Tawau Hills Park
Tawau Hills Park– a pleasant unplanned family getaway!
Writen by: Itisha Ismail
Tawau Hills Park Experience (3D2N 4 July 2020 to 6 July 2020).
Saturday morning we woke up to a rather gloomy, rainy morning in Lahad Datu. Our initial plan was to go on a day trip to the river in Bukit Piton . This idea was scrapped off as the prolonged rain in the early morning would mean murky water and strong current.
So, where do we go from here? Sepilok, Danum Valley, Taliwas were still closed at that time. Kinabatangan though some resorts were already open, we needed somewhere to swim. Tabin Wildlife Resort was open, but this would be too last minute to accomplish.
Tawau is one of the places Simon and I less travelled in Sabah. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that Tawau town in our opinion had similar features to Lahad Datu. Of course, they have Popular bookshop, McDonalds and few other food franchises that is not available in Lahad Datu. Yes, McDonalds – you will appreciate it more when you can’t get access to it :-)
However, last year we have recommended a few guests to visit the Tawau Hills Park and through partnership with operators there, our guests have enjoyed guided jungle trekking, wildlife photography and the search for elephants in the wild in Tawau.
We, shamefully have not been to Tawau Hills Park. So, with this in mind and the fact that we needed some ceramic pots for our plants (yes the pots sold here in Lahad Datu are all made from plastic), we packed our bags and drove to Tawau Hills Park.
Just a bit of background information on Tawau Hills Park. It is located about 24km away from Tawau Town and was established in 1979 as a protection for water catchment area of Tawau. The park encompasses of 279.72km2 of lowland dipterocarp rainforest bordered by palm oil ad cocoa plantations.
After a long queue of security check/road block from Lahad Datu to Tawau, a few toilet stops and a slow ride later we arrived to the closed gate of Tawau Hills Park at 5:10pm. We had no reservations. We were mentally prepared that if there were no availability that we will stay in Tawau town…
Thankfully, with the friendly assistance from the team at Tawau Hills Park we managed to get a chalet for two nights stay here. As we walked to the chalet, we entered a world of green Eden. Walkways shaded by tall, lush khaki and emerald coloured trees, the sound of running water coming from nearby river & waterfall, hanging and solid bridges were sighted. Our presence somewhat interrupted the social gathering of the mischievous macaques, a few huge monitor lizards and squirrels.
Just a few short strides took us to the stunning Magdalena Chalet – a tastefully built wooden house designed with traditional Malay architecture. It was nestled right in the middle of the jungle with a picturesque pond filled with beautiful blossoming pink lotus plants and countless of colourful dragonflies and stick insects. Frogs croaking near the bridge on maximum volume but hidden from our sights. We did not do much on the day of arrival as by the time we settled down, it was about to get dark. However, swimming at that inviting river and perhaps do a short trail with the girls was our plan for the day after.
Note: There are longer trails available at the Tawau Hills Park. There is the Hot Spring, Waterfalls, Mt Lucia and Mount Magdalena trails for those who look for something more challenging.
Tawau Hills Park - fun outdoor activities for the family.
Waking up to the sounds of the jungle always humbles us. Despite what’s happening to the tourism industry today, my heart could just burst from deep appreciation for the path we took and endured. To be able to experience nature more often in this lifetime than I would 20 years back.
We sat at the veranda of Magdalena Chalet and sipped on Tenom coffee to witness the start of a new day. The environment was silent and still - no motorized engine or vehicle sounds, just the exotic melodies of nature that filled the space. Different species of birds chirping, hornbills dashing across the sky with its loud wings flapping, the macaques fighting and the shy gibbons whopping. Such calmness could be enjoyed for a while before the two hurricanes wakes up! True enough by 8:30am “It’s morning time!!!!” says Olivia. “Mummy where’s my minum?” asks Emelyn for her energy drink – milk!
After breakfast we set out to discover the Tawau Hills Park. Some benches were marked with red X sign, an indication that the park was complying with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of social distancing requirements.
That Sunday, the park had a number of local visitors. Being cooped up at home, such well-equipped park offers recreational time for family and friends. There were a few areas dispersed from one to the other that offers ample space for picnics and bbq. There were a few hanging bridges which the girls were a bit afraid to cross in the beginning but later when they gained confidence could not stop crossing these bridges over and over again.
We walked on the well guided path to the waterfall and river. The monitor lizards here were huge and perhaps too familiar with the presence of human. They did not run away neither did they pose any threats towards us. At one point it felt as if we were in Komodo Island where the giant lizards were clearly showing off their presence.
Whilst the weather was bright and sunny we took the opportunity to walk towards the world’s tallest tropical tree discovered at Tawau Hills Park in May 2018. The yellow meranti or scientifically known as Shorea faguetiana species from the Diptercarpaceae family stands tall at 96.9 meters. However, in March/April 2019 the tallest tree in the world’s crown had to be rightfully awarded to another yellow meranti tree named Menara (Tower in Malay) located in Danum Valley Conservation Area.
As most of the visitors at Tawau Hills Park were focused at the river, we found ourselves being the only ones engaged at jungle trekking. The grounds were damped from the rain of yesterday. Which meant that we had a few flickering sessions with the leeches.
It made me realize how the jungles of Borneo have toughen that once upon a time city girl in me. As I flicked the leeches off my children, I recall my first encounter with this wiggly black worm lookalike in Danum Valley! I screamed at the top of my lungs when one of this blood sucking creatures fell from the leaves and landed on my index finger! I was pretty sure the noise pollution that I produced woke all the living creatures in the jungle that early morning.
Fast forward 8 years on, the leeches don’t distract me any longer. If it lands on my skin, I just flick it away. Sometimes, I only realize them when they are already full and round like a ball; just about to release its suction from my skin - blood donation completed.
The Borneo jungle’s aura was incredible! The sound of cicadas, gibbons and million of other wild soul cleanses not only the eyes but the heart and soul. The jungle trekking exposes you to the crackling of fallen branches to the ground, adding to the mysteries of the jungle. We strived to achieve balancing act between stamina and agility as we ascend among the thick roots interwind on the ground. At that point we were wrapped in the presence of nature. It was hot and humid and even though it was only 1km from our chalet to one of the tallest trees in the world, one would feel as if the distance was much longer when you walk in the jungle with the constant ascend and descend compared to walking in the park ((ahem… perhaps I’m only speaking for myself)!
We believe we were almost to the tallest tree in the world when we saw another steep ascend. The two little humans were already grumpy as they were visibly tired. We were about to proceed when we heard the loud thunder. Though the canopies above us were thick, we decided to KIV to witness the tallest tree and head back to the chalet. Halfway through the jungle, the black cloud above could not hold on to its’ weight any longer and boy it poured! We were soaked.
Years of experience have thought us to always take our waterproof bag with us for jungle trekking session and for that our cameras were secured. We exited the trail safely despite all of us being attacked by the leeches. The heavy downpour ended and since we were already wet, we headed to swim by the stream near our chalet. Despite the chilly atmosphere after the rain, soaking in the river was refreshing.
Don’t mess with the Macaques!
As we enjoyed ourselves in the river, a giant monitor lizard decided to join us for a swim. He respected the concept of social distancing. So, though we were in the same river, we were pretty much away from each other.
Then the next experience made me share our encounter with others on repeat mode, just like I am about to do right now. We were still in the river with the hanging bridge next and above us when we saw a group of macaques escaped from the depth of the jungle and galloped closer to the hanging bridge.
As it was around 5pm, there were no other visitors at sight. We would need to cross the hanging bridge to head back to the chalet. That means we would need to pass the naughty macaques. Just the thought of it gave me weak knees. We decided to wait till they leave. But half an hour passed, and they showed no signs of leaving. From the master to the little babies, the group appeared to be larger.
After what seemed like forever, we braved ourselves to cross the hanging bridge. Hoping that when we get on the bridge, they would shy away just like the monitor lizards. We managed to get on the bridge and when we reached the mid-point, we realized that a dominant male got on the bridge behind us. He was just perched on the rail minding his own business. Ahead of us at the end of the bridge where we needed to pass was a colony of macaques. There was a particular self-professed gate keeper macaque – a small sized fella who was ahead of the group. He had his eyes glued on us, knowing that we needed to pass him. I have been told by our nature guide friends not to look them in the eye and to never show your teeth to them. This would pose as a challenge to fight. I told my girls not to look at the monkeys in the eye and to close their mouth.
Simon was leading us, the 3 of us stayed a bit behind. But as Simon was about to pass, the gate keeper little macaque showed his fangs and let out a hiss and showed signs of jumping and leaping towards us. So, we all backed away slowly without running. We were basically trapped in the middle of that hanging bridge. There was the dominant old male macaque behind us. But from this point, he looked like a grandpa who was enjoying his retirement as he scratched on his chin.
So, we decided to move back to the river instead of going into battle mode with a group of macaques. But the old grandpa macaque who seemed calmed in the beginning moved towards us. He raised his eyebrow a few times like a dirty old man and showed signs of jumping on us. Ohhhh God! At this point I lost it! So much with the jungle toughen the city girl in me, (heres a contradictory point) I started screaming “HELP! HELP! HELP!” Seeing me in a state of panic, Emelyn started crying.
As I lost it, Simon took charge. He transformed into Heman from “The Secret of the Sword” (remember Heman and Shera the 1985 cartoon?). Armed with a bath towel as his only weapon, he swung it as he marched bravely forward towards the colony of macaques. Simon turned on his highest yet deepest volume and shouted “Arrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhh” a few times towards the macaques and surprisingly, they all ran away!!! It worked!!!! We could finally cross the bridge without any fear. Alas my fast beating heart calmed down.