11 February 2007

Rain, Rain Go Away

Jan 2 - Jan 5

So we decided to travel during the rainy season. We did not really do that on purpose. It just worked out that way. We were a bit worried about this before setting off but for the most part there had been few issues to date. In Sulawesi it had been dry and even in Borneo there had been relatively little rain and what rain there was only minimally interfered with our travel. It had actually worked out for the best in Borneo since just a few months earlier (October) during the dry season there had been some of the worst fires in years (as a result of slash and burn farming) covering the region in nasty smoke and haze. Well when we hit Sarawak (the western province of Malaysian Borneo), our luck with the rain wore out. They saw that when it rains it pours, and our trip to Bako National Park about an hour outside the capital city of Kuching was filled with wetness to say the least.

Bako National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Sarawak and also one the most well known. It is on a rocky headland and seven different ecosystems are found with the relatively small park. Bako is also known as a great place to spot birds and other wildlife including the endemic and endangered proboscis monkey. It was the only park that we visited in Malaysia but we were highly impressed by the great trails, the breath-taking scenery and the abundant and highly visible wildlife. Even with the rainy weather, it was certainly a highlight for me.

The only way to enter the park is by boat from the nearby town. On the day we arrived the waves were a bit big and we rode in a very small speedboat. The first part of the ride along the river was fine but as we neared the sea, the waves got larger and our driver angled the boat to be parallel to them (something that seemed a bit counter intuitive to me and the best way to roll the boat). He accelerated and decelerated as necessary and expertly handled the boat in the rough seas. It was quite exhilarating as we pitched and rolled over the little monsters of the sea and although a few times it looked as if we might flip, we came out unscathed and surprisingly dry.

Other than the rough seas, the weather when we arrived at the park was gorgeous. We got there around noon and figured that there were would not be much wildlife out in the heat of the day so we decided to take a nap. Sadly when we awoke it was gray and rainy outside (this nasty weather would be the same for the remainder of our stay). But we decided to try our luck anyway and started on a little stroll and eventually the weather did clear up a bit. We caught our first glimpse of some proboscis monkeys only about 50 meters from our hostel and we watched for awhile as they played in the treetops. We continued on the boardwalk trail and we were awed by the wet lowland forest which was unlike any that we had seen before. Palms and pandans dominated the vegetation with other taller trees forming the canopy. It was strikingly beautiful with many sandstone outcrops dotting the trail. We continued walking until dark and met up with some more proboscis and also two troops of silver leaf monkeys who took little notice of our presence. We hiked up a small hill and the vegetation changed to more typical lowland rainforest type. We were greeted at the top of the hill with a spectacular view of the rainforest, mangroves and ocean spread out below us in the late afternoon.

Our next day proved to be wet. We planned a long hike but around 10 in the morning our walk was interrupted by a downpour that lasted pretty much for the rest of the day. Before the rain we did make it to an interesting arid grassland area dominated by small trees, shrubs and grasses as well as many rocky outcrops. In this region, there were also many pitcher plants and orchids which we spent an hour or so searching for. There are 6 species of pitcher plants in the park and I think we found them all ranging from small ones on the ground which look like jugs to much larger vases (as big as your hand) found attached to viny structures. After awhile it really started to pour though and even though we tried to wait it out for a bit, the rain showed no signs of stopping and so we headed back to the hostel for a bit of rest.

The next two days the rain continued but it let up at times and we decided to make the best of our time so we strapped on our boots and slogged through the flooded forests. We made our way through the grasslands in search of more pitcher plants and were privileged to walk through gorgeous palm forests. We trekked to spectacular rocky headlands overlooking the ocean and through streams to an overflowing waterfall tinted brown by tannins from the palms. We saw many more silver leafs scamper along the beach and watched families of proboscis monkeys scarf down mangrove leaves only feet from us. Overall this park is a gem and a place that we found to be incredibly unique.

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