Tawau Hills National Park - phase 1

Tawau Hills National Park or locally known as Taman Bukit Tawau is one of the national parks in Sabah that I had heard about after I started living here. It is where the famous picnic site in Tawau located; the Taman Bukit Tawau Waterfall or famously known by the locals as 'air terjun Table' (air terjun = waterfall). Well, I'm not sure why it is called 'table' ... even after I visited the place last Sunday, I still didn't quite get why.

Anyway, that aside, being not so far from where I live now, I decided to survey the place for future visits, hence the 'phase 1'. I wanted to know what else is there and what kind of things that I can do there. It wasn't very easy to find the direction to the place through the internet, all I could find were just '24km NW of Tawau' but none of the road guide. Thanks to one blogpost and area hints by a colleague, I managed to get there and looked around (phew!...such hilly roads).

This nature park is actually rather big, you can find some additional informations from here. Basically, the general public, mostly families would usually do activities like picnicking and swimming at the lowest part of the park which is near the 'Table Waterfall'. Other than that, there's a bird breeding centre and canopy walkway to the east and Botanical Garden to the west, as well as some chalets and lodges. If you are up for more challenge or feel unsatiable with mere waterfall, you can hike up the nicely marked trails to see the tallest tropical tree in the WORLD, the sulphur spring, enjoy the higher and purer waterfalls and even conquer the 2 highest peaks of the area; Mt. Lucia (1,240 m) and Mt. Maria (1,020 m). Well actually, Mt. Magdalene is the highest (1,280 m) but I was informed that right now the park's authority is in the process of preparing the trails to go there.

map of the area

related fees

(Note: Fees might change, and sometimes they even have a promotion, so please check with the management for the latest info.)

from Tawau town take the road to Merotai-Kalabakan and you'll come across the first ever signboard of the park here

park entrance

one of the lodge at the lower area

don't forget to sort your trash

 

pretty nice signboards at the lower parts

no...this is not the tallest one ... gotta go up higher to see 'em

 

canopy walkway ... sways me even after reaching firm ground

 

giant ants - they are very noticeable even on the ground

youngsters all soaked up

 

 

 

 

Well, I kind of missing out the most important photos, which are the waterfall itself (the part where the water actually falls ... ) and the other nature views. Anyway, I'm definitely going there again another time and hope to explore the place more.

 

Till then.