Sarawak - Borneo - page 316

Sleeping & Eating
Park HQ offers four basic guest rooms (d/tr RM40/55) with electricity from 6pm to mid-
night and four open-sided, electricity-less shelters (per person RM15) , each with space
for three people. Blankets, sheets and mozzie nets are available for RM15. There's no way
to book ahead - just show up.
For details on homestays (per person incl board RM70 to RM80) in Telok Melano, a
steep, 2½-hour walk from park HQ, contact the National Park Booking Office in Kuching
or ask around at the Sematan jetty.
Visitors must bring their own food. Cooking equipment can be rented for RM10 a day;
cooking gas costs RM5.
Getting There & Away
The only way to get to Tanjung Datu National Park or the nearby village of Telok Melano,
both about 30km northwest of Sematan, is by boat (one to 1½ hours). Weather and waves
permitting, locals often (but not necessarily every day) pile into a motorboat and head
from Telok Melano to Sematan early in the morning, returning in the early afternoon
(around 2pm or 3pm). If you join them, expect to pay RM30 to RM40 per person one-
way. Sea conditions are generally good from February or March or October. The rest of
the year (especially December), the sea can be rough, so much so that on some days boats
don't run. Walking to Telok Melano - the only other way to get there - takes a full day.
Motorboats with room for five to eight people, either for a day trip (RM450 return) or
an overnight (RM500 return), can be hired at the Sematan jetty for travel either to the park
or to Telok Melano. To find a boatman, ask around the jetty or call or email Eric Yap at
the Fairview Guesthouse ( 013-801 1561; www.thefairview.com.my ; Kuching) .
You can also arrange trips through the Fisheries Development Authority (Persatuan
Nelayan Kawasan Sematan/Lundu; 082-711152; for Rosdin Mawi
[e-mail]; Jln Bauxite, Sematan; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri) . From the jetty,
walk 100m south and a bit inland; the office is upstairs.