Tag Archives: Birds

Imbak Canyon, the Green Canyon of Borneo

Most tourists and researchers, who have visited Danum Valley or Maliau Basin, agree that Sabah has the best Borneo rainforests. Both forest reserves are so pristine that they would become our next UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You will be happy to know that Imbak Canyon, a Class-1 30,000-Ha Forest Reserve in the Heart of Sabah, is as high quality as them.

As seen in the map above, Imbak Canyon is a 3-KM-wide valley about 150 Meters above sea level (asl), flanked by ridges running parallel 25 KM from west to east, which are mainly sandstone cliffs with a height up to 1,500 Meters asl. This impressive landscape is formed by 750 Meters carving of the Sungai Imbak (Imbak River) over thousands of years. Though Imbak Canyon is not as majestic as Grand Canyon, it has dense forest that is over 100 million years old. It is a “Green Canyon”!

Pic: Imbak Canyon is just at the north of Maliau Basin.

Road Trip to Imbak Canyon

However, to get there, you need to drive nearly 300 KM for more than 6 hours from Kota Kinabalu (KK) to this remote forest. The 3.5-hour drive from KK to Telupid town is on paved road, the rest on gravel & muddy road, which can be steep and muddy. Probably that’s why it isn’t a popular destination for ordinary tourists.

Pic: the junction to Imbak Canyon at Tongod. This marks the start of our 3-hour bumpy ride.

Though Imbak Canyon is only accessible by 4-Wheel Drive (4WD), some loves this and call this an adventure. Trust me, this is the most “violent” ride that I ever followed. The feeling is like sitting on the wild horse that tries to throw you out of its back. Thrilling though.

The 4WD needs to be equipped with snorkel (to cross river), locker and jungle trekker tyres (with costs RM1,000 each). Besides, you need a skillful 4WD driver, not those middle-aged uncles who drive 4WD in city street. We are glad to have Gilbert, a North Borneo Safari driver to come with us. His 4WD is unstoppable and he also helped to pull out a few 4WDs stranded in mud during the course.

You can watch the following 2-min video of our 4WD trip:

Click Here for wider video

We stopped by Kampung Imbak (Imbak Village) in Tongod for a short break and buying supplies. This village is the last civilization on the way to Imbak Canyon.

Pic: funny signage that translated as “Attention. Please don’t drive too fast if you know the law. Be careful, this is village area, or else.” Probably the villagers are unhappy of the dust created by passing vehicles.

Pic: red BBQ chicken wing of Kg. Imbak. They apply coloring that looks like roasted pork (??).

Pic: grocery shop that sells chicken meat and seafood.

We continued our journey after shopping. About 13 KM before Imbak Canyon, we need to cross a wide river, which is the biggest obstacle. There is a bridge under construction. Once the bridge is complete in future, Imbak Canyon will be more ready for tourism.

Update (Nov 2012)!

The bridge is completed and can be used now. However, some may still prefer to cross the river for fun.

Luckily the river is not deep so our 4WDs can cross it without problem. Our trip was cancelled once, because this river was flooded during rainy season. Before the bridge is complete, if it rained, we would needed to wait 3 to 4 hours for the flood to subside before crossing.

In worst case, the water level can reach the window of 4WD.

The bumpy ride can freak out faint-hearted passengers. The trick is not to sit stiff and counter the momentum. Just relax your body and let your weight “stick” you to your seat like soft mud. You will find that your fat is so useful in this case.

We passed by oil palm plantation and saw some electric fences that prevent pygmy elephants from entering.

Finally, we arrive Tampoi Base Camp (or Tampoi Research Station) of Imbak Canyon at 12:30pm. Tampoi is the name of a Borneo fruit. We check-in at Tampoi Camp and have our lunch there. The forest and campsites of Imbak Canyon are managed by Yayasan Sabah Foundation.

Imbak Waterfall

After feeding our stomach, we proceeded to the most famous attraction of Imbak Canyon – the Imbak Waterfall. Imbak Waterfall is only 10 KM away from Tampoi Camp, but it took us more than an hour to get there, due to the steep and slippery road. We were told that we would need to walk, if there was any landslide or fallen tree blocking the way.

Pic: the entrance of Big Belian Camp (BBC Camp), where Imbak Waterfall is located. At the right is a wooden staircase to Imbak Waterfall. Our cars can park near the entrance, so it’s only a short walk to the waterfall, very convenient. The Kangkawat suspension bridge at the left leads you to the jungle trail.

Pic: the view of Imbak Waterfall from the viewing platform. Note the man is so small.

Pic: the front view of Imbak Waterfall and Imbak River. The water is in light tea color but it is very clean. The color is caused by the tannins leaching out from the plant growing in Imbak Canyon.

Imbak Waterfall is a must-see if you visit Imbak Canyon. I would say it is one of the most beautiful waterfalls of Sabah.

Imbak Canyon is an important water catchment area. This Imbak River is one of the sources of Kinabatangan, the longest river of Sabah. More than 30 species of amphibians and reptiles live in this river.

Imbak Waterfall is about 80 Meters in wide and 8 Meters in height. The photo above will give you an idea of its scale. It’s very slippery on top. My friend saw a Sambar Deer (largest deer of Sabah) there.

Pic: close-up of Imbak Waterfall

Look closely and you will see hundreds of cascading “miniature waterfalls” on the sandstone or mudstone layers of Imbak Waterfall, a very interesting feature. Yes, I took a bath at the waterfall. The water is so cooling and refreshing. I didn’t use soap b’coz I don’t want to pollute the river.

Pic: piles of sandstone and mudstone rocks next to Imbak Waterfall

Can you spot the man on the waterfall?

Besides Imbak Waterfall, there are other waterfalls such as Kuli Falls, Majau Falls and Pandan Falls in the canyon. Imbak Canyon is a mountainous region so there are many waterfalls to be discovered.

To see more of Imbak Waterfall, you may watch the 1.5-min video below:

Click Here for wider video

Forest of Imbak Canyon

Imbak Waterall is the most popular attraction of Imbak Canyon, but the real gem is the virgin forest there. In short, Imbak Canyon consists of two main vegetation, i.e., Lowland Dipterocarp Rainforest in the valley (Dipterocarp is the most important tree family of Borneo) and Montane Heath Forest (a.k.a. Kerangas, abundant with native orchids and endemic pitcher plants) on the ridges of higher altitude. Over 70% of the forest is unexplored.

Pic: a tree with huge buttress in BBC Camp. The ranger told me there is a tree with buttress that looks like crocodile in Kuli Camp.

There are a few forest trails in the canyon, ranging from 1 KM to 17 KM in distance, for those who want to do jungle trekking. Even though I stayed in Imbak Canyon for a day, I have seen or heard Serpent eagle, Helmeted hornbill and Gibbon. Many wildlife such as pygmy elephant, sambar deer, leopard, sun bear, mouse deer, orangutan, proboscis monkey and Sumatran rhinoceros also live here.

Pic: a dead tree with big hole that can house 3 to 4 people inside.

Tall trees such as Kapur and Keruing are common in the canyon, and Kapur Merah is the “iconic” tree of Imbak. To scientists, this virgin forest is a “botanical gene bank” where we can source for the seeds of rare and endangered plant species, which are considered high in pharmaceutical and biotechnological potential.

Like other primary rainforest, you can see a lot of fungus, mushroom and termite nest along the nature trails. They play an important ecological role in decomposing rotten dead wood/leaf, to recycle the organic nutrients.

Pic: a huge Ironwood (Belian) tree which is about 800 to 900 years old.

For birders, you will be pleased to know that over 200 bird species are found in Imbak. 5 of them are endemic to Borneo, namely, Borneon Bristlehead, Blue-headed Pitta, Black-throated Wren-Babbler, Borneon Blue Flycatcher and White-browed Shama.

Night walk here is fun as you may find vine snake and scorpion. But be careful of the hornet that is attracted by your torchlight, I was stung twice. It’s so painful that I thought it was snake bite.

Pic: a fully-fed Tiger Leech resting on a twig. It’s so fat and full that it ignored me.

Many are afraid of this blood sucker. Anyway, tiger leech is not a tiger, and its bite is not harmful, so no need to get panic if you see one on your skin. The presence of leech means the forest is healthy and full of wildlife (food source).

Pic: the leeches bypass my anti-leech socks and feast on my leg.

After the leeches are full and drop off my skin, they start to get horny and mate. I’m proud to say that my blood donation contributes to the birth of more baby leeches, haha..

Their mating process is so “intense”. You may watch 30-sec of them in video below:

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Tampoi Base Camp

Visitors can overnight in Tampoi Base Camp, which provides basic accommodation and facilities. A 3-day-2-night or longer stay is recommended. They also have camping ground for big student or researcher group. Though no mobile phone coverage, they have Wifi and public phone (i-Talk) in camp. For me, that’s really impressive for a campsite deep in the jungle.

Below is the location of Tampoi Camp and Imbak Waterfall:

View My Sabah Map in a larger map

Pic: Dining & Activity Hall of Tampoi Camp

You would see orangutan wandering around the camp in early morning.

Pic: accommodation of Tampoi Camp. It’s divided into male and female sections.

Pic: bunk beds with mosquito net.

It can be chilling at night, so it’s advisable to bring your sleeping bag for extra warmth. However, the night was warm during my stay. The electricity is cut off between 12am to 3am daily.

Pic: bathroom and toilet in Tampoi Camp

More Photos & Info

You can check out my photo album, to know more about what to expect in the trip. If you decide to visit Imbak Canyon Conservation Area (ICCA), you can book the tour with North Borneo Safari, the tour operator who is experienced in adventure tour and provides everything from 4WD transport, tour guide and meals in the tour.

Photos taken in Tongod, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Snake Island of Pulau Tiga Park

Snake Island (Pulau Ular)

The trip to Snake Island is optional. You can pay RM40 (≈USD12) to visit two islands (Snake Island and Sands Spit Island) of Pulau Tiga Park. The tour also includes a snorkeling trip off the island, so it is a good deal.

We depart at 9am and reach the Snake Island after 15 minutes. They only allow you to go during good weather.

According to a legend, Snake Island is the resting place of a heart-broken princess, whose lover is turned into rock by black magic of her sisters. The angry king penalized the evil sisters by turning their islands into mud volcanoes (Pulau Tiga).

Snake Island is so small that you need only 15 minutes to walk one round of the island.

Besides a jetty and a shelter, there is no other facility on Snake Island.

Pic: a warning sign. Watch your steps! You must be accompanied by a guide. We are happy to have Mr. Mohammad Syaheer, the “snake catcher” from Pulau Tiga Resort, to go with us.

Though Snake Island is tiny, it has interesting plant such as tall Pisonia tree, which has smooth bark and grows well in sandstone, limestone and shale of Snake Island.

At first glance, Snake Island looks like an ordinary island with rocky shore. I saw the feather and dropping of white-bellied sea eagle, a bird that preys on sea snake.

Actually the sea snakes are sleeping in the crevices between the rocks. Mohammad is so brave to pull one of them out of the hole. I can’t forget it’s one of the most poisonous snakes in the world!

He even let us to touch and hold the sea snake. Surprisingly, its skin is dry and feel like plastic. We only saw two sea snakes. The guides say probably it’s not mating season and most sea snakes go hunting in sea during daytime.

You may watch the 2-min video below about Snake Island:

Click Here to see wider video

Sands Spit Island

After the visit to Snake Island, we stop briefly on Sands Spit Island (Pulau Kalampunian Besar), which is only a few Kilometers away.

Pic: old aerial photo of Sands Spit Island (Source: Sabah Parks)

Sands Spit Island was used to be a sand bar in the sea (see photo above). Technically, it didn’t look like an island.

However, over the years, some vegetations such as Casaurine trees and salt-tolerant creeping vine (Beach Morning Glory) set foot on Sands Spit Island, giving this white sand bar a green cover. A new island is born…

Personally, I think Sands Spit Island has the BEST Beach in Sabah. The white sandy beach is long and unspoiled, and the sea water is the clean crystal blue color.

Pic: you can see Pulau Tiga from Sands Spit Island

We enjoy every moment on this lovely island. Our footprints are the only human trace on Sands Spit Island. I don’t mind staying there whole day long, but sadly, we have to leave…

You may watch the following 2-min video of Sands Spit Island:

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A new video taken at another end of the Sands Spit Island:

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Snorkeling

As the last activity of the island tour this morning, our boat sends us to Tiga Trail, a snorkeling point near Pulau Tiga. In lucky day, you can see sea turtle there.

Pic: the dark area in the sea is coral reefs rich with marine creatures

The water is warm and only 1 to 4 Meters deep. The weather is nice, so the visibility underwater is very good. The corals are in healthy state, with many reef fishes foraging among rich variety of seagrass and hard & soft corals.

FYI, you can rent snorkeling gears (snorkel, mask and fins) for RM30 (≈USD9) per day, if you don’t have any. For those who are not a good swimmer, they can use the life jacket from the boat.

Pulau Tiga Resort also has a dive center on island. To go deeper to see more marine creatures such as nudibranchs, cuttlefish, bamboo sharks and marbled stingray, you can arrange with the resort for scuba diving trip in Pulau Tiga Park. For non-divers, they still can experience diving in Discovery Scuba Diving programme (RM200≈USD61 per person, RM300≈USD91 for two).

You may watch the following 1-min video of snorkeling in Pulau Tiga:

Click Here to see wider video

Reptile Paradise

Besides rich marine ecosystems, Pulau Tiga Park is also rich in terrestrial flora and fauna. In fact, Pulau Tiga is first protected as a forest reserve, before it is turned into a marine park. To me, Pulau Tiga is the Kingdom of Reptiles. Other than sea kraits, I saw many other reptiles such as the Yellow-ringed snake below:

Again, Syaheer the snake catcher is in action. Yellow-ringed snake is almost a guaranteed found if you do a night walk in the jungle of Pulau Tiga, especially after rain. Some says its poison is mild and cause only serious headache, but some says it’s fatal. Well, the only way you can find out is to let it bites you, just kidding.

Yellow-ringed snake is passive, so it is never a problem to the guests. FYI, its yellow color will fade if it’s very hungry. Python also lives on this island but I saw only its abandoned nest. I spotted the small Lizard Snake twice, but they flee so fast that I can’t photograph them.

The main predator of Pulau Tiga is Monitor Lizard. You can find a dozen of them wandering at the kitchen area behind the resort. Most of them are 4 to 5 feet long. Normally they stay away from human so they never pose a danger to tourists (as long as they don’t provoke the lizard). Below is a 1-min video of them:

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Monitor lizard lives happily on Pulau Tiga like a king. If it lives in city, it’ll just become one of the road kills or have tyre mark on its long tail.

Skink and lizards are just everywhere. To name a few, I saw or heard Rough-backed ground skink, Striped tree skink, Brown skink, Green tree lizard and Tokay gecko.

Pic: near the coastal area, hermit crab is also everywhere.

You can see Oriental Pied Hornbill early in the morning (6am-7am) around resort. I also saw 4 of them perching on a Casaurina Pine in a night walk. They told me the guide and guest saw a white hornbill 2 years ago, probably an albino. Other birds that you can see on Pulau Tiga are Megapod, Frigate Bird, Magpie Robin, Blue-naped Parrot, Great Egret, White-breasted Woodswallow, Nightjar, etc.

Pic: a crab-eating frog in the mangrove stream outside my room. It’s one of the few frogs that can tolerate saline environment.

Long-Tailed Macaques are present in the island, but they prefer to stay in the wood. They can become a major nuisance if tourists feed them.

Monitor lizard and python also prey on this naughty monkey. You can ask the resort staffs who witnessed the terrible scenes of monkey being consumed alive by those reptiles. I hate monkey, so their stories sound awesome to me, especially the part that monitor lizard swallows the head of a baby monkey. Yes, I’m sick, whatever. Anyway, the island needs predators to control the monkey population.

Pic: Ranggu and Keruing trees dominate the island forest
There are 8 nature trails of different length in Pulau Tiga (see map below). The resort tells me they find pangolin and coconut crab in the forest.

Pic: Putat Laut tree (Species: Barringtonia asiatica) only grows on undisturbed beach. Its huge drift seed can survive for 15 years.

Just walk around the beach, you will see some interesting trees such as Putat Laut, Ketapang (Umbrella Tree) and Penaga Laut.

There are so many more to see in Pulau Tiga. I stayed there for 3 days 2 nights and explored only one-third of the island.

More Photos

You may check out my photo album on Pulau Tiga Island if you would like to see more nice pictures:

Photos taken in Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Gigantic Tawai Waterfall in Telupid, the Heart of Sabah

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I love waterfall and I couldn’t wait to see the 95-Meter tall Tawai Waterfall, the biggest waterfall in the Heart of Sabah, after my friend told me about it. Tawai Waterfall is located inside the 22,697-ha Tawai Forest Reserve, a 1st-class protected forest managed by Telupid Forestry Department. You must apply a permit from Sabah Forestry Department HQ before entering this protected area.

To reach this destination, first I needed to drive 200 KM from Kota Kinabalu city to Telupid town, which took me about 4 hours driving on a paved road. There is no gasoline station after Ranau, so make sure you fill up your oil tank. To go to Tawai Waterfall from Telupid, you need 4-wheel drive, as it is only accessible via gravel and muddy road.

Luckily it was weekday and the forestry officers also planned to collect seedling and patrol in Tawai forest, so I just followed their vehicle. Otherwise I had to pay nearly RM1,000 to charter a 4WD and guide. The journey is nearly 3 hours one way and part of the road is steep and muddy. We departed in the morning so we could get back before dark.

Our 4WD crossed 3 rivers easily, as they are not deep during dry season. According to the forestry staffs, the old route to Tawai Waterfall took less than an hour, but a bridge was collapsed and they waited for the fund to repair it. Therefore, we had to take the alternative longer route, like a big U-turn, to enter the place from behind.

I had travelled to almost every corner of Sabah, so nothing in Sabah is really new to me. However, during this long ride, I found that I was in a totally strange environment. The vegetation is so different and the “rusty” soil is reddish in color, so I joked to others, “Are we on Mars planet now?”

The forest is blanketed by ferns and dominated by shrubs shorter than 10 Meters, with low number of tall trees scattered around. They told me these are the characteristics of Ultramafic Forest. More on this topic later.

The new and long route passed through other forest reserves such as Deramakot, Tangkulap and Pinangah. Tawai forest is somewhat connected to Kinabatangan, the wildlife sanctuary in Sandakan, so we saw many fresh elephant dropping along our way. I saw a big wild boar and another car spotted a king cobra. The ranger says orangutan also exists in Tawai, I’m so happy to know that.

Pic: starting point of the walk to Tawai Waterfall.

Finally we reached the starting point of the walk before noon. We parked our cars there and walked to the waterfall. I could hear that it is very near and hidden behind the dense wood.

Once I stepped out of my car, my eyes and camera were getting very busy, because I was dearly amazed by what I saw.

Pitcher Plant Garden

There are pitcher plant (Nepenthes) everywhere! They grow among the dense fern plant, on the ground and shrubs.

Every step I took, I saw a new pitcher plant, so I kept stopping and taking photos while the rest had to wait for me. That’s so crazy.

Tawai also has very high density of nepenthes like the heath forest (Kerangas) of Maliau Basin, but both sites have different variety.

In a few minutes, I saw Nepenthes rafflesiana, Nepenthes ampullaria, Nepenthes gracilis, and other probable hybrids. Next time I want to camp here to see more!

Hello… Tawai Waterfall!

Though I was so obsessed with the pitcher plant, I had to catch up with the rest to Tawai Waterfall.

At first, we went to see the top of Tawai Waterfall.

The walk to the top of Tawai Waterfall is only 5 minutes away. There is a shelter near the waterfall.

There is another smaller waterfall (Meliau Waterfall) about 1-hour trekking from here, but we were short of time (and energy) to explore it. Actually Forestry department calls Tawai as Waterfall A and Meliau as Waterfall B.

What I saw was just a river flew to a cliff. From this location, you can’t see the end and tell that it’s a huge waterfall ahead. The edge is so steep and dangerous to explore.

After the “sneak peek”, we took another 300-Meter trail that descends 70 Meters to a viewing point where we could see the whole waterfall.

The climb only takes 20 minutes, but the trail is very steep with uneven surface. I can’t make it without the rope support. The rangers warned me that the rope is nearly 10 years old and it might snap. We just proceeded slowly and cautiously. Luckily the rope is still very strong.

The rope is so old that, over time it slowly embedded into the tree that it lean against, as if someone drills a hole on the tree to install the rope railing. Once the budget is available, they want to build proper facilities such as stairway and toilet for visitors. For now, it is not ready for normal tourists.

Tawai Waterfall in the view. See how small the people are?

So here is the moment, the gigantic Tawai Waterfall right in front of my eyes!

The splash is so strong that it creates a rainbow.

Tons of unpolluted water flowing through pristine forest, what a view! You can watch the 1-min video below to get a feel of it:

Click Here to watch wider video

Pic: Mr. Ismailey, the Telupid District Forestry Officer, with the Tawai Waterfall.

Mr. Ismailey is a nice and adventurous gentleman. He has a vision to turn Tawai into a new nature attraction. Thank you for sharing the beauty of Tawai with me. I also want to thank other Sabah forestry staffs, Bonaventure, Matthew, Micheal, James, Awang and Mohammad for their hospitality. Thank you Datuk Sam (Director of Sabah Forestry Department) for the permit.

Below is the location map of Tawai Waterfall:

View My Sabah Map in a larger map

Ultramafic Forest

Ok, now come back to Ultramafic Forest. After the visit, I think the ultramafic forest is more significant than the waterfall. We can find bigger waterfalls all over the world, but our ultramafic forest is more unique and one of the least studied terrestrial ecosystems in Borneo.

Ultramafic rocks are formed at very high temperatures and pressures in the absence of water, during the process of upwelling of magma and the cooling of the oceanic crust. The soils of ultramafic zone contain magnesium, chromium, cobalt and nickel, which are toxic to most plant and infertile for agricultural purposes. That explains why pitcher plant, which grows well on soils poor of nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium and calcium, flourishes here.

The ultramafic forest occupies about 3,500 Sq. KM, or 4.6 % of the total land area of Sabah. As a result of the soil conditions, the trees in ultramafic forest are relatively shorter than rainforest. The lack of tall timbers allows this forest gets away from logging, and over 60% of the Tawai Forest Reserve in Telupid is still in pristine condition.

Only certain plant species adapt to such soil. 11 unique plants that are endemic to the ultramafic areas are found in Tawai Forest Reserve, and five are recorded only from Tawai and nowhere else in the world.

The ultramafic forest of Tawai can be sub-divided to Lowland Ultramafic Forest (23%), Upland Ultramafic Forest (49%), Lower Montane Ultramafic Forest (5%) and Ultramafic Heath Forest. This may sound meaningless to you, but it is an exciting playground for naturalists and researchers who love to see unique vegetation of Borneo.

Pic: Sembilu, is endemic to Borneo and abundant in Tawai.

Besides the special forest, more than 100 bird species are found in Tawai and bird watchers have started exploring this area and hope to rediscover birds not documented in Sabah. 26 mammals such as wild boars, barking deer (payau), mouse deer, Red leaf monkeys, clouded leopards and gibbons live in Tawai.

I’m glad that Sabah Forestry Department has gazetted Tawai Forest Reserve as protected forest. Otherwise it would have been engulfed by oil palm plantation.

To visit Tawai Forest Reserve, you need to get a permit from Sabah Forestry Department. The tourist infrastructure there is not ready and they are limiting access to this forest, to avoid any damage caused by recreational activities. In other words, no guarantee they will grant you the entry.

More Photos

You may check out my photo album if you want to see more nice pictures:

Photos taken in Telupid, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Humming Bird in Malaysia?

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Two years ago, I saw a tiny flying fauna moving super-fast from flower to flower to collect nectar. You can watch the video below to get an idea how fast it is:

Though it only showed up for a few seconds, from its body as small as a baby finger and the way it hovered, I was pretty sure that it was a humming bird. However, all the bird guides I met said the same thing, “No way! Sabah has no humming bird. Probably you saw a sun bird.” I was kind of upset that nobody believed me, so I wanted to take the photo of the humming bird to prove them wrong.

However, I didn’t see the bird again for next few years so I almost forgot about this. Then the blossom jasmine flowers in my garden attracted the “old friend” again. My mom saw it first because she water the flowers during dusk. When I was having my dinner around 6:30pm in the following day, my sibling told me that the humming bird was around again.

Quickly I stopped eating and grabbed a camera to shoot the humming bird. And to my surprise, there were 3 or 4 of them collecting nectar. When they fly pass me, I can even hear the high-speed flapping wings.

They fly really fast but I was still able to take some photos. However, when I zoom into these photos for closer look, I find that they are not birds! With a pair of antenna and a long proboscis, I can tell that they are moth.

To find out what they are, I search the Internet and learn that they are Hummingbird Hawk Moth (species: Macroglossum stellatarum), a moth that looks remarkably like a humming bird while feeding on flowers and always mistaken as a hummingbird.

Humming Bird Hawk-Moth is common in Northern Hemisphere regions such as Japan and Europe. There is very limited documentation of this insect in Malaysia so I’m not sure how widespread they are in Sabah. Though it is not the humming bird that I has been looking for, I think that it’s still an extraordinary bug. The wings of Humming-bird Hawk Moth can beat at an incredible speed of 70 – 80 times per second, which makes audible humming sound and allows them to hover in the same way real hummingbirds do.

Did you see it in your garden too? Please share with me.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Birdwatching in Sabah

Birds of Borneo

Borneo island has 664* species of resident and migratory birds, and 51* of them are endemic to Borneo, which means you can’t find them anywhere else. In fact, new species is still being spotted, for example, a new species Spectacled flowerpecker was discovered by bird guide Richard Webster in Danum Valley just last year.

Above: Rhinocerous hornbill in flight

Birds are everywhere. With so many types of birds in our forest, mountains, islands, beaches, river and mangrove, birdwatching brings me more fun in traveling. Seeing them fly freely in the sky, I wonder why some selfish people want to lock them in small cages. For example, someone keep White-Crowned Shama as pet. This bird is endemic to Sabah and is a protected species, so it is illegal to trade them without a permit.

Above: There were only a few Eurasian Tree Sparrow in Sabah 50 years ago, now they are everywhere, like our illegal immigrants.

Let’s Start Birdwatching

Hardcore birdwatching is very technical, I am not an expert birder either, so I will not cover this in depth. As a quick start, a binocular (spec: 7×30, 8×40, or 10×40) and a guide book are enough. A telescope with angled eyepiece is a good alternative to binocular, because you do not need to look up high for long hours and stress your neck muscle. Only when you want to get serious in future, you could invest in high-end (expensive) birding gears such as hide.

For good field books on birds of Borneo, personally I recommend “A Pocket Guide to the Birds of Borneo” (compiled by Charles M. Francis) for beginner as it is only RM30 and contains a lot of bird pictures. Other good books are “A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo” (Susan Myers), “Phillipp’s Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo” (Quentin Phillipps) and “The Birds of Borneo” (B.E. Smythies). There will be a learning process to identify individual species but you will slowly pick up along. Listening to the bird songs and calls too, so next time you can identify what birds are around just by listening.

Birds have excellent eyesight and we are being watched instead, so a few common sense rules would help:

Keep quiet and move slowly. Do not make noise.
Wear clothing with colors and patterns that can blend well into the environment. Wearing bird costumes is not necessary.
Hide yourself well. Make use of the landscape to hide. e.g. behind long grasses and shrub
Birds also can smell. Do not wear perfume. Try to stay at “downwind” side. Odor-less insect repellent is available if you need it.
Be patient. Stop for a while for every few minutes and scan the surrounding.
Notepad and pencil to record what you see and hear for identification later. A camera will help.

Above: Dark-Hawk Cuckoo in Kinabalu Park

Best Time

In general, early morning and late afternoon are the best times for birdwatching, except for nocturnal species. Between October and April, the winter season of Northern Atmosphere, you will have a good chance to see migratory birds, mostly water birds such as sandpipers and plovers, from North-East Asia and Siberia feeding in our wetlands.

For sites with many visitors, like Tanjung Aru, birdwatching in early morning is more enjoyable, as there will be less busybodies come and ask how much your binocular costs. Last week I was photographing birds at the roadside of Likas Lagoon, all the cars were slow down to see what I was doing, almost causing a traffic jam. Sigh… Malaysians.

Birdwatching Sites

Now you know the right tools, attitude and timing. Next you need to know where to see birds. You need to do a bit of homework on the habitat of the birding sites by reading the guide books, so you know what to expect. For example, what you see in island will be different from highland. We are lucky because most birding sites are quite near and accessible.

Above: Blue-naped parrot nests in tree hole of Tanjung Aru

Around Kota Kinabalu, you already can find hundreds of bird species. You can find Oriental Darters, Grey Herons, swamphens, etc. in Likas Lagoon. I would like to praise government for protecting this fresh water swamp. They do not flood the lagoon with salt seawater to clear the Water Hyacinth plants that blanket the lagoon. KK Wetland Centre has 135 species of birds (66% are residents) in their mangrove. Most are timid and hide themselves well, so do not expect to see them all in one trip. In Tanjung Aru Beach and Prince Philip Park, you can spot Blue-naped parrots and Dollarbirds easily.

Above: Black backed Swamphen in Likas Lagoon

Above: great egrets in Likas Lagoon

Above: Common greenshank in Kota Kinabalu Wetlands

Almost every cities and towns in Sabah have one or more great birding sites nearby, like the list below:

Sandakan: Kinabatangan, Rainforest Discovery Center (300 species, with 26 as endemic)
Ranau / Kundasang: Kinabalu Park (17 endemic montane species), Poring
Lahad Datu: Tabin Wildlife Reserve (all 8 species of hornbill), Danum Valley
Keningau: Crocker Range Park (see the world’s smallest raptor – White-Fronted Falconet)
Tambunan: Rafflesia Information Center
Beaufort: Klias Wetland, Pulau Tiga Park
Tawau: Tawau Hills Park

Some sites have observatory towers and canopy walk, please make use of them. Many birds such as Sabah’s iconic bird, Bornean Bristlehead, are active in canopy. For more info and interesting events on birdwatching, please visit the web site of Borneo Bird Festival at http://www.borneobirdfestival.com.

Birdwatching can be very addictive. Many birdwatching photographers got “poison” and buy the “Bazooka” long camera lens (which can be as expensive as a Kancil car). For newbie who is interested in bird photography, cheaper alternative such as compact camera with 20x optical zoom, digiscoping (attach compact camera to a telescope with adapter), or 40x-60x optical zoom handycam can produce acceptable photo quality for documentation. FYI, if you spot 400 bird species in Borneo, you can become a member of Borneo Bird Club 400, a prestigious achievement that money can’t buy.

Tourism Potential

Foreign tourists pay thousand dollars and travel thousand miles to see our birds. These high-end tourists (usually rich birders equipped with Bazooka) are willing to pay US$100 to US$300 just to see one bird (of course the rare bird, not something like ruak). There are more than two million birdwatching enthusiasts in Britain alone, so this is a huge market for our tourism. And another reason to have this hobby since local “low-end” tourists like us also can enjoy.

Above: Brahminy Kite challenges bigger white-bellied sea eagle

However, Sabah is short of tour guides who is expert in birdwatching, and we may need 500 bird specialist guides in the next 10 years for this niche market. If you start birdwatching now, who knows you might find a well-paid and high-demand career in short future. To offer better tourist experience, every tour guides should learn more about birds too. In a river cruise in Kinabatangan, it was so fun and satisfying to have a bird expert on our boat. She could name almost every bird and point out all the rare birds we saw. This is really an important skill and value-added service to spice up our nature tour.

Due to the growing importance of birdwatching tourism, we should protect our environment and various ecosystems, which offer unique food web and habitat for our rare birds. Breeding birds in lab and release them to the wild is easier said than done and not a feasible solution. The older generation still remember in KK there was a famous “eagle hill”, with a large number of raptors. They were gone forever after the hill was clear to make way for the road. Otherwise it would have become the main wildlife attraction of KK today. Sad huh? So please do not forget the welfare of our birds in the name of development.

For example, someone have been claiming oil palm plantation is also a “forest” that is rich in biodiversity. The fact is – primary forest can host over 220* bird species, whereas oil palm only 12*. Well, most birds won’t agree with such bull shit.

*Source: Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo (by Quentin Phillipps, Karen Phillipps)

Bird photos of Sabah

Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Crocker Range Park (part 1 of 4)

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Crocker Range Park (Taman Banjaran Crocker) is the largest terrestrial park of Sabah. The Park spreads over 139,919 hectares of densely forested terrain, mainly lowland, hill and montane forests, and covering an area of 1,399 sq. Kilometers, which is twice the size of Singapore! As Crocker Range Park has many species of flora and fauna endemic to Borneo, I had a 4-day-3-night tour there last month.

Crocker Range Park is approximately 75 KM in length and 15 KM wide, run along northeast-southwest axis in west coast of Sabah. The altitude of the Park is 100 to 2,076 Meters at the peak of Minduksirung, with temperature ranges from 18°C to 26°C (64°F to 79°F).

As shown in the map above, Crocker Range Park spans across 8 districts. The Park is so big that it has 10 substations, such as the Rafflesia Information Center and Mahua Waterfall in Tambunan. Sabah Parks manages this Park since 1984 to protect its ecosystem of forest and watersheds of rivers.

Being a significant biodiversity site, the Park is also an important water catchment area as the sources of 12 major rivers. These rivers supply clean drinking water to the people in west coast and interior of Sabah. If I pee in these rivers, half of Sabah people will have a taste of my urine. Just kidding..

The headquarter (HQ) of Crocker Range Park in Keningau district is 105 KM from Kota Kinabalu city and very accessible. Just drive on the new Kimanis-Keningau road to Keningau town, in less than 2 hours (about 14 KM before Keningau), you will see the Park office is just next to the road side. I reached there at 9:30am by a bus and it only costs me RM15 (about USD$4.50) one way.

You may watch the 30-sec video of Crocker Range Park entrance below:

Compared to other substations, Crocker Range Park HQ (main station) has better facilities and is more “tourist-ready”. In contrast to our noisy and overcrowded Kinabalu Park, this Park is very quiet, when my visit was on Sunday of Muslim fasting month, and I was the only tourist (I like it though). Just remember the Administration office building in photo above, because EVERYTHING (i.e. booking, registration, check-in/out, operation, activities) is done there.

The Sabah Parks staff, Ms Ridianna, was expecting my arrival coz I had booked the room by phone earlier. I registered in the reception office and got my room key from a boy (just joking, he is the son of Ridianna). For 16-bunk-bed dormitory room in Kayu Manis Cabin (Asrama Kayu Manis), it costs only RM20 (about USD$6) per night, quite affordable if compared to the minimum RM100 (USD$30) per bed per night room rate of Kinabalu Park, under the blood-sucking management company named Sutera Sanctuary Lodges.

I also got a layout map of Crocker Range Park. You may click the map below to download it.

Actually I modify the original map and translate the Malaysia language terms to English and add more details to it. Other park maps you find on the Internet are outdated. You may need to refer to this map when you read the rest of my articles.

After checking in, I face my first problem. My accommodation is 3 KM away from the administration office and I didn’t bring my car. For you who plan to stay in the Park, please take note that you need to drive to your hostels/chalets at Gate No. 2 (refer to map).

Above: Kayu Manis Cabin
Luckily Sabah Parks has office vehicles move and work around the Park, and they are very keen to give me a lift to my cabin. FYI, there is a Celcom telecomunication tower nearby so my mobile phone got nearly full bar of signal anytime.

Instead of one room key, they hand me all the keys which allow me to access all the rooms in this cabin, include the better rooms.

Anyway, being an honest traveller (cough…), I stay in what I pay for, the cheaper dormitory room with 16 bunk beds. Guess what? I own the whole room/cabin as there was no other tenant during fasting month.

Then came the second problem, I was informed that the water pump was malfunction so there was no water. Fortunately, I managed to collect two buckets of water remained in the pipes. The plumber fixed the pump on next day.

Third problem, there was no restaurant in the Park and the only canteen in front of the Park was closed for fasting month.

Above: I only brought a small amount of food such as biscuits, oatmeal, instant noodle cups, creamy soup, can, 3-in-1 Nescafe and some chocolate bars, which are not enough for 3 days. Again, luckily Ridianna lives in Keningau and she helped me to buy some food supplies such as rice. The Sabah Parks staffs there are “naturally” friendly and helpful. Thanks for their help, all my problems were no longer the problems.

Crocker Nature Center (CNC)

Now everything is settled, I start to tour inside the Park. Crocker Nature Center (CNC), which is 500 Meters away from accommodation zone, is the second most important building you should remember, as it’s the Exhibition Center and the starting point of most activities. You may Click Here to see its opening hours.

Crocker Nature Center exhibits some information, specimens and photographs about the flora & fauna of the Park. Some traditional farming and fishing tools are also on display.

You may watch the 2-minute video of Crocker Nature Center below:

Above: the direction signage near CNC. It is in Malaysia language. You may Click Here to see them in English.

Insectarium (Kebun Serangga)

Crocker Range Park is famous for its rich variety of insects, so I checked out the Insectarium, just behind CNC.

The ranger told me that an Asian Paradise Flycatcher (a beautiful bird with long tail looks like paradise bird) nested here before and attracted a lot of bird watchers. I saw magpie robin, buff-rumped woodpecker, bulbul, sunbirds, and flowerpeckers around this area. Besides, I also spotted hornbill, white-breasted waterhen (Ruak in Malay), Cuckoo doves, Emerald doves, green pigeon, white-breasted woodswallow, yellow-vented bulbul, orange-bellied flowerpecker, Pacific swallow, Barn swallow, pied fantail and chestnut munia near my cabin.

The walk in Insectarium takes less than 30 minutes on cement or paved walkway inside a wood, which used to be a farm land. There are shelters, pond and some flowers, but too bad I didn’t see any interesting insect. Instead, the most common insect here is mosquito, and a lot of them. Do take insect repellent with you if you come here. However, this place will turn into a party ground of various bugs and insects at night. More on this later.

FYI, if you see a field like photo above, you can turn left to follow the trail to the Administration Office, which is about a 10 minutes walk (500 Meters).

Above: junction to Insectarium and Fern Garden

Reed Snake (Calamaria grabowskyi) spotted at the junction. It’s neither venomous nor aggressive.

Fern Garden (Kebun Paku Pakis)

55 species of ferns can been found in Crocker Range Park. These includes the endemic and newly described species of Adiantum lamrianum, found near the Mahua waterfall.

You can find hundreds of fern plant, in different sizes and shapes, in the Fern Garden of Crocker Range Park. Many would look familiar to you as they are commonly used as ornament plant in local gardens. The huge elephant fern is also in their collection.

Rafflesia Plot

About 100 Meter behind the Administration Office is a Rafflesia Plot area for the biggest rafflesia species of Sabah, rafflesia keithii. There were about 4 rafflesia buds during my visit. The biggest bud is still 3 months away from blooming. You can Click Here to see the blooming rafflesia.

Rafflesia flower doesn’t have predictable blooming period and the flower lasts less than a week, so you need luck to see the blooming flower.

Click Here for Next Article (part 2)

More Photos

You may check out the photo album of Crocker Range Park for more nice pictures:

All Articles

Part 1: Crocker Nature Center, Insectarium, Fern Garden & Rafflesia Plot (this article)
Part 2: Crocker Trail, Pine Trail & Observatory Tower
Part 3: Night Walk
Part 4: Accommodation in the Park

Photos taken in Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Monkey in Semporna

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Because of Sipadan Island, Semporna town is now well-known as a gateway to world-class diving sites. Divers are impressed by the underwater world, but they don’t know the endangered and famous Proboscis Monkey are also found in Semporna. If you are a scuba diver, to avoid decompression sickness, you know you have to wait 12 to 24 hours before departing on a flight.

Therefore, during the waiting time, it is a great option for divers to join a river cruise in Semporna, to see the long-nosed monkey of Borneo. The tour costs about RM125 (less than USD$40) per person. Below is the itinerary:
3:30pm: Depart from Semporna by land to Kg. Tunggulangan
4:15pm: Tea break
4:45pm-6:30pm: River cruise
6:30pm: BBQ seafood dinner
7:30pm: Return to Semporna/Tawau

Of course, non-divers also can join the tour. Just book the river cruise package at www.borneotourstravel.com (Borneo Semporna Proboscis River Cruise). The show has begun by the moment we reached the site in Kg. Tunggulangan, which is about 20 KM away from Semporna town. The worker placed some food on a feeding platform next to the entrance, to attract about 20 long-tailed macaque monkey for the fest.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Semporna River Cruise

Last year I was told that the monkeys there were shy and not used to human. After being fed for a period, now these monkey have no fear about our presence, even though we are only a few feet away. You can take very clear photos of them.

However, they are still wild, so better don’t get too near to them. They do bite if they feel threaten. I have no doubt the monkey in photo above have the balls to do so.

Then we took a short walk on a wooden boardwalk, which is built in the mangrove forest.

The mangrove trees grow on intertidal zone, which is flooded during high tide, so they have stilt root that allows them to breathe and anchor themselves firmly in the mud.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Semporna River Cruise

The boardwalk led us to an Activity and Dining Hall built next to the river. We had our afternoon tea break before the river cruise.

Above: the building is inside the mangrove forest. Please bring insect repellent coz there are mosquitoes in this area.

Above: the hall and the jetty of Borneo Semporna Proboscis River Cruise.

Above: the route map of our river cruise. Our boats departed at 4:30pm to explore Sungai Tohok (Tohok River) and Sungai Buaya (Buaya River) to look for proboscis monkey. We also went to Pegagau to check out the egrets.

Our boat cruised slowly on the river to spot for wildlife on the trees.

The mangrove here is a forest reserve, which means it is protected from being cut or clear, so the trees here remain intact. This area has become the sanctuary for different birds and wildlife.

Above: the seeds of the mangrove trees. Once ripen, they will fall into the river and float to somewhere else to germinate.

Above: I have to say that Semporna has very beautiful mangrove. I saw many picturesque green reflection like above in the river.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Semporna River Cruise

Our boatman is busy looking for monkey. He has very sharp vision, as if he has X-ray eyes that can see through dense layers of trees.

Finally we spotted a female proboscis monkey sitting high on top of a tree.

Soon we found more proboscis monkey. I notice that the proboscis monkey here are very elusive, unlike those who are already used to tourists in Klias and Kinabatangan. All of them fled into the mangrove before our boats came close.

Some of them even carrying baby.

Our guide, Soon Lee, spotted a male proboscis monkey deep inside the wood.

The male proboscis monkey was sitting on a root, with his back facing us.

We want to see his big nose so badly, so we move our boat as close as we can. We tried really hard to look at him through the gap between the woods, like how a peeper watches his target in bathroom.

Luckily it made a move and we were so happy to see his sexy big nose, though it was only a split second. The long nose of male proboscis monkey is a sex symbol to attract female. Later we saw 3 or 4 herds of proboscis monkey. That is considered our lucky day. In bad day, visitor may not see any proboscis monkey.

Below is a 3-minute video of our river cruise tour:

Click Here to watch wider video.
>> Click Here to see more photos of Semporna River Cruise

Proboscis monkey is not the only wildlife here. There are some birds around too, like the friendly white-collared kingfisher above.

My favorite bird is the white-bellied woodpecker above. Its look is so cartoon.

But the animals which steal the show is a pair of Brahminy Kite. The worker threw a few slices of chicken skin on the river, then we spent about 10 minutes watching both Brahminy Kite showing their high-speed & high-accuracy grasping skill in flight. Brahminy Kite is the commonest bird of prey in Borneo. In Iban belief, Brahminy Kite is an omen bird that represents senior God.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Semporna River Cruise

We reached Pegagau River around 6pm, the start of sunset cruise.

We saw many groups of egrets (most are cattle egret) flying over the river, then they all congregated on a few mangrove trees. It is quite a view to see dozens of them perched on a few trees.

Our river cruise ended at 6:30pm and we were back to the jetty to have our BBQ seafood dinner. I forgot to take photo so I only remember we had tiger prawn and satay. It was dark when we walked out on the boardwalk, and we saw many twinkling fireflies on the trees on both sides! Overall, this trip is a fun experience.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Semporna River Cruise

Photos taken in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Pom-Pom Island – looking for bom-bom girls

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Pom-Pom Island is a relatively new destination compared to other islands such as Sipadan and Mabul in Semporna, Sabah. Few people know that Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP), also known as Semporna Islands Park, is the most reachable from Pom-Pom. In fact, TSMP is currently the biggest marine park of Malaysia and has richer marine ecology and biodiversity than Sipadan in terms of macro lives, many new species wait to be named and discovered.

Pom-Pom Island is 45-minute by boat from jetty of Semporna town. There are two accommodations on Pom-Pom. I was going to Pom-Pom Island Resort, the one which operates in environment-friendly manner. Without any fishing village and island residents, tourists enjoy more privacy on Pom-Pom. Don’t confuse Pom-Pom with another island named Bum-Bum.

The white sandy beach and crystal clear sea are as spectacular as other islands in Celebes Sea. Under the hot tropical sun, everyone just can’t wait to jump into sea. We even saw lion fishes and many other fishes under the jetty. To say it in a tacky way, Pom-Pom looks like the picture in dream holiday ad. Visitors can swim, dive, snorkel and kayak around the island.

In case you wonder if Pom-Pom Island has many hot pom-pom girls…

Actually Pom-Pom gets its name from the “Pom-Pom” tree (photo above), which is abundant on the island.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island

We checked in at their activity hall and restaurant (photo above). Welcoming drink was served (but no dancing Pom-Pom girls). It’s very nice that they sent our heavy luggage to our chalet with mini-tractor. I’ve been hearing positive feedback about the excellent service of Pom-Pom. Basically they take care of everything, so you are worry-free. They can even pick you up at Tawau Airport.

Island Chalets

>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island

Of course the most luxurious chalet is the Water Villa built on the sea, and of course I can’t afford it. Anyway, I was busybody a bit and took a few photos of Water Villa (see 4 photos above).

I remember an incident that a hotel put me and my male colleague in a room with honeymoon setting. There is only a transparent glass between the room and bathroom, so I can see what my roommate doing in toilet. I am not that “open-minded”, so I requested the hotel to give us a “normal” room. Well, even if sharing room with wife, I don’t think it’s romantic to see her wiping her butt after doing number 1?

Though I stayed in Beach Villa (photo above), it’s already a 5-star lodging to me. Yes, the chalet has electricity, hot shower, light, fans and air-conditioning, and the room is spacious.

Pom-Pom is a small island that needs only 40 minutes to walk one round, but it’s big enough to have the soil to plant fruits such as Papaya and Dragon Fruit. After sunset, a large number of fruit bats (flying fox) will fly to this island to enjoy the fruits. The big bats are just everywhere after dusk. By the way, they have jogging and cycling tracks on the island.

I went for a bird-watching hunt around the island. The sighting of Barred Rail is reported on this island. This bird species is common in Philippines but it is only recently spotted and added to the list of birds found in Sabah. I was told that it likes to wander in the grass near the fruit garden, but too bad I didn’t see it. I saw other birds such as sunbirds and kingfisher.

You can find a sense of humor in many little things on the island..

Mr. Bean dustbin?

Kampung House? (Village House)

>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island

OMG, a Plate Warmer? This is the first plate warmer I see in Sabah. I love food to be served on warm plate. One thing that Sabah “kopitiam” (Malaysian coffee shop) always make me mildly pissed off is when they give me the plate and spoon that are still wet. I think it is kind of disgusting.

Pom-Pom Island Resort also invests on reverse osmosis (R.O.) plant to use rainwater. It is the only island in Sabah employs such green technology. They also plan to use wind energy in future.

Below is a 2.5-min video about Pom-Pom:

Click Here to watch bigger video.

BOHEY DULANG

From Pom-Pom, you can clearly see Bohey Dulang, one of the islands of Semporna Islands Park.

According to the legend, a notorious Sultan of South Philippines eyed on Arung Salamiah, a beautiful princess lived on Bum-Bum Island, so her parents hid her on Bohey Dulang island. She vanished few days later and people believe that she was hidden by the spirits on the island and turned into fairy. Locals say they could hear her singing and her dog barking during full moon, and even occasionally see her walking on the island.

The romantic story of Arung Salamiah was even played in Sabah Fest 2010.

We dropped by Bohey Dulang island on the first day, not to visit Salamiah, but to look at the giant clam nursery. I blogged about this giant clam nursery before. FYI, you may snorkel here because they release many giant clams in front of the giant clam nursery.

We also checked out the cultivation of abalone on the island. The species of our abalone is relatively smaller.

Our initial itinerary included a 30 to 45 minutes trekking up to the high point of Bohey Dulang (probably Salamiah stood on this hill before?), to get a bird eye view of Tun Sakaran Marine Park. Due to time constraint, we had to cancel the plan, too bad, next time then.

Mantabuan

Later Pom-Pom sent us to Mantabuan Island for snorkeling. Being one of the islands of bio-diversified Semporna Islands Park, we saw so much in only 8 Meters of depth! Luckily coral bleaching does not affect the cooler Celebes Sea of Semporna, so the corals are in great shape. In merely 1 hour of snorkeling, we saw stack horn, brain corals, blue corals, lettuce corals, thorns of stars, huge sea cucumbers, puffer fish, crocodile fishes and 3 Green and Hawsbill Turtles!!! I was told by my friends that they also spotted turtle when they snorkel near the jetty of Pom-Pom in next morning. A scuba diver also said that she found 13 turtles in the sea in front of the jetty.

Above: Mantabuan Island

The sea current was not strong and the visibility was about 9 Meters. To see more, you can join scuba diving to see the precious black corals in deeper water. It’s about RM365 (USD$110) for 2 boat dives, permit fee and rental of dive equipments. Pom-Pom Island Resort has a dive center.

Night Patrol

Another feature of Pom-Pom is the night patrol for sighting of turtle laying eggs. The staffs of Pom-Pom were trained as the wildlife warden, so they know the right steps and measures on conservation of sea turtles. The nesting records will be submitted to WWF and Sabah Wildlife Department. The guests were offered a night walk with the guides around 8pm.

No turtle nest found during my stay. I only saw a ghost crab on the beach. The luck was not with us that night.

If any turtle nests on Pom-Pom, for better survival rate, the staffs will collect the eggs and move them to a protected turtle hatchery next to the dive center. The eggs will hatch after 2 months and the baby turtles will be released back to the sea. The staff (Sally) told us the number of eggs of Green Turtles and Hawsbill Turtles are nearly equal. FYI, you can sponsor the nest.

Before we departed on second day, two turtles showed up near the jetty, as if they were saying goodbye to us.

To know more about Pom-Pom Island, you may visit their website at:
http://pompomisland.com
They also have an interesting and updated blog.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Pom-Pom Island

Photos taken in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Road Trip to Imbak Canyon

Update (Nov 2012)!

Imbak Waterfall

Forest of Imbak Canyon

Tampoi Base Camp

More Photos & Info

Snake Island (Pulau Ular)

Sands Spit Island

Snorkeling

Reptile Paradise

More Photos

Pitcher Plant Garden

Hello… Tawai Waterfall!

Ultramafic Forest

More Photos

Birds of Borneo

Let’s Start Birdwatching

Best Time

Birdwatching Sites

Tourism Potential

Related posts

Crocker Nature Center (CNC)

Insectarium (Kebun Serangga)

Fern Garden (Kebun Paku Pakis)

Rafflesia Plot

More Photos

All Articles

Island Chalets

Mantabuan

Night Patrol