14 KATHERINE TIMES, WEDNESDAY JUNE 12, 2013 www.katherinetimes.com.au

HOT DEALSSUITE INSPIRATIONDusit Thani Maldives' PureIndulgence Package offers asuite of add-ons that, for guestsstaying a minimum of fourconsecutive nights, can beincluded for an additional $260each. The add-ons are: dailybuffet breakfast; a la carte lunchand dinner; complementarydrinks all day including freshjuices, coffee, tea and a selectionof wines, house spirits andcocktails; daily minibarreplenishment of soft drinks andbeer; free yoga classes; andunlimited laundry. Also at DusitThani Maldives, children youngerthan 12 can share their parents'villa at no extra cost, eat freeand enjoy some complementaryactivities. The property has 100villas, including over-wateraccommodation with privatepools.❑ www.dusit.com

GET IN AIRLIEPeppers Airlie Beach offersspacious apartments set on ahillside overlooking theWhitsunday Passage. Theproperty has a special going forthe yacht racing event, AirlieBeach Race Week, from August 9to 16. The rate is $228 a night ina one-bedroom Spa Apartmentand includes a $50 TidesRestaurant & Bar voucher. Theminimum stay is two nights.❑ www.peppers.com.au

CROWNING GLORIESCrown Hotels has some winterspecials on offer, including threein Melbourne. At Crown Towers,the Tailored Luxury packageoffers overnight accommodationfor two with Crystal Club access.It is priced from $395 a night.At Crown Metropol the CreatureComforts package includes an in-room movie accompanied bytruffle popcorn, overnightaccommodation, buffet breakfastand valet parking. It is pricedfrom $330 a night. And at CrownPromenade, the WinterEssentials package includes abottle of red wine and gourmetcheese platter and a night'saccommodation. It is priced from$265 a night. Terms andconditions apply.❑ www.crownhotels.com.au

MOONLIGHT MOVIESMake a date for a night in at themovies, at the QT Port Douglashotel. Of course, being in thetropics, it'll be moonlight cinema.Stay any Friday, Saturday andSunday night between June 22and October 6 and the LocalsPackage gives you acomplementary upgrade to aone-bedroom villa, as well as twotickets to the flicks and breakfastfor two in the Bazaar restaurant.Quote code “moonlight01”. Costsfrom $199 a night.❑ www.qtportdouglas.com.au

A new island resort sets five-starcomforts against the beauty of theBorneo jungle, writes SSarah Maguire.

Aking tide is lapping around nearby beachloungers and umbrellas as Kirinjit Singhtells us that if headhunting endured in

Borneo, we would not be in danger. Those tribal warriors of infamy would be

leaving us to our dinner of local prawns,scallop and lobster, skewered and grilledover hot coals a few steps from our table.

A tourist at an island resort is not what theheadhunters would have sought.

There was nothing random about theirchoice of victim, resort manager Kirinjit tellsus; rather, warriors in other villages weretheir target, and removing their heads a riteof passage to manhood.

Best, in the 21st century, to be concernedabout mosquitoes and the threat of denguefever; the repellent has been applied; fatraindrops are spitting down on us,intermittent enough for us to remain at thetable, sand between our toes.

The food has been cooked in the mannerof the seafaring Bajau tribe - one of 32 ethnicidentities in the state of Sabah - for abanquet inspired by one of its members, MatSalleh, a folk hero responsible for the 1897razing of the British North Borneo CharteredCompany's administration centre on GayaIsland.

More than a century later, here we are onthat same island, just a 15-minute speed-boat ride from Sabah's capital, KotaKinabalu, at the third and latest resort toopen amid Gaya's ancient jungle.

As rebellious as it gets at Gaya IslandResort is refusing the stand-up paddleboarding, deep-sea fishing and otheradventure activities on offer to sip cocktailswhile lying in the pool on a floating cabana.

Less than a year old, Gaya Island Resort's121 villas climb up a hillside overlookingMalohom Bay and the coral gardens that liebeneath, part of the Tunku Abdul RahmanMarine Park.

In the distance is Mount Kinabalu, astunning sight when its jagged peak isn'thidden behind clouds.

The villas, Sabahan in style on the outsideand contemporary five-star on the inside,have baths the size of small pools, largebedrooms, walk-in wardrobes and verandahswith daybeds.

Beyond them lies virgin rainforest, whereguests are advised not to venture alone.

There may be cocktail bars, restaurants, aspa and a 40 metre pool, but this is stillBorneo, a byword for verdant, perilouswilderness and, in the enigma stakes, up

there with Timbuktu.The resident naturalist, Justin Juhun, from

the town of Tawau on Sabah's south-eastcoast, takes guests on walks through thejungle. He is discovering and recording thespecies that live in it.

There are flying squirrels, proboscismonkeys, long-tailed macaques, beardedpigs, angle-headed lizards found nowhereelse and 15 snake species, including thevenomous waglers pit viper, a benign-looking green string of a thing that we get tosee up close because it has taken upresidence on one of the villa verandahs.

There are thousands of forest plantspecies, too.

As Jason points out strangler figs, moneyplants, macarangas and fishtail palms, itstarts to rain. Again.

It is pointless, apart from opening yourumbrella with a certaininsouciance, to take anynotice.

There is sunshine as wesnorkel off the resort's jettywith the resident marinebiologist, American ScottMaybeck.

He warns of jelly bugs inthe water which mightcause a “little itch” but, with rashieson, we jump in.

The fringing reef, eroded by fishingpractices but with a rehabilitation programled by Maybeck under way, is inside thehighest biodiversity area in the world forcoral and fish species - an area that includesthe Great Barrier Reef.

Maybeck says on any one snorkel he willsee up to 50 species of fish; today our roll-call includes blue-spotted stingray, yellowbox fish, raccoon butterfly fish and six-banded angelfish.

By lunchtime at the resort's Feast Village,the thunder is clapping again; soon MountKinabalu will disappear into mist, as willKota Kinabalu; container ships will appearghostly on the stretch of South China Sea.

This is the rhythm of the wet season onGaya: the clouds roll in, the thunder roils andlightning flashes, the rain comes and there is

sunshine again, and the sea becomes aglorious blue.

A good place to be when the heavensopen is at the resort's Spa Village, a palatial,soaring edifice set amid mangroves.

As with much else at the resort, in keepingwith its “distinctively Borneo” philosophy(and branding), the spa is all aboutimmersing guests in local nature and culture.

Its treatments reflect “the healingtraditions of Sabah's many indigenouspeoples”.

The trip to Gaya Island Resort takes itsguests past a colourful floating village ofstateless people, so-called “sea gypsies”,some of whom also work at the resort.

On our first night, as we dine atFisherman's Cove on lobster bisque andpoached trout, resort general manager JeffreyMong tells us the “gypsies” are a mix ofFilipino refugees from Mindanao,

Indonesians who came seekingwork, and the descendants ofSabahans who swapped lifeon land for the sea rather thanlive under British rule.

Luke Hurford has alsojoined us for dinner. TheAustralian is the vice-presidentfor sales and marketing for YTLHotels, the Malaysian companybehind this and many other

resorts and hotels throughout Asia.Hurford says Gaya Island Resort is the

perfect way for Australian travellers to wrapup a Borneo adventure holiday.

“They've done the orang-utans, climbedMount Kinabalu, white water rafted, thenthey come here, for relaxation,” he says.

It is also a relatively affordable fly-and-flop holiday if you want to head straightthere, but there's no lack of activities.

You can tour the four other islands in themarine park, take a diving course, head overto KK for guided tours of villages, marketsand countryside or try your hand at weavingin the way of the Kadazan tribe, or beadworkin the way of the Rungus.

For children, there is the Kuri-Kuri KidsClub, with an emphasis on creative gamesand education about the island's nature.

Islandparadise

Kick back ... (clockwise from main) GayaIsland Resort; villa comforts; and the beach atsunset.

Educators RequiredKatherine, Tindal and surrounding areas

Kentish Family Day Care is looking for people with a heart for children and a willingness to learn how

to deliver high quality ‘small group’ learning and care in their family home.

Contact - Lavinia Mills: 0407 322 457, Susanne Gamble: 0429 322 457

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