PESTA JAGUNG

The Pesta Jagung or maize fesival is held in the district of Kota Marudu, about 130 km or two hours drive from Kota Kinabalu. Just like other agriculture-based celebrations, this fest promises to be another exciting event that should not be missed by any visitor to Sabah.

Maize or jagung is one of the many agricultural products in the state that has provided an important economic contribution to the lives of mainly the Kadazandusun communities in Kota Marudu. This event serves to highlight the significance of this plant to the people. Of course there will be plenty of fun too with jagung cooking and planting competitions, cultural shows and the Jagung Fashion Queen!(Visit site for more information)

PESTA KELAPA

The coconut, an ever-popular fruit of the tropics is celebrated in a special festival at Tomborungus in the northern district of Kudat. Coconut is grown extensively here covering an area of more than 5,741 hectares or about 14,000 acres planted.

The festival highlights the coconut industry and recognition of its significant contribution to the social and economic welfare of the rural folks in Kudat. Its launching date coincides with World Coconut Day and a host of exciting activities are lined up for visitors including the highly entertaining coconut shoe race, squeezing coconut milk competition, food and drink exhibition, handicraft displays, coconut fashion show and a wildlife exhibition for the entire duration of the festival.

Highly recommended for visitors to Sabah, this fest is an occasion that is worth adding into a programme to further enhance your holiday experience. Getting there is easy plus there are other tourist attractions in the area that should not be missed. Drop by at the famous Rungus Longhouse at the village of Kampung Bavanggazo, witness gong making at Kampung Sumangkap, handicraft making at Kampung Tinagol and how pure fresh honey is made at Kampung Gombizau.(Visit site for more information)

PESTA RUMBIA

Kuala Penyu, approximately 2 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu city celebrates this special event every year. Rumbia or sago comes from the family of palmae. It is mostly found in Kuala Penyu and the surrounding districts of Beaufort and Papar. The starch or sago that is

rich in carbohydrate is an alternative staple food for the Bisayas and Kadazan (Dusun Tatana) people and is locally known as "ambuyut".

No part of the sago palm is discarded. The locals use the leaves as roofing materials and the branches (known locally as kumbar) for making their house's walls. Floor mats and baskets are just some examples of things made entirely from the plant.
A rumbia information center is located at Kampung Kasugira in Kuala Penyu and it also provides displays of sago and its uses, handicrafts as well as demonstrations of sago delicacies.(Visit site for more information)

PESTA KAAMATAN

 Sabahans consider rice to be more important than just the main staple food. There is a certain sacredness attached to it, for it is a food given to them by Kinoingan, the Almighty Creator so that his people should never want for food. He sacrificed His only daughter- Huminodun and from her body parts, padi (rice) grew. This

was Kinoingan's ultimate act of benevolence and to this day, His people repay the deed by conducting various ceremonies to honour Bambaazon, the spirit of Huminodun as embodied in rice.

The most well-known of these is Pesta Kaamatan or Harvest Festival which begins on the first of May and celebrated throughout Sabah. Of major importance to this thanksgiving ceremony is the Magavau - a ritual to invite Bambaazon to the Pesta and is conducted only by the Bobohizan or high priestess. Festivities cannot proceed without the presence of Bambaazon and it is through Magavau that the Rice Spirit is invoked.(Visit site for more information)

PINASAKAN

 

Pinasakan sada, otherwise simply known as Pinasakan, is a traditional Kadazandusun dish of braised basung fish mixed with takob akob (a tangy wild fruit mainly harvested for its skin), fresh turmeric, salt and slices of Bambangan (optional). Pinasakan is another type of preserved food and is good to be eaten sans heating for days at a time. You can find Pinasakan at most traditional cuisine restaurants.

Pinasakan goes well with white rice or ambuyat and a dash of sambal.(Visit site for more information)

TUHAU

Most people, even locals, would have a love-hate relationship with the Tuhau due to its distinct pungent smell, which is not unlike that of a stink bug. However, once you’ve tried it, you may easily overlook its unpleasant smell.

Originating from the interior parts of Sabah (Tambunan, Keningau and Ranau), Tuhau is made of a type of wild ginger that is thinly diced, mixed with diced chili and diced scallion, and pickled using salt and vinegar. Tuhau makes a great accompanying dish for anything and everything. You can find it at tamu markets or vegetable markets all across Sabah.(Visit site for more information)

BAMBANGAN

Bambangan is a type of wild mango that comes with a distinct and sharp smell. Unlike the normal mango, Bambangan has a thick brown skin. While it is delicious when ripe, Bambangan is normally harvested raw to be pickled using salt mixed with grated Bambangan seed and slices of chilli.

Bambangan can be found at most tamu market or vegetable markets. Pickled Bambangan goes really well with plain white rice and deep-fried fish. Want to know a secret to a more delicious meal? Eat with your hands!(Visit site for more information)

PULAU TIGA RESORT
                          

                           

Pulau Tiga Park was established in 1978, although the area has been under protection as a forest reserve since 1933. It is located north ofKuala Penyu, opposite the swampy Klias Peninsula, in Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo.

The park covers 158 square kilometers of mostly ocean, containing the 3 islands of Pulau Tiga, Pulau Kalampunian Besar and Pulau Kalampunian Damit. The islands were formed in 1897 by the eruption of mud volcanos.

Pulau Tiga is now covered in dense vegetation; however volcanic activity continues in the form of bubbling mud and methane gas venting, although the last major outpouring of mud was in the early 1960s.

Pulau Kalampunian Besar is now little more than a sandbar, eroded away by wave action. Known for its sugar-white sands and clear waters, it is popular for scuba diving and snorkeling.

Pulau Kalampunian Damit, little more than a large rock, is also called Pulau Ular (Snake Island). It is famous as a mating location for highly poisonous sea snakes.Located opposite the swampy Kilas Peninsula are three small coral reef islands, PulauTiga, Pulau Kalampunian Besar and Pulau Kalampunian Damit. The park has been named after ‘Pulau Tiga’, the biggest of the three islands. Gazetted in 1978, the reserve covers 158 square kilometres and has a unique and particularly rich marine flora and fauna. Dubbed Survivor Islands from the reality television show that was filmed here, the unadulterated islands offer some good prospects for snorkelling and diving.(Visit site for more information)

MABUL ISLAND                       

                                

Mabul is a small island off the south-eastern coast of Sabah in Malaysia. The island has been a fishing village since 1970s. Then in 1990s, it first became popular to divers due to its proximity to Sipadan island.

Located 15 km from Sipadan, this 20-hectare piece of land surfaces 2–3 meters above sea level, consists mostly flat grounds and aerial view is oval-shaped. Surrounding it are sandy beaches, perched on the northwest corner of a larger two square kilometer reef.

Mabul island is administered by Semporna, Tawau district.Located only about 15 minutes from Sipadan Island, Mabul Island is reputed to house some of the best underwater species of fish and other photographic marine animals. Recognized as one of the best muck-diving sites in the world, the pristine waters surrounding the island give a clear vision of the animals, a supposed boon for underwater photographers. Some of the marine animals one can get a quick look at are blue-ringed octopus, frogfish, moray eels, spike-fin gobies, cuttlefish and cuttlefish.(Visit site for more information)

SEPILOK

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in the Malaysian Sabah District of North Borneo was founded in 1964, to rehabilitate orphan orangutans. The site is 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve. Today around 60 to 80 orangutans are living free in the reserve.

When Sabah became an independent state in Malaysia in 1963, a Game Branch was created in the Forest Department for the conservation of wild animals in the region.

Consequently, 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve was turned into a rehabilitation site for orangutans, and a centre built to care for the apes. Today around 25 young orphaned orangutans are housed in the nurseries, in addition to those free in the reserve.

The facility provides medical care for orphaned and confiscated orangutans as well as dozens of other wildlife species. Some of the other animals which have been treated at the centre include; sun bears, gibbons, Sumatran rhinos and the occasional injured elephant.

Recently rehabilitated individuals have their diet supplemented by daily feedings of milk and bananas. The additional food supplied by the centre is purposefully designed to be monotonous and boring so as to encourage the apes to start to forage for themselves.

Sepilok is considered by the Wildlife Department to be a useful educational tool with which to educate both the locals and visitors alike, but they are adamant that the education must not interfere with the rehabilitation process. Visitors are restricted to walkways and are not allowed to approach or handle the apes.

In the wild orang utan babies stay with their mothers for up to six years while they are taught the skills they need to survive in the forest, the most important of which is climbing. At Sepilok a buddy system is used to replace a mother’s teaching. A younger ape will be paired up with an older one to help them to develop the skills they need.

The creation of reserve areas minimises the impact of deforestation on orangutans and far fewer young apes become the victim of the illegal pet trade as a result of these ‘sanctuaries’. Babies are often caught during logging or forest clearance or captured by poachers who slaughter the adult apes to reach them. The Malaysian Government has clamped down on illegal trading, outlawing all such practice and imposing prison sentences on anyone caught keeping them as pets.

Youngsters kept in captivity often become sick or suffer neglect which in some cases extends to cruelty. Whilst some of the orangutans raised as pets can never be returned to the wild, others can be rehabilitated; it is a long and expensive process, taking up to seven years but one centres such as Sepilok take on without question.(Visit site for mare information)