An hour before dawn, before the rays of sunlight pierce the sky, the beach of Sematan along the South China Sea shimmers beneath the moonlight. Here, on the western end of Sarawak, it is difficult to tell where the sand ends and the water begins. Then as sunlight nudges the horizon, the beach comes to life, as it has for centuries.
Each August since time immemorial, turtles have been coming to lay their eggs at the Talang-Talang Islands about 20 minutes' boat ride from Sematan. Designated a turtle sanctuary in 1957, the islands -Talang-Talang Besar, Talang-Talang Kechil, Satang Besar and Satang Kechil, were gazetted as the Talang-Satang National Park in 1999 and is managed by the Sarawak Forestry Corporation.