White Water Adventure Rafting at Padas River Sabah!
When Zainol , a seasoned traveller, and his friends Teresa, Henry, Cecilia and David, all with a passion for outdoor adventures, from Singapore called to ask if I could help to organise a Mountain Climbing trip to Mt. Kinabalu and also White Water River Rafting at Padas River in Tenom, I was not sure if I could get the bookings organised at first due to the very tight schedules and the long waiting list for mountain climbers who are eager to conquer Mt Kinabalu, the highest peak in South East Asia !
There were some moments of initial disappointments.. the travel agents who were contacted did not respond to Zainol’s requests and they also somehow did not indicate that the railway service to tenom had since been changed to accomodate new revamping programs !
Teresa, Henry, Cecilia,David and Zainal (standing with banner) Alfons,Ida and Doris showing active support for Dagu Pinapin Language Preservation Project (DPLPP)
I managed to establish good contacts with the many essential links for Zainol and was finally able to organise what turned out to be a very enjoyable sabahan adventure trip for Zainol and his 4 good buddies.
On arrival at Kota Kinabalu Airport, an arranged 4X4 double cabin Toyota vehicle was on hand to bring them ( Zainol self drive ) all the way to Kundasang where they were greeted with all the beautiful sceneries and the cool freshness of the Kinabalu National Park. They were able to visit many places of interests including the Mushroom farm, Cattle farm and visited Mr. Michael Chin an old friend who also runs Cinta Mata Cabin. They checked into Pine Villa Resort strategically located to have a commanding view of majestic Mt. Kinabalu ! And what an awesome view !
The drive back from Kundasang to Kota Kinabalu city the next day was just as eventful with friends taking time to stop for photo shoots along the route !
Back at the hotel in Kota kinabalu, my husband Alfons and I were waiting to meet the group for a nice and sumptuous seafood dinner at the Ocean Seafood Village Restaurant where the dinner bill was as attractive as was the quality of the fresh seafood ! We really enjoyed it !
The big event was of course the surprise birthday for Teresa, one of the members ! She was clearly touched by the thoughtful gestures as we all lighted candles and sang Happy Birthday at the seafood restaurant, much to the delight of all at the popular seafood Diner.
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- One for the Album
Teresa ended up paying for a beautiful evening of aromatic coffee at the nearby 5 Star resort of Sutera Magellan. We all asked the talented live band to sing another happy Birthday to Teresa !!
The trip obviously left some beautiful memories and we look forward to the return with much anticipation. The White water Rafting experience at the Padas River was really a thrilling adventure for everyone. The normal Sabah State Railways Train service was undergoing some major changes and the journey to the starting point for the White Water Rafting had to be done the old railroad maintenance trolley style !
Zainol is already planning another trip possibly to the interior region of Sabah where there is a mystical limestone rocky outcrop with steep cliffs called Batu Punggul . Now that is another great adventure for sure ! Sabah has more rare gems to be discovered !
Batu Punggul, a limestone pinnacle in the heart of virgin rainforest
