World Under the Ocean off Kudat Shores - The Boleh Family Adventures

Introduction

Kudat is the northernmost district of Sabah. Its a large district covering not only the northernmost tip of Borneo, but also a few islands not of Sabah. Its also another area of Sabah that seems to not receive much love or attention online, with only minimal info available. During our research, we discovered that the northwestern beachline of Kudat is arguably one of the best place to surf, receiving many tourist during surf season seeking good waves. We wanted to find a quieter place for us to enjoy a little more of the sun and sea, and also do an introductory dive into the kingdom below. Not only that, the opportunity to place our foot at the Tip of Borneo, the northernmost point of Borneo was also an added bonus.

We’ve only been able to cover probably a tiny bit of the district, spending our 3 days on Pantai Mengayau, walking down Pantai Kalampunian and exploring Pantai Kelambu. What we’ve seen really convinced us that this stretch is an unpolished gem and definitely worth a visit.

Introduction
Fueling Up
Northernmost Tip of Borneo
Diving South China Sea
Sun, Sea and Sand
Sunset, Pizzas & Burgers
One Last Dip Before Checking Out
Pork only Restaurant & Sinalau Bakas at Last
TLDR

Fueling Up

As we continued our drive towards Kudat, we were on the lookout for a petrol station (since we missed the turn off to Kota Belud). Fuel was getting low, and the nearest pump was still more than 50km away (and there was only 1 along our route). When we arrived, the station looked very “temporary”, just a simple container sitting at an empty spot in front of a wholesale mart.

We fueled up and continued our way to the western coast of Kudat. As we drove westward, the horizon changed from mountain view to coconut trees. The closer we got to the shoreline, the more it reminded us of Pantai Penarik in Terengganu.

The previously everpresent Mt Kinabalu replaced by a flatter skyline, with coconut trees lining the road

Northernmost Tip of Borneo

We pulled into the picturesque grounds of Kotak-Kotak Borneo, and this would be our “home” for the next 2 nights. As soon as we exited the car, we were greeted by a swarm of mozzies! Surprisingly, they chose to swarm the ladies while leaving me alone. Guess my blood is just not sweet enough.

The grey sea-facing container would be our home for the next 3 days. We were warmly swarmed by the resident welcome committee (ie mozzies)

Peeping through the window, safe from all the mozzies.

We settled in and decided to head to the beach for a stroll. I don’t know what happened, but the planned stroll on the beach became a dip in the sea insead!

Sea was a little rough (but inviting) with waves forming far out and building until it was able to almost cover our heads

Waves proved too irresistible, and we just jumped with whatever clothes we had on in an attempt to “ride” the waves

Before long, we dragged ourselves out of the waters, cleaned up and drove the short distance to the Tip of Borneo, the northenmost point of Borneo. The Tip of Borneo was only reopened to public back in April 2023, after being closed more than 1 year for renovations. Mummy was initially hesitant to come here, but followed along as I was keen to catch the sunset here. She was certainly glad she changed her mine, as we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunset.

Diving South China Sea

This section is fully contributed by Che-che:

“The next morning, I had a small breakfast that consisted of Sabah tea and maggie cup with my mom, facing the blue sea that sparkled under the morning sun and enjoying the alluring sounds of waves crashing against the beach, all the while waiting for the others to wake up.

After everyone was up and awake, we drove to the dive center. While waiting for the dive instructor, me and Annabel decided to spend a little time at the beach.

We had to bring flippers and wear ‘diving suits’, just to look cool haha. Then, we got on a boat to go to another island, after a fairly short drive to another beach. Before diving, the instructor gave us a 30-minute lesson on what to do in different scenarios, like clearing blocked ears and clearing a mouthpiece of water.

We first swam shallow, slowly going deeper and deeper until the wonders under the sea greeted us. The patterns of light filtering through the sea onto the floor along with the gurgle of water gave us a type of feeling. The corals weren’t colourful at first, the dull brown bringing out the bright blue of the fishes that weaved through them. As we went further and deeper, new corals with new colours bloomed before us, wispy ones, some that looked like brains, some that look like jellyfish and more. Nemos the size of my palm stayed in the protection of the tentacle-like corals, swimming away when we got to close. There were fishes with stripes, fishes with different colours for the head and body, fishes that looked neon blue, yellow fishes, black fishes, fishes with spots, tiny fishes, schools of fishes + much more.”

What we saw on our maiden dive

One surprising outcome was that Mommy couldn’t join us in this dive! She’s our strongest swimmer, but the strong waves at our practice spot & the damaged mouthpiece made her nervous and she couldn’t calm herself down. Ivan left it to us, but Mommy decided to finally pull out, as she just could not control her breathing under water. Oh well, we need to do another dive another time.

Sun, Sea and Sand

Time certainly passes by very quickly whenever you are having fun. Before we realize it, it was time to swim back up to the surface and head home. Once again, the original plan to grab lunch after our dive needed to be shelved for a while, as the Mengayau beach proves too hard to resist.

You are never too old to sit on a swing

Unable to resist getting back into the sea

Having fun, while ensuring the girls stays safe in the water

Crab Prison ver1, with a moat to trap the prisoners that manages to scale the wall

We spent hours just chasing, pouncing, and trapping many of these ghost crabs scurrying across the beach. We were evil tyrants tormenting and imprisoning them.

After a quick shower, we headed over to neighbouring Pantai Kelambu for lunch. One of our dive instructor grew up here, and recommended the stalls here. We wanted to initially walk over to the unnamed island across the beach while waiting for our food, but it was too hot. Instead, we grabbed ourselves a cold coconut each, and sat under the shade of rhu trees lining the beach. We were pleasantly surprised that the simple nondescript stall here could dish out the yummy lunch we had. We complemented the cook and only then found out that he used to be a chef in a few hotels over at Peninsula. What a blessing.

Enjoying fresh coconut, while waiting for our meals

Dont judge a book by its cover. The simple looking meal was pretty good.

We headed back to Kotak kotak to escape the hot sun, but promised to come back here again to explore when its no longer as hot.

Sunset, Pizzas & Burgers

When evening came, we decided to head back to Pantai Kelambu to explore the beach and cross to the island opposite.

Gardens and their gardeners

Mei-mei recommended a panaroma shot to capture sunset at one end, & moonrise at the other

For dinner, I wanted to checkout the Hidden Place nearby. I was initially thinking of camping here, before deciding on Kotak-Kotak.

Wooden table and benches placed on the beach. The Cafe serves decent meals at affordable prices, that we enjoyed, ie woodfire pizza, and Ramly burger.

The camping ground. We initially planned to camp here, before deciding on Kotak-kotak.

Bue hour, as dusk settles in. Unfortunately, only the brightest star could be seen as the light from the full moon blotted out the others.

One Last Dip Before Checking Out

We woke up to a gloomy morning, with thick dark clouds above. But before long, the skies cleared, and we ran across to torment the crabs for the last time, and enjoy the surf before checking out.

Enjoying coffee, beside the makeshift office, as that’s the only place with wifi. Needed to get online to get in touch with our host in Kota Kinabalu and also to check-in to our return flight.

Imprisoning more convicts in version 2 of the Crab Prison

Clearing out and driving off… or so we thought. We needed to swing back when Mei-mei realized she left something.

We stopped by this unmanned coconut stand for a refreshing drink before our drive. The whole stand was left unattended. There’s polystyrene box filled with chilled coconut, a “parang” wedged on a chopping block, with a box of straws and spoons. Even the money box was left out in the open.

Kiosk of Integrity, a self service kiosk selling chilled fresh coconut

Pork only Restaurant & Sinalau Bakas at Last

We’ve been on the look out for Sinalau Bakas smokehouses since we first happen upon them on our drive into Kundasang (back then we were too full, and skipped it). Calvin, my Aura Montoria guide recommended a place in Kota Belud, and this time we made sure we took the turning into town. Unfortunately we could not locate the stall he described, but ended up in an interesting pork-focused restaurant, called Restoran Sinalau (I believe it is Dusun for Pork). Dishes was simple but pretty good (and cheap too!)

We’ve (almost) given up our Sinalau Bakas hunt by then, until we spotted a stall spewing smoke not too far outside Kota Belud. Praise God, it was a stall selling Sinalau Bakas! The cook tells me that it is not 100% wild boar meat, as it is very tough. We got some, and working through it, we could guess which piece was from a farmed pig and which was from wild boar. The chilli paste he slattered on it though was super spicy but really delicious!

Smoked wild boar. Texture is more chewy than the farmed counterpart.

TLDR

Places of Interest

Pantai Kelambu Stalls: stalls lining Pantai Kelambu, situated at the end of the tar road, serving snacks, chilled fresh coconut, and lunch
Blue Fin Surf and Dive: Ivan runs this shop, and is a friendly guy that will be able to propose something that suits what you are looking for. He has surf board for rent, can take you out to snorkeling sites, and even bring you diving. Contact via whatsapp.
Pantai Mengayau & Pantai Kalampunian: Hard pressed to find out where one beach end and another begins. Combined, these 2 west facing white sandy beaches stretches for a good 2km. The bottom of the sea slopes ever so gently far beyond the shoreline, and water stays clear till deep.
Secret Place Cafe & Camping: Located between Pantai Kelambu and Pantai Mengayau, Rudy runs a clean camping spot, serving decent affordable meals.
The Tip of Borneo: Northernmost tip of Borneo. An excellent spot to catch sunset (and maybe even sunrise). Offering an almost 360 degree view of South China Sea.
Tommy’s Place: On site cafe serves hot meals, both Asian and Western fare on the menu. Items are somewhat pricy, and taste wise was so-so. Off-the-menu items (ie seafood steamboat) is available upon pre-order. Call ahead for options. Also offers activites similar to Blue Fin Surf and Dive. Tommy the owner is a local who is a treasure trove of information & more than happy to introduce his hometown to you.
Sinalau Cafe, Kota Belud: A pork focused restaurant, where all their dishes contains pork, in one form or another. I would say the price is pretty affordable, and taste good too.

Lodging

Kotak-Kotak Borneo: Containers converted to rooms. There are a few different types, only 2 sea facing, while the others are located further back in their grounds.
Secret Place Cafe & Camping: Though we didnt stay here, we visited the Cafe for dinner. There’s a nice camping ground that you can pitch your tent. Get hold of Rudy (be patient if he is slow to reply, as there’s no coverage at this spot) for enquiries.
Tommy’s Place: Rooms are available via booking.com and/or agoda.com. Rooms sleeps two, but there’s space to squeeze in 3 adults. They were sold out on our travel dates, and as rooms are limited, recommend to book early.

Misc Tips

Have some backup meals (hot cup, bread, breakfast bars) ready for breakfast. Unlike the other place we visited, this place only comes alive after 10am.
There’s a small kiosk selling simple grocery items (snacks, carbonated drinks, packed milk, biscuits, etc)
Do not solely depend on what you find online. Many information (dive site, snorkeling site, activities on offer, etc) can only be found out when you call and speak to the locals.
Secret Place looks to be an excellent place to lay down a mat and stargaze. Unfortunately for us, the full moon was too bright for us to see much.
If you missed the stalls selling Sinalau Bakas along the Kota Kinabalu-Kundasang stretch, look out for stalls along the Kota Belud-Kota Kinabalu stretch. Most likely the stalls would have added in some farmed pork meat as the wild boar meat is very tough and chewy. Try your luck and request for 100% smoked wild boar if you desire