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Firefly Eco Camp in Klias

Firefly Eco Camp – Good Morning to Borneo monkey

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Proboscis Monkey is the superstar of Klias Wetland. Every evening Klias River is like a busy canal, when hundreds of tourists come to visit this peculiar monkey. One guest even said, “there were more tourists than monkey.”

Therefore, the Best Time to see Proboscis Monkey is in the morning, when there are very few tourists around. The monkey is less stressful and you can get really close to them. That’s why I spent a night Firefly Eco Camp.


Pic: Firefly Eco Camp

Firefly Eco Camp is located next to Klias River. Staying there will allow you to see what other ordinary tourists miss – the starry night and misty morning over Klias River.

I checked in to the camp around 6pm. After the dinner, we started our night river cruise at 8pm to look for firefly Xmas trees and crocodile, when other tourists had left. Though we didn’t find any crocodile, we saw many “summer Xmas trees”, where hundreds of fireflies congregated and flashing in synchronized manner like heart-beating.


Hour later we returned to the activity hall next to the jetty, to enjoy a serene evening next to Klias River.

Night Fishing in Klias

Klias River is inside Peat Swamp Forest with brackish water, which looks murky all the time. The river seems lifeless, but you will know that you are wrong when you fish.


Klias River is connected to the sea. During high tide, fishes will follow the current entering the river for feeding. If you fish during that time, you will catch something in minutes.


Pic: our fishing bait is hot dog LOL. But it works well!


Most of us are first-time anglers. We were so excited when it was almost effortless to catch big fish in a few minutes.


Pic: one caught to make one family happy

May be you want to watch our fishing video below:


All the fishes we caught that evening was catfish (暗钉 in Chinese, means “Hidden Nail”). It is a very common fish, though edible, locals consider it a lower-grade (dirty) fish, due to the impression that it eats human dung fallen from riverside toilet. It has venomous thorns on its pelvic and dorsal fins, which can cause severe pain when poke into your skin. Be careful when you remove the fishing hook.


Actually we targeted for Giant Freshwater Prawn (Udang Galah) that night, so we released all the catfishes. It was fun anyway.


Pic: the hut where I slept

We had a couple of beer while fishing at river side. We talked until late night. I couldn’t wait to enter my small hut as it was so cool.


The hut may look small from outside, but it can fit two people comfortably. Though there are only bed, light and fan inside, to me it’s a “luxurious camp”. I slept really well throughout the night.

Morning River Cruise in Klias

The next day I waked up early, sat at the small balcony to enjoy the nice river view. It was quiet in the morning and I saw some movement in the canopy. The monkey had waked up earlier than I did.


After having some light breakfast, we were ready for a morning river cruise on Klias River.


Pic: the misty swamp forest in the morning


Pic: the calm river of Klias with beautiful reflection on water


Very soon we spotted the first proboscis monkey. It’s a female with pointy nose.


Then we saw the male proboscis monkey with big nose. From their eyes, we could see that they were not quite concern about our presence, a big contrast to evening time when there were too many tourists and boats around. We were the only tourist boat on the river that morning.


So we could get really close to them for a good look. One of them was so relax and even yawned. This one was just on top of our heads. I was so worry that it would poo. Our boat found about 5 to 6 herds of proboscis monkey.


Pic: silver-leaf monkey. There were some macaques too.


Pic: the mangrove trees of Klias River.


Pic: Peat Swamp Forest is an important habitat for rare Borneo wildlife


Pic: Nibung Palm, a tree that grows between swamp and dryland. Its straight and strong trunk can be used for building houses and bridges.


Pic: fruits are abundant in the swamp but no monkey eating them, probably they are poisonous.


Pic: mangrove trees that can survive in the water during high tide.


I saw some birds such as Brahminy Kite, Oriental Darter (Snake Bird), Stork-Billed Kingfisher, Hill Myna and Greater Coucal. Sometimes you can see hornbill and woodpecker around this area too.

Below is a short video of our Morning River Cruise:

How to get there

Firefly Eco Camp is about 80 Kilometers away from Kota Kinabalu (capital city). It is very accessible, just next to the road (left side) to Kuala Penyu (see location map).


Pic: the signage and entrance of the camp at roadside. You won’t miss it.


Pic: the dining and activity hall of Firefly Eco Camp

Below is a short video of the camp and its dining hall:


Pic: view of Firefly Eco Camp from the river


If you have a big group such as 20 students, you can book the long house dormitory.


The room rate starts from RM68 (≈USD20, as of Aug 2013) per head per night. You also can consider a 2-day-1-night full-board tour package for RM298 (≈USD90, as of Aug 2013) per head, which includes transportation, meals, accommodation, 3 river cruises, etc. They also offer optional tour to Sands Spit Island and other places.

For booking or latest info about Firefly Eco Camp, you may contact Borneo Starcruise (星程生态旅游公司) at:
E-mail: info@borneostarcruise.com / borneostarcruise@gmail.com
Website: www.borneostarcruise.com
Facebook: Click Here
Address: Ground Floor, Lot 7, Jalan Pasar Baru, Kampung Air, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 88-212009 / +60 17-8137911 (hotline)

Photos taken in Beaufort, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

The Magic of Light at Weston River

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

Weston the Historical Town

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


Pic: the old wooden shoplot built during British time over 50 years ago.


Pic: such shophouses are getting less and replaced by cement building.


Pic: SJK (C) Che Hwa (委士珍 启华小学 in Chinese), a primary school in Weston

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


Pic: water village of Weston

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


Pic: this old timber jetty exists since 1896, another legacy of British.

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


Pic: the new jetty built next to the old timber jetty

After a short tour in Weston town, I got on a boat arranged by W.P.M.S. Tours & Travel and headed to their Weston Jaafar River Lodge nearby (see Location Map).

Weston Jaafar River Lodge

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


Pic: Weston Jaafar River Lodge


Pic: Eric, the lodge owner is looking at us from top floor


With me is another group of tourists in the Weston tour. We first dropped by the lodge for a hi-tea before our sunset river cruise. It is a great experience to enjoy afternoon tea next to a river.


Pic: top floor of the lodge. There are sofa if you want to laze around.



We had some fried noodle with tea/coffee. I really love the traditional desserts made by the locals.


Pic: a Paradise Tree Snake in the display tank. It is a common snake in mangrove.


Pic: kids checking out the local fishes in aquarium tank. If I’m right, the fishes at the bottom right are Marbled Goby, a highly-priced freshwater fish and delicacy.

River Safari & Wildlife

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

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


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

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


Please don’t go, Mr. Crocodile…


The Nipah forest along Weston River is in great shape. Nipah trees grow very well in estuary, where sea and river meet, sometimes they are even dense enough to form a mini island in the river. Locals use the leaves of Nipah Palm to make roof and its sap to create sugar.


The water of Weston River is a mixture of saline and freshwater, so it is a bit murky. However, crabs and prawns grow faster and bigger in brackish water like this, a reason why Weston is famous for its seafood. During high tide, groupers and snappers will swim to estuary, something that the local anglers are really happy about.


During our river cruise, we saw the superstar of Borneo, the peculiar Proboscis Monkey on the trees along the river. There were about 20 of them in a few herds far apart from one another. Some of them looked at us with catch-me-if-you-can expression on their faces. The long nose of male proboscis monkey is a symbol of sexiness to turn on female. They have big belly with very long intestines inside to digest the tough cellulose of tree leaves.


Proboscis Monkey is only found in Borneo and only 7,000 of them left in Sabah (and another 5,000 in other parts of Borneo), an endangered species. Another unfortunate thing is – they have low survival rate if held in zoo.


If you are a bird-watcher, you will be pleased to know that there is a small population of Lesser Adjutant resides in Weston wetland. It is an ugly big bird with bald head.

Magical Sunset

The sunset that I have been waiting for was coming, the sun was sinking slowly to the horizon. My guide, Simon was a bit worried because the dense cloud of earlier rain would spoil the moment. In Sabah, normally you get either the worst or best sunset after rain, it’s a 50-50 bet. Clear sky in sunny days usually doesn’t end with beautiful sunset, as sunset needs cloud and humid air as canvas, to paint its colorful light.


Pic: the start of sunset, the colors are dull and not so promising…

When our hope was low, the colors on the dense cloud gradually turned intense. The “Magic Moment” of sunset only lasts a few minutes, so everyone keeps their eyes wide open, to enjoy every second of the view.


Even the sky at the east was colored by sunset.


Click here to see Bigger Photo

A splendid sunset over a horizon of mangrove trees, a view that I’ll miss forever! I believe the reason why Weston has nicer sunset than other places of Sabah is because it is nearer to the Equator.

Everyone onboard is happy. The sunset is really one of the highlight of our trip.

Again, it is meal time after sunset. We went back to Weston Jaafar River Lodge for dinner buffet.

Fireflies!

Right behind the lodge are a few trees lit up by fireflies like Christmas trees. Eric planted some mangrove trees around the lodge to attract Proboscis Monkey, what he didn’t expect was these trees also became a magnet for fireflies.


I noticed a girl next to me taking photo of fireflies that circling around her, so I got an interesting photo (see above).


We started our night river cruise after dinner.


Many mangrove trees on the riverbank were full of fireflies! Hundreds of them synchronized their twinkling like the pace of heartbeat. Most city people never saw a firefly before, so they were really excited, especially kids.


The fireflies even flied into our boat (noted the dotted light trail).


At the end, Eric showed us a pretty mangrove flower that only blooms at night, as it relies on bats to pollinate. It is an Apple Mangrove (Species: Sonneratia caseolaris), locally known as Perepat. Its young fruit is edible and can be used as a traditional medicine to cure coughing.

Though artificial and colorful city light is cool, it is lifeless and empty, only the light of nature can shine through our heart.

How to Join the Tour

If you want to join this half-day Weston trip, you may contact W.P.M.S. Tours & Travel for information and booking. Below is their contact:
Address: Lot 4, 2nd Floor, Block 9, Damai Point Commercial Centre, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 12-8463321 (Simon Choo)
Website: westonpms.tripod.com
E-mail: westonpms@gmail.com

*Reference: “Colonial Townships In Sabah: West Coast”, written by Richard Nelson Sokial (PAM Sabah Chapter) in year 2012, (ISBN: 978-983-40734-4-2).

Photos taken in Weston, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) in mangrove forest of Sandakan

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Here are some updates of the new upgrade of Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) in Feb 2012. If you plan your trip to Sepilok Laut based on my earlier blog about SLRC, you may need to read the following changes.


Pic: Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC)

1. New Boardwalk of SLRC

Sabah Forestry Department has constructed a 700-Meter Belian (Ironwood) boardwalk to connect existing SLRC to camping ground in Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve in early 2012.


The new boardwalk will allow you to explore the pristine mangrove forest of Sepilok Laut, without walking in this muddy swamp.


Pic: Mangrove Discovery Centre and the new boardwalk


Pic: This 700-Meter boardwalk is built 2 Meters above the ground.


I visited the new boardwalk a month ago and found that this new boardwalk is great for bird-watching, as you can enter deep into the mangrove forest to look for mangrove bird species.


During my 1-day birding tour there, I spotted the following birds along the boardwalk.

  1. Black-and-Red Broadbill
  2. Black Drongo
  3. Bornean Whistler
  4. Buff-necked Woodpecker
  5. Common Iora
  6. Copper-throated Sunbird
  7. Hill Myna
  8. Jambu Fruit Dove
  9. Kingfishers (5 species!): Ruddy Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Oriental-Dwarf Kingfisher, Blue-eared Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher
  10. Lesser Green Leafbird
  11. Mangrove Blue Flycatcher
  12. Mangrove Whistler
  13. Red-billed Malkoha
  14. White-chested Babbler (not confirm)
  15. Yellow-bellied Bulbul
  16. Velvet-fronted Nuthatch


The boardwalk is also a nice way to see mangrove ecology and wildlife upclose. You would see proboscis monkey, macaques, monitor lizard, crocodile and mangrove viper here, depends on your luck.


Pic: Mangrove Reception next to SLRC boardwalk.


The main mangrove species in Sepilok Laut are bangkita (Rhizophora apiculata), tengar (Ceriops tagal), nyireh (Xylocarpus granatum) and geriting (Lumnitzera littorea).


Mosquitoes are active here during dawn and dusk. Do bring insect repellent. You will be deep in the forest, so there is no shop around to sell you this.


After 30 minutes of leisure walk, you will reach a Camping Ground at the end of the boardwalk. In year 2011, I had to walk nearly 1 KM from this camping ground to SLRC on a rugged forest trail. Now hikers can take the new boardwalk to SLRC, which is easier.

2. Trail to SLRC

In the past, for tourists who wanted to do a jungle trekking from Sepilok to SLRC, the trail started at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. This trail is poorly-maintained and turns muddy after rain.


Now the new 7-KM trail starts at Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC) and passes by two waterfalls. I haven’t tried it but I assume it is better. You may click the trail map above for more details.


Other than what I mentioned above, nothing much is changed in Sepilok Laut Mangrove Discovery Centre. The naughty long-tailed macaques are still around. I miss them so much. But I didn’t see Paul, the alpha male this time.

3. Night Walk at SLRC

Again, I did a night walk at SLRC. I started my walk on a rainforest trail from SLRC to Camping Ground, then return to SLRC via the boardwalk. By doing so, I could see nocturnal animals of rainforest and mangrove forest. Cool huh? Unfortunately, it rained that night so I had to rush back. Anyway, I still photographed some interesting flora.

The new facilities of SLRC definitely made my experience there more enjoyable.


After enjoying the view of misty mangrove forest in the morning, I headed back to Sandakan city by speed boat.

If you love being in touch with forest, Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) is really worth a visit, as it allows you to see two ecosystems, i.e., rainforest and mangrove, in one place. Have you been there? Please share your experience with me.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Snake Island of Pulau Tiga Park

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My day 2 in Pulau Tiga is as exciting as first day. Today I’m going to Snake Island (Pulau Ular or Pulau Kalampunian Damit) of Pulau Tiga Park. I’ve seen the video of dozens of highly venomous Yellow-lipped Sea Kraits or Banded Sea Kraits (species: Laticauda colubrina) roaming on this island. The poison of this sea snake is 3 to 4 times more potent than cobra!

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:

Click Here to see wider video

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

Click Here to see wider video

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:


Click Here to see wider video


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:

Related Posts
Pulau Tiga the Survivor Island
Accommodation on Pulau Tiga
Sands Spit Island

Photos taken in Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Kota Kinabalu Wetlands, Past and Present

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“Deforestation happens every minute. How many trees we can save?” Environmentalists are always dismayed by the clearing of forest everywhere, as if we are fighting a losing battle. It’s really frustrating that whenever we plant one tree, others cut a thousand at the same time. Anyway, a lush forest starts with a few small trees, so I would say “Every tree counts! Just do whatever we can.”


In fact, our efforts are bearing fruit, but it takes a long time to see them. For example, thousands of mangrove seedling were planted in Kota Kinabalu Wetlands (KK Wetlands) by nature lovers from all walks of life since 1998, and the trees are flourishing. The following chronicle photos would comfort your minds.


Above: note both sides of the boardwalk are tall and dense trees today. We planted a lot of mangrove here in annual World Wetlands Day.


Above: the entrance to the boardwalk was once an open area. See the small tree at the right. It is so tall after 10 years!


There is a saying in Chinese, “The predecessors plant the tree and the descendants enjoy the shade” (?????????). We always pave the way for our next generation, so they can have a better future than ours, that’s already an unspoken mission of parents. For example, we let our children inherit our big houses, profitable family business and lot of fortune.


However, does money mean EVERYTHING to our future generation? Do you think they can live happily if the air they breathe and the water they drink are dirty? If we handover our house to our sons and daughters, it’ll be clean and even nicely renovated, right? Our earth is also like a house, sadly, many people decide to handover an earth that is messy and piled with rubbish to their kids. Pollution issue such as stinky river and hazy sky isn’t “a problem next door”, your offspring won’t get away from your wrongdoing, so please keep our environment clean and green.


Above: We rehabilitated the mangrove trees along the river bank. See what we get after 10 years!


Above: a clear area becomes densely forested now, after Department of Irrigation did a mangrove replanting only 5 years ago.


Above: the mangrove trees also grow very high. The Wisma Perindustrian building almost “disappears” behind the wall of tall trees. Many wild birds find this spot a paradise and like to gather here in the late afternoon.


Above: illegal immigrants stealing clams
Things seem fine but KK Wetlands is still facing many challenges. Just to list a few, some bird species vanish after the golf course opened. Otter and monkey disappeared since the invasion of illegal squatters near the park. And don’t even think about cleaning the rubbish brought in by the river every day, they are too many.


Though small (24 hectares), KK Wetlands fulfills the criteria to be certified as a Ramsar site, designated under the Ramsar Convention, for wetland of international importance, in terms of fauna & flora, ecology system and feeding stop for migratory birds. Malaysia has 6 Ramsar sites and Kinabatangan Floodplain in Sabah being the biggest. If KK Wetlands becomes untouchable Ramsar site, many greedy developers will be disappointed, as they can’t wait to flatten this area, which is a gold property due to its proximity to the city.


We need to fight for the survival of the wetland, like the recently proposed high-rise condominium developments close to the park. Those developers want to use nature view as the selling point of their property, but the things they do have detrimental impacts to the mangrove. When I worked there, I also chased away many illegal immigrants who trespassed our park to steal clams. So now you can see, this park is being bugged by BIG and small “flies”.


Above: these replanted mangrove trees have fully grown and I saw them bear fruits yesterday!

Well, at this moment, let’s enjoy what we have and wish that they will stay for us forever.

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Mangrove Forest of Bongawan River

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Two weeks ago I was on a river cruise trip at Bongawan River. I was amazed by its pristine mangrove forest. So far it’s the only river cruise that let me see three mangrove zones, which have very different vegetation to one another.


Bongawan is a small town about 70 KM away from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, Malaysia. I was told that proboscis monkey is spotted in the mangrove forest of Bongawan, so I went there to have a look.


Above: the jetty where the Bongawan river cruise starts
Normally proboscis monkey gathers on the mangrove trees of riverbank in late afternoon, so we started our tour at 4pm at a jetty in Bongawan.


Above: map of Bongawan River (Click to enlarge)
The Main Mangrove and Seaward Mangrove zones are at the left (Laut = Sea), Back Mangrove Zone at the right (KG. = Village), mainly the human settlement area. Below is the map of the jetty. Please note you need to book the tour in advance.


View My Sabah Map in a larger map


The starting point of the tour is a few KM from the sea, so the river is in normal yellow color. We explore the landward side first.


Everyone was looking for proboscis monkey, but I was having fun checking out the vegetation along the river. Many mangrove plants are useful for local community, for example, firewood, building materials, food, herb. Due to modernization, most people just buy stuffs and don’t collect what they need from forest.


At the beginning, we already see the dense clump of Nibung trees (species: Oncosperma tigillarium), which indicates the transitional area between dry land and mangrove zone. The wood of Nibung Palm can be used for minor construction such as furniture and poles for stilt houses.


Then we see many Nipah Palm, which likes to grow on soft and fine-grained substrates in the Back Mangrove Zone. Its inflorescence produces sweet syrup, which is rich in sucrose and is used for production of sugar, vinegar and alcohol. The leaf fibers are great for making ropes, brushes and brooms. The fruit (atap) is edible and a popular dessert.


The upstream dry land of Bongawan River is moderately inhabited. We passed by some villages and plantation. The density of mangrove trees here is relatively low.


Same as car for city people, boat is important for villagers living next to river. Almost every house has a “parking lot” for their boats.


Above: an abandoned boat
The boatman says this “junk” was used to be a RM200,000 luxury boat.. WOW! How and Why did it end up there then?


We saw many fruits like above. Not sure if it is the fruit of “Ketapang” tree (Terminalia catappa), which is edible.


Then our boat enters a swampy area, which is dominated by dense water grasses and Piai Raya mangrove ferns (Acrostichum aureum). The mature leaves of Piai Raya fern are used for thatching and as fodder for cattle. The young leaves are eaten as vegetable in Indonesia.


There are many “volcano moulds” built by the mud lobsters in this swamp. Mud lobster is a crustacean that looks like a hybrid of lobster and scorpion. It only crawls out of its burrow at night so it’s rare to see. Yes it is edible.


Later we turned back to move downstream toward the sea. We found long-tailed macaque, monitor lizard and a few birds (Hill Myna, Dollar Bird, Blue-throated bee eater).


Now we are inside the Main Mangrove Zone, which has the most diverse and complex mangrove ecology. This zone is characterized by abundant mangrove trees of Rhizophora species such as Bakau Minyak (Rhizophora apiculata) and Bakau Kurap (Rhizophora mucronata). The water also turns brackish and we can smell mud (like mild rotten egg).


Bakau Minyak prefers soft and muddy soil of riverbank. The wood is a nice timber for making beams, furniture, firewood, charcoal and foundation piles.


The mangrove trees of Main Mangrove Zone in Bongawan are in pristine condition. They are lush, dense and tall, some are more than 15 Meters in height.


There are 52 true mangrove plants (purely live in mangrove) in the world. 42 species are found in Malaysia, and 34 are found in Sabah. Malaysia accounts for about 3.7% (577,500 ha) of the world’s mangrove area. 59% of Malaysian mangrove forest are in Sabah.


The mangrove trees with aerial roots are Bakau Kurap (Rhizophora mucronata). It is the most widespread mangrove species in the world. Its wood can be used for fuel and charcoal. The tannin from the bark is used for tanning and dyeing of fishing lines and ropes. Usually it is scattered along the riverbank, but here in Bongawan its density is very high.


As we approach the estuary of Bongawan, we enter the Seaward Mangrove Zone.


We exit from the estuary to the open sea for a while and enjoy the mangrove view of the coastline. These mangrove trees are important natural barrier that mitigates coastal erosion, tsunami and rising of sea level.


As mangrove trees grow on tidal zone, their bases are flooded during high tide. That’s why most of them have stilt roots that serve 2 main purposes: (1) to hold itself firm in muddy soil, and (2) to breathe air during high tide.


We returned to the jetty around 5:30pm. Too bad we didn’t see any proboscis monkey. Anyway, I had joined other river cruises in south-western part of Sabah, but this is the first time I see Back Mangrove Zone, Main Mangrove Zone and Seaward Mangrove Zone in a day. For me, the flora is impressive, though the upstream area is pressured by development.

More Photos

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

Photos taken in Bongawan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Other river cruises:
Klias (Peat Swamp Forest)
Weston (Seaward Mangrove)
Deluxe River Cruise

Gayana Eco Resort, the crib of the giant clams

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Based on the following clues, do you know where is the place? 🙂
1) Only 20 minutes away from the bustling Kota Kinabalu city;
2) Meeting point of coral reefs, lush rainforest & mangrove;
3) The only place where you can see all 7 Giant Clams species of Malaysia;
4) 5-star island resort.

Well, the title has given out the answer. Yes, it’s Gayana Eco Resort on Gaya Island (Pulau Gaya), we have island resort so near to Kota Kinabalu (KK). That’s why KK earns the fame as Nature Resort City of Malaysia.

Below is the location of Gayana Eco Resort on Google map:

View My Sabah Map in a larger map

Over the years, Gayana Eco Resort has been improving on infrastructure and amenities. To me, their biggest achievement of all is not better accommodation, but their commitment on marine conservation. In my recent visit to Gayana, I’m happy to see their efforts bear fruit.


To go to Gayana Eco Resort is fast and easy, just drop by their office at Jesselton Point to register.


Above: Jesselton Point terminal


Then take a boat to the island and you will be on Gaya Island in 20 minutes.


There is no tourist who is not crazy about our turquoise sea. What’s more important are the “dark spots” under the water, which are easily mistaken by tourists as “rubbish”. These are corals, the nursery of marine life.

Marine Ecology Research Center (MERC)

Marine Ecology Research Center (MERC) is managed by Gayana Eco Resort. Their Giant Clam Propagation Programme won them the Most Innovative Tourist Attraction Eco-Tourism Conservation Award 2008-2009 awarded by Ministry of Tourism Malaysia.


Above: the building of Marine Ecology Research Center (MERC). The old MERC was used to be a small and poorly-maintained exhibition hall at other side. After the new management took over a few years ago, they build a bigger and well-equipped marine building, which consists of high standard auditorium, display room, lab, etc.


One of their staffs, Melissa, was giving us a short presentation of MERC conservation projects and environmental education in 30-seat auditorium. The most interesting information is the giant clam can grow more than 1-Meter wide, weight 200 Kg and live more than 100 years!


After the presentation, the staffs showed us the marine sanctuary outside the room. It’s an enclosed sea area with endangered game fishes in it.


There is a sea turtle too. Sometimes the villagers sent the sick sea turtles here and MERC will treat them. The turtles will be released back to the ocean once they are fully recovered.


Next we visited their Display Room. No camera flash is allowed inside, so please pardon my dark & blur photos blow.


The Display Room houses some large and well-lit aquarium tanks that show different ecology (e.g. sea grass) and interesting marine life such as “nemo”, seahorses and puffer fishes.


Above: can you spot the stone fish? Step on it and you will experience agonizing pain for a few days.


The aquarium allows you to look at the marine creatures up-close. Both kid and adult will love it.


In Gayana, you can see all 7 giant clam species of Malaysia. Currently they have 2,000 giant clams in their nursery. Their Giant Clam Propagation Programme was started in year 2007. After 3 years of breeding and nurturing of giant clams in the protected nursery, MERC will release 500 baby giant clams into the ocean, that includes two locally extinct species, Tridacna gigas and Tridacna derasa!


Under this Giant Clam programme, more than 10,000 giant clams larger than 1 CM have been transferred from the hatchery to the nursery area. Giant clam is important to marine ecology b’coz it filters harmful waste nutrients from the sea water, release clean water and produce oxygen for the environment. However, giant clams are highly-endangered due to overfishing.


Above: the shell of the largest giant clam species, Tridacna gigas. In fact, it can grow larger than this (up to 4.6 feet).


Above: the juvenile giant clams that are ready to be released into the sea.


Above: the Touch Tank of MERC. You can touch anything in the tank.


There are sea cucumbers, starfishes, etc. in the Touch Tank. A great way to learn sea creatures by touching.


Above: a beautiful hermit crab in touch tank.


You also can participate in their Coral Reef Restoration Programme. If you “adopt” a coral, you will be given a broken coral fragment to plant it in cement-base plate. The fragments are from corals damaged by strong wave and human activities, and they can’t survive on their own.


Then your coral will be labelled and placed into the Coral Stabilization Tank for at least 2 weeks. It’ll be transferred to the reef nearby if it’s healthy. The sponsors will also receive periodic update and photos of their “babies” corals. As of now, Gayana has planted over 2,500 corals with a survival rate of nearly 90%.

You can Click Here to learn more about the conservation projects of MERC.

Gayana Eco Resort

After the conservation activities, we took a tour around the island resort.


Gayana Eco Resort has over 20 water bungalows with beautiful sea view, great for honey moon trip.


Above: The “infinite” swimming pool of Gayana Eco Resort.


Above: Having lunch at Alu-Alu Seafood Restaurant of Gayana. It’s the first restaurant to remove shark fin from its menu.


If you would like to visit Gayana Eco Resort, you may visit their web site at gayana-eco-resort.com for more info.

More Photos

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

Photos taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Related post
Bunga Raya Resort of Gaya Island
Giant Clams of Sabah

Borneo KellyBays and the Beauties

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About 30 KM from Kota Kinabalu, somewhere in Tuaran there is a “secret” paradise between a river and the sea. Some heard about this beautiful place but they can’t describe it, b’coz few locals have been there. Borneo KellyBays (or Kellybays in short) is special b’coz it’s probably the only Sabah nature attraction that lays between sea and river.


Borneo KellyBays is in Laya Laya Village (Kampung Laya Laya) of Tuaran. At the edge of the village, there is a boardwalk that leads to the jetty of Borneo KellyBays.


At the jetty, you will see a wide river between you and Kellybays. Even during low tide, the river is about 3 to 6 feet deep and you can’t walk across it. That’s why Borneo KellyBays looks so “mysterious” to uninvited guests. Normally they don’t take walk-in tourist, so you need to book the tour in advance.

You can look at the map below for the location of Borneo KellyBays and its jetty. The map also clearly shows that Kellybays is between river and sea:


View My Sabah Map in a larger map


Above: the wooden rafts of Kellybays.


If you have booked a tour, they will send a wooden raft to pick you up at jetty. Once you are on-board, you are their VIP.


Last month I had a photography outing with 19 gorgeous ladies at Kellbays. They are the contestants of Miss Oriental Beauty Pageant, which aims to promote local modelling talent in the fashion industry on modelling run-way show and exposure in beauty pageant. It was an enjoyable experience b’coz both models and photographers have more space and privacy, as there is no Uncle Bob, busybody and weirdo around in the private beach of Kellybays.


Though we didn’t have blue sky that day, the overcast sky in the morning offers very pleasing soft light. And it’s not too hot (except the hot models) so everyone was very relax and had lot of fun. What is better than photo-shooting sexy bikini models in beautiful beach?


The photographers and models are divided into a few groups for photo-taking in different spots in rotation. The beach of Kellybays stretches 8 KM long overlooking the South China Sea with sandy bay and forested coastal, so there are plenty of nice background for framing the shots. In fact, many overseas models have come here for photography.


The mangrove forest and river at the other side is also great for photography. The models are experienced and know how to pose for camera. FYI, quite a distance away is an estuary where the river and sea meet. Looking afar, it is like a dragon tail, that’s how Kellybays got its Chinese name ??? / ???, which is literally translated as “Dragon Tail Bay”.


For the promotion of Kellybays, the models also tried batik painting, one of the favorite activities of tourists.


Then we photo-shoot the models playing volleyball. Everyone is happy, whatever ball they look at..


Finally we could enjoy Malay buffet lunch at the floating restaurant of Kellybays after work. I really love their seashell cups for fresh fruit juice. The owner, Stephen says these are special-made and not found anywhere else. He ordered 200 units, but the guests like it so much that they “borrow” it (without asking), so there are only 100 left.


The restaurant is facing the lush mangrove forest and clam river, so you can appreciate the nice scenery while having your drink.


Above: the mangrove and river at Kellybays


Mangrove has abundant fishes and crabs. You can try crab fishing in the river there. Just throw a net with bait in it, withdraw the net after a few hours and you would find seafood inside.

There are many things you can do at Kellybays.


For example, you can laze on the sandy beach for a sunbathe.


If you are drowsy after heavy lunch, you can take a nap on the hammock and enjoy the gentle sea breeze.


Kayaking in the river to blend yourself into the nature.


Or ride a water bicycle on the river…

Ok, ok, I know the activities above are too “slow” for you. You want something Fast and Furious right? Try their Banana Boat then! Personally I call it “Torpedo”.


Don’t look down this banana-shape rubber boat.


At first a speed boat will pull the banana boat for a leisure cruise. See! You can go hand-free.


Then the boat will go faster and faster, you will feel like riding on a missile and scream your lung out.


Lastly, the boat will purposely make a sharp turn in high speed. Everyone will be thrown out of the banana boat and dash into water.


Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe. The girls will survive.


Guess what? The babes are so thrilled being dumped and they want MORE.. so bold and sporting huh. You can have as many rides as you want.


It had been a happy day but we had to say goodbye. FYI, the Miss Oriental 2012 beauty pageant is still on. If you want to see those pretty girls, you may visit D’Junction Fun Pub (Address: Batu 3, Jalan Lintas, Penampang) at 9pm on the following dates:
20 Apr 2012: Special appearance (preview night with Burlesque theme)
27 Apr 2012: Grand Final
Come and support your favorite girl! For enquiry, contact D Junction representatives at +60 88-703131.


To visit Borneo KellyBays, head to Tuaran, after passing by the junction to Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort, drive a few more Kilometers on the main road and you will see the direction signage of KellyBays. Just follow the little signages along the way and zig-zag on the small road of Laya Laya Village to reach the jetty. You can browse their website at www.kellybays.com for more info.


You may Click Here to see more photos of Miss Oriental at Borneo Kelly Bays. I also post some photos of Miss Sabah Photo Fest models on last page, which were taken in year 2011 at Kelly Bays.

More Photos

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

Photos taken in Tuaran, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo