Tioman Island a snake charmer's paradise

The wharf at Tioman Island is a lot stronger than it looks. And beyond lies an unspoiled jungle treat. Picture / Jim Eagles

Is it possible to train a snake to turn up on cue? I don't think so. But you'd have to say the arrival of this one was fairly well timed. We had just arrived at Japamala Resort, on Tioman Island off the coast of Malaysia. Our host, Federico Asaro, was telling us about all the wildlife, when I happened to ask about snakes.

"Oh, yes," he said. "We get a lot of them ... and there's one now."

Sure enough, making its way across the beautiful dining-reception area - it is roofed but has no walls so the sea breezes can blow through - was a beautiful lime-green snake about a metre long.

We must have looked just a little nervous because Federico's partner, Maple Loo, picked it up with the aid of an umbrella. "It's a paradise tree snake," she explained. "It's not venomous but it will bite you if it gets angry."

You might think that being carried around with an umbrella would be just the thing to make a snake very angry indeed. But not this snake, because a few minutes later Maple released it into a tree and it happily slithered off.

Nevertheless, it did make for an exciting start to our island adventure and certainly confirmed that Tioman is full of wildlife.

Even getting there is something of an adventure. We flew from Singapore's quaint Seletar Airport in a battered old Dash 7 propeller aircraft and had a spectacular 35-minute flight across extensive jungle and beautiful islands.

You can also fly from Kuala Lumpur or take the ferry from Tanjung Gemok on the eastern side of the Malay Peninsula.

From the Tioman airstrip, carved out of the jungle at Tektek Village, it was a short stroll to the wharf, where the Japamala Resort's fiberglass sampan awaited.

The final leg of the journey was a wonderful 30-minute ride, zooming past beautiful bays with jungle growing right to the shoreline, until we reached a long wharf. It looked rather ramshackle but proved very sturdy.

Japamala Resort is in its own bay at the far end of the island from the airport. Like most of Tioman, it has no road so it is very, very peaceful.

It's in the process of being redeveloped so there weren't a lot of guests, but even when it is finished there will be only 18 villas, so it will never be crowded.

Relaxing in the cool of the reception area, enjoying a chilled glass of lemon-grass tea, we knew we had found a haven of tranquillity - except for the wildlife.

As well as snakes there are geckos, skinks and lizards, plus giant monitor lizards that sunbathe on rocks or wander the beach when they think no one is looking.

The place is busy with cheeky little squirrels and occasionally you can spy their bushytailed big brothers, big-eyed slow loris, or see brushtailed porcupines on the resort's walkways.

Fish eagles rest on a huge rocky peak overlooking the resort and the surrounding jungle is alive with birds, including the marvellously named greater racket-tailed drongo and dark-necked tailorbird. And I've never seen such huge ants.

One reason for the amount of wildlife is that the villas are built right into the jungle. Ours was surrounded on three sides by trees, although it still had great views of the sea.

Tioman's position 56km off the Malay coast, and its rugged landscape, means it has never had a big a population - even today it is less than 2000 - and its jungles have never been cleared, so it is pretty much a giant wildlife reserve. Most of the islanders rely on fishing and live in traditional villages.

Wander through somewhere like Asah Village, not far from Japamala by boat, and you'll find a fascinating mixture of the traditional and the modern: traditional houses on stilts, some even built over the sea, and more modern-looking, bungalow-style homes; monkeys on leads, and satellite television dishes on rooftops; lots of motorcycles, but only about 2km of track; stores selling canned food while mango and breadfruit grow wild.

In the next bay to Asah is a track through to a beautiful waterfall where you are likely to spot tiny mousedeer foraging in the undergrowth or rare luminous frogs hiding in damp, rocky clefts.

As well as having almost all its original forest cover, the island is the centre of the 10-year-old Tioman Marine Park, where fishing is banned within a 3km radius - tourists must pay a RM5 entry fee - so its marine life is equally magical.

The snorkelling just off Japamala's beach is very pleasant with plenty of pretty little fish. There were huge schools of baitfish by the wharf and we saw giant manta rays and big garfish leaping out of the water nearby.

But a short boat ride round the coast to somewhere like Renggis Island produces even better marine life, some of the best snorkelling I've seen, with great visibility, a marvellous array of corals, and shoals of beautiful tropical fish. And the water is so warm you can stay in all day.

To add to the wildlife attractions, just as we were about to dive an eagle swooped into the water nearby. It emerged with a small silver fish in its talons and headed for a tree to enjoy the snack - it waited just long enough for my camera to not quite be ready, then took off again.

The scuba diving at other small islets in the marine reserve is apparently even better - although I didn't get the chance to try that - and you can often see turtles, whale sharks, manta rays, big reef sharks, barracuda, and even dugong.

If you don't fancy swimming with the fish, Japamala has a freshwater pool and a row of beach pavilions where you can lie back and just listen to the waves.

What's more, although it is small and isolated, the resort has fantastic food because Federico is involved with a couple of successful restaurants in Kuala Lumpur and has brought menus and staff with him.

The view from the restaurant is equally fantastic and, as a bonus, one evening we watched spellbound as an incredible display of forked lightning crackled down on the Malay Peninsula, just across the water.

There is a selection of European food for the unadventurous but there's also a magnificent mix of Southeast Asian recipes and a very nice wine list, including some of the ubiquitous Cloudy Bay.

The only disappointment is that although lots of seafood is on the menu there's no mention of the island's animals.

Pity. I wouldn't mind a taste of, say paradise tree snake. But I suppose it's fair, because the snake didn't take its chance to eat me.

* Jim Eagles visited Tioman island as guest of House of Travel, Air New Zealand and Japamala Resort

Tioman Island
Tioman Island is only an hour's flight from Kuala Lumpur. It is the largest and most impressive of Malaysia's east-coast islands. With white-sand beaches and abundant aquatic life in its crystal-clear waters, the snorkelling and diving are excellent. The best time to travel is between March and October.

Getting there
House of Travel has packages to Tioman Island for six nights from $2199 each, share-twin, plus taxes and surcharges of $171.71. These include return economy-class airfares flying Malaysia Airlines from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur and on Berjaya Air to Tioman Island, two nights' accommodation at the Grand Plaza Parkroyal in Kuala Lumpur with airport transfers, four nights' accommodation at the Japamala Boutique Resort in a Tree Top Chalet with return ferry transfers, and breakfasts. This applies for travel between March 1 and July 7 next year. Conditions apply. Contact House of Travel for more information on 0800 838 747 or www.houseoftravel.co.nz (see link below).

Further information
Japamala Resort is at www.japamalaresorts.com (link below).