Do you know we have our very own columnar basalt ?? Malaysia homes a columnar basalt!! YESSS we do!!
That’s exactly how excited I got when I read about in Google! And what got me even more excited was the fact that it is in Sabah, Borneo Island right between Tawau and Semporna! YEAYYY!
Okay, all excitements aside.
So if don’t know what's columnar basalt already, its formation of rocks due to contraction during the cooling of lava on land from the eruption of a volcano.If you noticed in the pictures, the stone formations are in hexagonal and heptagonal in shape. Apparently, that’s how its formations are by nature. How cool!!
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A couple of weeks ago, I made a quick trip to visit the place from my little coastal town, Semporna.
I google mapped my way there, but let me highlight here, if you are going to google map the place, be sure to search for
COLUMNAR BASALT BALUNG COCOS (SUNGAI GIRAM)
DO NOT, let me repeat, DO NOT map to BALUNG COCOS BATU BERSUSUN. Because if you google map to Batu Bersusun, it's going to take you to the longer route with the badly maintained road. Never ending road. So save the hassle, map yourself to COLUMNAR BASALT BALUNG COCOS (SUNGAI GIRAM).
The junction to Kampung Balung Cocos situated at the Tawau Semporna main road. At the entrance of the junction, you will be greeted with a white welcome board, stated " SELAMAT DATANG KE KAMPUNG BALUNG COCOS".
Just drive further in the small beautiful village, and you will come across a tiny wooden board on your left that’s written “columnar basalt”. Turn into that narrow road that looks almost non-existence in between a purple house and a pink house.
Continue driving up the road, you will come across an empty land with palm trees. Just drive down the road, and you will come to an end road with a huge open space with a wooden house on your left. And that’s the parking site before heading to the columnar basalt.
There’s a very reasonable entrance fee, RM2 per pax, and there you go! Just walk straight down for about 10 minutes and you shall be rewarded with a BEAUTIFUL view!
Do note that this is in a private space owned by a teacher and he maintains it apparently. So be respectful when you are there.
It’s a beautiful place to unwind and relax with a couple of friends. Families with children can even have a picnic there, but please keep this place clean. It is still untouched and not heavily commercialized. Let's just keep its virginity! In fact, when I asked my fellow colleagues about this place, none of them were even aware of the existence of such a place. A beautiful secret spot that is slowly gaining its popularity.
There's a river flowing from the mountain nearby. The current heavily depends on the rainfall. When I was there, it was rather hot, so it was of medium flow. On the days with heavy current, the local kids do river tubing. HOW FUN??
Another fun fact, this place, Balung COCOS is named after the COCOS ISLAND of Australia! There's a whole of a story behind it. You may want to google about it. Its interesting to learn about!
If you are planning a trip there, here's a tip or two you can learn from my mistakes.
1) Wear adequate sunblock or get an umbrella or hat or cap, just anything at all to protect your skin from the brutal heat. The path down to the river is open and there's no shade. And Tawau is a coastal town and its extremely hot! Save your skin from patchy sunburns and heat rashes.
2) There are no stalls selling any sort of drinks or snacks nearby. It’s a residential area. So bring your water, you will be thirsty!
3) No toilet!!!!! And most places are too open to do your business in nature like cavemen. Just so you know. But there’s a tiny wooden hut for clothes change if you wish to change.
Lastly, enjoy your trip! Enlighten yourself with nature and its astonishing formations!!
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