Sulap by a River in Kota Belud

Introduction

Kota Belud District lies to the East of Kota Kinabalu. It is another region that seem to have been bypassed by many tourist to Sabah, with minimal info available online. There seems to be many “Tourism Villages” in the area. From what I can tell, these are encouraged by the government so that the community has another source of income via tourism. There were signboards as I entered most of these villages, highlighting attractions in the area. Website seems very uniform as well (same developer?), and the locals participate by opening their home as homestays, cooking food for the tourist, or even as guides to explore these attractions. Most of the Tourism Villages here are scattered along the many rivers criss crossing the district, and most offers excellent views of Mt Kinabalu to the East. Do expect these 5-million star location to have basic lodging, and simple food.

As we drove through Kota Belud, we were very much reminded of Balik Pulau in Penang, where vast stretches of green paddy field lined both side of the road. Wooden kampung houses could also be seen dotting the landscape and you generally get the laid back Kampung feel.

Tegudon Tourism Village

Our drive took a little longer than expected as we were trapped behind a slow moving lorry on the KK-Kundasang stretch. We pitstopped at a 99 Speedmart that was located in the middle of nowhere (to be fair it was actually at the outskirt of nearby small Kampung Taginambur, but we certainly weren’t expecting to see one there). We were running low on water and snacks for the drive and needed to stock up. We booked ourselves a sulap (ie small hut) right by the shallow Sungai Wariu at Tegudon Village. One reason we booked this place was because we were hoping to stargaze as Annabel has been talking about wanting to see the Milkyway again (the last time we saw it was in Belum) for quite sometime. Unfortunately, I forgot to check the moon, and we had a big bright near-full moon for that night! So, Milkyway gazing will need to be KIVed. Our dinner consisted of some local dishes. The steamed hill rice came wrapped in daun deringin (am told that this is how traditionally the locals will serve/prepare it), served with fried fish, young bamboo shoot & chicken soup.

Aura Montoria

While browsing online, I found another trail near TTV that looked simply amazing. Girls had enough of hiking so they opted out, and stayed back for a little bit of river play while I went ahead and booked myself on a private hike to explore Aura Montoria located near Kampung Sayap.

I snuck out queitly from the sulap at dawn, and did a walkabout. I walked a short distance along the river to a suspension bridge, thinking of catching the sunrise from atop. Unfortunately, the day was turning out to be a very cloudy one, and the sun was hidden behind thick clouds.

Before long it was time to depart for Kampung Sayap, a mere 10km away, but would take me a little over 30mins drive. Like Taralamas, the meet up point involves driving through gravel road. It’s a much shorter stretch, but the last 200m was pretty bad as I needed to drive on bumpy, pot-hole littered laterite trail more suitable for 4WD.

Aura Montoria trail sits on a private land, and its being managed exclusively by family members. I had the benefit of having Calvin as my guide, and he tells me that his grandfather is currently managing the land, and it has handed down by his “nenek-moyang”/ancestors. Calvin tells me that the fee they collect does go into supporting the community whereby they channel it to support the school, improve the public amenities, supporting an aged man, etc. It is certainly good to hear that they are generous to channel back their profit so that others in the community will benefit as well.

The initial trail is an easy walk to a cement building by the river. From there, we cross a short bridge suspended over Sungai Wariu and started our climb, cutting through a rubber plantation to our first rest point, a hut of the 70+ year old pakcik caretaker (this is also where I accidentally left behind by cap, a new one that i got just a month ago for my birthday). The climb was supposedly the toughest segment of the hike today, with a hiker from another group needing to turn back as hit heart rate became elevated.

After a brief respite, we continued onwards to a stone seemingly resembling a lion. This stone marks the trail proper of Aura Montoria. We would be doing a loop anti-clockwise, and will converging back at this spot, when we exit.

From there, we hit a few highlights, including Gua Mulut (just an outcropping, resembling a mouth), Waig Minorol (natural mineral water source) before cutting through a proper cave Gua Wongking.

When we exit Gua Wongking, on our right will be a beautiful circular pool (liogu ourod), fed by a waterfall which was partially covered by a large rock. The waterfall could only be intially heard, and only partially visible as we started climbing up, and rounding the pool.

From there we needed to cut through another cave, Gua Kelawar, before arriving at another beautiful pool at the back of the cave, this time right below a visible waterfall. In the pool, Kelah fishes can be seen swimming through the crystal clear water. I decided to shed by backpack and jumped in for a quick dip. Not too far away, there’s a small view point offering view of the valley. Calvin explained that the faint sound of chainsaw would likely be his granpa doing some clearing work.

Before long, we ended up at Aura Montoria’s Camp Site, which is right beside a tagal filled with even more Kelah fishes. These fishes were not even a little bit afraid of human, as they swam right around my ankle as I walked in for another swim.

After the refreshing swim, it was time to head back, as I wanted to be back before lunch. We walked along a small tributary, heading back towards exit. I thought that was it, until the tree line opened up, at a rocky outcrop, which extends about 12 feet above an emeral green lake called Liogu Otomou (Green pool). Looking down, the bottom of the lake/pool was deceivingly close, leading me to believe that the pool was just a shallow one. This was until Calvin enquired if I was game to take a leap of faith from the rocky outcrop.

Time check shows that it was time to continue our hike back out. We made good time, and arrived back at Batu Mondou earlier than expected. We bumped into the friendly, jovial pakcik at the rest point and stopped for a brief chat. Sun was mercilessly hot, and the last stretch to the trailhead felt much further going out vs coming in.

Floating Down Sungai Warui

Meanwhile back at the Sulap, the girls wolfed down a simple breakfast at the on-site cafe, and jumped into the river. Tide was in, and river was much deeper than yesterday when we arrived. They had fun swimming the deeper sections, and floating down the river in rubber tubes.

Missing a Turn into Kota Belud

I reached back at the Sulap a little after 1230pm. Che-che was excitedly sharing what they did while I was away, and told me that I absolutely needed to float down the river. I grabbed a rubber tube, and followed her as she brought me upstream. By then the river has gotten shallower and my bum hit the smooth river rocks lining the river bed as we gently floated down.

We all quickly freshened up and it was soon time to pack and leave for Kudat. I dropped off our keys, while Mummy went over to a family we recognized from Facebook to say hi. The initial plan was to turn into Kota Belud for lunch, but we were already too far away by the time we realized we missed the junction into town. Instead, we stopped by an unnamed roadside stall and bought ourselves some delicious murtabak ayam and some dishes to calm our growling tummies. About halfway to Kudat, we came across many stalls lining Jalan Kota Belud – Kudat, and we were intrigued enough to stop at one. The stall owner recommended the roasted purple corn a special variant that is not generally available all the time. Texture wise, it was a little starchier than the regular jagung manis variant, but pretty bland in taste.

We continued our journey onwards to Kudat, while savoring the roasted corn, with Che-che’s selection of songs keeping us company on the drive. We were making good time, and our estimated ETA was about 4pm, more than sufficient time to check-in & stretch our legs before catching the famed Kudat sunset.

TLDR

Places of Interest

• 99 Speedmart Kampung Taginambur: a regular mart to stock up on snacks, water, and other essential if you are in the area. There are also basic toilets behind the building if you need to use one.
• Aura Montoria Edu-Tourism Kg Sayap: a hiking area that is ran exclusively by the family that owns it. Contact via whatsapp to arrange. Originally they have a few trails (longer vs shorter one), and am told they are working on more options, but when I was there, only the 6km option was available. The others were still either requires further repairs, or still not completely cleared for tourist.
  • Cost: RM35 per hiker, RM50 per guide (1 guide can lead max 5 pax).
• Jagung bakar Stall @ Kampung Mangaris: There were many jagung bakar stall as you get close to Kampung Mangaris, a hamlet along Jalan Kota Belud – Kudat. Selling roasted corn (regular sweet corn, and if you are lucky the rarer starchy purple corn), chopping board, broom & other wooden products, wild honey, etc. Pick one that catches your fancy, but watch out for cars that will most likely be zooming down that stretch of road.

Lodging

• Tegudon Tourism Village: One of the many “tourism village” that can be found hugging the bank of Sungai Wariu. Offers Sulap (small hut) and camping ground for rent. On site cafe cooks simple meals. Facilities are basic (expect water to run slow at peak hours as it is piped from the nearby hill, sharing it with the rest of the villagers). Contact via whatsapp for further details. Easily accesible as it is connnected via tar road. Also open to day trippers.

Misc Tips

• Tegudon Tourism Village has 2 dedicated camp ground. The one further in seems to be more comfortable, as it is under shady trees, with large swathe of grassy flat land. Do walk in the extra 200m or so to survey, before deciding where to set up tent.
• Tegudon offers home cooked meal, but you will need to pre-book it in advance.
• River depth also fluctuates throughout the day. Pay attention to the depth of the river to decide what you want to do.
• During the dry season, the river will obviously be shallower, but according to the locals, will generally be colder (it’s actually nice and chilly for me).
• Remember to fuel up at Kota Belud first, if you are heading up north from Kota Belud. Depending on your drive, you will likely not be passing many (or any) petrol station for long stretches.
• There’s a Dusun to English dictionary available online here, in case you are curious about some of the Dusun words you encountered.