5 Negara Dengan Aurora Terindah Di Dunia

1. ALASKA

2. KANADA

4. NORWAY

5. ICELAND

Desa Dairy Farm in Mesilau, Little New Zealand of Sabah

Desa Dairy Farm in Mesilau, Little New Zealand of Sabah

DESA is a household name in Sabah because most Sabahans grow up drinking milk from Desa Dairy Farm, which produces nearly one million liters of fresh milk annually. But Sabah people feel affection for Desa milk because of more reasons. You will know why if you visit Desa Dairy Farm in Mesilau, which is about 100 KM away from Kota Kinabalu City (KK). In fact, this farm has become a well-known tourist attraction. Throngs of tourists go there every day to enjoy the delicious dairy and beautiful scenery. 

It took me about 2 hours to reach Desa Dairy Farm in Mesilau by car. The green pasture with grazing cows at foothill of Mt. Kinabalu is a sight to behold. Doesn’t the place look like grassland of New Zealand? No wonder locals call it the New Zealand in Sabah. To see Mt. Kinabalu, you need to be there before 8:30am because the mountain will be covered by dense fog. The scene is so breathtaking that many tourists taking selfie and photos. FYI, many photographers also come here to use Mt. Kinabalu as the background for wedding shots of their customers. Photo taking is free outside the fence. The photography permit fee is RM100 (≈US$27) for you to enter the farm for better camera angles.  

How to get there

Desa Dairy Farm is in Mesilau and about 100 KM away from KK. Though far, it’s quite accessible if you own / rent a car. There is no bus goes directly to Desa Dairy Farm. However, you can get a bus to Kundasang town, then hire a taxi to go to the farm (you may need to arrange with taxi driver for return trip), which is about 10 KM away from Kundasang.

Bohey Dulang Island

I would like to share about this BEAUTIFUL island called Bohey Dulang Island , Semporna

Stunning View

About Bohey Dulang Island

Bohey Dulang (or Boheydulong, Bohaydulong) is the second largest island (size: 313 hectares) of TSMP and about 23 Km away from Semporna. Legend says there lives a beautiful princess named Salamia from Bum-Bum Island. Her family hid her on Bohey Dulang, to avoid a forced marriage by a notorious Sultan from the southern Philippines.However, she vanished a few days later and believed to be hidden by the spirits of this island and turned into a fairy. Even nowadays, local people say they can hear Princess Salamia singing and her dog barking during the night of full moon. Occasionally, she is seen walking around the island.The name Bohey Dulang is derived from (bohey) meaning water and meaning pools or depressions in Bajau language. This may refer to series of oval rock pools, roughly 2-3 m across, along the small waterfalls and main freshwater stream on the eastern side of the island.People say these pools are a source of drinking water for Princess Salamia. A document reports a large cave (40 M high and over 20 M long) is situated on the east side of this island too.

The weather was good and we approached TSMP in 15 minutes.The Best Time to visit Bohey Dulang are from February to April (the dry months). If you visit during wetter months like July, August, December and January, your trip would have higher chance of being spoiled by heavy rainstorm of monsoon seasons, or not, depending on your luck.You may ask, “this magical destination should have become very famous for a long time. Why it only rises as a new attraction in recent years?” Good question. In 1963, Bohey Dulang was leased to Kaya Pearl Company to establish the first pearl cultivation center in Malaysia. The island was heavily guarded by armed personnel and stranger was strictly forbidden to enter the island. Then the pearl farm was closed in 1993. In 2004, Bohey Dulang, with seven other islands, is gazetted as ‘Tun Sakaran Marine Park’ (TSMP) by the Sabah Government. As a national park and by word of mouth, it gains more exposure and now it receives hundred of tourists every day.TSMP is managed by Sabah Parks and they have an office and giant clam nursery on Bohey Dulang. Visitors are required to get a permit from them before entering the island. I hope they will make it a public park soon, so tourists only require to buy ticket to enter. Furthermore, Bohey Dulang needs more tourism amenities such as restaurant, watersport center and resort.

Hiking to the peak

You need to ascend a 600-Meter nature trail to reach the peak with a height of 265 Meters, which normally takes 40 minutes. The climb can be a bit challenging after rain, because some steep areas will become slippery and muddy. Do wear proper walking shoe, NO flip-flop please!. It’s warm and humid in the forest and hot on the peak, so please bring some drinking water. The trail will lead you to the one at right, you can walk 20 Meters to the view point at the left for better sight. The dark grey rocks that form the high cliffs and large shore outcrops are mainly volcanic rocks of late Tertiary (Pliocene) and Quaternary periods. It’s unique because Semporna peninsula is the only place in Sabah where you can see these rocks. Limited supports such as boardwalk, handrails, ropes, stairway and plank path are available to make your climb easier, but you will walk on soil and rocky path most of the time and busy grabbing the small trees along the trail for support. For safety, a Sabah Parks guide will escort you on the way. Just go slow and everyone can make it quite easily. Like other islands in TSMP, Bohey Dulang has one of the most unique and unusual plant communities in Borneo. 

The Most Beautiful Seaview of Sabah

On top of Bohey Dulang, you can have a bird-eye view of the sapphire-colored Bodgaya Lagoon embraced by emerald forest of three central islands (Bodgaya, Bohey Dulang and Tetagan), the only islands in Sabah made of volcanic rock and part of the Sulu volcanic chain. In fact, the lagoon, which is about 6.5 Km across, is a crater of an ancient volcano erupted 2.5 million years ago.The central islands are the remnants of a Quaternary volcanic crater rim. Part of the “rim” is dissected and inundated by the sea but you can see it from its curved reef formation. I was standing on top of an extinct volcano. You may look at the satellite photo below for a clearer view of the rim.

If you say Bohey Dulang has the most beautiful seaview in Sabah, those who had been there won’t argue with you. You may forget many things in life over time, but you will always remember the breathtaking seascape of Bohey Dulang. For the best view, you need to walk another 20 Meters to your right for second view point, which offers a truly panoramic view (like photo above). You would miss this spot if nobody tells you. This is the favorite spot of landscape photographers to capture the circular shape of the lagoon and “50 shades of blue” colors. 

How to get there

A day trip to Bohey Dulang is possible even if you stay in Kota Kinabalu City (KK). Just take a 50-min morning flight from KK to Tawau City, upon arrival get a 1-hour land transport to Semporna town, then the park is only 20 minutes away by boat. The earliest flight to Tawau departs at 7:25am, and last flight back to KK is at 7:45pm. Both direct routes are served by Malaysia Airlines and available every day. You may use Google Flight to check out the latest prices and other flight alternatives. Please note you need a permit from Sabah Parks prior to visit the island.

You may book a tour to Bohey Dulang with Borneo Star Cruise. They will arrange the land / boat transfer, permit, lunch, island tour and snorkelling gears for you. The following are the detail of their tour packages (departs from KK):

1) Day Trip

Price: RM399 (≈US$105) per person (Min. 6 people), 6% GST Tax included
Inclusive of: Hotel ↔ KK Airport Transfer, Tawau Airport ↔ Semporna Transfer, Tour to Bohey Dulang, Packed Lunch, Hiking (with mountain guide), Snorkeling Set
Excluded: KK ↔ Tawau Return Air Ticket, Dinner at Semporna

2) 2-Day-1-Night

Price: RM499 (≈US$130) per person (Min. 6 people), 6% GST Tax included
Inclusive of: Hotel ↔ KK Airport Transfer, Tawau Airport ↔ Semporna Transfer, Bohey Dulang & Kapalai Island Tours, Packed Lunch, Hiking (with mountain guide), Snorkeling Set, One Night Hotel stay in Semporna
Excluded: KK ↔ Tawau Return Air Ticket, Dinner at Semporna

This is The Tip Of Borneo ;)

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Gombizau Honey Bee Farm Kudat

Kampung Gombizau Matunggong Kudat

Kampung Gombizau adalah terletak dalam Pekan Matunggong di daerah Kudat Sabah, kira-kira 43 kilometer ke selatan daerah  tersebut. Seperti kampung-kampung lain di Matunggong, penduduknya banyak terlibat dalam industri hasil tani dan kraftangan  dan mereka diketegorikan sebagai antara penduduk termiskin di negeri Sabah. 

Namun, yang penting bagi mereka yang mahu melawat  negeri Sabah amnya dan daerah Kudat khasnya, Kampung Gombizau adalah satu tempat yang patut di masukkan dalam pelan  perjalanan anda (itinerary) kerana di sini terdapatnya kawasan penternakan lebah madu bagi tujuan mendapatkan madu lebah  untuk tujuan komersial.

Jika anda memandu dari Kota Kinabalu,simpang ke Gombizau Honey Bee Farm atau Ladang Lebah Madu  ini terletak di sebelah kiri anda.

Gombizau Honey Bee Farm

Gombizau Honey Bee Farm ini telah wujud lebih 10 tahun yang lalu dan ia menghasilkan madu lebah bagi keperluan penduduk  tempatan dan orang luar yang berminat dengan rasa madu ‘asli’ yang datangnya terus dari sarang lebah. Bagi penduduk  tempatan, madu lebah boleh membantu mereka dari segi kesihatan dan mereka juga sukakan rasanya yang turut digunakan dalam  masakan tempatan. Ini telah dipercayai sejak bergenerasi yang lalu, maka kewujudan Gombizau Honey Bee Farm ini memanglah  sesuatu bukannya dirancang secara tiba-tiba sahaja.

Untuk masuk ke kawasan ladang lebah, anda hendaklah ke kaunter tiket dan membeli tiket terlebih dahulu. Harga tiketnya adalah RM 5 bagi dewasa dan RM 3 untuk kanak-kanak. Lihat di bawah:

Melawat Ladang Lebah Di Gombizau Honey Bee Farm

Ladang lebah terletak di kawasan ladang pokok getah yang merupakan sumber pendapatan utama penduduk Kampung Gombizau. Penternakan lebah madu  hanyalah industri sampingan bagi mereka di samping ia merupakan tarikan pelancong yang datang ke daerah Kudat.

Sarang-sarang lebah terletak berdekatan dengan pokok-pokok getah dan anda boleh merasa madu asli dari indung lebah (honeycomb) jika mahu. Anda juga boleh memegang indung lebah dan bergambar untuk tujuan kenang-kenangan. Jangan takut bila memegangnya dan jangan cuba menghalau lebah dari badan dan muka anda. Stay cool dan biarkan anda di asap oleh petugas-petugas di sana.