Beaches in Malaysia are not privately owned, which means it feels like you have the whole beach to yourself. When I mention to anyone in Johor Bahru that I’ve been to Penyabong, they have never heard of it; hence the emptiness of the beach! There are no grand, or even not-so-grand hotels here, just a few small chalet resorts. And, herds of roaming goats and cattle.
First, Lawrence had to get out his huge video camera and try and remember how to use it! But, the main fun today was to use his drone to shoot the students as they headed out to sea in their kayaks and went snorkelling on the other side of the bay at Tekuk Gorek Kecil. I have to say the drone footage taken above the snorkelers was stunning, but I cannot show any of this to you just now!
The beach was alive with millions of tiny crabs (about 1 cm wide). As you walked towards the sea, the beach appeared to move around you as the crabs ran for cover. They disappeared down burrows and then waited for the footsteps to fade away. To make their burrows, they scope out balls of sand which are distributed around the hole in a fan-like pattern. You should be able to see these patterns in the photos below:
The locals still going fishing from this beach, so there is usually a boat or two around.
Colour is hard to find on this beach, so here is some evidence of life-jacket-wearing kids!
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