Pelumpong Island - Another Brunei Tourism Destination

Azli Azney
BRUNEI-MUARA
Sunday, February 7, 2016

I RECENTLY had the chance to spend one whole day of pure fun and excitement at Pulau Pelumpong with a bunch of nature and outdoor enthusiasts, the Nature Adventures group.

It’s located at the easternmost tip of Brunei and is about eight kilometres from Serasa Beach or about five kilometres from Muara Beach, and it’s a popular spot for locals from around the area to go fishing, camping and picnicking.

The only way to reach the island is by boat or, as I found out later in the day, by jet skis. I set out early in the morning to meet up with them at the Poni Divers office at Serasa Beach.

The group had not only chartered a boat to go to the island, but also availed to a package deal, where they would have fun water sports activities and also a barbecue, all thanks to Poni Divers.

We took off in three boats and I was in the slow boat, taking us about 20 minutes to get there. As we reached the spot on the island, where we were supposed to have our day of fun, we zoomed past caged fish farms along the island.

When we reached the island, I was surprised to see wooden huts, benches, and even a place where you can set your campfire. I was informed that the camp ground was made by the Department of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in collaboration with its 4WD club.

I turned to Josephine Amansec, who was from Poni Divers, and asked her whether it was okay for us to be using this camp ground.

“It’s fine,” she replied, “as long as you leave everything as you found it and bring your trash with you.”

Pulau Pelumpong is one of the places that Poni Divers uses to hold its activities.

“We have packages for team-building games, water sports, and BBQ,” she said, adding that the price all depends on the package and the number of people that are involved.

One of the other activities that customers could do is snorkelling. “For snorkelling, we recommend Pilong-Pilongan, which is another 15 minutes.”

We spent the morning having fun, riding the banana boat, side kick and the bandwagon, all of which are inflatable, towable rides while others had fun zooming around in a jet ski here and there.

After a lunch of BBQ chicken and food brought by the Nature Adventures group, we saw a group of people zooming to Pulau Pelumpong, I assume all the way from Serasa Beach and on their own jet skis, which looked like a lot of fun.

I got to zoom around on a jet ski for 10 exciting minutes, and seeing the people zooming along with what I assume was their own craft, I was tempted to own one myself. However, after looking it up on Google and seeing as the cheapest jet ski you can own is about $8,000, which is not including shipping and maintenance, I think I’ll pass. I’m still paying for my car.

“We have never been here before. In fact, it’s the first time that I heard of Pulau Pelumpong,” said government servant Norhalizah who was there with her husband.

They were part of the group because they all shared the same passion for the outdoors.

“Even though we don’t really know everyone in this group, we get along very well and we get to meet new people.”

Her husband was also pleasantly surprised to find out that Poni Divers did more than just diving, and that the island had rudimentary camping facilities.

“Did you see the toilet?” her husband, Rozaiman, said with a laugh. As someone who’s not a stranger to camping, that’s the kind of ‘facilities’ that you get, I shared with them.

All in all, it was a great half day of fun in the sun and splashing around in the water and the best part was, since the only way to get to the island is by boat, it’s like we have a whole beach to ourselves. If you own a boat, I definitely recommend coming here to fish or picnic.

If you don’t own a boat, you can still come here but I recommend chartering a boat from Poni Divers. With them, you can add extra thrills to your picnicking experience.

If you’re interested or have any questions regarding the packages that Poni Divers offer, you can drop by the office in Serasa Beach, right next to the Water Sports Complex or call 2771778 during office hours.

The Brunei Times