Kudat district at the north of Sabah has some finest beaches of Borneo. For example, Tip of Borneo (a.k.a. Tanjung Simpang Mengayau) is a popular tourist destination due to its breathtaking beach and sea view. If you ask the locals in Kudat town, they would recommend Bak Bak Beach (Local Name: Pantai Bak Bak) too, which is the nearest beach to Kudat (11 KM away to the north).
New landmark sign of Bak Bak Beach (Pantai Bak Bak), installed in 2023
Pic: panoramic photo of Bak-Bak Beach
To go to the beach, you will pass by the junction to Bak Bak Beach (Note the signage reads “Jalan Bak-Bak” at your right, see the location map of the junction), when you are on the way to the Tip of Borneo. After 4 KM, you will see the beautiful Bak Bak Beach (See Location Map of Bak Bak Beach).
Local Chinese calls Bak Bak Beach “石码头海滩”, which means Rock Jetty. It is a rocky beach, but I didn’t see any jetty though. I read somewhere that mentions Bak Bak Beach was used to be a busy port in the past. We enjoyed the gentle sea breeze under the shades of swaying casuarina trees.
The sea water is crystal clear and shallow, and seem like you can walk all the way 100 Meters away from shore. During high tide, it is great for swimming. If you really want white sandy beach, you can continue to drive 4 KM along the road. When you come to a junction, turn to right and you will reach a deserted beach named Pasir Putih (means white sand) after 400 Meters. Pasir Putih is a more inviting spot for swimmers.
Am I your cup of tea?
The beach had a facelift in early 2023 and added some colourful decoration and photo booth structure at the beach. There is a restaurant that is open from 11am to 5pm. Public toilet is available too.
We visited the beach in Saturday noon and it was quiet, only one family hanging around with kids. We learn later that this place is only crowded with locals on weekends. Anyway, looking at the shelters, tables and barbecue areas, Bak Bak Beach is also a nice site for picnic and dating.
Door to the Bak Bak Beach?
Have you been to Bak Bak Beach? Please tell me more about it in comment section below.
Tanjung Aru Beach has one of the most beautiful sunset views in the world, and it is also the most photographed beach of Sabah. Situated between Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa and Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), this 2.3-Kilometre-long beach is divided into first, second and third beach. First Beach is the favourite spot where locals and tourists hang around for the wonderful sunset view and a walk on the sandy beach.
Hundreds of locals and tourists gathered at Tanjung Aru Beach for the sunset
8 Cool Things about Tanjung Aru Beach
Allow me to share with you 8 special things about Tanjung Aru Beach, even some locals don’t know.
The famous fire cloud of Tanjung Aru sunset. This photo was taken with mobile phone and not Photoshopped.
Probably KK is located near equator, which receives the most sunlight, and our air is high in humidity but not polluted. Such conditions create fire or flaming cloud during sunset, which is what Tanjung Aru Beach most famous for. The sky, sea and cloud are illuminated by vibrant shades of red, yellow, pink, purple and orange light.
Different colours of Tanjung Aru sunset
Tips for Hunting the Best Sunset
First, you really need some luck, because you have less than 20% chance of seeing a fire cloud sunset. It’s totally up to the weather. Most of the time you would be disappointed by cloudy or rainy days. Even if the weather is good, sunset with golden or orange hue is more common, but still, they are glorious.
“Sunsets are just little glimpses of the golden streets of heaven.”
Usually a sunny and cloudless day produces boring sunset. For a colourful sunset, based on my observation, it is more likely to happen after a rain that fills the air with more moisture and clean up the dust in air. This rain must stop before 4pm and its cloud thin out and disperses to 30% to 50% of cloud cover. If there is no dense cloud at the horizon that blocks the sunlight to project to the cloud during sunset, the cloud and humid air will act as the canvas to paint a magnificent flaming sunset.
Sunset without cloud is a bit boring
Depend on the day of the year, sunset of KK occurs between 5:56pm to 6:34pm (check sunset time here). This is common sense to locals. But in other countries, for example, sunset of England can start as early as 4pm. Just be there before 5:30pm so you won’t miss anything. It takes time to find parking space there during weekends.
Cloudy sunset at third beach of Tanjung Aru
Don’t leave right after the sun sinks below the horizon. Within minutes, another magic moment called afterglow will appear, it’s a broad arch of reddish or pinkish sunlight in the sky that is scattered by fine particulates suspended in the atmosphere. The colors can be very intense.
Ask anyone in KK, both young and old generations, I bet 99% of them had a date at Tanjung Aru Beach before. The sandy beach, pleasing sea breeze, soothing sea waves, rustling pine trees, and the nice view of islands compose a sentimental love song played in your heads. Then a stunning sunset will further fuel the fire in your hearts. Thousands of love stories may have started at this beach.
Tanjung Aru Beach is also a “Pak-Tor” (Dating) place
After sharing the romantic moment, the couples could continue their business in the car. Just kidding, but people do see shaking cars at 3rd beach after dark sometimes. Tanjung Aru Beach is also a renowned location for taking wedding photos. The married couples would bring their children to this beach for a family picnic.
Family enjoys quality time at Tanjung Aru Beach during sunset
3. Prince Philip Park
Prince Philip, who is also known as the Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, visited Jesselton (now KK) in 1959. The Prince Philip Park at Tanjung Aru First Beach is named after him to commemorate his first visit to Borneo.
Tanjung Aru is named after the casuarina tree. Casuarina is widely used as a bonsai subject and has a life span of 40 to 50 years.
Did you know that Tanjung Aru is named after the casuarina trees (species: Casuarina equisetifolia) there? In Malay language, Tanjung means Cape and Aru means casuarina tree. The seashore of Tanjung Aru Beach is lined with a belt of shady casuarina trees, some are over half a century old. The common names of casuarina tree include beach casuarina, beach oak, beach pine, whistling tree, horsetail tree, and Australian pine.
The tiny cones of casuarina tree will only germinate in full sun, so casuarinas are the pioneer trees of newly formed sandy beaches.
Casuarina tree is the most common tree in Prince Philip Park. It has needle-like twigs and distinctive cones, and is often planted as a wind break and erosion control in the poor sandy soil along coastline. The wood of casuarina tree can be used for roof shingles, fencing, and it is considered the best firewood in the world.
The beautiful trees in Prince Philip Park of Tanjung Aru Beach
You can find many other types of coastal trees in Prince Philip Park. Though this park is under minimal maintenance, tree huggers will be pleased to spot some special trees, for example, fig trees such as Ficus microcarpa, Ficus caulocarpa and Ficus caulocarpa. A Ficus racemosa tree, or Red River Fig (Local name: Tangkol), same species as the Nunuk Ragang tree, the birth tree of Kadazandusun races in legend, grows in the car park of the Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa. Fig tree can fruit throughout the year, so it’s a stable food source for birds and wildlife. To know more, you may visit borneoficus.info (The magnificent fig trees of Tanjung Aru beach).
There are many old trees at Tanjung Aru Second Beach. This is my childhood beach too.
4. Birdwatching Site
You would be surprised to know that Tanjung Aru beach is a great bird watching site for beginners. The lush and dense beach forest there attracts a myriad of birds, especially in flowering and fruiting time. The best time for birding is in early morning.
Blue-napped parrot of Tanjung Aru Beach. They nest in tree holes of casuarina trees.
The most noticeable bird are the noisy Blue-naped parrots (Species: Tanygnathus lucionensis), which make loud and harsh sounds when they see strangers, yes, you. Blue-naped parrots is a pretty green bird that kept by many as pet because of its ability to mimic and repeat common words. They are threatened in the Philippines but find a safe habitat in our beach. About a population of 20 to 30 Blue-naped parrots live in Tanjung Aru Beach, where they can nest in the tree holes of Casuarina trees.
An Oriental pied hornbill attracted by the fig fruit at Tanjung Aru Beach
Another special bird is Oriental Pied Hornbill. Actually they live in Gaya Island but attracted by the fruiting Ficus drupacea. Before the Second World War, Pied Hornbills were common at Tanjung Aru Beach. In migratory months (Sep to Jan), rare visitors such as Chinese egret and Honey Buzzard would land in Tanjung Aru Beach.
Birds of Tanjung Aru Beach. From top to bottom, left to right: Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Copper-throated Sunbird, Long-tailed Parakeet, and Crested Myna
Other birds you could spot in Tanjung Aru Beach are Crested Myna, Dollarbird, Munia, Collared Kingfisher, White-breasted Woodswallow, Java Sparrow, Sunbird, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Long-tailed Parakeet, Spotted Dove, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Green Imperial Pigeon, etc. Do bring a binocular to the beach for a National Geographic experience.
5. Residents on the Beach
Tanjung Aru Beach is part of wild nature, and parents always have problem to answer their kids what they see on the beach. For those who take a stroll on the beach, it’s hard not to notice millions of tiny sand balls on the wet sand, and dozens of critters running into burrows whenever you approach. This is the work of tiny ball-shaped sand bubbler crab (Species: Scopimera globosa), which is only 1 to 1.5cm in size and commonly seen on sandy shores.
Piles of tiny sand balls made by sand bubbler crabs. The crabs work radially from the entrance to their burrows. The tiny sand balls are processed sand.
The sand bubbler crab feeds on the detritus and plankton in sand grains. They scoop the sand to their mouthparts with pincers, filter the edible particles and discard the sifted sand as pellets balls piled up on both side of its feeding path near the burrow.
Ok, you might not be so interested in sand bubbler crab because they are not food. Time to introduce a delicious seafood buried under the sand of Tanjung Aru Beach. It’s locally known as sapak clam (沙白蚬 or 沙白螺 in Chinese), Kunau, or Dalus. Its scientific name is Meretrix meretrix (Common Name: Asiatic hard clam).
Locals harvest the Meretrix / Sapak clams in the sand of Tanjung Aru Beach. This clam is a delicious seafood.
This clam has smooth and ceramic-like thick shells, mostly in white or brown colour. It is one of the favourite seafood for locals and tourists because of its tender meat and rich flavors. You can cook it in soup, or fry it with ginger and Chinese wine. Meretrix clam is easy to catch. However, it’s a filter feeder, so the one harvested from the polluted shore would contain heavy metals (not recommended for pregnant women), it’s also a banned seafood during red tide (toxic algae blooming).
Left: Tanjung Aru Second Beach during low tide. Right: Excreted deposit from a sand worm (lugworm)
During low tide in Tanjung Aru Beach, you would find marine lives such as octopus, starfish, sand dollar and jellyfish stranded in tide pools, besides anemone and corals.
6. Standup Paddleboarding (SUP)
The islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park shield the sea from strong waves so the water is relatively calm at Tanjung Aru Beach. I recommended you to try Standup Paddleboarding (SUP), a fun way to view the sunset. According to a SUP trainer, there is a sand bar out in the sea (near Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa) where you can reach Tanjung Aru Reef, with many good quality corals growing around. Nemo also lives there.
Sunset stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) at Tanjung Aru Beach
The 2-hour sunset SUP session starts at 5pm and cost about RM120 (about USD30) per person. You can contact Borneo Paddle Monkeys to book the session. Below is their contact: Website:www.borneopaddlemonkeys.com Facebook:BorneoPaddleMonkeys Location: Kinabalu Yacht Club, Tanjung Aru Beach, Kota Kinabalu E-mail:borneopaddlemonkeys@gmail.com Tel / WhatsApp:+60 17-8172001 WeChat and KakaoTalk ID: nickboura
7. Pokémon GO (Mobile AR Game)
Pokémon GO (mobile game) took the world by storm in 2016. From Aug 2016 to 2017, Tanjung Aru Beach was a hot spot to play Pokemon GO because it’s the best hunting spot for rare Pokémon such as Pikachu, Lapras and Dratini. During peak time, hundreds of players flooded the beach every day until 2am morning. I was also one of the hardcore players. You have no idea how thrilled I was when I caught my first Lapras and shiny Magikarp there. My fingers were shaking when I threw Poké Balls to catch them.
Pikachu and shiny Magikarp caught at Tanjung Aru First Beach
Though the Pokémon fever is fading, I still miss the good old time grinding at Tanjung Aru Beach. Now there are five EX Raid Gym within 500-Metre radius of Tanjung Aru Beach. This turns Tanjung Aru Beach into a war zone for players who want to get an invitation to fight and catch Mewtwo, one of the strongest Pokémon.
PokéStop and Gym of Tanjung Aru Beach. The shiny Lapras is my buddy.
8. Food Stalls
In late afternoon, Tanjung Aru First Beach turns into a bustling places where people shop for local snacks and drink such as coconut juice, lekor crackers, steamed peanut, sweet corn, coconut juice, satay and chicken wing from the makeshift open market, as if they are buying popcorn before the movie, in this case, sunset.
How to get there
Tanjung Aru Beach is only 6 KM away from Kota Kinabalu city and highly accessible. The GPS location of the First Beach is 5.947860267578396, 116.0465472827347 (view Location Map or Street View). You can drive there with the aid of navigation mobile apps such as Waze and Google Map (set Where to as “Tanjung Aru First Beach”). You can hire a Grab driver with your smartphone too.
Layout and concept of Tanjung Aru Eco Development project
TAED promises that 25.5% of the total land area (348.14 hectares) will be allocated as free public space, where we can access or enjoy, to list a few, double-sized Prince Philip Park with rainforest theme, Prince Philip Wharf, a larger and rejuvenated beach, cycling track, beachfront park, canal boardwalk, and canal basin. Sound like a good deal. I only don’t like the proposed 18-hole golf course, which has nothing to do with “eco”.
Photos from the Tanjung Aru Beach before food court was removed
Tanjung Aru Beach belongs to everyone, personally I don’t oppose any development that will benefit the locals and environment. Tanjung Aru Beach doesn’t deserve to look like an underdeveloped beach of third world, consider it brings in so many international tourist$. Anyway, hope the facelift will make Tanjung Aru Beach the pride and joy of Sabahans.
Photos taken in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
I have been super busy in last two months and worked overtime almost every weekends to complete a few projects. Finally I can resume my regular blogging soon (yeah~). Before that, I would like to share a news. Very few people know that Sabah has good surfing locations. If you love water sport, this event is worth to check out. When you are free, just drop by and experience something new ok. ^_^
The Sabah Surfing Association is once again bringing you the Rip Curl Presents Borneo Surf Festival 2015. Nexus Resort and Spa Karambunai will again play host to the event on the 18th through to the 20th December 2015. This year strong support from Rip Curl, Oakley and Atlas Sound & Vision who are making this year’s event bigger and better.
The Surf Competition this year will be available to 56 contestants in 3 categories, the Men Open, Women Open and Under 16 Open for surfers from all over the world.
Muhammad Hj. Sulaiman eyeing the section. Photo by Charles Mawan
A new addition to the festival is Tamu Pantai (Beach Bazaar). A bazaar will feature locally made handicrafts and products to better represent the beautiful arts and craft of the state of Sabah. A stage within the bazaar will be a platform to showcase local performers and fun activities. This year the Festival hopes to attract over 2000 festival goers along with the in house guests, more than double the attendees for last year’s event.
Jeaner Alex, the winner for the men category being hosted by the other finalist. Photo by Charles Mawan
There will be surf clinics, free surf movie screening and loads of fun filled activities for the family to enjoy. And if you’re feeling a bit more generous, the Association will be running a blood donation drive with the help of Malaysian Blood Bank from the Ministry of Health Malaysia. While you’re at it, donors could register with the Association annual fee free 🙂
The crowd lined up along the sea wall. Photo by Charles Mawan
Whenever people talk about forest conservation, they would think that only the inland rainforest is worth protecting. Malaysian estate developers love to build condominium and resorts along seaside, as the sea view property is more marketable. As a result, there are very few pristine “beach forest” (coastal forest) left in Sabah, and most of us don’t know that the coastal forest of Borneo is also an important part of our forest ecology matrix.
Pic: Tumunong Hallu is at the coast of Darvel Bay, far behind is Mt. Silam.
Tumunong Hallu Conservation Area, which is along the coast of Darvel Bay, Lahad Datu (see location map), is one of the best examples of Borneo coastal forest and the first coastal conservation area. This 5.8-KM² fully protected forest is managed by Yayasan Sabah Foundation for research and education purposes. They consider opening the area for tourism too in future, as the beautiful beaches there are suitable for recreational activities. For now, it is a hidden treasure.
Thanks to Bike and Tours, I learnt about Tumunong Hallu last year. Tumunong Hallu is about 20 KM from Lahad Datu town and accessible by road, but we go by boat so we could cruise around the islands of Darvel Bay. We saw mangrove forest, water villages, fish farms and fishing platform on the way.
Then a marine police patrol approached our boat. I sweated a bit because I thought we entered the restricted area.
Well, it happens that they know our boatman and would like him to help sending something to Tumunong Hallu, phew…
I also saw a lot of fishermen and fishing structure named Selambau (see photo below). Seem like everyone lives in Darvel Bay fish for a living.
Pic: Selambau fishing structure built by Sea Bajau fishermen
The Beach of Tumunong Hallu
After an hour, we arrived the beach of Tumunong Hallu.
Pic: Tumunong Hallu and its beautiful sea water.
Since you can view the following photos, I don’t need to write too much to describe how inviting and tranquil the sea water is…
The seabed is rocky with layer of smooth silt, and the beach is covered by dark sand, all these are the characteristics of forested beach.
Besides the land, Tumunong Hallu also includes the sea area with rich marine biodiversity such as coral reef, and two nearby islands, i.e. Saranga and Tabun Islands, into its 1,600-Hectare conservation area.
Pic: shelter and kitchen near the beach. This place is nice for camping too.
Pic: The shore is carpeted by lush Silam grass.
Hiking
The researches show that Tumunong Hallu has 81 plant species comprising coastal and inland vegetation. The best way to explore the interesting mixture of mangrove and dipterocarp forest here is by jungle trekking.
We tried the shorter nature trail that is only 3 KM one way (then taking a boat back to starting point). If you have more time, you can hike the longer trail to the hilltop, which takes 4 to 5 hours, to have a nice view of the beach and forest.
Two forestry rangers, Yapdi and Azwan, were accompanying us and share some interesting facts about this forest. The trail is easy to walk and the jungle is not warm and humid as the rainforest, due to the sea breeze.
The soil here is quite fertile, evidenced by a big earthworm I found on forest floor.
Pic: we took a short climb to Ara Viewpoint, which is a knoll near to a beach.
There was strong scent of Kayu Malam tree in the air of this slope. This wood is a famous aphrodisiac among local ladies if I’m not mistaken.
Pic: Nova cooling off on Ara Viewpoint. Note the dense Pandanus trees at her background.
Pic: nice sight from Ara Viewpoint
We also checked out the Nunuk Beach not far away.
Pic: Nunuk Beach
Pic: a lonely mangrove tree
The coastal forest is not just a collection of dull trees. Among mangrove, seaside hill and beach forests, there are some interesting and unique trees, such as the Keruing tree below.
Pic: this Keruing tree looks like being vandalized. Actually the “cut” is a natural feature of its bark.
Pic: the tree in the coastal forest can be big and tall too, like the Nunuk Tree shown in photo above.
Pic: beautiful white stripes on the bark of Nunuk Tree.
Pic: Bao-Bao tree, a softwood with white bark
If there are trees, there must be wildlife. I didn’t see a lot of wildlife, but studies say some birds (e.g. Great slaty woodpecker) and mammals (Long-tailed Macaque, Barking deer, Sambar deer) are the residents of this forest. We were hungry after one hour of hiking, so we took a boat back to the starting point for lunch.
Amenities at Tumunong Hallu
As this beach is not frequented by tourists, the facilities are basic but good enough for camping. There is no resort, restaurant and shop here. If you want to cook, you have to bring your own cooking utensils and gas stove.
Pic: shelter and a kitchen (at the right)
Pic: toilet and changing room
Pic: small kitchen with sink and water supply, benches and table for dining.
Pic: enjoying lunch with Nova, my partner in crime, and Simon from Bike and Tours. Don’t know why. Food always tastes great at seaside.
Pic: Yummy Indian food prepared by Tisha and Simon from Bike and Tours, the curry and sour vegetables were so appetizing… They really know how to cook and present the food. This friendly couple receives a lot of positive feedbacks at TripAdvisor.
Hey, we were at the beach so we must soak ourselves in warm tropical sea water to conclude the tour. The whole beach was ours to enjoy. Overall, it’s a wonderful experience.
The video below shows the beach of Tumunong Hallu:
Even though Tumunong Hallu is not a popular destination now, being unfamous doesn’t mean that it has no potential. If it is open to public in future, you must visit this place. At the moment, you can arrange a tour with Bike and Tours for a trip to Tumunong Hallu.
Photos taken in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
