"No, don't go" and "dangerous" was all I was hearing from everyone when I told them I was going to Kudat. Lots of Abusafats whatever (militants) there and you will be killed!!! I guess I have more than a cat's life then as I have certainly defied death so many times over!!!
Well, Kudat is indeed a very safe place, at least where I went. It was to a "Secret Place" and secret it was indeed. This family owned place is run by a husband and wife team with their 7 kids and 6 dogs. Robbie does everything from setting up tents etc and wife Lee Lee runs the kitchen. Its far from luxury, but if you want to experience nature at its best and want to have a whole stretch of beach to yourself, this is the place to be!!!
Day and night all you hear is nonstop pounding of waves and the breeze blowing so everyday is a bad hair kind of day. I fell asleep in the hammock several times. One day, No: 3 (Ervina, 11yrs old) came to wake me up as it was dinner time, but I must have been sooooo relaxed that I did not wake again till it was supper time!!! The kids just left me alone as they knew that if I was hungry enough, I would wake up and food was left aside for me on the dining table that evening.
The dogs were security guards by day and night. Each afternoon the Police will call in to check on guests etc, so how more safe can it get???? On the first night, the dogs barked when I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the loo thinking I was an intruder, but after that nite, every other night they knew I was a guest, and they behaved and left me alone and accompanied me to and fro!!!
Oh, I forgot to mention that I have never actually gone camping before and this was my first time and camping on the beach, nothing was going to stop me.... not even the Abusafats!!! By the time I made it to Kudat, Robbie said the weather was not conducive for camping on the beach as the winds were too strong and I would be blown away but I was not having my tent under the main building with the rest of them.
I saw a shed on the beach - the new beach kitchen which is still under construction. It was just a "shell", so I said to Robbie I want my tent set up inside it and so that was home for me for the next few days.
Well, I don't know if you can say I have really camped in a tent, but all things considered, I did sleep on the beach inside a tent inside a wooden shack!!! I had power which Robbie extended into my new abode and I had a fan running too!!! Honestly, I could do without the power, but not without the fan!!! Another adventure ticked off my bucket list!!!
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