When school holiday approaches, parents would think hard where to bring their children for some quality family time. Guess what, there were two places that I really hated my parents sent me to when I was a kid. First is tuition class. What The Fish, the children are deprived of break time they desire. It’s a child abuse!

The second place is relative’s house. Usually it ends up like the adults mingling and having a great time among themselves, but leaving me bored to death (unless my favorite cousin is around).

Awesome parents will put some thoughts on making their children enjoy hanging out with them, which is important for bonding. Among some popular choices for family vacation are “Jalan-Jalan” (walk around) trip to Kundasang highland, islands off Kota Kinabalu City (KK) or staying in beach resort.

Tempurong Golden Beach Resort

There are a lot of options for a wonderful family trip in other locations. Just for sharing. If you want the trip packed with fun activities in nature, you may consider going south to Kuala Penyu.

Tempurong Golden Beach Resort is located at Tempurong Beach (or Pantai Tempurung) about 15 Kilometres away from Kuala Penyu town. It targets at family groups which want to unwind themselves with leisure stay and having some activities.

Besides accommodation, they offer outdoor activities package for family and company too.

Tempurung means Coconut Shell in Malay. About 200 years ago, the villagers found a coconut shell engraved with holy verses of the Al-Quran on the beach, so they renamed this village from Tanah Merah to Tempurung.

Just look at the photos of Tempurong Golden Beach Resort I post here and you shall get a good idea what you can do there.

The resort has 15 basic rooms with air-conditioning and attached bathroom cum toilet. Their highlight is the nature-based activities such as fishing and island survivor program.

A study conducted by two PhDs found that exposing children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to “green outdoor activities” reduces symptoms significantly.

The white sandy beach is just next to the resort. Tempurung Beach is not a touristy beach so it is not crowded, your family can have the whole beach most of the time.

The visitors can use the activity hall next to the beach for gathering and group activities.

Volley ball is one of the great past time activities.

Or you can choose to take a nap in hammock. The wind was quite strong at Tempurung Beach during my visit. I didn’t really feel warm.

Camp fire at the beach can bring back a lot of memories. This place is far away from city and free of pollution, so you can see starry sky at night. The resort can prepare BBQ or steamboat dinner for you upon request.

Your children will enjoy a stroll on the beach and run like wild horse. The resort can bring you out to the sea for snorkeling and fishing.

In the morning, you would find local fishermen catching fishes in the sea. They are very friendly and won’t mind you joining them or busybody with their caught.

Though Tempurung Beach is big, only a dozen houses are built along it. It’s a peaceful and underpopulated village.

We human are biological being, and our body system is linked to nature. Biophilia hypothesis says humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. That’s why we are always happy when we are in the wild.

However, nowadays kids are isolated from nature because both parents and teachers think outdoor is full of hostile things for kids, like UV, bacteria, bees… Many shcools have strict policy of not allowing students to get near the water in school trips.

Therefore, our society has cultivated “strawberry generations” which are overprotected and overly dependent on technology. If you put a kid in the wild, they won’t know how to get around and will cry for mommy very soon. It’s just not right if human is uncomfortable with nature.

The beautiful Batu Luang Beach is only 1 KM away from the resort. It has one of the best sunset view in Sabah.

There is a small river next to Tempurong Golden Beach Resort. It’s connected to the sea during high tide, and you can see lot of fishes.

The river is part of a mangrove teeming with fishes, shellfish and shrimps.

You can do fishing and rowing boat in this river. Kids love this because they never have a chance to do this in city. At first they would be a bit worry sitting in the wobbly boat, but soon they will enjoy the experience.

At night you can have a little adventure at the riverside to see what comes up in the dark. Have you ever seen a Mud Lobster before?

Don’t let your mom cook. The resort can prepare special meals such as traditional food and steamboat for your family.

I have tried some of their nice food during my stay, for example, tom yam steamboat, sago (Ambuyat), seafood buffet. They also have a small shop to sell cold soda drink and beer.

Island Survivor

We are getting smarter living in city but become stupider in the wild. It’s highly probable that people can die of hunger in the wild, even if there are plenty of edible things around them. You can take part in Island Survivor program of the resort. An instructor will bring your family for a taste of adventure in a wood area near the resort.

Some of the skills taught in the survival program includes using knife, setting trap, making shelter and starting a fire.

The course caters to the comfort level of your family and company. It’s designed to be relaxing, so everyone from kid to adult will find it comfortable and enjoyable.

If you want it more stimulating or challenging, of course you can discuss with your instructor beforehand, to make the experience more thrilling. Company could organize team building and competition for their staffs too.

Some may think outdoor survival skill is unnecessary, until one day they find themselves a victim of earthquake and flood (touch wood!), and don’t know what to do. Like it or not, natural disaster does happen unexpectedly, so there is no harm to equip ourselves with some survival knowledge and that may save our lives one day.

During survival challenge, it’s the best time to observe the strength and personality of your mates. A big guy with six-pack abs in your office can turn into a wuss, and a clerk may show better leadership than her boss in pressing environment. For survival, mental strength is matter more than muscle.

At the resort, you also can arrange education or group tour to nearby destinations such as Rumbia / Sago Information Center, Pulau Tiga Island and Kilas Wetland.

↓ Download the Brochure

The following is the contact of Tempurong Golden Beach Resort if you need more info:
E-mail: borneonaturetour@gmail.com
Tel: +60 16-831 3163
Facebook: TempurongGoldenBeachResort
GPS: 5.531031, 115.536236 (see Location Map or Street View)

Photos taken in Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo