The Red Dot of Similajau

Red - very dangerous
Yellow - dangerous
Green – safe, no lifeguard on duty

Upon arrival, there was a wooden display board
indication of three different levels of sea condition.
Right at this moment, even without the red alert sign,
it does not need a genius to figure out that water
surface which is 30 meter in front of me potentially
poses threat to any living soul. Fast muddy waves
strike on sharp riffs making big splashes and then
white foam gently reach the coastline.
Whatever things come with flow, not just damaged,
but totally destroyed. You should be insane to swim
there. Someone who indicates a red dot on the
safety board today was fully aware of the sea.





It is beginning of January, a monsoon season. Ocean
never will be calm. It is in the mood for more
excitement. In April when season ends, turtles
would come here to Similajau National Park. It is
an ideal place for them to lay their eggs. The
park by itself is a chain of sandy beaches with
sometimes rising from ground rocky headlands
and crossing fresh water streams. Hopefully,
you can hike all the way there without seeing anybody.
Thirty kilometers of pure and untouched coastline
is all yours. Take it!




Park is not far away from Bintulu (Sarawak, Borneo)


Wildlife

Introduction to wildlife of this area can be found in a small room at HQ. Yellow pages, withered photos and dust shows that room is far away from being renewed. Similajau was established in 1976 aiming to provide conservation zone for unique geographical features of the coast and to protect the flora and fauna.



Not much was change since then. Park infrastructure had forbidden condition and looks like not a lot of founds flowing there. The room which I explored is a good proof of it.

"Similajau have recorded 24 species of mammals including civet cats, wild boar, squirrels, gibbons and macaques. Sometimes on a beach you can spot Belangkas - descendant of the trilobites that populated the seas 400 years ago. Other lucky day, you can see salt water crocodiles resting near the river. Sharks sometimes pay a visit to shallow water. Bird watchers will call this a paradise as it is a habitat for more than 100 species of birds in this national park," - all this information you will get from tourist booklet. If you need to find out what is real, you can check out the area by yourself. It is not so easy to catch sight of wildlife, but be patience and maybe you will have more luck than me.






























Turtle Beaches


As you can guess from the name, this is the place where turtles come to lay their eggs. But even without the purpose to see that, those beaches still is a must visit. Its can take up to 3-4 hours to reach the beaches from the HQ. What you can see is rocky headlands looks like shield of giant turtle. When waves strike it, some amount of water would trap and causes the circulation within the uniquely formed rocks. I would consider that is a rare sight.

Trails

The map provided by Sarawak Forestry shows it would need 6 km and 7 km traveling to Turtle Beach 1 and Turtle Beach 2 respectively, if departure from the HQ. Further north, trail would lead you to Golden Beach. There is clear indication of red paint on trees to help you not to lose your path. There were wooden bridges and stairs along the way too. Fallen branches sometimes poses problem for trekking. The trail is quite easy even for beginners. Besides, the trail going through the jungles almost nears the coast. The mixture of the sounds of sea and forest giving you pleasure of inner calm and serenity. Giving me an advantage of one step closer to the nature.





Tips

1.There is camp site near HQ. Also you can order some food. But you can’t make open fire in jungles or beach. So, if you plan to overnight away from HQ, it will be easier if you bring some ready food with you.














2.It is preferably to start hiking in the morning because important to come back before sunset. Always bring a flash light with you because after dawn you can’t see trail without it.















3.If there seems to be a storm is coming, do not try to hike along the coast. Go only through jungles because during storming there will not be any ground anymore on a coast and you will be trap in middle of nowhere.















4.Although I did not seen any crocodiles, but it is better not to come close to muddy water streams at any point of time.













5.After Similajau National Park exploration, you can make your way to Niah Caves – another popular spot in Sarawak. The journey will takes around 200 km.



















Author's note

Date of visit - January 2009


See also...

Turtle Shield H.O.B. GALLERY


Links

www.forestry.sarawak.gov.my Forest Department Sarawak
www.about-malaysia.com Malaysia Travel Information Guide