Sabah is touted as the ‘next big thing’. Needra D’Souza discovered why.

“Welcome to the land beneath the wind.” This greeting came from our guide Ross as we arrived in Sabah, and was matched with a smile as warm and welcoming as the balmy Borneo weather. His relaxed sense of humour and patience made us feel we were in the company of an old friend.

Sabah, a State in Malaysian Borneo, is the world’s third largest island and spills onto the South China Sea to the west and the Sulu and Celebes Seas to the east. Neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines and covering the northern tip of Borneo, it is a treasure trove of natural wonders and diverse cultures. It is also home to some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet.

What’s more inviting is the trip there. Where it once took almost 13 hours, a new international carrier, Australian Airlines, now flies direct from Sydney to Kota Kinabalu, the capital. It offers all the accoutrements of an international airline — complementary food and beverages and inflight entertainment —while halving the travel time, making this exotic land even more appealing.

Kota Kinabalu (known as KK) lies on the west coast of Sabah. The city was rebuilt after WWII and is ethnically diverse, with a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian, Indonesian, Filipino and the native people of Borneo. Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus live side-by-side in harmony and their respective religious holidays are all celebrated, which means the people of Sabah have over 150 days (including weekends) off a year!

KK offers a host of cultural and historic sites, as well as the chance to haggle for local handicrafts at the weekly Gaya Street fair and eat at street stalls or restaurants serving Malay, Indian, Chinese and western food.

Accommodation choices range from 5-star resorts to budget. We opted to start and end our trip in luxury at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort, with stays in more traditional establishments for the days in between.

Rasa Ria is about 40 minutes outside  KK’s centre. It offers all the attractions and comfort of a top resort, but for me the main allure was that it sat right on the ocean (romantics can hire horses and ride among the lapping waves at sunset) and has its own nature reserve.

In a conservation effort between the State Wildlife Department and Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort, the Nature Reserve provides a home to orphaned orang-utans, as well as deer, long-tailed macaques, peacocks, bear cats, porcupines and dozens of bird species.

I recommend staying at the Rasa Ria if only for the chance to get up close and personal with these feisty characters who sadly face extinction. We got there at feeding time and were in stitches as four-year-old Tiger Wuds (yes, really) tumbled about, threw tantrums, made faces and gorged on bananas. Watching this, you can understand how we share 94 per cent of the same DNA as these ginger-haired mammals.

A visit to Kinabalu National Park, which was declared a World Heritage listed site in 2000, is also a must. It’s home to an amazing diversity of ecosystems and the majestic Mount Kinabalu, sitting at 4095 metres (it will increase to five metres in the next 100 years as the island of Borneo rises).

Even at this height the mountain receives no snow, but temperatures are low and the wind and rain storms can lash at you. Surprisingly, the climb starts off downhill but then it’s uphill all the way. The walk up takes about two days and it helps to be reasonably fit. For the really game, there’s always the annual Climb-a-thon. Hailed as one of the world’s best, international runners line up for the 24-km summit and back trip. (Last year’s men’s champ made it in a staggering two hours and 36 minutes!) Mere mortals must begin the climb in an organised group, although once on your way, you can power ahead and join other groups. The air gets very thin so it’s important to go slowly and take frequent rest breaks while you savour the incredible views.

There is accommodation halfway at Laban Rata and at the peak — heated and non-heated dormitory style rooms. There is no road access to the summit but you don’t need to carry much; food is available halfway and at the summit and toilets and fresh water stops appear along the way. If you think the going is tough, spare a thought for the local porters who heave in excess of 30 kilograms of supplies between the base and summit every day.

For a much gentler and warmer trek you can opt for the Park’s Canopy Walk. The ascent is only 500 metres but it’s hot and humid so take your time and have a look at the multitude of trees, ferns and shrubs. This is where our guide Ross’ knowledge was great. He explained the botany of the park in a way that was more intriguing game than boring science lesson.

The walk among the canopy is via a series of suspension bridges 41 metres above the forest floor. They’re narrow and bouncy but safe. At the end of the walk down you can stop for a steaming soak in the Mother Nature-heated waters of Poring Hot Springs.
We stayed the night at Kinabalu Park headquarters, which has a variety of hostels, cabins, and villas to suit the budget, all clean and comfortable.

Just behind the headquarters building is a garden walk with more than 1,500 species of orchids, some as small as a pin head, as well as rhododendrons, Pitcher plants, and native medicinal herbs.

Indeed, Sabah is home to the world’s largest flower — the Rafflesia. It grows larger than a car steering wheel (in some cases one metre wide) and its petals are a blaze of orange, white and red. But you need to see it before it turns five days old and starts to turn black.

For marine enthusiasts, Sabah has a well-earned reputation as heaven for  underwater fancier’s. In fact, US dive magazine Rodale Scuba Diving voted Sipadan, on the east coast, the number one dive spot in the world.

While Sipadan, with its green turtles, vast coral reefs and mysterious sunken wrecks is popular, for a real Gilligan’s Island deserted island experience, Mantanani might be what you are after. A few hours north-west of KK and a one-hour speed boat ride from Kota Belud, Mantanani is made up of three tiny islands, the main almost a cliché if it wasn’t real — swaying coconut trees, lush green vegetation, crystal blue waters and a fluorescent pink sky at sunset.

We stayed at Mantanani Resort, the only accommodation on the island, comprising nine hexagonal bungalows set on absolute beachfront.

There are no shops but you’ll never go hungry — the tariff includes five meals a day, with fresh seafood, fruit and vegies, local specialties and coconut juice served straight from the nut.

Some dive sites in Sabah have been damaged by fish bombers, but this practice is now illegal and the coral reefs have begun to regenerate. But for us, snorkelling and diving (a dive master accompanies you) revealed giant sting rays, huge clams, schools of colourful tropical fish and a world of macrofish.

After leaving the island we headed from Kota Belud to the tip of Borneo and to what I can only describe as the most beautiful stretch of beach I have ever seen and not a soul around. Powder sand, turquoise water, cloudless sky above — paradise found! It didn’t take much to convince Ross to pull over so we could loll about in the cool water, before heading to the town of Kudat via a bee farm. Palm oil is one of Sabah’s biggest industries but so too is honey. The owners smoked out the bees from their hive with burning bark (it has an hallucinogenic effect that stops them stinging) so we could sample the sweet, syrupy honey straight from the waxy honeycomb.

After a big and tasty lunch that came to less than 15 RM for two (about A$5), we headed to the local fish market and bought one kilogram of sailor fish for three RM (a jaw-dropping A$1) for our hosts at the Rungus Long House, our next stop, to smoke for dinner.

The Rungus are native to the area and one of the tribes still living in the customary Long House. The tradition started when the chief of the group built a house using bamboo, which is extended left and right until each person has their own room — up to a whole village of 20 people! Long House stays are encouraged by the Government as they preserve the culture and help the owners to be self-sufficient.

We stayed with Mr Ankong and his family who put on a great performance of traditional dance and music and cooked us a feast of native ferns and spinach, chicken, chillis smaller than a grain of rice and ‘motoku’ (a potent mix of rice wine and coconut juice), the latter two really packing a punch.

Getting about in Sabah is quite easy with or without a guide. The government has imposed strict measures to ensure tourists are not ripped off by dodgy tour operators. All are qualified, registered and in some areas must wear ID badges. Ross is from Exotic Adventures but most tour companies can organise any type of tour from diving adventures to mountain climbing to wildlife spotting.

If you don’t want to pay for a guide  it’s well worth hiring a car as most main roads are sealed and sign-posted, English is spoken in the bigger towns and petrol is cheap, as it’s sourced locally. Car hire is from 85 RM (about A$30) per day and recent model 4WDs from 100 RM (A$37) per day and you can try and negotiate a lower price. Good road maps are available from stationery and book shops in KK.

4WDs are popular in Sabah and there are some great spots to go off-road. For example, the terrain around Mt Kinabalu is wet and muddy most of the year so the track is challenging and requires good technical know-how.

Sabah also hosts the 4x4 Borneo Challenge from the east to west coast and includes tracks through the jungle, logging tracks and deep rivers. Check with Sabah Tourism for dates and details. Other events include the 4x4 Safari where teams of four travel to remote areas and deliver medicine and supplies to villagers and for non-4WD, the Trans Borneo week-long run is a fun convoy-style event touring from Tawau in the East to KK then Brunei and into the neighbouring state of Sarawak.

It’s no doubt obvious how much I enjoyed my Borneo adventure. It really is a breathtaking place, as yet untainted by the crass commercialism of other tropical destinations and with an innate beauty and tranquillity in both the land and the people. I hope it remains that way. So go there and enjoy it for what it is — a paradise found.

Visiting Sabah

For Sabah Holiday packages (including NRMA Member discounts), call Harvey World Travel on 1300 767 900 or visit your participating Harvey World Travel shop.

Sabah Tourism can provide you with lots of information on things to see and do, places to stay and driving routes.
Visit www.sabahtourism.com.

Ringgit (RM) is the local currency. Exchange rate calculated at 2.7 RM:A$1.

The Open Road travelled courtesy of Harvey World Travel.