a mangrove swamp outing in Kota Belud, Borneo

Proboscis monkeys, fireflies, kingfisher, egrets, and cows.......a recent Saturday's half day outing to the mangrove swamp of Kota Belud was absolutely wonderful and memorable. It is a highly recommended trip for nature lovers.

Sabah in Borneo has so much to offer for those who enjoy the tropical outdoors. An ecologist had said "People want to enjoy themselves...and I can't think of a better place to spend the happier part of my year than on a holiday...with the bio-diversity of Sabah and Mount Kinabalu...This is a theme park!" (Prof. Dr David Bellamy).

Kota Belud, or KB for short, is a small town located an hour's drive from Kota Kinabalu city, the state capital of Sabah. And the mangrove swamp is less than half an hour away from KB; driving on a road parallel to the coastline facing the South China Sea.

We left Kota Kinabalu at around 1.30 pm, arriving KB town at about 2.30 pm. To go to the swamp, we did not have to go to this small town as there is a by-pass road, but because we wanted to buy a local sweet rice cake, the "kuih penjaram" from its market stalls to go with our afternoon tea which we had in one of the coffee shops. It is a specialty of the Bajau, one of the tribes living here. Besides the "penjaram", there were also many other varieties of local cakes selling at the market stalls - colourful types and different textured ones. Just too many to choose from or eat. It was sufficient as a feast for my eyes only. These and the nearby market scenes were familiar sights for me growing up.

I was born here and had lived almost fifteen years of my life in this small town surrounded by gently rolling hills; hence, the name "Kota Belud" meaning "town of hills". Going to school here until the 9th grade, my classmates were of different ethnic groups - the Bajau, Iranun and Dusun tribes as well as Chinese and children from mixed marriages and a few Indians whose parents were posted to work here. Most of us were multi-lingual and it was common to use the local version of Malay to converse with one another; even among the Chinese folks, and even up to this day.

The mangrove swamp at Rampayan Laut, where we were headed to is a seaside village of the Iranun. After our afternoon tea at KB town, we moved off at 3.30 pm for the place; passing greenery, village houses, cows and buffaloes on the fields and along the roadside. 


We reached Rampayan Laut, a picturesque riverside village at about 4 pm. A lone cockerel was oblivious to the noise of our vehicles driving in and parking besides a road that was made muddy by an earlier rainfall. A wooden and quaint signboard on a gate welcomed us to what they called "Firefly Paradise". I met a few of the friendly village folks here of the Iranun tribe. You could tell they were fishermen by the boats and nets but they were not out at sea. It was a laze around Saturday afternoon. The folks at the KB market stalls from whom we had bought the penjaram for afternoon tea, were Bajaus.

As soon as we arrived, we were served hot drinks and local cakes in a large hut built on the swamp. Ah, we had forgotten afternoon tea was on this tour's schedule! After having had one in town with the “penjaram”, I did not fancy having more than a bite. Well, the tour operators had to make sure we were fed first before we got on the boat to cruise around to see the wild life living around the mangrove swamp. The jetty was just next to where they had served us the refreshment. There were several boats berthing there and two were assigned for us. Our group was made up of all ages - from graying grandparents to little ones as young as four years old; and all eager for this mini-adventure.

We found our seats on the two boats, put on the orange life jackets and off we went while the sun was still up. It was an hour or so before sunset and the weather was perfect. An earlier rainfall while we were on our way from Kota Kinabalu had stopped by the time we reached KB and now the sun was shining brightly behind clouds. At one time, we even saw a rainbow. The jetty and houses grew smaller as our motor boats speeded off. Very soon, we slowed down where the proboscis monkeys lived among the trees along the banks of the river. The boatmen cum tour guide lowered down the sound of the engines and maneuvered the boats slowly and nearer towards the trees for a clearer sighting of the monkeys. We were not disappointed. There were several of them around but as soon as they were aware of our presence, they jumped away from branch to branch. There was excitement in our voices calling “there!” whenever we saw one and then “oh…!” when it quickly disappeared from sight.

Here is a video giving a glimpse of that "encounter"with this species of monkeys unique to Borneo island

photo credit : Tim Laman
"Distinguished by its prominent nose, the endangered 
proboscis monkey lives only on the island of Borneo...." 
(National Geographic) 

This very clear picture here of a proboscis monkey and quote is borrowed from National Geographic which is information for anyone interested to know what was it we had come to see here at the swamp. Watching the tame ones at the local zoo is definitely nothing compared to our encounter with the wild ones in this mangrove swamp!

This trip really did deliver what it had promised. The boats brought us to another part of the swamp to see what the guide had said were "black" monkeys; perhaps the gibbon; but I was not too sure whether I had heard correctly a friend's response. We did see them though (see pic of one with its back towards us) and the trees they lived on seemed different from those the proboscis sat on. The roots of these trees were half in and half out of the water (see pic). Besides observing these two species of monkeys in their natural habitat; we also had the privilege of seeing a colourful kingfisher and the white egret, both large birds finding their source of food in these waters. I had asked the boatman if there were any crocodiles here and he assured me there had been no reports of it. Besides, the villagers swam here and considered it a safe place.

Watching these wild creatures in this natural and untouched environment while cruising on the waters was a fun and very relaxing way to spend my Saturday. The cool evening breeze was refreshing and the whole stretch of both sides of the riverbank was green; full of the mangrove trees. There was no sign of any trees being chopped down and that was very good. The place looked well conserved and I hope it stayed that way. It is indeed a very beautiful place.

There was a part of the river which ran very straight ahead towards a view of Mt Kinabalu (you can check out where I have shared about climbing this mountain here) but unfortunately, because of the earlier rain, the mountain was covered by clouds. A video of that ride on this part of the swamp is below.

Our cruise ended before the sun started to go down, so that we could move to the second part of this tour; a sunset dinner by the beach.......how nice ! The boats returned to the jetty for us to get off and into our vehicles for a short drive to Rampayan beach.

We arrived in time to enjoy one of the most spectacular sunsets that Borneo has to offer - absolutely stunning! The beautiful colours of the setting sun was captured by a mushroom-shaped cloud spreading out against it.

There was still time before dinner to stroll on this beach; a beach made different by a herd of cows sharing it with us....! They had come from the nearby village and must have habitually gathered here at dusk. They were tame and did not move away even when I came near; just stared at me and were seemingly undisturbed.


Dinner was soon served in a large hut specially built here. The dinner was simple but the setting unforgettable. Soon, we would be driving back to the mangrove swamp for the final phase of this tour - an encounter with fireflies in the dark!

Back at the river, we got into the boats once more. After seven at night, it was already dark and we were asking the boat man how he could see where he was going. We could not see anything but apparently he knew where he was taking us.....we just had to trust him. Gradually our eyes adjusted to the darkness and by then, we could see that it was a starry lit night sky.

And then, we saw them......... The boatman had an orange light thingy with him which he flickered on and off......and there they were...little lights flickering in response, among the trees along the banks. Fireflies....lots and lots of them! They came flying towards our boats, enticed by the orange light. Wow, what an experience with fireflies that I never had before! For the little children with us, it was a memorable one imprinted into their young minds and there were squeals of delight among us adults trying to catch them. It was amusing that we became childlike in our fascination with these glowing insects which, I had commented to my friend, were "competing" with the stars above us........ Well, that  dazzling encounter was definitely a perfect ending to a wonderful day !

this is a video of our encounter with the fireflies in the dark (watch the glow)