WARNING!!! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE A LOT OF PICTURES OF TROPICAL FISH AND CUTE MONKEYS, STOP READING NOW!!! (I couldn't stop uploading)
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| White Sand Beaches on Sapi Island |
DAY 3:
We awoke on Saturday morning anxious to indulge in some much-deserved R&R. We booked a ferry ride with Borneo Travel and made our way to the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, 3 kilometers off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. Our first stop was Sapi Island (Pulau Sapi) a rugged jungle island lined with idyllic white sand beaches and shallow coral reefs.
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| JUMPING!!!, Kinabalu! |
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| The Boys enjoy some sun, surf and snorkeling |
The sapphire-hued waters lapped against the shores as we stripped down to our bathing suits and affixed our snorkel masks firmly onto our faces. We plunged into the salty sea which was about as warm as bath water and i began to kick my way out toward the coral reefs. After only a few meters we were surrounded by stunning corals and tropical fish of all different shapes and colours.
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| Big Clown Fish |
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| kissing angel fish |
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| Parrot fish in the corals |
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| Blue Starfish hugging the corals |
After an hour or two, my hands were good and wrinkly so I floated toward land and came face to face with a monster dragon!!!! Well not quite. Although Komodo Dragons are permanent residents on Sapi Island, we were told that the four foot visitor we encountered was actually a monitor lizard, a close relative of the famous Komodo. We were told by our guide that the monitor was not likely dangerous to humans, but they have been known to get vicious when threatened. Needless to say, after seeing his claws and jaws, we kept a safe distance.
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| Monitor Lizard comes out for lunch |
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| Beaches on Mamutik Island |
Just before noon, we hopped back on our speed boat and made our way to Mamutik Island for a seafood BBQ. It was quite a delectable spread, featuring everything from fresh crab to tofu to corn on the cob to fried chicken. Concerned that I would be weighed down my feast, we took a quick walk along the beach before heading back into the water. We climbed over the rocks on the northeast side of the island to get a better view of the islands and spotted another sizable lizard basking in the hot sun.
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| Nicole and Jesse explore the reef |
It wasn't long before we were all baking as well and so we jumped back into the ocean, our masks and waterproof cameras in hand. The waters around Mamutik were not quite as clear as around Sapi, but the schools of fish were equally as vibrant, and if possible, more abundant! I swam until my legs reminded me that they had climbed a mountain the previous day, which coincidentally was not long before our guide indicated that our boat was departing for the mainland. We hopped on board fully satisfied by our day of sun.
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Finding Nemo!! |
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schools of clownfish
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| This cover band had mad talent! (the girl in particular) |
After our exhausting day of sunbathing, we felt that we needed to unwind and so we sought out a spa for full body massages and food reflexology. For about $25 Canadian, we received an hour and a half rubdown and emerged relaxed and tension free. We had a traditional Malaysian dinner along the waterfront at a place claiming to be "the spot where all the locals eat". They served fresh squeezed juices and rich flavourful curries along with some delicious vegetable and noodle platters and by the end we were so full that we almost didn't have room for ice cream. Almost. We finished the night off with a walk through the local market and a trip to our favourite outdoor bar near our hotel for some sheesha and some live music.
DAY 4:
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| Crowds at the Sunday Gaya Street Market |
We awoke late(ish) on Sunday morning and after breakfast wandered aimlessly through the unimpressive Gaya Street market. It wasn't a complete waste of time since Nicole and I scored some sweet sarongs for dirt cheap and Mike bought a pendant to send home to his girlfriend. Mike had to depart at noon so he could make his flight home in time to make Monday classes, but the rest of us still had a full day of exploring left, so we arranged a trip down the Klias River near Beaufort to see Borneo's jungles and wetlands and hopefully catch a glimpse of the strange-looking proboscis monkeys, found only in Borneo.
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| Making our way down the Klias River |
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| The impressive roots of the Mangrove Tree |
We had only been on the boat for a few minutes when the driver directed our attention to a couple tall trees swaying rapidly back and forth. I looked up just in time to see one female proboscis fling herself from one branch and latch on to a limb fifteen feet below. We hung around long enough to get some good pictures and then continued down the river. The waters were muddy and lined with mangrove trees and thick palm branches, and we were advised to keep our hands inside the boat as the river is also home to 15 foot crocodiles.
We spotted many more proboscis monkeys as we made our way down the river and also saw a tree full of Long-tailed Macaques running back and forth along the branches. By dusk, the silhouettes of monkeys could be seen in a number of the taller trees as we made our way back to the launching site for dinner. We were lucky enough even to see a couple of male proboscis monkeys with their long, oddly shaped noses that are thought to help the males attract females and ward off intruders with their warning calls. According to Wikipedia, a common Indonesian nickname for these monkeys is 'monyet belanda', meaning 'Dutch monkey' or 'Orang Belanda', the Indonesian word for 'Dutchman', as Indonesians noticed that large bellies and noses were common features of the Dutch Colonizers.
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Tree full of monkeys at dusk
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We sat down to a rather unappetizing dinner (one of my first disappointing meals this whole trip!!) at the boat launch and then headed back out on the boat to catch a glimpse of the fireflies in the Mangrove trees. I have to admit to being slighltly skeptical at first about the level of entertainment this extra trip would provide, but the little lightning bugs turned out to be quite a magnificent sight!! The fireflies sparkled in mangrove trees along the river banks making the already majestic trees seem positively magical. It really was like something out of Avatar and we made plenty of references to the "spirit tree". |
After conquering the mountains, oceans, rivers, jungles and cities, we said goodbye to Borneo still feeling like we had only just scratched the surface of this awesome island.
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