Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
C2
Eating
C3
B2
(see 9)
D2
Shopping
B2
Sights
Bukit Gemok Forest Reserve
(adult/child RM5/1)
Located 10km from Tawau town centre, this reserve is a gem, and the
best option for those who need to while away a day here. Developed in the early 1990s,
the jungle is filled with chattering monkeys, and has become popular with trekkers, Hash
House Harriers runners and tour groups - many consider it to be far better than the trails
around Poring Hot Springs. The most popular trail is a demanding one-hour (if you're fit!)
jaunt up
Lim Man Kui Quarry Hill
, a slate-grey knife of rock. It's a huff to make it to
the top, but the stunning views from the top are worth it, as is your casual disbelief at the
middle-aged Chinese fitness nuts who
jog
up this track on a regular basis.
Within the reserve, a 231m
canopy walkway
offers lovely views of the surrounding
countryside and Tawau itself.
Be on the lookout for the relatively enormous (15cm) seeds of the gourd
Alsomitra
macrocarpa
; the seeds are flattened into aerodynamic pancakes and regularly glide hun-
dreds of metres through the forest; they're fairly breathtaking to watch in flight. A taxi to
the park costs RM30 - make sure your driver either waits for you or is willing to come
back and pick you up, as there's little public transport out this way.
NATURE RESERVE
