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Published: September 19th 2008
Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, is a lovely city sat right on the ocean. We explored the town and the bustling night market which was full of freshly barbequed seafood including tuna, squid and prawns which I just had to try- lovely! Also had time to check out the Sabah Museum which was less than great but did get to see some longhouses recreated (which sadly is as close to a real longhouse as I will get on this trip).
Ev and I also headed out to Mamutik Island which is said to have the best snorkelling around KK. We arrived to find the small beautiful island but with visibility at about 1 foot. Although I did have some bread given to me by the other snorkellers so I at least saw some fish (with teeth-ouch!) who happily munched away as I strained to see them through the sandy waters.
After a few nights in KK we headed for Sandakan by bus past Mt Kinabalu, the highest peak in Malaysia. Mt Kinabalu stands around 13,500 ft above sealevel (and I was thinking of climbing it!?!) and was beautifully enshrouded in cloud as we passed. After a good 6
hours on the bus and 3 of the latest movies still in cinemas for entertainment (piracy run amok in SE Asia) we arrived to Sandakan.
Sandakan is a funny little town made infamous by the prison of war camps and the Sandakan Death Marches of WWII. We checked into our hotel and headed down to the night markets (as they were the only thing open in town after 5:30) for some fresh local food. Not too many tourists around and as the only white person in sight got quite a few sniggers and "hellos" being screamed across the market at me.
As Sandakan doesn't hold much for tourists downtown we enjoyed the DVD selection in our hotel (must have been over 1000 movies to choose from in a variety of languages ranging from "gigantic animal movies" to "Jean Claude Van Damme movies"). We spent the next few days out of town enjoying the sights that make Sandakan a must stop on the tourist trail in Sabah.
First stop Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary. Sepilok is our second sanctuary but very different from the one we visited in Sarawak. This sanctuary is currently in the process of rehabilitating young orangs
back into the wild. Jungle based villagers alert the onsite staff if they see a young orang in the wild without its mother or being kept as a pet. The sanctuary staff then make a trip into the countryside to collect the young animal and bring it to the centre to begin its rehab.
Initially the orang is kept in quarantine to make sure it is free of diseases and then placed in with other young orangs who are "learning the ropes" of how to survive in the wild. This includes learning to climb, swing and to fend for themselves. They are slowly reintroduced into nature and go out for feedings into the park twice daily. This is where tourists get a chance to see them. Gradually they are fed further and further into the park with the hopes that they will eventually choose the jungle as their home.
So I arrived and wandered onto the feeding platform to see the young orangs as they took their milk and bananas. So dear! After they were finished the macques came to "clear up" and my last orang utan adventure was over. It has been amazing to have the chance
to see these animals during our time in Borneo.
The next day we awoke to catch our speedboat out to Turtle Islands National Park. This park is shared by the Malaysian and Phillipine governments and is a refuge for turtles who use the islands as their nesting grounds. We arrived to Selingaan Island which holds the first turtle hatchery in the area established in 1966 and checked into our bungalow. Tonights entertainment comes in 3 parts: a mother turtle laying her eggs, relocating of the eggs to the hatchery and releasing the new babies. But the excitement doesn't begin until after sundown so we spent the day on the beach and enjoying the lovely, clear and warm waters.
At 6:30 we headed for the main building and were forbid to leave for the evening- in case our movements on the island put any of the mother turtles off. We had a look around the museum that explained a bit about the turtles, why they lay here, how far they travel to lay here (sometimes 100-1000 miles wow!), types of turtles who lay on the island (mainly hawksbill and green turtles) etc. The museum was followed by a documentary
about why turtle conservation is so important today as these magnificent animals are at risk of dying out due to humans (boat propellers, plastic bags in the water which they mistake for jellyfish and ingest etc). Seems that all the endangered species that we have seen so far on this trip are going extinct from one main cause- US!
Headed downstairs for dinner waiting for two little words to be spoken- "Turtle Time". We were part of the first group and barely had to wait until our turtle came ashore. Turtle Time was called and we all rushed to the beach in anticipation. We arrived to find a huge green turtle in a huge hole who had just laid 85 eggs. Sadly we missed the laying but the moment did not lose its meaning. She was amazing and massive and so beautiful. We snapped away (sadly no flash so no great pictures) and finally left her in peace to bury her eggs (which the ranger had already collected) while we headed to the hatchery.
The hatchery was started to try to give the eggs the best chance at developing and hatching. Turtle eggs are considered a delicacy in
Asia and locals will dig them up from the beach to sell them down at the local market. Additionally with so many mothers making nests on a single beach sometimes inadvertantly they can dig up each others nests and ruin the undeveloped eggs. For these and a number of other reasons including natural predators the hatcheries are seen as the best way to ensure that 90% or more of the eggs laid hatch.
The hatchery is basically a stretch of sand where pits are dug (almost exactly as the mother digs them). As heat determines the babies sex some eggs are buried in shade and some in more direct sun. The cooler the sand the more boys and the more heat the more girls or as the tour guide stated "cool boys" and "hot girls". Each clutch of eggs is reburied in the hole, labelled and 6-8 weeks later the hatchlings emerge naturally.
The babies are then collected for our final show of the evening- release to the sea. We watched in awe as the tiny baby turtles were set lose down the beach crawling over my feet on their way. Many of these babies will not make
it to adulthood as there are so many predators in the sea but at least they have had a good headstart on life. Generally the turtles will reach sexual maturity in 15-30 years and will be back to lay their own eggs on the shores of these very islands. The night we were there 10 mothers laid eggs on our island alone.
With a bit of sweet talking from Ev we were given another chance to see a mother laying her eggs so as the second turtle time was called I raced out to the beach to see another mother in her hole in the process of laying. An amazing sight and the second female laid 84 eggs in all. Truly a fantastic experience!
From Turtle Islands we headed back to the mainland and caught another bus to Semporna further down the coast towards Indonesia. Semporna is the jumping off point for Sipadan Island and some of the best diving/snorkelling in the world. We got there just in time to get the last place on the snorkelling trip for the following day and headed out to the accommodation on Mabul Island. We arrived to our very own stilt
resort excited for tomorrow's big adventure to the reef!
Sipadan is Malaysia's only oceanic island and rises 600 metres from the ocean floor making for a dramatic underwater world. We headed out from Mabul Island for our 3 stop trip. Our first spot was a warm up where I saw a turtle as soon as I got in the water, a black tipped reef shark and so much more. Sadly the sun was not yet out so the true colors didn't shine through. After a brief rest on the island we headed to Barracuda Point and with the sun ablaze over our heads the underwater sights took us to a different world. Such amazing beauty and such strange fish and turtles everywhere! We battled against the strong current while taking in another black tipped reef shark, pufferfish, bumpheads, crocodile fish, unicorn fish, turtles and loads more I couldn't begin to name. The day just kept getting better!
After a final break on the island we headed back out to Drop Off, our last stop of the day. Jumped in the water and have never felt so much amazement underwater in my whole life. This place is where the
reef literally drops off 600 metres under our feet (er.. fins). The colors were so vivid and the visibility must have been 30 metres at least. Breathtaking! The soft corals swayed in the current and the fish clustered around the drop off. Turtles lazily hung on the bottom until their next breath beckoned them to the surface - gliding all the way. These lovely creatures so heavy and cumbersome on land are as graceful as can be under the water and so quick.
I happily followed the drop off edge taking in everything and feeling so amazingly calm. This place is above and beyond the best snorkelling I have ever done and maybe ever will do in my life. After a jawdropping day I headed back to the stilt village where we enjoyed some relaxation before heading back to the mainland. After 6 weeks in Malaysia we are off to Vietnam and Cambodia in a day.
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Mike & Family
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BBQ'd Turtles!
Great to see you're having such a good time - did you try BBQ Turtle and fried Orangatang whilst you were over there? Ev's a bit of a boy, likes his food and would be game for anything! Keep the updates comming. Cheerio.