This is about Daryl & Laurel Fisher and their cruising adventures on the catamaran "Cool Bananas"...


Wednesday, 9 March 2011

KK to Miri - Nov 2010


Dave and Anne arrived for a two week break and to help me get Cool Bananas down to Miri. They had a couple of days in the resort before we set off for Labuan. There was a hurricane in the Philippines (not that far away) and it was giving the weather forecasters plenty to warn us about, so we stayed an extra day by the pool, tough I know, and yes, more pina coladas and local fashion shoots to watch.


Fashion shoot at Kota Kinabalu...........................Sutera Harbour

It felt good that Borneo was also known as “The land below the wind”. Early the next morning we set off for Tigga Island.
We anchored for a couple of hours and Dave and Anne had a walk on the island and then we decided to continue on to Labuan. The next morning we hired a couple of bikes and rode around the island. We did the usual visiting the chimney, bird park, Chinese temple, etc.



Anne admiring some private gates.......................Resident at Labuan Bird Santuary



The chimney is a bit of a mystery. The locals seemed to have no idea why it was built even though they maintain it and advertise it as a tourist attraction. It was built around 1900. Dave and I agreed that the chimney was probably a “shot tower” used to make shot gun pellets by pouring molten lead down the chimney at the top. By the time it reaches the bottom it had cooled into small hard droplets. It is very similar to the one in downtown Melbourne.

Next stop – Brunei with, oh no, Australians aboard!!!. Unfortunately about 20 years ago the Sultan of Brunei bought a farm in the Northern Territory Australia and in his wisdom took his private jet from Brunei directly to the farm without clearing into Australia. As you could imagine Australian Customs and quarantine weren’t impressed and gave the sultan a hard time. Ever since then Australians and only Australians have to buy a visa to visit Brunei.


Sultan of Brunei's oil rig....................................... Skipper Anne coming into Brunei

One more day hop and Cool Bananas is safely tied up in Miri. It’s not long and flights are booked and we’re heading for the Mulu National Park for four days. We spent the first day at the Royal Mulu Resort settling in and lounging around the pool. The resort itself was completely on stilts about four metres above the ground, including the swimming pool.

Around and about in Mulu Resort


Then the exploring began. We did a tree top canopy walk which we were told was the longest in the world. It was quite nerve wracking as we where 15 to 20 metres above the ground on a very rickety structure and we were told that the squirrels often chewed on the ropes!!! Along the way we had our eyes peeled and cameras poised for the many large spiders and insects there were to see along the way.

Is this really safe?.................................................It's a long way to fall



Mulu limestone caves

All the creepy crawlies



Spider on the water


Mulu is also known for its caves, which are some of the biggest in the world. We visited four caves and one, Clearwater cave has been surveyed for 130 kms but still goes in further. They are basically a limestone hole with a mountain on top. It was great to have the opportunity to see these natural wonders.
The local’s most common transport is a long boat with outboards. A guide took us in a longboat to visit a local tribe in their traditional longhouse.

Our guide...............................................................Daryl where's your life jacket?

Life around the longhouse

Traditional dancers...............................................Dave with the ladies

Back at the resort we were entertained each evening by locals and traditional costume and dance.
On the last day I was given the privilege of raising the flag which was done each morning in military style. The staff would march out and lineup like an army parade, the flag would be raised while the Sergeant Major saluted and then the staff would be dismissed. This all seemed a bit strange for a resort hotel -but hey, when in Borneo……

Raising of the flag

Once we arrived at the marina we prepared the yacht to be left. One of the things we did was to put plastic bags over the propellers to stop the growth of marine life. To minimize the risk to myself I asked Dave to give me a hand with this. As there is a resident 3 m crocodile that lived in the marina, I thought Dave would make a more tasty morsel than myself, so with both of us in the water, there was only a 50 percent chance that, if the crocodile was hungry, he would go for me.


Bagging the props................................................End to another gorgeous day

The marina owner is a bit of a collector and around the marina we spotted two ex America's Cup Yacht Challenge yachts and then tucked in a shed was the De Lorean used in the movie “Back to the Future”. You never know what you’ll find in these places!!