Contact Us
For bookings and enquiries, please call us or write to us.
Contact Form
For bookings and enquiries, please call us or write to us.
Check-in/Check-out
Our check-in time is at 3 PM. Our pick-up time from Kota Kinabalu for the overland transfer is at 11:30 AM so you can get up there for lunch and then check into the rooms in the afternoon. Our check-out time is at 11 AM. This means you will arrive back to Kota Kinabalu by 12:30 PM. If you are going somewhere else, please let us know and we can arrange. If it is a further destination, there will be a surcharge for a longer transfer.
Getting to the Sanctuary
It is mandatory to use our 4×4 transport to arrive at the house. The house is located 1.5 hours from Kota Kinabalu, and the house is at the end of a 20-minute dirt road on a wild coastline. We include transport to/from Kota Kinabalu. The road is impassable for vehicles that are not 4×4.
Food & Water
Rimba is a self-catering villa. Our driver will bring you to a grocery store before driving you to the villa. Make sure to buy everything you need as the closest grocery store is about 40 minutes from the villa. There are no convenience shops, etc close to the property as it is in a very isolated part of the coast. If you need supplies from the grocery store, the caretakers can assist with getting groceries for you for a fee.
Please do not drink water from the taps. We put a little chlorine in the water to clean it, but it is not treated for drinking purposes. The dispenser in the kitchen is clean purified water for drinking. As we harvest rainwater, please also be conscious and try not to waste water. Our land hits annual dry spells and sometimes we experience months with no rain and we try our best to conserve this resource.
Kitchen
The kitchen is designed to cook because we love to cook! Our kitchen is well stocked with all cooking utensils, pots, pans, baking trays, etc and we provide the basics – oil, coffee, spices, etc. There is a full oven that is available for use.
Wi-Fi / Connectivity
There is good phone signal at the house. If you go down to the beach, there is no signal. High-speed WIFI is available in the house. The network is Starlink and there is no password to connect.
TV
There is a smart TV in the study room that you are welcome to use. If you turn it on with the remote, you can log into Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. There is no cable network on the TV, just streaming service apps.
Trash and Recycling
We have labeled bins in the kitchen for general waste and recycling. Please do your part to separate rubbish into the correct bins so we can effectively recycle what we can.
The Location
Our house is located along an isolated coastline at the end of a 20-minute dirt road, far from any town or city. 4×4 transfers are required for arrival and departure. There are some village houses within a ½ kilometer, but that is it. This is what makes it such a remarkable place to find tranquility in nature.
Rimba
The house has a maximum occupancy of 7 guests with 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The house has 3 bedrooms w/ ensuite bathrooms. There is only one hot water shower in the primary bedroom. Due to the solar system, we could not add 2 more hot water heaters to the 2nd and 3rd bedroom bathrooms. In the study room upstairs, there is an additional single bed for a 7th person.
Bedroom 1 – 1 queen bed,
Bedroom 2 – 2 single beds,
Bedroom 3 – 1 queen bed,
Study room – 1 single bed.
There is no air conditioning in the house as this would exceed the capacity of the solar system. The floor where the bedrooms are located is polished cement that helps retain a cooling effect in the rooms. Each room has a ceiling fan and a stand fan for keeping you comfortable while you sleep. Even with no air conditioning, the rooms are pleasant and comfortable to sleep at night.
The Retreat
The house features three bedrooms, each offering stunning sea views and sunset vistas. With 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with 2 hot water showers, the house has a maximum occupancy of 10 guests, ideal for various group configurations, whether it be couples, families, or friends sharing the space. We offer different rental options depending on your needs, from a single room to renting the entire house, with amenities including breakfast supplies.
Blue (Master) Bedroom – 1 king bed with mosquito nets and ensuite bathroom – Can accommodate 1 couple.
Yellow Bedroom – 2 queen beds with mosquito nets and shared WC/Bathroom – Can accommodate 2 couples or 4 kids.
Orange Bedroom – 1 king bed with mosquito nets and shared WC/Bathroom – Can accommodate 1 couple.
In addition, a sofa bed is available in the living/dining room – Can accommodate 1 couple.
Caretakers
Aunty Bila & Uncle Elias look after the land and the houses. They will be around during your stay and you can always ask them for assistance if anything happens. English is limited, but Aunty Bila can communicate with you. They will be around the property doing maintenance and general cleaning. If you are staying for a longer period of time, they will change the bed sheets, towels, etc every 4th day. Aunty Bila can be contacted at +60 802 0742. Bila and Elias stay at the caretaker’s house at the bottom of the property if you need to find them.
Sustainable Living
We ask that you be conscious of water and electricity as these are both precious resources in a remote off-grid property. Please don’t waste water as every drop counts. And please turn off lights / fans when rooms are not in use. We thank you in advance for your cooperation with this. If the solar system drains, then a generator will start up to charge the batteries and then shut off. We try to minimize generator use and maximize our solar-generated electricity.
We ask that you do not plug in large electrical appliances such as a big speaker system, karaoke machines, etc. as this all has a big drain on batteries.
Living in Harmony in the Jungle
As the house sits surrounded by coastal forest, insects and creatures are a common occurrence at the house. Please be aware that there are snakes around the property and some of them are venomous – Bornean keeled pit viper – specifically these green snakes that are stocky with some striping are a common sighting. While they have a potent venom, they are usually very docile. If you are to see one on a railing around the exterior of the house or anywhere you feel uncomfortable, just let Bila and Elias know, and they will remove it.
As the house is situated in the rainforest, you can expect insects around the house. We are proactive in trying to mitigate this, but we do not fog the property due to hazards to all wildlife. The worst time for mosquitoes is dawn and dusk. We recommend closing bedroom / windows doors between 5:30 am and 7:30 am and between 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm. If you are walking to the beach or out for a scenic walk around the land, having mosquito repellent with you is very handy. At our beautiful white sand beach, occasionally sand flies. Insect repellent works well if you feel them at the beach. At night, sometimes you will see nocturnal wasps (they fly solitary) being attracted to the lights. They generally mind their own business, but it is something to be aware of as if they did sting you, it is painful. While incredibly rare, it is always good to be aware of stingrays and jellyfish. We stock vinegar at the house if you get a jellyfish sting, which greatly helps with the pain.
Activities
Koduko is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the beach and nature.
North Beach – The northern side of the property has a 140-meter white beach that is accessible by walking, or the caretakers can drive you down to the beach. This beach has road access. The sand is nice here, and the north side of the bay has a nice shallow reef that is great for snorkeling when the ocean is flat. The beach is just below the house, but if you walk it is about 1 km as you have to follow the road down as the hill on the north side is very steep down to the beach. This walk takes 20 minutes.
South Beach – From the corner of our house, there is a trail that will bring you to South Beach. The trail takes 7-10 minutes, and the last 100 meters is steep getting down to the beach. This beach is the most beautiful, and you will never see another soul at this beach as there is no road access and the only trail leads from our house. Both beaches are great to pack snacks, drinks, and lunch and head down for a beach day on the South China Sea. It is truly incredible to have such a beautiful beach private for our guests.
Walking – Behind our land, there is a small rubber plantation that has a great ridge road for morning / afternoon walks that deliver beautiful views of the coastline, colorful birds as you walk the dirt tracks on the forest edge. There is a great loop trail that brings you around the rim of the valley and then down to the small village before coming back up the hill to the house. This is 4 km in total and has some beautiful ocean views of Usukan Bay.
Diving / Snorkeling – In the bay to the south, there is a small dive lodge that we can help you book boat trips for snorkeling or diving. The drive from here is approximately 10 minutes from the villa to the dive lodge. If you are interested, we can assist with helping you book this.
Birds and wildlife – Birds and animals are common around the house. At night, you will hear barred eagle-owls, large-tailed nightjars, and Sunda scops owls singing from the forest. Primates can be seen around the forest edge. The 2 primates that you see during the day are long-tailed macaques and silver leaf langurs. Nocturnal animals include civets, western tarsier, slow loris, and more. There are many wild fig trees in the forest around the house, and when these are fruiting, they attract an array of green pigeons, barbets, malkohas, and more. Early mornings are spectacular for birdwatching along the forest edge.
House Rules
Emergencies
The caretakers live on property and have a 4×4 for transport if you get injured, need to go to the hospital, etc. We put a big priority on safety, and we keep a well-stocked first aid kit in the cabinet next to the upstairs bathroom. The house is equipped with fire extinguishers. There are normal fire extinguishers upstairs and downstairs, as well as fire extinguishers specifically for electrical fires.