Chasing Rocks and Boats at Turtle Estuary

       The little town of Kuala Penyu (which means Turtle Estuary in Malay) is 101.7km away from Kota Kinabalu and entails a drive of 1 hour 48 minutes. It is not popular among tourists, apart from those who are heading for Pulau Tiga or better known as Survivor Island. Kuala Penyu is the gateway to the island, which shot to fame after being the first ever "secret" location of the hit reality series.

Mud spa session in Pulau Tiga

Back in 2002, when I was teaching in Sabah, I organised a memorable trip to Pulau Tiga with my colleagues. I have hazy memories of the sleepy town of Kuala Penyu, from where we boarded the speedboat over to Pulau Tiga.
       

The turtle at the roundabout tells you that you have arrived! (Pic taken from Vicky's website)

        Kuala Penyu may be easily dismissed by tourists but it is the "secret" location of two sites that have been plundered by photographers. And it is the main draw for hubby's visit to Sabah. It certainly was not easy for us to locate the two sites.
        The first site, Batu Luang, was located with some help from Vicky, our hostess at Sawangan Beach Lodge.

It was situated on an isolated beach, about half an hour away, and involved driving on some gravel road. The high lone rock with a tuft of "hair" was indeed quite a sight to behold, but hubby was disappointed to find that the mossy beach rocks dancing around the high lone rock were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, hubby was still able to capture the photos that he wanted. I was contented to sit in the car, enjoy the book in hand (Dr. Lee Su Kim's "Manek Mischiefs"), marvel at the vivid sunset and tried to imagine the characters in the folktale behind Batu Luang.

Follow this path down to the beach (a glimpse of Batu Luang can be seen).

Behold Batu Luang...the lone rock with the tuft of "hair"!

Batu Luang from another angle

Batu Luang at sunset

        Vicky had earlier enthralled me with the tragic story of Batu Luang, also known as Batu Punggul. A wedding entourage was making its way from the bride's house to the house of the bridegroom. Unfortunately, they were caught in a thunderstorm. So they sought shelter in one of the caves along the beach. When the storm abated, the group made their way out of the cave to continue on their journey. The bride was the last to leave the cave and as she was approaching the exit, suddenly, the cave collapsed. The bridegroom, who was holding on to her hand, tried his best to pull her out. But her hand slipped from his grip, leaving only her wedding ring in his palm. A celebration then turned into a tragedy when the bride was sealed in the cave for eternity.
        The second photography site in Kuala Penyu that hubby was scouting for was the boat graveyard. We tried asking about it and showing pictures to many locals, but no one seemed to know. Finally, we stumbled upon a boatman, who pointed us in the right direction. The sorry sight of dilapidated boats whiling away their last days of their lives in a hidden corner of Kuala Penyu may not be of interest to many. But it was a promising sight for a photographer. Hubby was blessed with another glorious sunset, and he succeeded in getting lovely shots of the forgotten boats.

A desolate sight of forgotten boats

Glorious sunset

        Our two-night stay at Kuala Penyu was fruitful and hubby loved it. Our accommodation at Sawangan Beach Lodge was cozy and comfortable. And I enjoyed my time with Vicky, who was often manning the little grocery shop in the compound and was always eager for a chat.

With Vicky at Sawangan Beach Lodge