Things To Do at Resorts World Kijal | Recreation and Turtle Hatchling Release

We traveled to Terengganu over the weekend to learn about Turtle Conservation and to experience releasing turtle hatchlings into the sea. It was organised by Resorts World Genting and boy, such an eye-opening experience we had. We learned a whole lot from it.

Turtles usually arrive on Terengganu beaches from April to September, mainly consisting of the common Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) and the occasional rare Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys Imbricate). Returning by instinct to the very area that they were hatched, the 7.6km beach at Resorts World Kijal is one of these hallowed places.

For about three months, the eggs will lay incubating in the sand, only for the hatchlings to emerge during a full moon and speed their way to the ocean. In the years to come, many will return to the very same beach, completing the cycle of life and Resorts World Kijal will be there waiting to welcome them back.

With its 7.6km pristine private beach and 7 turtle landing spots, Resorts World Kijal is the only landing with a hotel attached.

This means guests of the resort do not need to travel out to wait for turtles. We’ll just need to leave our phone numbers with the guide and continue with our own activities in the resort. Should a ranger spot a mother turtle making her way to the beach to lay her eggs, the ranger will notify the guide and he/she will proceed to prepare guests for this incredible turtle sightings.

The moment we arrived at this idyllic resort by the sea, we were greeted with wet towels to refresh ourselves. We were also served welcome drinks and were treated to a graceful traditional dance by a lovely group of girls.

My heart flutters seeing this school girls presenting such a lovely traditional dance flawlessly at such a young age.

This was only the beginning of our journey back to the yesteryears as we encountered more traditional practices later into our stay here in this resort. I shall bring you in on it as I write further so keep reading guys.

We checked into our Premier room with a spectacular view of the sea.

This is the view from our room. A magnificent double view of the gorgeous pool and endless blue sea. I can just stand here forever staring into the horizon.

The black and white themed washroom gives a feeling of posh and elegance.

It has a long bath with a sliding window that opens up to the room.

You may leave the window open if you wish to watch television while pampering yourself in a warm, bubbly bath.

The washroom comes with separate shower and toilet.

TURTLES!

The highlight of our trip is to try sighting some mother turtles making their way back to the beach to lay their eggs. Nesting season is normally between May and August and peaks in June and July. Turtles can still be spotted up to September depending on luck although we did not get to see any mother turtles laying eggs this time around.

However, we get to experience the next best thing – planting of turtle eggs and the release of turtle hatchlings.

It was the boys’ first time seeing and touching turtle eggs. Ayden was pretty impressed with how round these turtle eggs are. He said they look like ping pong balls but when he touched them, he was surprised at how soft they actually are.

We get to experience planting turtle eggs for incubation.

Turtle eggs usually require around 3 months to develop and hatch. Once hatched, they need to be released into the ocean within 7 days after which their flippers will weaken hence lowering their chances of making it into the sea alive.

We were also extremely lucky there were 4 days old baby turtles eager and ready to be released into the sea.

The kids were given gloves and taught the proper way to handle the baby turtles.

Baby turtles should only be carried on their sides and never on their belly.

Slowly and carefully the children placed the baby turtles onto the sand facing the ocean.

In an instant, these baby turtles raced their way into the sea.

Birds prey on hatchlings as they make their way into the sea while bigger fish prey on them in the water.

It’s estimated that only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood hence we must do all we can to make sure turtle eggs do not end up on somebody’s dinner table. This is the exact reason rangers go around collecting turtle eggs to plant them again in hatchery where they have a higher chance to hatch and be released into the sea.

My boys get to see turtles with their own eyes but their future children may not have this opportunity if we don’t protect and save the turtles today.

RECREATION

Besides turtles, there are many other recreational activities to do here throughout the year.

Swimming Pool

There’s a mini water park at the corner of the pool that the boys love and spent a considerable time here.

As for us adults, the hot tub jacuzzi is simply soothing and rejuvenating after a fun-filled day. For safety reasons, children below ten years of age are not allowed into the hot tub due to the high water temperature.

Bicycles are available by the poolside for rent. It is nice to cycle around the resort especially in the mornings. They even have bicycles such as the one shown above to bring your little children along for a joyride.

Giant Snake & Ladder to keep guests on their toes. What wonderful workout we had after completing a game of larger than life Snake & Ladder.

They also have Hopscotch and a giant Chess set next to it.

TELEMATCH

If you are travelling in a group, the resort staffs will be happy to organize a game of telematch for team building or ice-breaking session.

They can tailor-made the game to be children friendly for family events.

They even have cultural games to keep our tradition alive such as Kukur Nyior (grating coconut the traditional way).

Tarik Upih is another traditional game. The leaf of a palm tree is used in this hilarious game of strength and speed. A team consists of a person seated on the upih and another person who pulls it.

PRIVATE BEACH

One of the strongest selling point of this resort is their pristine private beach spanning 7.6km

We can’t get enough of their clean, sandy beach with crystal clear water.

The backdrop is simply surreal. Thank you Marvin for this beautiful family portrait.

Love is in the air with such gorgeous set-up at Oasis Beach Bistro, the restaurant by the beach.

We had their BBQ dinner here and it was fantastic. 

It was also the Mid-Autumn weekend while we were there and the resort was very kind to include mooncakes in their BBQ dinner spread.

They also gave out lanterns for the children to walk on the beach with. 

The Mid Autumn moon illuminated the beach brightly that evening. 

Ocean Beach Bistro is the place to sit back, feel the sea breeze caressing your face and enjoy your meal whilst being serenaded by a live band.

We had such a great weekend stay here, even their toilets are so much FUN! 

As usual, we’ll end our travel post with a video to summarize our experience here at Resorts World Kijal.

Happy WATCHING!