Nikoi Island

Nikoi Nikoi Nikoi...

sounding like an ancient Koi fish of some sort, Nikoi island is not an ornamental fish, nor is it an island off the coast of Japan. Instead, it is a privately owned island resort with perfect blend of the rough and the refined.

Rough? = sleeping in grass roof huts with no aircon
Refined? = each hut has hand crafted teak furniture & beds with pristine white sheets

Rough? = unvarnished wood decking on forecourt of each hut
Refined? = the granite slabs lovingly hand laid into the straightest walls possible

Rough? = lightly cooked & still crunchy veggies
Refined? = dishes garnished with the freshest herbs from Asia and Europe

Yes, this is the tropical paradise that is Nikoi island!

Ros and i were part of a team fortunate enough to spend three days & two nights on this paradise, helping a select group of Nikoi Island guests have their first taste of rock climbing. For now, we'll let the pics say those proverbial 1000 words.

4x4 Drive KK to Ba'Kelalan 31 Mar - 7 Apr

This is our first off road drive.

Journey started in Kota Kinabalu where we met Malcolm, Eunice & Mel Jr. Driving from KK to Lawas was on road, before we changed to off road tyres at Lawas. Here, Eunice gave us a short briefing of the day's drive.

From Lawas to Merarap was gravelly roads. It rained along the way & vision got really bad. What was more worrying was the road we're going to be the next day.
Arrived at Merarap Hot Springs Lodge to spend the night & we were greeted by a little kitten, probably 2 mths old, which we adopted as Ah Meow during our stay. She would follow us wherever we went & was especially attentive during meal times. The lodge is located amongst forest & next to gushing rapids. A couple of hot spring pools were in the compound for visitors to soak in the 40 degree water.

Next day's drive was Merarap to Ba' Kelalan. This section was on logging trails, followed by mud tracks. And MUD it was. Apparently, it's been raining for a few weeks already plus many vehicles have been traveling in & out of the area, so the soft ground was totally turned over & over like cake mixture! Yup brown chocolate mousse cake...

Mel digs his arm into the mud to hook the tow rope on.

A bit of shovelling will help the front wheel get out.

An interesting log bridge...
Arrived at Ba'Kelalan Apple Lodge in the evening. Ba'Kelalan consists of 9 villages,in the Bario highlands of Sarawak. They have apple & mandarin orange orchards & also a couple of vanilla trees & vegetables. Paddy fields produced their special Ba'Kelalan rice, which was served during lunch time... fragrant & chewy texture, in between glutinous rice & regular polished rice. The grains were smaller than thai rice too. Opposite the lodge is the local air strip. 19 seater planes from Lawas & Miri arrive 2 times a week.

The airport:

The view of the villages from the hill top:
Taken with the lady of the Apple Lodge: