Mulu Day 5 - Canopy Walk

Mulu Canopy Walk
Sunday, 16th Jan 2011

9a.m - 11a.m

Our last activity at Mulu... walking on the world's longest tree based walkway in the world. Seriously, long and I felt like no ending when I started to walk....hahaha. Tapi kalau gayat pun bleh jer... tapi my tips pejam mata yea.

On the way to Canopy Walk... passed by this bridge

... and also this bridge... Sungai Paku

Pokok Kasai

Starting of Canopy Walk

Nampak Cool jer minah ni kan

Peace... without fear I completed the walk

If it's rain, we're not allowed to walk on the canopy walkaway. Luckily, by the time we arrived there, the rain has stopped... Alhamdulillah. The suspension bridge was really strong since supported by a very stable big trees i.e. Pokok Kasai and a few others. Every stop between the two bridges you will find a very useful information on every tree...the tree that support the suspension bridge ends. So, not only you walk & having fun but at the same time, you will learn something about the rainforest....trees, floras and faunas. Lots of information you may found during your walk and each of it will have a different interesting stories.

During our canopy walk... Seria did asked us a few tricky questions since kita orang tak banyak tanye. Hahaha....salah satu nyer...

"Pokok kita rich with Nutrien or less with Nutrien"

All of us answered, "Rich with Nutrien".... bagus anak-anak tapi salah yea...it was actually less with Nutrien. Tulah masuk hutan je selalu tapi tak pernah pun nak belaja ilmu alam. Seria pun explained lah dekat kami semua why it was less with Nutrien?....rupa-rupa nyer sebab lapisan bumi sekarang ni dah semakin nipis that's why it less with Nutrien.

Seria cakap semakin lama dia belajar pasal ilmu alam nie ...dia rase semakin takut cos dia dapat membayangkan apa yang akan jadi pada mase akan datang dengan keadaan bumi yang sekarang nie. Maybe because she's a kristian so she believed with what she had seen and explored but as a Muslim we can believe on that as preparation but we have to remember that everything happened is coming from Him (Allah).

So nice

Kenapa daun ni berlubang? Can u guess why?

You could see this unique flower

Plan for next time trip to Mulu... Insyallah

End of our Canopy Walk

With Sirea...our guide of the day... nice knowing Her

Supergirl group... but ter missed one cute girl

Finally end our trip....see u again Mulu

Can't wait for our next trip tu Mulu conquering Mount Mulu. Wait n See.

- The End -

Mulu Day 4 - Deer & Lang Caves, Bat Exodus

Saturday, 15th Jan 2011

2.30pm-6.30pm

We arrived Mulupark around 1 p.m. and check-in again. Mase check-in, I was entertained by other person pulak. Mase tu tak tahu lagi nama dia tak sempat tanye... tapi bila dia check activity kita orang petang tu... dia cakap kat aku nanti kumpul 2.30 petang ya... and He introduced himself as our guide for next trip to Deer n Lang cave...OK.

This time we need to move to another Chalet just next to our previous chalet. Anyway this one also nice.

The next activity after returned to Mulupark... Le tour to Deer & Lang caves. This time you don't need a boat ride but you need to walk from Mulupark to these two caves. It takes us about 45 minutes juga lah to get there through plank walk. Kebetulan masa tu hujan so kita orang no choice other than to proceed... with our raincoat. Best juga jalan dalam hujan nie....sesekali kan but carefull the plank walk might be slippery if you walk with unsuitable shoes.

Emmhhh....jalan lagi. Mase on the way to Lang cave sempat juga lah aku borak2 dengan our guide, Harison... kata jalan sekali kan. He's very friendly and quite kelakar juga. His from Miri actually cuma after finished His studies dia keje dengan Mulupark. Lepas tu, Bos dia siap hantar dia gi Australia sambung belaja dalam bidang batu. Dia cakap dulu dia tak pandai cakap Bahasa omputih tapi lepas keje situ tiap2 malam dia belaja dengan Bos dia sampai lah jadi pandai... sampai jadi world heritage guide. Best nyer. His stories not end just like that....banyak lagi dia citer tapi yang lain tu tak penting sangat pun.

Apa yang penting nak citer pasal Lang cave pulak. The first cave we entered.

Could see different colors of Limestone

Beautiful formation inside Lang cave

Water from stalactites.... ade pond lagi

Stalactites

Jelly Fish formation...Fantastic

Our guide of the day....cute Harison

Next is... Deer Cave. This cave was known as the largest cave passage in the world. Deer cave ni actually is home to more than 12 species of bats.

Why it is called Deer Cave... long time ago local deer discovered that "Guano" (or bats output) contains salt. So, they always coming here for that. But, since the local people know that the deer needed salt, so, they waited here to hunt them. So, that's how Deer cave got its name. ohhh....macam tu citer nyer.

Abraham Lincoln's Profile at Deer cave

The most popular cave formation in Deer cave... fantastic right

View from inside Deer cave

Eden of Pool Garden... could only be seen from far

View from inside Deer Cave...Awesome

Kami dah tour gua nie...sangat cantik

Kami nak pergi tengok kelawar plak

Place to see Bat Exodus

We're waiting for the bats...sambil2 makan

Ade satu citer kelakar mase kita orang kat tempat tunggu bats exodus. We met a few korean frens...actually dia orang ni High school student from Korean. Dia suddenly approached kita orang just to ask about the tudung Yat pakai... hahaha... kata nyer nak buat souveniers pulang to Korea nanti. Tapi citer kita orang bukan pasal tudung jer.... pasal benda lain juga. T-rah tiba2 over excited plak dah jumpa org Korea ni....mula lah start siter....Marry me Mary lah...Shinee...semua citer kt Channel kt KBS tu lah dia nak citer. Apa lagi over excited juga lah Korean students nie... siap melompat-lompat lagi. Kita orang pun apa lagi tumpang gelak besar lah...especially aku yang memang suke gelak-gelak ni. Dia pun macam terkejut giler kita orang tahu semua pasal Korea. Dia tak tahu among kita orang nie, T-rah tu fanatic. But, it was really a very kelakar moment with them.

With our new Korean Friends...dia org nie memang kelakar lah

Kita orang sempat mengabdikan kenangan dengan Korean nie...walaupun dia orang tak pandai cakap omputih tapi kita orang layan je lah. Our story end when suddenly a millions of bats started to came out from the cave.

The formation was really fantastic and beautiful. Lambat juga kelawar ni keluar... dah dekat2 pukul 6 baru nak keluar. So, we had to return back to Mulupark a bit late....and by that time dah gelap pun.

Anyway, I really enjoyed.

Bats formation

Fantastic formation.... How they do that

To be continued.

Mulu Day 4 - Camp 5 - Kuala Berar - Kuala Litut

Saturday, 15th Jan 2011
Camp 5 - Kuala Berar - Kuala Litut


Alhamdullillah, mission completed. So, today we had to continue our journey back to Mulupark. Again...we had to walk 8 km through Kuala Berar Rainforest. Sakit kaki panjat Pinnacle semalam pun tak reda lagi...hari ni kena jalan lagi. Anyway, it's OK...to me good exercise. Alhamdulillah juga cos kaki aku tak lebam2 and still strong to walk again...maybe not today tha pain. Usually, you will only feel the pain after 2 or 3 days. So, I guest by time aku return KL lah kot baru nak start sengal2....whatever.

Before start of our trip back to Kuala Litut

On the way back to Mulupark, our Guide Bagli did not accompany us. His reason... because tomorrow He had another group to be guided. So what? We had paid you to guide us....and you are supposed to complete the trip with us. Kalu tak sampai Mulupark pun at least sampai Kuala Litut lah....sampai naik Bot. Aku malas nak bertekak dengan pakcik nie sebab dia macam layan tak layan je masa aku cakap dengan dia....emmhhh. So, the night before, masa kita orang dinner kita orang sempat pesan kat Mr Burong (the Chinese guide) yang kita orang nak follow dia orang on the way balik. Dia pun OK jer.

Mr Burong nie memang kelakar and very sporting. Suka benar layan kita orang. Dari turun naik Pinnacle, masak-masak n sampai lah dinner....macam-macam dia citer. Kan Best kalu dapat guide macam nie. Rupa-rupa nyer, Burong ni pun dulu pernah keje dengan Mulupark tapi tak lama cos dia tak suka dengan system kt Mulupark....conton nyer...like what had happened to us.

His very informative and rupa nyer dia nie buat macam-macam keje juga...not only freelance guide tapi juga Part time lecturer kat Unimas and currently pursuing PhD. Fuhh....hebat sungguh.

We started our journey around 7.30 a.m. Aku saing skali with Mr Burong, Julie n Adeq while others still lenggang Mak Limah kat belakang. But, still bila kita orang tak nampak dah orang kat belakang, Burong will stop and wait for us while let his group to go first. Caring sungguh. Banyak juga lah borak2 dengan Burong ni sepanjang jalan balik... sempat juga dia bagi tahu tips on how to get help if lost, nak kasi tau location kat mana & the best way how to call your fren while in the jungle....not to call your fren's name ya. But, use whistle to get attention. Aku memang bawa pun cuma tak tahu bila lah nak guna...now I know how to use it. Not only used when you're lost but also to let your fren now your status or location.

On the way back to you will be amazed by the beautiful view inside the rainforest.

Indah nyer

Hutan Hujan Tropika

so many small bridges you have to cross

Beautiful leaves

Aku jumpa pokok I luv u nie on the way back

Getting help

After the second bridge... I think already 6km, we had been left by Burong.... maybe dia rase at this km is OK for us to walk without guide. It's OK lagi pun dah dekat pun so since dia dah jauh kita orang pun tunggu our other frens... Kay, Fad, Yat, Huzz n T-rah. And then rehat2 dulu makan n minum n then continue balik our journey.

Another small bridge

At certain point you may find this walking track

Bamboo trees

Walaupun nampak kukuh tapi bleh tahan juga goyang dia

Lega rase nyer dah lepas brigde nie

Air kolam kecik nie sangat cantik....crystal clear

Kami dah sampai pun....nak naik boat dah

We reached Kuala Litut around 11.30 a.m macam tu. That time, our porters and abang2 Penan Boat tengah tunggu kami...hahaha. Lama juga kita orang jalan balik....4 hours juga lah. But, still we can catch the afternoon activities.

Kuala Litut...see you on next trip

To be continued.

Mulu Day 3 - Spectacular Pinnacle

Friday, 14th Jan 2011
Gunung Api, Pinnacle's view


Seawal 4.30pg aku dikejutkan oleh alarm clock handphone aku. Today the real journey is going to begin. Aku terus proceed to bathroom...buat apa yang patut and then, solat Subuh... begitu juga dengan yang lain ikut giliran. Lepas tu, kami pun proceed ke dapur nak cook for our breakfast. We have to make it fast since our Pinnacle's trip will begin at 6.30 a.m. Our breakfast menu for today... roti, baked beans & nasi goreng special. Ok lah tu, buat alas perut kejap lagi dah nak mendaki. Tapi aku masih tak lalu sangat nak makan. Maybe, my sore throat still not ok.

Our packed lunch... Roti + butter, boiled eggs, Nasi Impit & serunding and plus 3L plain water. Kita orang distribute makanan sama rata & semua pun kena carry sorang skit.

Before beginning of our climb to Gunung Api...pics with our guide Bagli

Altogether, there were 3 groups for the Pinnacle's climbing today. My group, the Chinese group and the Mat Salleh group. Tapi kami yang gerak dulu masuk Hutan.

For Pinnacle, All you need to bring...

• Small back pack
• Energy snacks / lunch (Self prepared kt Camp 5)
• 2 Water bottles, 1.5L each (1 is left at the halfway point for you to use on the return journey, the other is taken to the top)

Seawal 6.30pg kami memulakan perjalanan kami. Rupa-rupanya lalu kat laluan kami menuju ke Camp 5, cumanya, kalau dari camp 5, kami kena belok ke kiri, masa tu still gelap lagi, so, use your headlamp. After about 10 min walk inside the forest, we reached our first rocky trail...which was the beginning of our hiking trill. It was just beginning....but I already felt like, fuhhh... serious mencabar...dah kena panjat batu-batu dah ke...so, aku dapat membayangkan the next trail will be much harder. Tapi yang aku agak pelik guide kami bleh buat derrrkkk jer jalan kt depan dulu....ahead all of us. Apa lah gunanya ade ade guide kalau dari mula trip till the end tak membantu apa-apa sangat, pada aku lah. ..tak tahu plak geng yang lain. So, yang ketinggalan agak kebelakang skit memang pandai-pandai lah sendiri.

Mula-mula tu aku memang rase semangat sangat & gerak agak laju juga saing dengan my guide Bagli. Aku memang follow jer dia dari belakang tapi kat certain tempat bila aku nampak orang lain dah sayup-sayup tak nampak aku suruh dia tunggu kejap, kalu tak kasi warning mahu laju je dia nie. Mayde dia ingat kita orang ni makan angin je kot. Tapi aku rasa, Bagli ni dah biase guide Mat Salleh kot that's why bila ade orang Melayu dia rase janggal skit, lagi-lagi perempuan macam kami ni. Aku akui Mat Salleh ni energy dia tak sama macam Asian people, that's why dia orang takde guide pun takpe, boleh survive. Tapi disebabkan syarat nak naik Pinnacle ni mesti ade guide, so, hebat mana pun you still need a guide to bring you, walaupun guide tak membantu apa-apa sangat pun.

On the way tu, kami dipintas oleh group Mat Salleh & Chinese group. Panjang betul langkah Mat Salleh ni. Aku fikir kalu macam ni 2 jam pun dah bleh sampai atas. Dah lah yang mula-mula start daki tadi kami, pastu siap kena pintas dengan dia orang yang start pukul 7am. Hebat, macam tak penat lansung dia orang ni, siap sengih-sengih kat kita orang lagi. Ni memang dah betul-betul fit enough lah ni.

Antara trek yang agak mencabar

We reached Mini Pinnacle around 7.30 a.m macam tu, kira OK lah tu. Meet the target. Mase ni dah 900m asl, meaning, we have another 1500m to reach. Masa ni kami diberi 15min break by Bagli. Apa lagi, sesi bergambar lah, macam-macam aksi. Masa tu, Chinese group yang pintas kami tadi tengah rehat-rehat... maybe dia orang pun baru sampai. Aku cuma rehat sekejap, makan coklat & minum air dari 1.5L bottle yang bakal aku tinggal kan kt situ nanti. Meaning the other 1.5L, I will bring all the way up to Pinnacle's viewpoint.

Mini Pinnacle... you need to reach here in within one hour

Selesai saja, we proceeded our journey, tak bleh buang masa sebab seperti yang diberitahu kami kena sampai the first ladder before 11 a.m or else we need to return back, baliklah makne nyer. Kita orang pun berusaha keras sendiri lah nak sampai ke tangga yang pertama dengan gigih nyer. Again, the Chinese group tadi pintas kami lagi but this time only two of them, their guide, Richard Burong & one of the Chinese guy. I did asked them, where the other 2? He said, the lady already vomitted and cannot proceed anymore. So, her boyfriend needs to accompany her descending. OK...noted. But, I told the Chinese guy you should tell your friend that we're already halfway, then He said, "I did telling the same thing too". Dah tak larat kan nak buat macam mana, karang paksa lain plak ceritanya. Alhamdulillah, kami semua masih OK pada masa tu.

Most of the rocks here are sharp

So, sepanjang pendakian aku, memang 100% percent aku berusaha sendiri without Bagli's help. Cuma masa time nak turun dari Pinnacles tu memang kena ade orang guide nak turun because there are certain rocky trail that need you to climb almost 90 deg. Luckily, we had Richard Burong to guide us. Burong ni actually guide kepada Chinese group but since 2 orang dah give up mase kat Mini Pinnacle, so, cuma ade sorang ahli saja lah yang dia bawa. So, dia ada banyak masa tolong kami masa nak turun. Thanks Mr Burong....you're really really helpful.

Another trail

Ratu-ratu gunung

Trail akar-akar kayu

The track is getting tougher

Pokok Zirafah....sempat kami abadikan kenangan lagi

You need rope at certain steep climb

We reached the first ladder around 10.20am... kira OK lah tu. Alhamdulillah, semua pun selamat sampai. Masa ni the real rock climbing is going to begin. Haaa...excited.

The first ladder we need to climb...

you must reach here before 11a.m or else you need to return

Altogether, there are 15 ladders you need to climb to the peak

Amacam...ade brani

The real rock climbing... if you had done rock climbing before... this is much tougher & harder but I like

Masa nie nak sampai peak dah....still mencabar juga

Beautiful view you could find on the way to the top

Finally, we reached the top. Alhamdulillah, macam tak percaya jer, kami semua berjaya. I was fascinated by the beautiful formation of the Pinnacles and forgot to ask the guide about the behind story of the Pinnacle because I was too busy taking photos and looking the surrounding area, really beautiful and unbelievable. God has made them in a very beautiful and fantastic pinnacle form.

Subhanallah, Inilah yang aku nantikan... Pinnacle

Alhamdulillah... Finally berjaya

Betullah kata orang, kalau niat kita baik semua pun akan dapat keredaan dariNya. Thanks Allah for giving me an opportunity to witness one of your wonderful and fantastic creation.

All of us... successfully made it

Pinnacle's view from the other side

Macam tak percaya jer selama ni tengok gambar orang lain jer kt sini

Mase dekat atas peak tu aku sempat capture a few type of pitcher plant and few others not so familiar floras. Cantik sangat.

We spend only about half & hour up there since we arrived late. So, around 12pm, dengan sangat berat hati kami terpaksa turun... end of our Pinnacle's view on top. Tak puas hati sangat sebab tak dapat lama. Maybe sebab kita orang dah amik masa yg banyak on the way to the top. That's why, 12pm we have to return back or else we had to walk in the dark on the way down. OK...we follow.

So many species of pitcher plant u could see

One of the pitcher plant species

Glow in the dark

So, if u think you're already good enough conquering Mount Kinabalu then you should try this. Pinnacle is much harder and tougher compare to Mount Kinabalu.

Anyway, to ALL Geng Gunung, congrats for all of your hardworking & determination to successfully reach up to this point. Korang memang terbaik lah.

Wish I could have another chance to be here again. And masa tu, aku nak make sure juga aku sampai ke Gunung Mulu. InsyAllah.

To be continued...