Pulau Lakei, Bako’s little jewel

This is the final part of my Bako 2010.05.24-25 adventure series.



Part 7 – Pulau Lakei and home…
Shortly after arriving at Teluk Limau, we set off in our 6 seater speedboat for Pulau Lakei north of Limau bay. The little isle is just a short distance away and the boat ride took less than 15 minutes.



I had always wanted to visit this little island after reading about it in a guide book. So it was quite a good feeling to finally land here. Sarawak doesn't have many nice islands (or even nice beaches) but I'd put Pulau Lakei (Lakei Island) down as one of the most unique islands I’ve ever visited. Located at the northern most tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula, it has only one small sandy beach strewn with broken seashells and coral chips. Except this one beach, rocky cliffs (and cliff vegetation) fringe the sea on all sides.



The types of vegetation closely mirror those found on the Bako plateau: white sandy trails, open grasslands and kerangas forests. There are a number of short trails and four main points of attraction - Makam Datuk Hj. Ibrahim, Kolam Salamun, Pa Amit Cape and a viewing point.

Visiting this beautiful place was a fitting end to our exhilarating adventure. A few weeks after this visit, I was back there again with another group of friends but that experience will be told some other time. Hope you’ve all enjoyed this series as much as I have enjoyed sharing it!

Photo gallery:

The wooden buildings are not chalets but belong to the Sarawak Forestry Dept. However, visitors may make prior arrangements with park authorities to rent the units for overnight trips. The third picture shows broken sea shells and coral chips on the beach.


Left to right, Pulau Lakei map; Tub of freshwater. Like mainland Bako, streams here are stained black by tannins; stairs leading to the upper part of the island and points of attraction.



Second picture shows the mausoleum of Datuk Hj. Ibrahim who lived on the island about three centuries ago. The trails are well maintained here. Round stepping stones made of concrete and pebbles are put in place to aid walking though I found it much easier to just walk on the sandy paths. There is also a part with a two-way concrete foot-bridge! 


And this my friends, is what makes visiting this island worth it! A gorgeous 180 degree view of the South China Sea. Unobstructed by anything in front of you, the emerald expanse is just so calming to look at. Unfortunately, the afternoon sun had baked the exposed rock to an unbearable temperature so we quickly took some snaps before leaving this viewpoint.


Left picture: I find it amazing that this Spathoglottis plicata, a terrestrial orchid, has managed to survive on the extremely hot, exposed cliff top! Second picture, view of Mount Santubong to the west. Rightmost photo shows the Pa Amit Cape viewpoint.


First two photos were taken from the Pa Amit viewpoint. The first one is a view of the Bako peninsula with Tanjung Rhu in view while the second is a view of the Santubong Peninsula to the west. Rightmost photo shows the stairs leading down to the fourth point of attraction, the Salamun Pond (Kolam Salamun) where it is believed that Datuk Hj. Ibrahim engraved some writings resembling Arabic calligraphy on the rock with his bare fingers.


Kolam Salamun. Note the engraved writings in the rock, visible in the second and third photos.


Second photo shows the island’s damaged pier which is no longer usable. Was told that violent storms and waves ripped apart half of the wooden structure and damaged the water-sampling station pictured in the rightmost photo.


Leaving Pulai Lakei for Bako village. Along the way back, our boat man took us to see many points of attraction but we didn’t make any landings, just took photos from afar.


One of the most famous and most photographed natural wonders at Bako is the cobra-head sea stack not far from Teluk Pandan Kecil.


The “cobra-head” sea stack looks different when viewed from different angles or sides. The right most photo shows two other sea stacks which resemble human heads.


Left, finally reaching the jetty at Bako village. Right, after a most tiring yet wonderful trip, I felt entitled to down a glass of ice cold Coke which was exactly what I did!

Thanks all for viewing and hope you all enjoyed this series! The End!