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One of the squirrels you see at breakfast in Permai.

9am At the boat house.  We join and english family (Matt and Jacky) and their two kids for the 3-in-1 tour.  We start dolphin watching again but this time it’s very successful.  We see many of them in large groups and get some nice photos (as far as possible).

There are lots of fishermen here and our guide says they don’t mind the dolphins at all:

We continue up river to go round the island and moor at the village we saw the day before.  We have a short tour.  Lots of wood and a football pitch that disappears under water quite often!

Funny fishes with long snouts swimming there.  Our guide says swimming here is a bad idea because of the crocks.

Next stop – mangrove forest to spot crocodiles.  We spot a juvenile immediately sliding into the water and then nothing.  Our guide says that with the high tide they are normally at the bottom.

We carry on via bird island to the Satang island ad anchor next to a rocky shore.  Snorkeling is ok, not the best visibility today, but we see 3x kinds of fish (brown, stripy and spotty with a yellow head).

We stop off at the beach on Santos where they collect the turtle eggs to protect them and have lunch there.

 Then it’s back to Permai.  We get the kite out and it flies well with Alex on the rope.

Just before I want to leave Emma gets hit by a jellyfish.

The lady at the restaurant (remember the pineapple yesterday) hands us over to one of the resort people who gets us a bowl of vinegar and cotton wool.  This works well and Emma spends most of the day dabbing it.

When Emma and I get back, it’s clear that monkeys have been in the cabin.  They have stolen an apple and left one half-eaten in the middle of the floor.  They have been sitting eating on the table, and then on Emma’s bed.  I clean up and Emma insists that we swap beds.

Here is what’t left of the apples – not much!

Another day.  Last minute decision – we go the the 2nd beach which is closer to our hut.  Emma makes a sandcastle with a moat and a bridge.  I fish but so close in-shore they are too small and just nibble the snail from my hook.  The snails we use for bait are truly well armoured and Alex and I really need to hit them very hard to break the shells.

After lunch we have plenty of time to wash and do diaries and we are at the boat for our mangrove tour very early.

A tractor for moving luggage and a huge pineapple.

We have the blue boat with Cindy as our guide.  An italian couple with 2x kids join us.  There are loads of mud skippers and blue crabs here.

The village on the island and a floating fishery.  Lots of crocodiles here so nobody swims.

Santubong in the background and a tug anchored offshore because of approaching bad weather.

Alex’ favourite drink.

Update: While having dinner this cheeky bat was cruising through the restaurant every minute or so.  I caught it with flash:

 

This is the tree crab that lives in the tree just outside our hut:

In the morning we take out two kayaks and go all the way to the lonely tree at the end of the bay. It’s raining and this actually makes it a pleasant trip. We go between the rocks and get half stuck a few times. Emma and Alex write in the sand on a deserted beach we find.
We race back and Emma and I win.

We also visit the little shopping mall next to the Damai resort. Huge stainless steel hornbill statue and as everywhere, fish ponds.

In the evening we are supposed to do a mangrove tour, but reception forgot to pass our form. The good people of Permai arrange for us to do it the next night. The resort manager is quite angry and apologises. He had just sent the boats back because nobody was going tonight!

So instead we eat dinner at the restaurant and have a quiet time in the hut.