Kota Kinabalu Part 4

This was the best part of the entire holiday. We went to the Abdul Rahman National Park which consists of 5 islands that are beautiful and perfect for snorkelling or just relaxing on the beach. We walked to Jesselton Point where we bought our tickets for the water taxis that took us across. It takes about 15 minutes from KK to get to the islands. We decided to visit two of the islands- Mamutik and Mamukan. These were the ones we had read about (in the Lonely Planets book my friend Tooba got for me as my leaving present- the best leaving present ever!) as being the best for snorkelling.

(On the boat)

(Three of the islands visible here)

This is what we were greeted by when we got to Mamukan. It took my breath away! I had never seen so many fish so close to the surface of the water. They were beautiful.

And this was what the Island looked like- this photo is not enhanced in any way. It really was like this! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The sand was white and the water crystal clear. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

Zaheer had hired snorkelling masks for both of us as I had wanted to try it. At first it was really good. I saw coral and loads of tiny fish and it was surreal seeing this whole other world. But my fear of the sea kicked in as we got deeper and I panicked and had to get out. Zaheer said had I turned around I would have seen 4 huge fish just meters away! I think I would have drowned for sure! Zaheer stayed in there for hours while I relaxed on the beach. Even Yusuf got into the water and tried snorkelling. (Though he didn't go that far so didn't actually see anything!)

We stayed at the islands for about 5 hours and then headed back as the last boats leave at 5. As we were leaving we saw a baby shark in the water! It was smallish and quite cute actually. Its tiny fin was just sticking up out of the water. Kinda looked like the one we ate.....

It was a really nice, relaxing day and we were even thinking about going there again before we left as its so easy to get to but unfortunately we didn't have enough time. We got back to KK just in time to watch the sunset. A beautiful end to a perfect day.