lower Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands in Sabah is the largest covering three forest reserves, he said, adding that a 10-year management plan has been jointly formulated by the State Government through Sabah Biodiversity Centre, Natural Resources Office and Forestry Department in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to manage this site.

Continue reading at: Sabah committed to protecting biodiversity, ecosystem

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