Desa Cattle Dairy Farm, Kundasang Sabah Malaysia

by Safrah Mat Salleh (Malaysia)

I didn't expect to find Malaysia

Desa Cattle Dairy Farm, the first ever dairy farm in Sabah, Malaysia which opens for tourism too and I did not expect to find a beautiful view of Mount Kinabalu upclose. It is actually located at the foothill of Mount Kinabalu and the view was mesmerizing to see with the hilly farm stretching and having a background view of rocky dark greyish blueountain. Visiting the place together with children is perfect. Although there are homestay offered nearby and the nearest was about 10 to 15 minutes walking distance of the hilly road, they were fully booked on weekdays too. Well, we, a family of three including my daughter, did visiting during peak school holiday season so due to late reservation, we had to choose another hotel for accomodation, which we did not expect the route to our room to be a hilly one as well. The hotel is another story though, despite some unfavorable comments, it has a great view of the whole Kundasang Town which a truly remarkable finding. Anyway, driving for about 15 minutes to Desa Cattle Dairy Farm, we were lucky the car did not have to queue up for entrance at the hilly road as we heard some did. I guess, a tip is to ride a car with a good engine to ride up the hill. At the entrance, we paid a fee of RM5 per adult and it was not a normal entrance since the farm practice biosecurity. Every car has to pass wheel bath upon entering the premises and park their vehicle at the designated parking lot. Once again, we were lucky to get a place for our Proton Saga FLX manual car. There were footbath too for some other entrances like at the feeding barn and milking parlour. So another tip, please wear closed shoes. It was almost afternoon when we reached there and the first place we go to was calves feeding session and please make sure of the feeding session time since it is the highlight of the visit here. Children and adults can experience hand feeding the calves and there are goats too but like teenage goats though. They offer bottle milk feeding at RM1.50 per bottle and grass at RM1 per small bundle of grass. It was amazing. Although the employees were gloomy maybe having a bad day but the experience was totally worth it. It gives my girl the urge to be brave to feed them and pet them. The cows breed is Friesian and not local ones and the weather is suitable for the animal since Kundasang is famous for its cold temperature which is around 15 to 20 degree Celsius. I wonder how they first brought the animal here. I hope there will be a tourist guide at the farm to explain or answer questions but there aren't. After feeding session, we head to milking parlour. It was just a view from a room located upstairs but it was a privileged to witness the process on our own eyes. Milking using milk machine and how the cows automatically walk themselves into the milking parlour accordingly. Last but not least, we queued up to get yoghurt ice cream, cheese, yoghurt and milk. The queue was long and counter for ice cream is separate so another tip, take friend or family members to queue up separately and plan your orders. Surprisingly at the counters, there were no lights and it was a bit dark for me. As we were leaving, droplets of rain started to fall and clouds or maybe fog blocked the majestic mountain view. Nevertheless, it is an ideal place for family and children to visit.