Week 85 - Bako National Park, Kuching, Mulu National Park (Malaysia)

From Kuching we caught a bus to Bako Village where we were dropped at the National Park boat terminal. We didn’t have to wait long before our boat was ready and we headed out, passed the houses on stilts, around the headland to the Park HQ. Pulling into the bay we were welcomed by a stretch of golden sand hemmed in by towering limestone cliffs and backed by lush green jungle. 

To pass the time until we could check in, we took a short 800m trail, Telok Paku, that would take us down to another beach. Marmite sandwiches packed, once we arrived in the cove we found a sheltered alcove under the cliff and ate our picnic surrounded by entertaining hermit crabs. While we ate, the rain rolled in and we ducked back under the forest canopy to head back to HQ. Once we reached the mangroves near camp we heard rustling and turned to see a group of Proboscis monkeys, my new all time favourite monkey. Proboscis monkeys have these phallic looking noses and pot bellies and make great honking noises. We spent a while watching them before heading to our room. Luckily for us, no one else checked in to our dorm and we had the room to ourselves for the 2 nights. 

Proboscis monkey, Bako National Park.

We didn’t waste much time changing in to our hiking boats before we wandered out again. This time we took the 5.8km Lintang loop. The trail started in the jungle with the path strewn with tree roots before reaching a plateau that looked like something out of Jurassic Park. Although we didn’t encounter much wildlife it was a nice walk and we were tired by the time we made it back. We had a quick dinner in the canteen while admiring the bearded pigs and the cheeky long tailed macaques hanging around, before it was time to go out again, on the guided night walk. Just as we were getting ready to head out someone pointed out a flying lemur in the tree right outside our room and we were lucky enough to see her jump, gliding from one tree to the next. There’s something very special about being in the jungle in the dark, listening to all the night creatures going about their business and even though we didn’t spot any more mammals we did come across a scorpion, pit viper, nesting swifts and tonnes of stick insects and some glow in the dark fungi. We fell into bed shattered and ready to sleep.

Rhys hiking in Bako National Park.

When the alarm went off for an early walk we were delighted to hear rain hammering down on the tin roof, we turned off the alarm and went back to sleep resurfacing in time for breakfast. More bearded pig spottings and baby macaques and we headed off to complete a short 4.6km trail, Telok Pandan Kecil with a detour to Besar viewpoint. The trails were easy with sections of boardwalks and sand terminating at cliff top views of the bays below. As we’d seen much more wildlife around camp than on any of the trails and because most of the longer trails were closed for maintenance, we decided to spend the afternoon in the vicinity of HQ. We sat in the canteen and watched the monkeys and pigs (a macaque rudely stole Rhys’s beer and threw it on the floor), walked a short trail through the forest and ended the day with a beer out on the boardwalk overlooking the beach and the mangroves. 

Silver leaf monkeys with their babies, Bako National Park.

Perfect spot for an evening beer, Rhys overlooking the beach, Bako National Park.

We had a lazy start again the next day and other than a few short walks along the beach and to the mangroves we spent most of the morning at camp letting the animals come to us. We had a boat booked for 11:30am for the 10 minute return trip to the village where after a short wait, we boarded a bus back to Kuching. We checked in to the same hostel and headed back to the laundry. We had a few more errands to run before Rhys headed back to the hostel, leaving me to visit the Art Gallery and Sarawak Museum. The gallery was tiny but the museum was interesting with half of the 2nd floor given over to information about longhouses and a small longhouse reconstruction. As we’re only in Borneo for 4 weeks we’ve decided to focus on the natural wonders and the wildlife rather than the cultural places and it was good to get a feel for the different tribes and their way of life.

Limestone formations on the beach, Bako National Park.

We ate dinner at a cheap Chinese food court before having a few drinks at the hostel to celebrate Rhys’s last day as a 28 year old. At midnight he was too excited to wait longer so I gave him his cards (Rhodri and Fay bought some from family at home) and sang him happy birthday. We’re not doing presents this year as we’re trying to make our money stretch as far as we can so i’ve promised him a doubley good present next year for his 30th.

Although it was Rhys’s birthday we had a flight to catch and called a taxi to take us to the airport. The little propellor plane was on time and we touched down in a tiny airport in Mulu National Park, on the Brunei border, at lunch time. We watched the baggage handlers throw our bags around a bit before bringing them to the one room terminal building, grabbed them and jumped in a shared car to the Park HQ. It was immediately obvious that Mulu has far more funding than Bako, the buildings and paths are sturdier and you get the feeling that it caters to more mid-price tourism with some luxury huts as well as the huge dorm we were in. 

We didn’t have long before our first guided walk, to Lang and Deer Cave was ready to leave. It was one of those trips were you really don’t need a guide but where one is compulsory. After a 3.2km walk along a boardwalk we arrived at the entrance to Lang Cave, certainly not the biggest cave in the park but one of the prettiest with a spectacular display of stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, shawls and rimstone pools, created by standing ground water seeping into and dissolving the limestone below.

After Lang Cave we turned our attention to Deer Cave. It was mind blowing. Deer Cave is the second largest cave passage in the world (the first was recently discovered in Vietnam) with a maximum height of 148m (that’s one and a half times the height of Big Ben, or, 3 times the height of the Statue of Liberty) and width of 169m. The cave was just so big and photos do not do it justice. There’s a pathway that takes you the length of the cave ending at The Garden of Eden, an area where the roof caved in creating a sheltered, fertile garden now full of jungle and waterfalls - was another tour entirely. We wandered through, marveling at the sheer size of the cave, peering up into the darkness above us, before emerging back at the entrance and being directed to the exodus of the bats viewing area. 

Deer Cave, look closely, you can see people.  Mulu National Park.

We waited for about an hour and started to think the bats weren’t going to make an appearance and then they came. It was incredible, thick ribbons of bats swooping out of Deer Cave and across the sky, 3 million bats, just woke up and off out to find food. We spent about an hour watching them as twilight fell and a storm rolled in with lightening filling the sky and thunder cracking in the air, echoing off the limestone cliffs. It was magical and a great way to spend Rhys’s birthday afternoon. That night, after Rhys blew out the candles on his birthday cake (I have no idea why but ornate steamed layed cakes are all the rage in Kuching and are sold on every street corner), we arranged to meet two of the guys, Daniel and Kishan who were joining us for the Pinnacles Trek later in the week and who had been on our cave tour. We had a few birthday beers for Rhys and played cards until it was time for bed.

Exodus of the bats, Mulu National Park.

By 8am we were in the restaurant for breakfast and we had a few hours to spare before our 10am tour. Rhys headed to the dorm to chill and I walked the 1.7km Night Walk Loop, spotting a giant squirrel and a couple of hornbills on my way. At 10am we joined our guide and walked back into the forest to the Skywalk Canopy, 480m of hanging bridges 10-30m off the ground (the longest tree based walkway in the world). As the day had already started to heat up we didn’t see much wildlife other than a few pygmy squirrels but enjoyed being up in the canopy. On the way back to HQ we detoured around a short Botanic Trail before it was time for lunch, just as a heavy rainstorm hit. We missed the worst of it and spent the afternoon sheltering from the rain, sorting food and packing our bags for the Pinnacles Trek.

Rhys on the Skywalk Canopy, Mulu National Park.

We had booked on to a night walk that night and met our guide to search out some nocturnal creatures. As soon as we left HQ it started raining but determined, we continued. We got about 500m into the forest before it really started to rain, we were drenched within seconds and I mean, drenched. As we couldn’t possibly get any wetter we didn’t see the point of turning around and continued for an hour. Although we didn’t spot any mammals there was a small owl and the hugest stick insects we’ve ever seen, each about a foot long, clinging to the boardwalk handrail against the deluge. Back at the hostel we hung our wet clothes, took warm showers and climbed in to bed.

At 9:15am we met the rest of our group for our 3 day trip to the Pinnacles and piled into longboats to take us up the Melinau river to two caves, Cave of the Winds and Clearwater Cave. We stopped briefly on route at a disappointing Longhouse village, Batu Bangan (the traditional wooden Longhouse had been burned down years ago and was in the process of being replaced by a concrete structure). We wandered around a souvenir market and were grateful to climb back into the boats to the entrance of the caves. 

View from the boat on the Melinau River, Mulu National Park.

Cave of the Winds is a dry river passage with the ‘Kings Chamber’ at it’s heart. We’ve never seen stalactites and stalagmites like it, stretching for metres from floor to ceiling like tree trunks in the forest. Clearwater cave was equally impressive with a river still raging through it’s depths (the river runs for 180km through cave passages) and huge notches carved out of the limestone walls. 

Cave of the Winds, Mulu National Park.

We ate a quick lunch at the cave entrance before jumping back in the boat to drop us at the trail head at Kuala Litut, leading to Camp 5, having to wade in once to push the boat when it got stuck in the shallows. There were 8 of us attempting the Pinnacles the following day and we all headed off into the jungle together. The trail was easy, a 9km well walked, mostly flat path following the river to the camp. The heavens opened and the ponchos came out leaving us little chance of enjoying the scenery and instead we walked fast and made camp in 2 hours with only a few stops to pull of the leeches. As soon as you entered camp you were met by a swarm of bees, attracted to your sweat and the only option was to wade fully clothed into the river. Once we’d wrung out our clothes and chosen a sleeping mat on the raised sleeping platform in our partitioned, open to the elements area, it was time for a cup of tea. A few games of cards and a delicious instant noodle dinner (does sarcasm come across in type?) and we padded off to bed ready for our 5am alarm call.

We left camp after a quick breakfast at 6:15am to tackle the Pinnacles. Our guide led us for the first 900m where we rose 400m in altitude to reach the ‘mini Pinnacles’. It took about 45 minutes and it was tough. I was dosed up on paracetamol and was battling with a cold which didn’t help matters, by the time we reached the mini Pinnacles I was worried I might not make it. We had a good break while we waited for the everyone to regroup and Sebastian made the decision not to go further. We hadn’t realised that the success rate was so low, we thought making it to the top was a dead cert until we started to talk to people who had done it who told us in their groups only about 50% made it. The next 300m took us up another 200m in altitude over 30 minutes to the halfway point where we left water to collect for the journey back down. 

We continued to the start of the ladders, another 800m and a rise of another 400m in altitude. By then we were all tired but making good time and excited to have nearly reached our goal. The final 400m with 200m altitude rise was exhilarating. With 16 ladders to clamber up along with near vertical rock faces to be scaled, all slippery from rain (we are in the rain forest after all), a loss of concentration and a fall could have resulted in serious injury. When we finally emerged at the view point we were ecstatic, hot and very sweaty. It had taken 2 hours 50 minutes fitting us nicely into the ‘fit’ category (according to Mulu literature, fit and experienced climbers should make it in 2-3 hours). 

View of the Pinnacles, Mulu National Park.

Me at the Pinnacles viewpoint, Mulu National Park.

Our hiking group at the Pinnacles viewpoint, Mulu National Park.

We had a very early lunch at the top while looking over the natural wonder, a cluster of 45m high limestone needles that cling to the side of Gunung Api (Fire Mountain), took hundreds of photos and prepared ourselves for the journey back down to camp. The trip down was just as difficult, even when you’re past the ladders and ropes, the paths are strewn with tree roots and very slippery, sharp rocks that mean you have to concentrate for every step of the way. We both took hard falls, Rhys landing hard on his bum and me falling awkwardly on my ribs and wrist. Even with the slips we made good time and were back in camp by 12:30pm, the full walk with stops taking just over 6 hours. Straight in the river again we rinsed out our clothes and had the rest of the day to chill at camp. It was too hot to sleep and we were at a bit of a loose end, but between cups of tea and cans of coke cooled in the river, we did get talking to a research student who was catching and cataloging dragonflies and damselflies. 

Rhys descending from the Pinnacles viewpoint by ladder, Mulu National Park.

I was glad when night fell and the bees went to bed and we could eat dinner, play more cards and head to bed ourselves. We had a great group, Daniel and Kishan and Katelyn and Taylor were all about the same level of fitness as us so we walked together for most of the day and shared in the buzz of having reached the top. Although Kok walked at his own speed he made it up and back to camp in good time and Sebastian conquered the Mini Pinnacles and was refreshed and chilling in camp when we returned. Although the trek was only 2.4km each way we climbed 1.2km in altitude and it was a real challenge, rather than being an enjoyable, scenic walk it was a hard core physically trying climb.