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| I swear I didn't do that to the gate |
Tanjung Tuan Recreational Forest
Jalan Pantai Tanjung Tuan
Port Dickson, Melaka
Entrance Fee: RM1 per person
Eh, Port Dickson in Malacca?
Nope, I didn't fail my Geography but really. To find Tanjung Tuan (used to be known as Cape Rachado), you gotta get yourself to Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan but Malacca governs the place. The entrance is next to PNB Ilham Resort.
What's up there?
There's a lighthouse. Supposedly the oldest lighthouse in the country, the unverified sources claimed it was there since the Portuguese era. In 1606, Battle of Cape Rachado between Portuguese fleet and Dutch happened here.
Aside from exercise/trekking, visitors come here for bird watching. Then there are those who visit to see the "datuk", a shrine or the old tomb, to see Hang Tuah's footprint or just to see if they can confirm that Parameswara was buried here under the lighthouse.
Our initial plan was just to see the lighthouse. I didn't bring proper shoes so I wore my Fipper flip-flop and brought a bottle of water in my favourite #NikoNiko #perfectbucketbag SO inappropriate but I survived so we can safely conclude that the trek wasn't too hard.
There was a storm the night before and along the tarred road, we found broken twigs and branches. The 'chaos' lent a magical charm to the forest. Complete with dunno-come-from-where mist I tell you.
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| Migration route. For birds. |
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| Path I was attracted to is next to this signboard, just before the lighthouse carpark |
I love how you can see gorgeous spots without leaving the main (tarred) road. It wasn't even a long road. Just about 800 meters slope walk shaded by the trees.
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| See. Told you got mist! |
If you keep to the main road, you cannot miss the lighthouse. There are a few paths into the forest but please don't venture in without preparation like water, food and decent footwear. Oh and good sense of direction because this place seriously need more signboards.
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| Stairs to the lighthouse |
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| No entry |
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| View behind the lighthouse |
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| One of the paths to dunno where |
Bored, two of us ventured into the forest using a small path (label: rintis) marked as towards Pulau (island) Intan on the left of lighthouse when you're facing the sea. To the right is Monkey Bay but I have no idea which path you gotta take to get there.
Like I mentioned earlier, there was not enough signboard here so it might be a good idea to ask the staff at entrance and snap picture of the map before you use the paths.
On Rentis Rumah Api a.k.a rintis ke Pulau Intan, we didn't go all the way down because I got lazy halfway. Plus, there's another path off the main road (on left side if you're heading to the lighthouse) just before the lighthouse carpark that I wanted to try. I believe it's marked as bird watching path.
I didn't know that the path led to a secluded beach and if we go the other way, we'll come out at the path before carpark! It was a big loop you see. I'll try to explain properly later.
So, back on the increasingly steep path towards Intan Island, we turned back and met two local ladies at the Wakaf (gazebo) Perhilitan going down the path. Later, we'll meet them again on the beach we reached by taking the bird watching path before lighthouse carpark, proving it's just a big loop! This path had concrete steps so I was feeling more confident. But at the bottom, it was just earth before you find this poorly maintained wooden walkway.
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| Careful here |
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| A well supposedly dug by the Dutch (or one of the angmohs I'm not sure which) |
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| Camping area by the beach |
We met the ladies (again) near the camping gazebo and one of them told us to take path on the right if we want to get to the light house (we didn't). She also told us that the "datuk" and Hang Tuah footprint are nearby, just down the beach.
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| I think that is Pulau Masjid with the invisible jamaah |
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| "Datuk" aka keramat aka shrine |
The Hang Tuah well is on the left of the shrine. The paths are just behind the well. Left to Pulau Intan and right to lighthouse.
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| Another well- allegedly dug by Hang Tuah. Clean water. |
There's an old grave that I wanted to visit but something happened and I changed my mind. Also, I didn't know which path leads to the old grave and apparently there's another old grave on Pulau Intan. A lot to see, which means I gotta return with a more sensible footwear (and bag), food and drinks!
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