Under the supervision of a good guide, Olivia Miwil connects with nature at Mulu National Park in Sarawak.
TRAVELLING usually leaves an impression of some sort. Either you get it from sightseeing, gastronomic experience or the people you meet along the way. For my husband and I, it was our tour guide Larry Siga. he made our four-day trip to Mulu National Park in Miri, Sarawak memorable. Let me tell you what he did.
DAY 1
A man of experience, Larry could sense my anxiety at the prospect of having no Internet coverage the moment he picked us up at Mulu Airport. He proceeded to explain that there would be WiFi connection at Mulu National Park headquarters and better connections during the wee hours.
After getting special wristband tags from our first stop at the headquarters, we began our activities by visiting Deer Cave and Lang Cave to observe the exodus of millions of bats.
A former shelter for deer, Deer Cave is the largest cave passage in the world at over two kilometres in length, and 90 metres in height and width. It is also home to a colony of wrinkled-lip bats. Daily visitors anticipate an exodus of three million bats from an entrance of Deer Cave as they head out for the night to gorge on insects. Other “signature” features of Deer Cave are the Abraham Lincoln feature at its entrance and a red mail postbox.
Located a short distance from Deer Cave, Lang Cave is the smallest of four show caves in Mulu National Park. Good walking shoes are essential. On our visit to these caves, we walked for 8km on a well-maintained raised wooden pathway. As we passed through rainforests and mangrove forests, Larry introduced to us different types of trees and their various uses including for medicinal purposes and in fragrances. Trunks from some of the trees are used for making furniture, boats and even houses.
When I asked him why the park management did not remove the huge, decomposing trees that had fallen into a stream, Larry said, “Any natural circumstances that happen in the forest should be left as they are.”
Before we entered the caves, Larry reminded us not to touch any of the stalactite and stalagmite formations. This was to ensure that our hands wouldn’t leave any chemical or oil traces on the formations and hence, disrupt the formation process.
DAY TWO
The programme on the second day at Mulu National Park included visits to Penan settlement, and the Clearwater and Wind Caves before ending with another 8km trek. The journey started with a ride on a long boat along a clear stream from a jetty near Mulu Marriott Resort. Although it was a motorised boat, it required two people to direct it using a bamboo pole or stick and to manually push it when it got stuck in shallow areas.
As we passed through villages in the morning, we could see locals on their daily routines taking baths or washing their clothes by the river. We stopped by a Penan settlement in Batu Kampung Bungan where there were handicraft stalls. Displays and information on the tribes and protection of wildlife have been set up for visitors. Larry then brought us further to see the village’s primary school and health clinic which rely on diesel-run generators for electricity. We also learnt that for medical cases that require treatment at the hospital in Miri, villagers either take a boat, which takes hours, or fly on regional airlines at discounted rates.
From the village, we continued the boat journey to Clearwater Cave, a 118-km long cave system where Rajah Brooke butterflies can easily be spotted. Next to it is the Wind cave, which as its name suggests, is known for the cool breeze that flows through its chamber. It was almost noon when we headed to Kuala Litut on the same longboat. The sun was just above us and our skin sunburnt by the rays.
I believed Larry was also uncomfortable with the heat but he continued with his task, pushing the longboat whenever it got stuck, until we reached Kuala Litut, the starting point of our 10km trekking to reach Camp 5.
The camp is located near Melinau gorge that separates Gunung Benarat from Gunung Api.
It is also the place climbers spend two nights before and after conquering the Mulu Pinnacles.
The hostel-style accommodation offers cubicles and climbers sleep on thin desanitised mattresses. It doesn’t sound comfortable, but most climbers sleep well after their strenuous activities.
“Walk fast if you want to avoid the leeches from getting onto your body,” Larry told said to us. But, we’d come prepared with anti-leech socks.
We arrived at the Camp 5 base camp within two hours, just before sunset. Either Larry’s theory was right or we were lucky, we had survived the trek with no leech attacks.
DAY THREE
Conquering Mulu Pinnacles was the highlight of our four-day, three-night trip to Mulu National Park. Unlike Mount Kinabalu in Sabah that allows climbers to go up at their own pace, the Pinnacles has a time limit.
Climbers have a cut-off time to reach a certain checkpoint. This is to ensure they are able to descend in time before it gets dark.
As early as 5.30am, groups of climbers had begun their hikes to the 200-metrehigh Pinnacles with its steep gradient and a 2.4-kilometre trail. But it was rewarding to see the impressive alien landscape made up of rock spires at the peak. Descending was more challenging. Some of the limestone have slippery surfaces and are sharp which further increase the risks, especially when it rains. Reaching the base camp safely is another achievement.
Although Larry also climbed and descended the Pinnacles with us, he still had the energy to cook us a scrumptious dinner. The trip ended with presentation of certificates from Mulu National Park headquarters.
There are still many spots waiting for us to explore here. Travelling with Larry made us realise that with a guide like him who offers good services to visitors while looking out for the environment, we can feel assured our national park is in good hands.
Disconnected from the Internet throughout the trip also made me connect to nature and people better. It made for a good short break from the digital world.
For details on Mulu National Park tours and packages, visit www.greentrekkers.my/
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