This morning saw us farewell KK as we headed into the countryside. Ray drove us through the Crocker Range, a chain of mountains running along the west of Sabah then we stopped at the Nabalu Native Market. We had a fantastic view of Mt. Kinabalu from a dedicated lookout and spent some time shopping for handicrafts, souvenirs and some local snacks in the longhouse market. Since most of the stalls all sell the same thing you can haggle to get the best price.

It was then time to head into Kinabalu National Park - It was officially made into a park back in 1964 was also the first State Park in Sabah and in 2000, was declared as Malaysia's first World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The main attraction in Kinabalu Park is the renowned Mount Kinabalu which stands at 4,095.2 meters tall which is the highest peak between the Himalayas and New Guinea. Mount Kinabalu Botanical Garden, which is also known as the Mountain Garden is one of Kinabalu Park's best kept secrets. Many people are not aware of the existence of the Botanical Garden due to its secluded location; however, it has been around since 1981 and is the biggest botanical gardens in Sabah after the Tenom Agriculture Park. The garden trail is paved by concrete and boardwalk and there are helpful signs and tags to help you find your way and identify the plants species that you encounter. We had a walk through the botanical gardens and got to see the world's most expensive orchid - slipper orchid - in flower. It is so valuable that the plant is locked behind a steel cage with a small opening to take a photograph.

Next stop was the Kundasang War Memorial Park where we started to learn about the Australian and British POWs and their links with the local people during WW2. The fort-like Memorial was designed by a local architect by the name of J.C. Robinson. It has four interlocking but separate gardens to represent the homelands of those who died: an Australian Garden, a formal English Garden of pale pink roses, a Borneo Garden with wild flowers of Kinabalu, and at the top level, is the Contemplation Garden with a reflection pool and pergola along with the names of every person involved in this theatre of war. This proved to be a special day for many on our tour - some learned of history that was previously unknown and some were able to retrace their ancestors' footsteps from times past.

As the temperatures dropped we could tell we were heading into the highlands. Situated in the West Coast division of Sabah, the hilly district of Ranau is located 1, 176 meters above sea level. This area is inhabited by an almost entirely Dusun ethnic community and it is one of the gateways to the Sabah Tea Garden. Ranau was also the terminus of the notorious Sandakan Death March during the World War II which we heard about this morning at Kundasang. Before we headed to our accommodation we stopped by Kampung Luanti for a foot massage (fish spa)

Overnight accomodation was at the Sabah Tea Resort. Good basic cottages with ensuite and air conditioning.