Brenda's overnight trip to Tenom

I recently spent two wonderful weeks in Sabah. During the first week, I took the Food Tour offered by Adventure Study Tours and in the second week, I did several of their day trips. These included an overnight trip to Tenom, a two and a half hour drive south-east of Kota Kinabalu. This was an opportunity to see a different part of Sabah. To get to Tenom, we needed to cross the Crocker Range, the mountains that lie north-south in the country and include Mt Kinabalu. We went over an amazing road with wonderful views back towards the sea and with hair-raising road elevation inclines of up to 19 degrees. Fortunately Jude has driven this road a number of times and can do it without overheating the car!

Once we entered the valley on the other side of the mountains, we passed lots of padi fields that were at various stages of growth, some seeming to have just been planted, while others were ready to harvest. The journey took us through villages in which we could see traditional wooden houses on stilts.

In Tenom, the hotel we stayed at was perched precariously on the side of the mountains and has outstanding views back along the valley. From my hotel room window, I was able to watch a rainstorm come along the valley to Tenom. The storm clouds were beautiful!

Besides making the trip to Tenom itself, we wanted to visit the Sabah Agriculture Park with its huge array of fruit trees and many different plants, including an amazing collection of hybrid and native orchids. We spent a number of hours on two days, with a knowledgeable local guide, walking through the park, tasting fruit, learning about almost everything we looked at and taking innumerable pictures of plants and flowers. One of the highlights of the park is the restaurant. It is so beautifully situated, it's hard to describe! Just look at the picture of the scene we were looking at as we had lunch.

We went back to Kota Kinabalu on another new road for me, going through Tambunan and passing the Rafflesia Centre but there weren't any rafflesia in bloom - unfortunately. (Rafflesia is the world's largest flower.) The road went through rainforest as we crossed back over the Crocker Range and, as could perhaps be expected, it rained all the way! As far as I was concerned, this only enhanced my 'rainforest' experience.
This was the last day of the very active two weeks I had in Sabah. There is still so much to see that a return visit is definitely needed. Next time, perhaps the rafflesia will be in bloom, maybe I'll get to the islands, and to Sandakan and ...

Brenda Morgan, Calgary, Canada

If you have any questions about Brenda's trip or Sabah, please don't hesitate to write to us at: ron@astsabah.com and jude@astsabah.com. We'd love to hear from you!