LOCATION:
Pulau Gaya is located off the coast of downtown Kota Kinabalu. From Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, a 2-minute drive or a 10-minute walk will bring you to the jetty at Jesselton Point ferry terminal from which you may charter a boat to get to this beach.
To be exact, Malohom Bay is located on the eastern side of the massive Pulau Gaya, the biggest island in the Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) Marine Park. Fast boat transfer will take anywhere between 10-15 minutes. Gayana Island Resort is located in this massive bay which contains a number of separate sandy beaches throughout its length.
DESCRIPTION:
Malohom Bay is regarded as a less popular beach on the expansive island of Pulau Gaya as compared to Bulijong Bay (or locally known as Police Beach) and Camp Bay. On my guess, the beach here is probably mostly being patronised by the hotel guests of Gayana Island Resort which is located right in the centre of the massive bay area.
Overall, I feel that the beach here is acceptably good with crystal-clear water and endowed with some signs of marine life, although I cannot vouch how good is the underwater scene at this bay because I did not snorkel or dive around the area. There are two dive sites published in local dive maps, namely Tanjung Point and Banana Beach which are located on the far end side of the long bay. There is also an unnamed ship wreck site here located right in the middle of the bay area.
Molohom Bay does not offer any breathtaking sunset view commonly associated with the area of Kota Kinabalu. Nonetheless, facing northeast, the beach offers really spectacular sunrise view (you have to wake up early for it as the sun rises around 0600 hrs in this region). I got the chance to witness the multi-coloured hues of the horizon as the sun emerges from the landscape. Right in the middle of the action stands Mt Kinabalu, which at 4,095 metres, is the highest mountain in South East Asia.
Actually, the bay is disconnected by rocky capes and mangrove forests at various points. On the easternmost side of the bay is a secluded beach which marks the official border between the gazetted marine park area and the infamous water village of Pulau Gaya known for its illegal immigrants and the crimes commonly associated with them. Nonetheless, this beach is sparsely populated away from the actual kampong air. Other than that, there is another sandy area called Hornbill Beach which seems to be accessible only by boats provided by Gayana Island Resort (unless you count a 3-hour jungle trekking across the bay as another access). There are 3-4 scheduled boat trips from the resort to Hornbill Beach.
