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Published: September 29th 2009
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So after hearing the horror stories that the park had no drinking water and showers and that it was smelly, we were happy to be going to Bako for a day trip. Up nice and early again , because everything goes early in Kuching, we leave our accommadation with Lydia, our English buddy from the Seahare accommadation.
We are first to arrive for the 7.30am bus and its was busy, and 45 mins later, we arrive at Bako National Park. Already a queue , we pay to get in, and are shown to a boat man(Mohammed), who takes you on a fanatastic speed boat ride for 25 mins. It was an amazing trip, stunning scenery, calm waters surrounded by forest , jungle and mountains in the background, the only way to reach Bako is by boat. We leave our boatman and organise with him what time he will pick us up and where from. We had seven hours to kill and some serious walking to do. We walk to the checking in area and let the rangers know our intended walk, and we walk off, passng the accommadation, it looked worse than Kubah, and we found out it had no
water!!!!!!! Also the restaurant area, looked pretty minging, again we were told some horrific stories, and its the only place to eat and thats it, their food or no food!!!!!
So we begin our circular walk, about 5.5km, and its hot already, and we soon catch up a group of people, who are standing still in front of a pack of Macaque Monkeys, they looked petrified!!! So being my cocky self, I walked pass and looked into the lovely eyes of the male monkey, BIG MISTAKE, he showed me his teeth and chased after me, followed by his sidekick. Well, there are now 10 or so people standing back, afraid of these aggressive little shits!!!! A few more people tried what I did, to no avail, eventually a ranger strolls up, says don't give them any eye contact and they won't do anything, one of those things which is easier said than done!!! So a couple of Austrain lads go ahead, the male growls, but stops charging, due to no eye contact!!!!, so we follow, Becks upfront, me next and Lydia behind, cursing, they growl, but nothing else, I can tell you that was relief, with a capital R.
So for the next 20 minutes its uphill, through rough terrain, and we are dripping with sweat, thank god we are under cover, 'cause it was sunny out there. After a km or so we deviated head for a further 1 km trek to the top of a cliff, that overlooks the sea and a beach, WOW, great views overlooking the sea, unbelievable. We all chill for half an hour, eat some spicy nuts, raisins and loads of water, and it gives us all a chance to dry out a little!!!!!
We walk off again, and continue with our original walk, walking through dense forest, than it goes over rocky ground(not so good as its not covered from the scorching sun), and we take regular breaks , just to rehydrate!!! the funny thing is, it hasn't rained much in Sarawak, and this time of year it should rain every day!!!, and there were rumbles of thunder behind us, however, we were ahead of it. We kept up our pace, chatting while walking, sorry rephrase that Becks and Lydia gasing!!!! About 1 km from the end, and its was all steep downhill, we sit on a bench, have a
few more snacks, take in the elevated views again, and look at the darkening skies behind. Two German girls, came up the steep path, and were walking the path in the opposite direction wearing flip flops and vests!!! had a chat with them, nice guys, but really not equipped for walking, especially if it rains!!! I warned them a storm was coming!!!!
Well, we departed, walked down the steep path, and reached the restaurant area, looked in and left. We headed for the beach, and because the tide had gone out, we were walking in an area that was known for Probiscus Monkeys entering to eat food, once the tide had gone out!!! We looked and looked, and we saw one!!!! Bloody funny looking, a willy for a nose, small head and almost human like in shape and stature!!! Really freaky, I had to hurry the girls up, as this storm was coming in. You could see the rain coming down in the distance and it was dark!!!! The winds picked up and we headed back to the canteen rather quickly, just missing the torrential downpour that was to follow, it really came down, 2 hours and it was
still raining. The boat was due to pick us up and the last bus left Bako for Kuching in under an hour!!! There was lots of people, who were heading for this bus!!! We managed to find the people who were sharing the boat with us in the morning, and when the rain died down slightly we headed to the beach and the rendezous point. The fork lightning was still coming and it was beautiful, just with the sea in the background and the wind was still strong, the boats were there, and now we had to find Mohammed. Eventually we found him and he was with his 3.30pm passengers and we were pissed off, he luckily had found us another boat, thank god!!! Bonus was, this boat had a cover and was quicker, and this boatman had real Chris Waddle 1990 World Cup mullet, I couldn't keep my eyes off him.
One thing, we never saw those German girls at the restaurant, so they must have been walking through that awful rain for hours, in flip flops, possibly the worse experience of their lives!!!
When we reached the bus stop , the bus was waiting, we bundled
on, all got a seat, and sweated as the bus was packed with tourists, we were knackered, that was a good but tough walk, amazing storm and a real adventure, also secretly glad we didn't stay over. That night was Vodka and watching Batman Dark Knight, our first night in for ages(except Kubah). Slept well that night even in the heat!!
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Steve Mac
Steven McIntire
Good one
Great final picture and description of the storm. I love storms.