Pulau Gaya- Bunga Raya Island Resort

June 9-11, 2018

We have an early morning departure from the rainforest back to Lahad Datu for a flight that takes us to the capital city of Sabah- Kota Kinabalu (known by the locals as KK).  It is a coastal city and the gateway to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park and Borneo's highest peak, Mount Kinabalu.

One of the five islands in the marine park is our first stop- Pulau Gaya.  We will spend the next 3 nights at the Bunga Raya resort enjoying the beach and going for our first open water dive!
This post encompasses the entirety of our time at this tiny tropical island paradise.

**The humidity in the rainforest wreaked havoc on the "good" camera so all of the photos going forward are from our underwater snapshot...

Good-bye to our excellent guide Ali

Good-bye from "Man of the Forest"

Local airport servicing only flights to/from Kota Kinabalu- 

Jesselton Point-
waterfront district of KK & where we catch our ferry to Gaya Island

Ready to board the boat to Bunga Raya resort-

The boys hit the water as soon as our bags are dropped in the room-
*the two little dots in the water...those are the boys!

Clouds in the sky don't thwart the fun of stand-up paddle boarding!

Prize sighting by Matt while snorkeling-
Green Sea Turtle

The island is actually a tropical virgin forest in the middle of the sea surrounded by a white beach-
There were dozens of hornbills in the trees all over the resort- we saw more here on the island than while at the rainforest lodge.

 Bunga Raya translated from Malay is "hibiscus".  The island is covered with these beautiful flowers- in all colors.  Matt likes to get up close & watch the bees at work.  Here are some of his shots:

DAY 2:  DIVING!!

Just across the bay is the sister resort to Bunga Raya that has a Marine Research Center and a Dive Center. We enjoyed both amenities. This is our first open water dive in the sea (our certification dive was in the murky cold waters of Pelham, AL)!  Nervous anticipation all around...

Geared up and ready to go

Nash is the first one overboard-

The visibility isn't great but eons better than Pelham!
We stayed around 12m (just shy of 30 feet) for about 35 minutes for our first dive.  

Blue Linkia-
reminded us of our time on the Great Barrier Reef

L to R: Matt, Ross, Kelly & Nash

I think this is called a barrel sponge

Two different types of coral- the one on the left looks like a bunch of grapes-

Two boys enjoying the weighlessness & playing with their bubbles-
We were more comfortable on our second dive & stayed a little longer & went a little deeper. 

Mother Son underwater dance-
*fun way to pass the time during our safety stop

Back on dry land- We made it!!

Heading to dinner just around the bay-

At this resturant you pick out your meal from the tank!

Delicious!

My favorite tree at Bunga Raya-

Peaceful morning departure-

** The next 2 days are something new for our family travels... We are splitting up 2 & 2.
Ross & I are traveling to another beach location (less remote) while Matt and Nash are tackling the mountain- Mount Kinabalu.