ATV adventure ride gaining popularity in Labuan
LABUAN: The ATV or known as ‘All-Terrain Vehicle’ is a type of motorcycle on four wheels used for rugged outdoor activities along extreme and challenging routes, such as jungle trekking.
The ATV riding is an activity that is gaining popularity among today’s youths especially in Labuan.
Also known as the Quad, Quad Bike, Three Wheeler or Four Wheeler, the ATV has been defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a vehicle that travels on lowpressure tyres.
The founder of the ATV Labuan Desa Tunas Hijau Adventure, who operated the heavy-duty vehicles Datuk Seri Mohd Alias Abd Rahman, said the idea of having the adventure was mooted after he had visited many countries.
“Our Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli is now promoting the island’s tourism industry, this ATV adventure is part of our efforts of helping our island tourism sector,” he said yesterday.
Spanning over six-acre of land at Kg Sg Miri, he developed the area into a recreational park and garden equipped with mini handmade pond for recreational games like paddle boat and handmade pond for fishing.
A number of visitors interviewed expressed excitement over the newly-introduced tourism product.
“At first, my wife and I were a bit sceptical on the credibility of the ATV operator. Located by the roadside and adjacent to the popular sunset view of Sg Miri beach does not impress us on how the trail would be. We kept wondering if the ride is ‘worth’ the time,” said Alfred Nikko, 44.
However, after Alfred and wife were given an explanation by the operator safety tour guide, they felt that they should give a try on a 30-minute ride and they took two ATVs and started the journey led by the touring guide staff.
“For a beginner like us, the first five to 10 minutes were a ‘busy and chaos ride’, but the ‘smiling and cool face’ of the staff who were always beside us to comfort with their magic words...’No Hurry, ‘No Tension please’, ‘No Panic please’ and many more... then the truth came to us .... It was a magnificent views all around us, as gradually the trail became more excited the path at the ditches make us enjoy the trip,” he said.
“Then it comes to the exploration of jungle adventure - it was awesome views for us as this was the first time we experienced being in the jungle. What makes the trip more valuable was the chance to be in the jungle with many birds and insects and ... we considered it as experiences of a lifetime.
“Hilly terrain in the wood was an awesome activity during the journey and finally, we decided to extend the trip to 60 minutes - thanks to the guide for the awesome trip, hope they will keep up the good service,” Alfred said.
Alias said the ATV Desa Tunas Hijau Adventure would be in full swing next year, with a number of infrastructure like chalets to be developed.
“We want to develop another tourism product for the island’s tourism industry and this adventure will be another supporting tourism package to the existing Labuan tourism package,” he said.