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TRAVEL
238
June15
Gayana Eco Resort and MERC
Another day, another coastal resort – this
time the gorgeous Gayana Eco Resort,
Bunga Raya’s sister property on the other
side of the island in Malohom Bay. Our
speedboat arrived just in time for the daily
feeding of resident groupers from the jetty:
chumming them with fish-heads was a touch
more dramatic than chucking crumbs at the
catfish in the Botanic Gardens!
Then Paul headed off to explore pristine
dive sites with Gayana’s PADI-certified dive
masters, while I took the children for a tour of
theMarine Ecology Research Centre (MERC),
the resort’s marine conservation facility that’s
raised over 3,000 endangered giant clams
fromseven different species since it opened in
2007. It’s no mean feat for the team of marine
biologists considering they need to clean,
nurture and feed the young clams for up to
three years before they’re able to survive on
their own in wild coral reefs.
MERC is fantastic for families: older kids
can become marine biologists for a day, while
the younger ones get a kick out of touring
the aquarium, holding the sea creatures in
the touch tank – the blue starfish were a big
hit with ours – and planting coral (which little
guests can even snap up a personalised
certificate for doing). These planted coral
fragments would then spend a year in the
ocean nursery before being transferred to
the seabed – though we of course just had to
check on Benjamin and Rosie’s contributions
the very next day!
We had big plans to get in some snorkelling
and mangrove kayaking during our day trip,
but the pool and the fare from Macac’s pizza
oven kept our teammore than content, so we’ll
just have to return and maybe check into one
of Gayana’s stunning overwater villas while
we’re at it – next time sans children, perhaps?
Fact File
AirAsia and SilkAir fly direct from
Changi to Kota Kinabalu in under
two-and-a-half hours – then it’s just 20
minutes or so by taxi to JesseltonPoint
and a speedy 15-minute speedboat
ride from there. Visit bungarayaresort.
com or
gayana-eco-resort.comfor
details on accommodation.