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History
Even though in
prehistoric times the area around Tawau must have been known to
early man little to nothing is yet know about that era. It is a bit
further to the north where we find more testimony and proof of
prehistoric settlements: the Baturong, Tapadong and Madai Caves have
yielded pottery and other remains of ancient inhabitants, going back
25,000 years. For probably as long as 2000 years Chinese traders
have sailed along Sabah's coast and traded for damar and
other in perfume and incense industry used tree saps, rattans,
medicinal plants, hornbill 'ivory', rhinoceros horn and birds nests
(from Baturong, Tapadong and Segarong) with the coastal dwelling
people, who in turn traded with the interior people of Sabah.
Due to its strategic
location and safe harbour Tawau got the attention of the English and
the township's foundation goes back to 1893. It became quickly an
important port for the export of jungle 'colonial' products such as
spices, cocoa and tobacco. We must not forget that before WWI Borneo
tobacco was traded at the London stock exchange!
When Sabah joined the
Federation of Malaysia in 1963 Tawau became one of the major ports
for the export of tropical timber, and a lot of cocoa was planted,
the volcanic soil around Tawau being ideal for this crop. With the
decline of the cocoa price on the international market many cocoa
estate holders have changed to palm oil and Tawau's surroundings
offer now a rather uniform aspect throughout - palm oil plantations
as far as the eye can reach and beyond.
With its busy port
and market nearby Tawau is a bustling town, yet you never feel any
hectic. It is most interesting to visit the town early in the
morning when the markets are liveliest. In the evening Tawau comes
alive with hawker stalls at every street corner but goes to sleep
early.
Places of Interest
Even though Sabah's
third largest town Tawau is usually only visited by divers on their
way to Sabah's dive paradises Sipadan, Mabul, Kapalai and other
islands, which are in the world's 'epicentre of marine biological
diversity'. As such the town offers good hotels but not much worth
while visiting there except of course the restaurants that offer,
like everywhere in Sabah, a huge variety of highly delectable
specialities. For those who stay a day or two there are, however, a
couple of things to do: Sabah's foremost rainforest interpretation
centre is in Tawau, adjacent to a forest reserve that surrounds the
landmark hill 'Bukit Gemok'. Then there is the very
well maintained 'Tawau Hills Park', which is actually
a national park! Simple but clean and well conceived accommodation
allows overnight travellers to stay there and explore the many
trails into the deep heart of the park. There are hot springs in
pristine natural conditions - and generally no tourists! Wildlife in
the park, which itself is adjacent to Sabah's largest forest
concession, the Yayasan Sabah Concession (ca 30% of Sabah's land
mass), is abundant and the patient observer can spot many rare birds
and mammals, including primates such as the Borneo gibbon. One can
also visit cocoa plantations and learn more about how
cocoa powder, and ultimately chocolate, is processed from cocoa
beans at cocoa factories.
Tawau is also the
port from where you can take boats and speedy ferries to
neighbouring towns in Kalimantan: Nunukan and Tarakan.
How to Get to Tawau & Accommodation
Bus/share taxi (ca 560 km / up to 10 hours depending on road
conditions); flight (several flights daily, 1 hour 20 mins from KK),
boat/ferry (from Nunukan or Tarakan in Kalimantan - Indonesia);
there are a couple of good hotels in Tawau, such as the 'Marco Polo'
and the 'Hotel Emas', and many 'penginapan', which can loosely be
translated as 'hostel'.
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photos to be added soon |
