TRAVEL MALAYSIA: Sabah - An Island Guide - Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

in #teammala6 years ago (edited)

White sands, clear waters, fresh food.. tempted anyone? Next we are off to the islands off of Kota Kinabalu,  place worth visiting for some true island life just a stones throw from KK.

Author: @viverridae 


image via Google maps

I was very lucky that my colleague and I were invited to participate a familiarisation trip, organised by one of the local tour operators here in Kota Kinabalu, to visit the 5 islands here in Kota Kinabalu. These islands are known as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP) which consists Manukan, Sapi, Sulug, Gaya and Mamutik Island, TARP is just less than 15 minutes by boat from the Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal. 

Our boat departs exactly at 0900 am in the morning. Before that, me and my colleague are briefed that we are only going to visit two islands for inspection. And the rest of the islands are just a pass by with 5 to 10 minutes stop on the boat, listening to our  tour guide (TG) explain briefly about the islands. 

After being equipped with a life jacket and snorkeling set, we’re off to the first island, Sulug.

Sulug Island is actually an abandoned island where there is no accommodation or any other facilities. However, we were told by our TG that visitors can actually camp there for a night or two. However, prior arrangement should be made with Sabah Parks. 

We then proceed to our next island, Manukan Island. Being one of the top visited island in KK, Manukan Island is known to be the ideal getaway for tourists and to the locals. Besides snorkeling, there are also other activities which can be done here such as watersports activities, hiking into the rainforest or take a guided tour around the island. Luxury chalets are also available for rent, operated under the Sutera Sanctuary Lodges. Do check their website here for more info about their famous island resort.

The third island that we’ve visited is Mamutik Island. Our TG dropped us here for to explore the island itself. Being the smallest island in TARP, Mamutik Island can be pretty crowded with tourists during the weekend or school holidays. Equipped with toilet, changing room, small cafeteria and few vendors selling fresh coconut for drink, Mamutik Island is definitely a worth place to visit. After changing into our swim suits, we took our snorkel sets and off we go. As a non-diver, I am pretty happy to see Nemo (clownfish) swimming between the corals. 


Mamutik Island 

After 3 hours on Mamutik Island, we’re off again to our fourth island - Sapi Island. Here, we had our BBQ lunch, pre-arranged by the tour operator. It was indeed a sumptuous lunch. While enjoying our delicious lunch, we saw few monitor lizards roaming near the BBQ area. They probably got attracted from the BBQ smell. No one is allowed to feed the monitor lizards or get near to them. 


Sapi Island (image via Google)

We started our snorkeling activity after resting for almost 30 minutes from our big lunch. Not far from the beach, we spotted Nemo again! And of course some other fish too. Apart from snorkeling, here you can also do diving (as matter of fact, you can do diving at all the five islands), hiking to the highest point, and watersports activity such as parasailing, banana boat, flyfish, kayaking or jet skiing. If you want to see the underwater world, but you are not a diver, you can go for 'sea walking' - a sea sport which allows a person to breath underwater using a huge glass dome placed over your head and air is fed via a tube that is connected to the dome.


Coral Flyer Zipline (image via Google)

Another popular activity in Sapi Island is the Coral Flyer Zipline. Said to be the longest zipline in Borneo, the coral flyer connects both Sapi and Gaya island. During low tide, you could also walk from Sapi Island to the neighboring Gaya island! After had fun at Sapi Island, we continue cruising to the fifth and last island - Gaya.

The largest island in TARP, Gaya island is famous for their white sandy beach and crystal clear water at Police Beach. We then pass by the Gayana Marine Resort, home to the giant clams research centre. Visitors can also do a 20km nature walk in the jungle of Gaya. However, you must be accompanied by a tour guide, to avoid getting lost in the thick rainforest jungle of Gaya Island.

The boat docked at Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal and our familiarization trip ended around 3pm. It was indeed a fun and knowledgeable tour for me and my colleague. 

Just a few quick tips for those who wish to the five islands hopping in TARP:

- Bring extra money for purchases on the island.
- Bring sunscreen lotion, hat and sunglasses.
- Rent a mat if you wish to lie down on the sandy beach. 
- Bring insect repellent.

This is part of a series of features about Malaysia, written mainly by the Malaysian community. Expect hidden gems, local flavours, off-the-beaten-track experiences and much more. Consider this steemit's first independent guide to Malaysia!
This initiative will help the local talent (the writers) and aims to inspire and inform you about this wondrous place and hopefully tempt you to journey there! The authors of these posts will benefit from most of the SBD earned here.

Please do help support this local initiative by resteeming and upvoting!

Thanks to @viverridae for putting this feature together!


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