Do you have one or two days to spare in Tawau but not too sure what to do? Book Discover Tawau’s Unofficial Guided Tour of Tawau and Its Surrounds now!

Many travellers missed Tawau because the town is under-promoted (that’s why we’re here promoting Tawau!), poorly described in guide books (such as Lonely Planet), lack of public transportation options and most people would go to Semporna directly (and missing all the fun and attractions in Tawau)!

What’s Included:

1. Transportation is included all day from the agreed pick-up point and drop point with air-condition vehicle.
2. Entrance fees (if applicable).
3. Guided services to all areas and attractions.
4. Friendly and professional local tour guide.

Itinerary:

• Tawau town centre – Historic areas – The Belfry, Dunlop and Chester Streets, The Al-Kauthar Mosque (the largest in Sabah), Persiaran Traulsen (esplanade), Tanjung Batu.
• Markets: The Central Market, The Hanging Market (Pasar Gantung) and the Tawau Fish Market – the cheapest seafood in Malaysia.
• Tawau Hills National Park – Witness the tallest tropical trees in the world, virgin rainforest and pristine waterfalls.
• Food!

What’s Extra:

1. Shopping (you might want to consider to bring extra cash).
2. Local food.
3. Souvenirs.

Where and When:

• Meet up location: Where would you like us to meet you?
• Please provide the name and address of the hotel/place of stay/your location in Tawau.
• If you have not decided on the place to meet, you can inform us of your decision later by contacting us or email: info@discovertawau.com
• End location: To the hotel which you are staying
• Duration: approximately 4 hours. Traffic and weather may alter the duration of this tour.

Estimated Local Cash Needed:

100 Ringgit Malaysia (RM) should be more than adequate.

Pricing:

Adult: RM120 nett (minimum 2 people in a group).
Child: (under 12 years old): RM60 nett (accompanied by an adult).

* Optional airport pickup/drop-off is available upon request.

Sounds good? Contact us now or email: info@discovertawau.com.

Vancouver-based Continental Energy declared that the Malaysian Government has granted about US$ 11.5 million to Tawau Green Energy (TGE). Continental Energy is an unconventional energy company and has a 10% stake in TGE.

At present, TGE is developing a geothermal energy resource at Apas Kiri near Tawau. Apas Kiri will have a net capacity of 30 MW and will be the first geothermal energy development in Malaysia. The geothermal energy project is likely to be completed by 2015. It is expected to have the capability of generating over 100 MW of electricity, once all its development phases are completed.

Apas Kiri area experienced volcanic activities about 1.5 million years ago, during the Pleistocene age. As such the area is under laid by the Pleistocene formation, predominately covered with sandstone, mudstone, siltstone, shale and lignite.

As a form of renewable energy, geothermal power emits little carbon dioxide, no nitrogen dioxide and very low amounts of sulphur dioxide. Compared to other fuels, the carbon footprint of geothermal energy is 65 times smaller than that of coal, 49 times smaller than that of fossil fuels and 40 times smaller than that of natural gas.

Continental Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Richard L. McAdoo, who also serves as the Geotechnical Director for TGE, witnessed the signing ceremony. According to him, the grant reiterates the commitment of both the Sabah Government and the Malaysia Government to utilize renewable energy sources so as to address electrical power production deficits in Sabah. Such type of fiscal incentive is important for making green field renewable energy projects as successful ventures.

McAdoo added that this kind of government support was instrumental in making Continental Energy to invest in TGE, who played a key role in stressing the advantages of the Apas Kiri geothermal energy development project to the residents of Sabah.

via CEC and image courtesy TGE S/B

An Australian man named J. E. Capstickdale from Sydney used to call Tawau his home, after spending parts of his life there. His short story and testimonials of his times in Tawau were published on a few Australian newspapers such The Sydney Morning Herald, The Queenslander and even on New Zealand’s Hawera & Normanby Star in 1922.

Read the article below -

RICH BORNEO: WONDERFUL ISLAND

Borneo, that equatorial and verdant island that is only known to most Australians as being the birthplace of the celebrated “wild man,” has an enthusiastic champion in Commander J. E. Capstickdale, R.A.N.R., who after two and a half years as a planter and logger on the island, has returned to Sydney. The story of his success in that romantic region is interesting. A naval reservist, he was mobilised at the commencement of the war and while on service he called at Borneo on one or two occasions. The visitor explained that the trade of Borneo was being fairly well exploited by Australians. However, England and the Continent would certainly make a bid to recapture the market.

‘Arafura’ was operated by Eastern & Australian Steamship Co. Ltd.

He was struck by its beauty and possibilities, so that when he was released from duty he decided to risk there his all—a capital of a few hundred pounds. His friends told him that he was “crazy,” advised local investment, anything but that, but he did not heed them. Yesterday he arrived in Sydney with the Arafura’s holds crammed full of timber. There are 1000 tons, or a quarter of a million feet, of mahogany and cedar, with a little camphor wood and he has more than trebled his capital during the two and a half years he has been domiciled in Borneo—at Tawau, to be precise.

“I will never leave Borneo,” he remarked to an interviewer. “It is my lotus land. Tawau, where I live, is on the harbour of Cowie, sheltered from the sea, without rocks and deep and large enough to shelter the navies of the world. It is the finest harbour in the world; we have the finest soil in the world; it is the easiest place to make money, and has a beautiful climate without any tropical fever. Indeed Tawau is that glorious, perfect place that exists in every man’s imagination.”

As an evidence of the productivity of the soil, Mr. Capstickdale remarked that in a radius of 30 feet he had cut 11 trees from 8 to’ 14 feet in circumference, and from 120 to 150 feet high to the first branch. It is a fine class of timber, and the haulage of the huge logs out of the hold of the vessel yesterday provided an interesting spectacle. The visitor claims that his country, which is quite mediocre in his estimation, will yield 11 million tons of commercial timber from 31 square miles.

Tawau was once a coconut haven

Cocoanut plantations bore so prolifically, he said, that there was “a ton of money in them,” even at the presents low market value of copra, and the trees reached maturity at between 3.5 and 4 years. The social life of Borneo is very restricted, and the amusements confined to the local equivalent of Australian “at homes,” but that life is not cheerless there is evident from the anxiety of Mr. Capstickdale and his wife to get home.

This wasn’t the first time Tawau was described as such by outsiders, as evident in this story we posted 2 years ago about a lady from Melbourne, Australia who wrote about her trip to Tawau.

In today’s context we may see this as an exploit to Tawau’s natural resources but nonetheless Tawau still remains beautiful and a truly blessed land.

This was Tawau or East Coast Residency’s map under British North Borneo in 1922.

The map was shown in Owen Rutter’s book – British North Borneo: An Account of its History, Resources and Native Tribes. Rutter was a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and of the Royal Anthropological Institute of United Kingdom.

Most of the names in the map remain the same until today. Rivers are prominently marked as they were the only way to transport jungle produces, commodities and goods from the interiors to seaside ports. Not so far from Silimpopon river was once where the biggest coal mine was located. Steam ships from around the world used to come to Tawau to collect coal supplies to power their steam engines.

Batu Tinagat lighthouse which was built in 1916 on the East side of Tawau is also clearly marked in the map. Many of the islands near Semporna (shown as Simporna in the map) have become world-famous diving spots including Sipadan, which was recently voted by CNNgo.com as the world’s number 1 diving destination.

This shows how important Tawau was when it was still under the British colonies.

CNN’s popular travel website CNNgo.com has recently voted Sipadan’s Barracuda Point near Tawau as the world’s number one dive site.

Launched in September 2009, CNNGo is the internet’s leading source of travel news, information, inspiration, and on the ground, insider insight for luxury, business and leisure travelers and global enquirers. Currently it has around 250k Facebook followers.

The article that was just posted last month shows that Sipadan is well ahead of other more popular destinations such as Egypt’s Red Sea, the Maldives and Micronesia’s Palau. Layang-Layang Island which is located in the West Coast of Sabah made it to number #31 in this list.

The following was highlighted on their website:

Barracuda Point can be an intimidating experience. Fish stream along like traffic here, as if the streets of New Delhi have descended underwater. During these chaotic scenes, you may find yourself in the center of a giant barracuda tornado, while hammerhead sharks and flapping rays nonchalantly cruise past.

The sea turtles here are three-meter beasts, and jackfish swim in swirling balls in their hundreds. It’s home to the weird and wonderful too; look out for the strange-looking bum head parrot fish and eerie batfish.

Depth: 5-40 meters.
Visibility: 30 meters.
Location: North East of Sipadan Island only five minutes by boat from the beach.

The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m from the seabed.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau once said “I have seen other places like Sipadan 45 years ago. Now we have found again an untouched piece of art”. Looks like his claims can never be refuted.

Have you dived here before? Share your experience with us or on our Facebook group!

Popular fast food chain McDonald’s is set to open its first branch in Tawau, Sabah over the next few days.

Tawau joined as the third town in Sabah to have its own McDonald’s outlet. Despite the reputation of fast food outlets, Tawau folks and generally many Malaysians are still eager to dine and enjoy their ‘Prosperity Burgers’ here.

“To have McDonald’s opening an outlet here means signs of progress. It’s been a while since we heard the rumour about McDonald’s coming to Tawau and it’s here finally” according to a user on a popular Tawau-based Facebook group.

It is located near Mile 3.5 of Jalan Apas, the main road connecting Tawau and the New Tawau Airport. Giant Hypermarket is just 50 metres away so it will definitely attract shoppers and people living near this area.

Tawau’s outlet will operate 24 hours and also boasts a drive-thru for those who would like to grab a quick bite on their way to the airport and other towns in the East Coast of Sabah.

Update April 20th: It’s finally opened! Photo courtesy of Maya Wahida of Puadede.com.

Image: eTawau.com

It’s been a while since our last update, so do enjoy this video high definition (HD) of Tawau Hills Park shot by Jollence Lee.

Tawau Hills Park is the ideal place to get in touch with nature. Located some 24 km from Tawau town, the park is a popular spot for families and friends to enjoy a picnic or, for the more adventurous, spend a night camping under a blanket of stars.

The park serves as a vital water catchment area for the major rivers in this part of Sabah, the Tawau , Merotai, Kinabatangan, Mantri and Balung rivers. Covering an area of 27,972 hectares, the Tawau Hills Park was gazetted in 1979. It is home to numerous plant and animal species.

It is also the home to the tallest tropical trees in the world.

The second annual International Tawau Cultural Festival will be held for two days from January 28 to 29 this year.

Several countries will be invited to participate in this year’s International Tawau Cultural Festival which will be jointly organised by the Tawau Municipal Council, the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry and the Sabah Cultural Board.

Joint-chairman of the festival, Datuk Ismail Mayakob said invitation would be sent to countries like the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei to participate in the event.

“However, they will only make normal performances because we want to give priority to the cultural performances by the various ethnic groups in Tawau,” he told reporters after a meeting on the festival Saturday.

So far, 24 ethnic groups had registered to perform at the festival.

If you’re happened to be in Tawau end of this month, be sure to catch this spectacular event!

Source: Bernama

If you’re a backpacker, saving cost and finding the cheapest the way to travel are your highest priorities. Here’s one of the most asked questions by travellers planning to go to Semporna: what is the cheapest way to get there from Tawau airport?

Since the new airport is located 33km from Tawau’s town centre and 1/4th of the way to Semporna, there isn’t really a direct way to get to Semporna from the airport except by Taxi. A taxi may cost you around RM100-150.

If time is not an issue then you can consider the following; assuming that you arrived during the day. There will be very few buses leaving for Semporna after 4pm.

1. Take a taxi from Tawau Airport to Tawau’s bus terminal for RM35. The bus terminal is located at Sabindo Square, near the post office and the Al-Kauthar mosque.

2. Once you’ve reached the terminal you can choose to take a mini van or a bus. Bus leaves on a fixed schedule whereby mini vans will wait until they reach maximum capacity before they leave.

3. The fare is RM10-RM15 to Semporna from Tawau. The distance is about 90km and will take slightly more than an hour.

Another alternative is to walk from the airport right to the main road (about 3km) and hope that a mini van to Semporna would stop.

Contrary to what you’ve read on travel guides, there are actually many interesting things to do in Tawau. Feel free to contact us or visit our Facebook page to ask any question.

As part of our effort to develop tourism in Tawau, we now offer affordable car rental services in Tawau.

You can choose to drive the car yourself or simply hire a driver to take you around.

With unlimited daily mileage*, you can drive to any destination without having to worry about paying extras!

Here’s a list of cars available and the daily rates in Ringgit Malaysia (RM)
(see www.xe.com for exchange rates, M: Manual, A: Automatic)

• Perodua Kancil 660 (M) – RM89/day
• Perodua Kancil 850 (M) – RM99/day
• Perodua Viva 660 (M) – RM89/day
• Proton Iswara 1.3 (M) – RM119/day
• Perodua Myvi 1.3 (A) – RM169/day
• Proton Saga BLM 1.3 (M) – RM159/day
• Proton Saga BLM 1.3 (A) – RM169/day
• Proton Wira 1.5 (A) – RM179/day
• Proton Gen 2 1.6 (A) – RM199/day
• Proton Waja 1.6 (A) – RM219/day
• Proton Persona 1.6 (A/M) – RM219/day
• Toyota Unser 1.8 (A) MPV – RM299/day
• Toyota Avanza 1.5 (A) MPV – RM219/day
• Nissan Grand Livina 1.6 (A) MPV – RM319/day
• Ford Ranger 2.5 (M) 4WD – RM319/day
• Toyota Innova 2.0 (A) MPV – RM369/day
• Toyota Hilux Vigo 2.5 (M) 4WD – RM369/day
• Toyota Hiace 2.5 (M) 12 seater van – RM369/day

Kindly note that vehicles are subject to availability during reservation. Our customer care representative will offer you similar type of vehicle if the type you requested is not available.

Your car rental is inclusive of free airport/hotel pickup/drop-off and free parking coupon.

2012 New Year Special! Take RM19.00 off for any daily car rental rate!

Rent a car now by sending an email to info@discovertawau.com or use the form below. We will respond within 1 business day.

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