After the recent failed attempt to explore deeper into the forest at the Tawau Hills Park, I was itching to go back there to see more of what the place had to offer. And so on Merdeka day rather than spending the entire day bored to death alone in the hotel room, a friend and I went to check out another one of the many natural wonders located there – the natural hot springs.
The jungle trail to the hot springs takes you 3.2km into the depths of the virgin rain forest, underneath the canopy of age old trees towering high above. The first half of the trail was mostly flat and a rather easy hike. The dry weather the past few days ensured that the ground was not as muddy as when I was here the weekend before.
A hanging bridge marks the midpoint to the hot springs, as well as marking the point where the path bifurcates. The other path which takes off from here brings you to other attractions at the park – the Galas Waterfall and for those keen for a bit of mountain hiking – the peaks of Mount Lucia and Mount Magdalena.
After the midpoint along the trail to the hot springs, the path starts to get steeper and slightly more challenging. As the journey gets more and more tiring and the legs move slower and slower, I somehow started to pay more attention to the little things around me that I’d otherwise probably not notice.
Finally after over an hour hiking along the trail, we came to a little creek that we had to cross.
Just after crossing the creek I suddenly remembered that during the entire hike I forgot to frequently check my pants and legs for signs of any of those orange bloodsuckers I encountered the last time I was here. I suppose since this time the ground was much drier I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about becoming their lunch. Man was I wrong…
I found these three crawling about on my pants. I thought I caught all of them in time but when I pulled up my pants I found signs of where another one of them recently had his meal.
After getting rid of all the leeches I managed to find and then tucking my pants into my socks, we ventured on along the path. Not far ahead it seemed as though the trail had ended. I remembered reading from Tadpole’s blog and knew that the hot springs were not too far ahead. Walking a few hundred metres ahead along the river banks the stench of rotten eggs suddenly permeated the air and we immediately knew we were close to our destination.
We had finally arrived at the natural hot springs of Tawau Hill Park.
Hot geothermally heated groundwater surfaced and various points along the creek and mixed with the cool stream flowing from the forest.
The landscape at this tiny part of the river looked truly out of this world with the riverbed and rocks covered in an eerie looking, whitish coat. At this point it was already 4pm and we were about one and a half hours from the park entrance.
I was tempted to explore further upstream to find more points where the hot springs emerged, however any delay would mean we’d be stuck in the thick jungle near dusk, well after the park closes which is at 5pm. And so after a short rest and many many photos, we started the long sweaty hike back to the entrance.
Thanks so much J for the pleasant hiking company – had a great hike today & look forward to hiking to the waterfall next time
