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Part 55: Sapi Island adventure....
The night before, we all arranged to meet up early for breakfast in the Hostel lounge - unsurprisingly I was up first as usual.
There was that slightly awkward moment when you are just sat there wondering if anyone else would actually turn up and go through with it, but Jessica, Sarah, Christine and Dan - my four new American friends all arrived at exactly the same time.
They all looked chirpy, and all were raring to go!
We discussed a plan over breakfast and agreed to head straight to the super market on our way to the small fishing harbour to pick up supplies, snacks and more importantly, alcohol.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and even at this early hour it was already the perfect weather for an island getaway.
I loaded my bag with, salted crackers, bananas, biscuits, beers and a small bottle of Malaysian tiger whiskey.
The others followed suit. I wasn't entirely convinced that it was going to be the best, or indeed taste any good, but at least it would get us drunk fairly quickly, that was the plan anyway.
I packed a small ruck sack with a change of clothes, flip flops, torch, sleeping bag and a few toiletries, that was it. Along with the supplies, my plan was to take as little as possible.
We continued towards the seafront and took a left towards the quaint harbour where there were a dozen fishermen and lazy small boats waited bobbing in the sea.
It didn't take them long to squabble over who was going to take us. A gaunt chap with missing teeth barged his way forward and asked what island we wanted to visit.
There were 5 islands to choose from that made up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. Our preference was Sapi Island, not that any of us knew any different.
By the way, the word “Sapi” meant “Cow” in the Malay language, and the island was so named because its shape resembled that of the head of a cow apparently.
He explained that there would already be people on each of the islands but around 3.30pm all would be heading back to the mainland on the last boats, at which point we would have the whole island to ourselves for the night, then he'd return to pick us up a day or 2 later - It was up to us decide when.
Seemed legit, I thought to myself. Even if the unshaven toothless man, who bore more resemblance to a scoundrel pirate than a fisherman, didn't look in the least bit trust worthy.
His accomplice steadied the tiny boat as we wasted no time in boarding one by one. You could smell the excitement on the boat.
Although there were life jackets on board they wouldn't have fitted my nephew let alone me. Seems like they were there more for show.
'Its ok, you'll be fine, noh need for the jackets' he smiled.
It wasn't the prettiest sight I'd seen, unlike the crystal blue waters and skies.
Soon we were off and thrilled to be heading to Sapi. I couldn't stop smiling, it was a glorious bright sunny morning, and a warm relaxing breeze, then as we pulled away from Kota Kinabalu harbour you could see the magnificent mountain normally hidden by clouds or mist behind us in the distance.
It wasn't a long boat ride before we reached the small island, the clear turquoise water, gentle lapping waves, swaying palm trees and white sandy beaches were gorgeous.
We stepped off the boat onto the wooden Pier and made our way to the shore.
'Watch out for the dragons and wild boars' the fisherman warned just before they left.
(I chose to ignore what I just heard)
There were other people here and it wasn't quite as secret as I thought, but true to the fisherman's word they all slowly left as the afternoon drew to a close, then it really was just us 5 on the island.
We explored, walking around a small trail through some dense forestation and tropical trees to the other side of the island which took no more than 30 mins or so such was its small size (around 20 acres).
There the clarity of the surrounding waters, made it easy to view the sea beds, corals and tropical fish, it was so calming because of the quietness, especially knowing we were the only ones here.
On the way back we saw the huge monitor lizards, locally known as Biawaks, walking about nonchalantly, indeed they did look like Komodo Dragons.
Ambling ponderously about while flicking their little forked tongue's out were a strange if not slightly scary sight to behold. However, it was advisable to stay some distance from these massive reptiles with their long necks, powerful tails and sharp claws, I wasn't prepared to get to close just in case.
We strolled back to the beach and thought it wise to collect dry wood and branches for the fire whilst; it was still light.
Dan was fully clued up in island survival skills unlike myself, but I wasn't prepared to be shown up in front of my new friends so I played along, trying to look as competent as possible.
We did the survival 'man things' both Jessica and Sarah asked of us.
And I did want Dan couldn't, start a fire like a pro - which of course I wasn't.
Anyway we sat around the fire watching the sunset. The sun slowly dipped beyond the horizon amongst fragmented clouds as the sky glowed a brilliant red - what a moment this was!
We were alone, on this beautiful tropical island off the coast of Borneo, sipping whiskey, watching the sun go down.
This was mesmerising and the kind of moment you wish would never end. No picture on my iPhone was ever going to do this justice, but it almost didn't matter to me because this would be vividly etched into my memory for a long time such was the idyllic setting. The fire burned brightly and we timed it perfectly as darkness fell. These are the kind of moments I used to reserve only for my imagination but the reality fully matched my minds picture.
The company was great, the setting perfect and the location was quite wonderful.
The moonlight reflected off the warm still sea and the gentle splashing of waves furthered my euphoria.
We all walked along the sand towards the water where Dan had made a harpoon which he was eager to try out. He was well ahead of me on the survival skills now, not that he ever wasn't. Especially after catching a fish and cooking it on the fire for us - credit where credit was due - It tasted really good.
The sand was littered with small spider crabs scurrying sideways, I was doing my best to avoid stepping on them incase they pinched my toes. They buried themselves in holes and came out as your feet hit the sand, there were dozens of them.
Me and Dan sat on the wooden peer chatting for ages, time now seemed to slow to a crawl which was fine by me, I certainly was in no rush for this to end. The sky was so clear and the stars so bright.
What a truly glorious experience this was proving to be. Hard to imagine that little over 24 hours ago I was sat alone bemoaning the loss of my mountain friends, yet here I was on a random island paradise trip.
You could hear the insects in the jungle behind us getting louder by the minute, the water did not have a ripple, and the bright moon continued to illuminated the water with hundreds of colourful tropical fish clearly visible. It was the perfect time for a dip in the cooling sea.
Luckily it was quite shallow which was perfect for me especially since I wasn't the strongest swimmer.
Swarms of fish surrounded us tickling and nipping my legs and the water was so refreshing this time of night.
This charming little island, despite its tiny size seemed rich in marine, and wild life - the flying fish were quite a site too.
After our swim we bonded around the fire talking for ages into the early hours exchanging life experiences and our journeys, finishing off what was left of the alcohol before finally it was time to retire.
Then out of nowhere, Dan suddenly spotted huge white wild boars circling us on the edge of the forestation - It freaked the girls out somewhat, Jessica and Sarah ran back into the sea as they began to approach. We threw some food into the trees and luckily the hungry boars followed.
It was a slightly unnerving moment wondering if they would return whilst we slept and thought it wise to tie our rubbish bags high in the trees. It seemed to do the trick - for now anyway. After all the excitement we eventually fell asleep on the beach - and I surprisingly slept very well.
I had every intention of waking up to to view the sunrise directly in front of us, but sadly the cheap whiskey we consumed the night before had other ideas.
We spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the beach before a fishing boat returned to take us to the nearby island of Mamutik.
It was perfect for snorkelling, lounging although a little to riddled with Chinese tourists for my liking.
Not anything against Chinese people in general of course, but seeing scores of them covered in brilliant white sun block from head to toe somewhat spoiled the view.
That was our cue to head back to the mainland.
But not before having to negotiate with a fisher man for our boat back.
What a awesome experience this was from start to finish.
To be honest I could have happily stayed on Sapi Island for a few more days if we had the supplies.
My American friends had been marvellous company and at no stage was there any kind of social awkwardness.
And in Dan and Christine I think I made some great friends for life.
They were both the epitome of coolness.
Later that evening even before washing the sand from my legs, we discussed our next adventure - a jungle trek tour to the eco lodge near Poring, the other side of the Kinabalu national heritage site.
I needed no extra persuasion to go.
Next stop, the jungle.....
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