My Expedition Trip To Gunung Mulu National Park (Day 3)

another plant found at Benarat Lodge...

I opened my eyes with a smile clinging on my cheek the nest morning. We took a longtail boat ride up stream of Sungai Pala after breakfast.

longtail boat = wooden banana boat... XD

We stopped to visit Batu Bungan Penen Settlement to see the life of the locals and handicraft made by the Penan tribes.

the wrist bands are made from bark!!

beads crafting... one of Malaysian traditional handicraft...

We continued up stream and reached the entrance of the Wind Cave. Wind Cave was named after the bizarre cooling breeze caused by different air pressures in and out of the cave passage and also the phenomenon of cooler air being blown into the cave from a higher altitude. The stalactites and stalagmites in here are phenomenal as they temp to bend the law of physics defying gravity. They are some spiky and some bended ones. They too, were caused by the wind blown in and out from the caves while it is forming over the centuries. The end of the Wind Cave is known as The Chinese Emperor's Chamber where your imagination has to run wild to enjoy the formations in it.

the entrance is far far away from this board...


can you believe that this stalagmite is actually over 5m tall?

A little walk descending from Wind Cave led us to the Clearwater Pavilion. We had our tea break here before proceeding to the next cave.

the path is shaky and river flows just below us... ~scary~

another Mother Nature's grand art!

We walked 400 plus flights of stairs up and down from the Pavilion to reach the entrance of the Clearwater Cave with Lady's Cave side by side.

this plant is one of the few that its root can literally penetrates rocks!

entrance to Clearwater Cave and Lady's Cave..

Clearwater Cave is the longest cave system in Southeast Asia with swift running river flowing inside it, beside our trail. It was told that one can look younger if washes his/hers face 3 times with the water in this cave. There is a bridge built inside it to cross over the river. It took the engineers 2 times failure to make the bridge built securely. Rumour says that it is because that the structure had disturbed the souls inside the cave.

crossing the successfully built bridge...

this was taken on the bridge... Can you see how wide is the river inside? shocking!

Lady's Cave was simply named after a stalagmite which its shadow looks like a lady in the entrance of the cave. There was a hole in the middle of the cave and the view from inside is just as breathtaking as The Garden of Eden!

personally, Idon't think it looks like a lady... but that just me...

the mysterious hole in the cave... pretty eh?

We had our packed lunch at Clearwater Pavilion and continued up stream to Kuala Berar at Long Litut to proceed to our next shelter. The 8.8 walk from Kuala Berar to Melinau Camp (a.k.a Camp 5) was easy-peasy. The trek is into a mellow rainforest along Litut River. Through we have to cross 2 suspension bridges along the trail which considered the hardest part of the trail. To kill boreness, we sang and chatted but Richard warned us not to as this will disturb the nature itself. Despite the 'leaches-part" we've brought, we all find it pleasant and soothing.

the bridges are secured, so chillax! (chill+relax = chillax)

The moment the entrance of Camp 5 flashed into out sight, all I can think was, "woah, we've made it!", but some of the girls are over reacted and raced for the last 100m like a bunch of hungry apes competing for a banana in front of them. tossing the 7kg burden and just lie on the pathway like a dead fish. Once again, we've been warned because we are not the only visitors staying here.

may I present to you, the silly hungry apes... Haha!

So, Camp 5, we've been told not to expect much from it, just a simple base provided with simple dormitories, a kitchen, 3 bathrooms and a so-so river but, it was a paradise! I mean, the kitchen is larger than the living room back at home and installed with stoves and gasses, the washing room is piped, well no one told us about the splendid dining area we can hang around, and don't mention about the cleanliness, it is certainly the most hygiene camp I've ever been!! It's beyond paradise! We've dipped into the icy cooling river after some rest while teachers chatted over the foyer at the bank.There's a huge suspension bridge leading into a deeper forest but no one knows where it'll bring us go to (refer to the 5th Day post).

we had a pebble cast competition here... memorabilia...

Night falls in really fast. Rain kept pouring like there's a leak in the sky. If the angels above have to pay for these water-leak (rain) like we payed for out pipes, I bet they'll be broke in no time! After the briefing about the hike next day, we all tugged-in before 10.30pm and snored like piglets.



by Masqueradez... 14th May 2010...