Kudat Town

Sunday, 16 February, 2020 06:34:27 PM

KUDAT
Places of interest in Kudat

Attraction around Kudat:
Gombizau Honey Bee Farm
Kampung Bavanggazo (Rungus Longhouse)
Kampung Sumangkap Gong Factory
Kelambu Beach
Kudat Golf Club
Maranjak Longhouse Homestay
Tamu Kudat
The Tip of Borneo - Tanjung Simpang Mengayau

Kudat - a small town in the north of Sabah. About 3 hours from Kota Kinabalu by car.
Population is only 26,750 (year 2000 census), comprising mainly of Rungus (rural areas); Bruneis and Chinese (town area) and ethnic entities Obian/Ubian, Suluk, Bajau, Irranun/Illanun.

Fuk Tek Kung Chinese Temple

A Chinese temple in Kudat town.
Kudat's population was 70,000 in 2000. The ethnic composition is mainly Rungus, ( sub-group of Kadazan).
About 10% are ethnic Chinese, and there are minorities of Bajau, Dusun, Murut, Bugis, and Malay. There is also a considerable number of unregistered illegal immigrants from the nearby Philippines Sulu regions and Mindanao.

Kudat town was founded by A H Everett of the British North Borneo Company on December 7, 1881 as the first capital of British North Borneo, due to its strategic geographic location.
After being repeatedly raided by Bajau, Sulu and Illanun pirates, the capital was shifted in 1883 to Sandakan, on the east coast.

COCONUT PLANTATION

The first group of Chinese pioneers arrived in 1883, followed by a steady flow of Hakkas who cleared the jungles to establish coconut plantations and small farms.
These Hakka Chinese built their own homes, churches and schools.
Early 20th century, they began planting rubber.
Other Chinese dialect groups eventually made Kudat their home, but the district remains dominated by the Christian Hakka of the Basel Church.

Ferry to Pulau Banggi

An air-conditioned daily ferry leaves Kudat at 9 am for Kerakit. Pulau Banggi. Alternatively, a local boat can be hired in Kudat for voyages of exploration or fishing trips around Banggi and Balambangan.
Kudat district has some of the finest beaches in Sabah. offering safe swimming, picnicking and fishing as well as peace and tranquility. Most beaches are also suitable for camping (but bring fresh water). Many visitors are astonished the sight of pristine beaches and bays, where only on Sundays (and only on the most popular beaches) is there likely to be a mere handful of holiday makers.
The best beaches are found along the west coast, starting south at Indarasan Laut, which is reached via Tinangol. The deeply indented bay of Teluk Agal (also known as Tambularan Bay). beyond Kg Bingolan, has two sizeable rivers at either end of a sweeping beach, and a small village which offers a haven for local fishing boats.
Reached via Kampung Minyak. the long beach of Terongkongan is known for a narrow cave. Gua Tindakop, carved into the rocky headland to the north. Pantai Kimihang, accessible by Jalan Bangau, is shallow but a good spot for picnicking and camping, with shady trees. A deep river provides a pleasant place for swimming, especially if it happens to be low tide. Local fishermen frequently try their luck with nets as the tide comes in.

Perhaps the most popular beach in the region is Pantai Kelambu, where a sand spit leading to a small rocky island creates large bays on either side; whatever the direction of the wind, there's always a calm area for swimming. The picnic area is usually busy on Sundays, but a short walk along the beach of either bay promises privacy.
Nestling in the hills on Jalan Marang Parang, shortly before Pantai Kolambu, the attractive Sunjamal Resort offers a peaceful retreat in spacious, Rungus-inspired chalets. A range of activities,

Kudat Town

Kudat is a small town that has kept some of its rural charm, and one sees still elderly Rungus folks in traditional attire.
The restaurants and coffee shops offer good foods, and seafood is inexpensive.
One will have seen the whole town in a few minutes. Walk from the Chinese temple to the newly built waterfront in fifteen minutes, passing by the market.
There are a few budget hotels that are clean and reasonably priced, and of course there is the newly opened Kudat Golf and Marina Resort, the flagship of Kudat’s developing tourism industry.

Kudat is quiet and devoid of the hectic town life. This town remains a destination few will visit, despite its upgraded infrastructure that brought better accessibility and accommodation.
Some day tours that are a must if you stay longer:
1) the Bak-Bak Beach, where you can mingle with the locals;
2) Tanjung Sempang Mengayau, the very Tip of Borneo with its dramatic landscape and white beaches Northern Tip of Borneo - 7 degrees north of equator
3) the islands Balambangan and Banggi. There are daily ferries to the islands.
The surroundings of Kudat are made for walks, and cycling. You can discover secluded beaches, and remote villages where people live an age-old traditional, and quiet life.

Tip of Borneo
(Simpang Mengayau)

Northernmost tip of Borneo, the Simpang Mengayau, is only 40 kilometers from Kudat is a truly fascinating area to visit and
Simpang Mengayau has remained relatively undisturbed and was only recently "discovered" as a tourism destination. Pristine beaches, indigenous longhouses, secluded diving, intricate handicraft by the Rungus people - the ethnic entity that populates the Kudat Peninsula.
Over the last few years the peninsula has seen tremendous upgrading of infrastructure, and this very tip of Borneo Island is now accessible by car in little under three hours from Kota Kinabalu City.
A visit to Sabah should not be complete without having seen the very Tip of Borneo at least...!
Shortly after the British North Borneo Chartered Company leased the territory of Sabah from the sultans of Brunei and Sulu, they establish shed a settlement at Kudat and declared it their first capital in ISS2. Just two years later, however, water shortages forced the administration to move their capital east to Sandakan.
The Rungus the indigeous tribe on the Kudat peninsula and on the east side of Marudu Bay made their homes inland, while the coastline attracted Muslim Bajau, Irranun and Suluk. The Rungus called the Kudat area after the Tomborungus River that ran into an inlet nearby. When the British arrived and asked for the name of the place, the Rungus thought they wanted to identify the coarse grass growing there, so said Kutad. Eventually, the name was corrupted to Kudat, and was used in preference to the old name of Tomborungus. Because of a labor shortage, the British North Borneo Chartered Company engaged the Basel Missionary Society to bring in families of Christian Hakkas from southern China to help develop Kudat.
Accessible primarily by sea until less than 50 years ago, when a road eventually linked Kudat with Kota Kinabalu, Kudat's past isolation has ensured that much of the original charm and tradition of the region remain relatively unchanged.

Getting to Kudat

By car, van, bus or taxi; tour operator; 180 km / 3 to 4 hours;
On you journey, stop by at the many markets, visit the 'one village one trade' kampungs of Gombizau (honey), Sumangkap (gongs), Tinanggol (beads) and Bavanggazo (longhouse living culture). Meet the locals and chat with them; stroll through the fish markets of Kudat where some of Sabah's best seafood comes from. And enjoy a sumptuous meal, be it for lunch or dinner, of the best the seas can offer at unbeatable prices. Relax on some of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see, and if you are a diver you will find the area not only intriguing for its marine life, but also for the treasure trove of ancient wrecks that can be found in the north of Sabah. Who knows, you might even make an important discovery...!

For the traveler there is now a wide choice of accommodation, ranging from homestay programmes in villages where you can taste longhouse living over simple town hotels to the newly completed Kudat Marina & Golf Resort.

Pulau Banggi and Pulau Balalmbangan

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balambangan

Pulau Banggi, with its dramatic high mountain peak, and the sprawling flat island of Pulau Balalmbangan both lie to the north of Kudat. Kerakit, the major settlement in the south of Pulau Banggi, offers very simple facilities but no tourism infrastructure at this stage. Just south of Kerakit, the island of Malleangan- where a fine white sandy beach is backed with coconut palms with a few houses dotted about-is the sort of place which tempts the adventurous to camp and live the simple life for a few days.

Pulau Balambangan, the site of an abortive British settlement in the 18th century, has a small settlement at Kampung Batu Sireh, in the southeast. This is not far from a cave set in a limestone outcrop at one side of an exquisite tiny bay, an important archaeological site where evidence of human habitation some 16,000 years ago was uncovered.
Pulau Balambangan (Balambangan Island) is north of Kudat, and closest to Philippines. This island has 20 over limestone caves mostly unexplored and undocumented.

North of Kampung Batu Sirih, at one side of a large and beautiful bay, Teluk Lung, lie the remnants of the abortive Balambangan settlement, shards of Chinese porcelain, tiles and bottles fused by the fires after an attack by pirates. The clear waters of this bay are appealing not only for swimming but are home to a seaweed research project

HOW TO GET TO KUDAT AND KOTA BELUD
Mini-buses for Kota Belud leave from the bus station in front of Centrepoint Complex, in Kota Kinabalu, throughout the day; the fare is RM10. Air-conditioned buses for Kudat and Kota Marudu, leaving from near the Padang at 7.30 am, 6.30 am, 12 noon and 1 pm, can be taken as far as Kota Belud (RM10), or on as far as Kudat for the same fare. In Kudat, buses for Kota Kinabalu leave from next to the Telekoms office, opposite the clothing market near Hotel Sunrise.

It is possible to share a long-distance taxi (RM 25 per person) or to charter it for RM100, between Kota Kinabalu and Kudat; long-distance taxis leave from near KK Padang.

Car hire companies offer self-drive sedans or 4-wheel drive vehicles for journeys to Kudat; sedans cost around RM1S0 per day, while a 4-wheel drive costs from RM250-300.