Blogs from Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia
The Wild and Dangerous Bako National Park
Published: May 3rd 2012Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Bako National Park
April 25th 2012
There are very few places on Earth that are free of the heavy hand of human life, we are able to infiltrate even the most wild of places. Bako National Park is one of the places that has managed to resist the expansion of civilisation. If you become lucky enough to land on its wild shores you may find a roof over your head and may even find a cafeteria but do not expect comfort and don’t bother bringing your soap. Unreachable by land the only way in is via boat. This has enabled wildlife to rule and it is hard not to respect this fact when you arrive. Wildlife remains wild and unlike other National Parks they will dictate what you see, when you see it and how comfortable they want your stay to be ... read more
April 21st 2012
Bako National Park is widely lauded as a haven for wildlife, where even the most amateur of naturalist can come up close and personal with the unique flora and fauna. Situated north of Kuching in the Malaysia occupied region of the island of Borneo, the tropical rainforest of Bako is nestled away, reachable only by boat. The shy and oft elusive Proboscis Monkey is one of Bako’s most illustrious residents and we had been advised that the best chance of an encounter was by taking the undulating Paku Trail. We set off laden with water, camera, binoculars and a large slice of hope along the trail which meanders around the cliff face. The rainforest that enveloped us was both wild and unforgiving. Towering trees were laced together with vines to create a matted assault course for ... read more
March 21st 2012
Der Bako Nationalpark liegt auf einer Halbinsel direkt am Meer. Gesäumt von Mangrovenwäldern und erodierten Felsen, steilen Klippen und dazwischen liegenden wunderschönen Sandstränden befindet sich ein Stück Urwald. Mit dem Boot angekommen geht es auf Entdeckungstour. Ich habe gerade die ersten zwanzig Meter Dschungel erobert, da stehe ich in einer Wasserwand. Es läuft und tropft, die Kleidung klebt am Körper. Der Schweiß strömt einfach nur so aus mir heraus. Es ist wie baden gehen, ohne ins Wasser zu springen. Gut, dass ich mir eine Flasche Wasser mehr mitgenommen habe. Den Wasservorhang vor dem Gesicht zu Seite wischend gewöhnen sich meine Augen an das schummrige Licht und sehen sich um Baumstämme windende Lianen, riesige und klitzekleine Blätter, eine grünes undurchdringbares Wirrwarr. Irgendwo dort hinein führt ein kleiner, mit Wurzeldickicht gepflasterter Weg. In de... read more
August 26th 2011
On tuesday I was pretty happy to find out I could book a dorm bed ($5) for thursday night at Bako National Park. So thursday morning I caught the 8am public bus to a town where you catch a 20 minute boat ride ($3) out to the national park. Once I had signed in and paid the park fees ($3.40) I decided to walk a couple of the trails with an english girl, Michelle who I had met whilst waiting for the bus in Kuching. We walked for about an hour and a half along a diverse trail to the Tajor Waterfall. It wasn't much of a waterfall and there wasn't a lot of flowing water but it was a great place to take a dip in the cool water and wash the sweat away. We ... read more
Three more days in the jungle
Published: August 11th 2011Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Bako National Park
August 11th 2011
Three days in Bako National Park Just returned from another excellent trip into the Borneo jungle. This time we were in Bako National Park, right in the south of Sarawak. We stayed in the basic hostel accommodation provided by the park, it was great to get back to a hot shower this afternoon! Bako is a stunning place, with a number of picturesque beaches, good hiking trails, forest with limestone cliffs. It's popular as a day trip location so the early and later parts of the day a wonderfully quiet. We saw lots of proboscis monkeys, some up quite close, as well as silver leaf monkeys, a flying lemur, numerous birds and a few snakes, plus more butterflies and stick insects. The day walks are all well marked, some of them with some steep climbs, all ... read more
June 6th 2011
Having been advised the Semennggah wildlife centre just outside Kuching is much less touristic then Sepilok in Sabah with an entry fee of just 3rm we had an early start to make the 7am bus for the first feeding between 9am and 10am. Although you are not guaranteed to see them we crossed our fingers and hoped! Arriving at the park we walked the 1.2 km to the feeding area. There is some great information on the start up of the centre, the family tree of the orang otangs, injuries they can cause (along with the graphic images), and their personalities. Having been the 1st to arrive we were hopeful there would be few visiters, but then the tour groups turned up! With kids. After a brief talk from the feeder he said we may see ... read more
February 16th 2011
After arriving at the airport in Kuching, we were strolling along the waterfront, thats the promenade along the dirty brown river here. It was just an relaxed afternoon, with a bit of sightseeing, unfortunally most of the little shops were closed. The next day we had very bad weather, but decided then still to go to Bako, an National-Park. In between two heavy showers we sat on an open boat with only a sunroof and got only a little wet... Already on the way from the reception to our bungalow we could spot 3 Vipers. An experience my mum wouldn´t mind, if she had missed it ;-) On the way to a lookoutpoint we could already spot some "Nasenaffen"! On the Nightwalk we saw a black scorpion, Treefrogs, a view big ugly Insects like Crickets (Heuschrecken), ... read more
January 1st 2011
Bako national park feels like you are centre stage in a wildlife on one season special. Half an hour after getting off the boat and dumping bags in the ramshackle lodges I had come face to face with a troop of proboscis monkeys. They have evolved to have what are perhaps the most impressive noses in the animal kingdom and they are definitely a blue print for a Sesame Street character. While the proboscis monkeys are the star of the show, the bearded pigs which spend there time following the grounds man digging up any flat piece of grass also attempt to "hog" the limelight. (Sorry I haven't had my share of this seasons cracker jokes!) The Macaques are the comedians of the show and have a tendency to help themselves to anything that's not tied ... read more
From Bagpipes to Bako National Park
Published: September 12th 2010Asia » Malaysia » Sarawak » Bako National Park
September 12th 2010
A short bus ride across the causeway and we were in Malaysia. As with so many countries that we have visited. What a difference a border makes. Compared to Singapore we were in a dirty, busy and remarkably less organised Johor Bahru. However Singapore would make most other cities look like this so we took it with a pinch of salt. In fact JB, as it's also known, was hosting a world band competition. Bands from all over Asia and Europe were marching along the main street. That evening we heard the bagpipes ring out as five men in kilts played 'Mairi's Wedding'. The significance of this unexpected Asian experience was possibly more than we had imagined at the time. We came to the tip of Peninsular Malaysia to take our Air Asia (who else) flight ... read more
August 7th 2010
Die folgenden Bilder stammen aus dem Bako-Nationalpark auf Borneo. Die Hauptattraktion dort sind die Nasenaffen, eine Affenart, die ausschließlich in den Urwäldern der Insel Borneo vorkommt. Etwa 200 Exemplare leben im Bako-Nationalpark. Die Tiere halten sich meist oben in den Bäumen auf, sind aber dennoch relativ leicht zu beobachten, auch wenn sie zu Menschen einen gewissen Abstand halten. Ganz anders dagegen verhalten sich die Makaken, die in der Nähe der Unterkünfte um das Park-Hauptquartier herum streunen. Diese klauen alles, was nicht niet- und nagelfest ist und man muss unheimlich aufpassen, wenn man mit etwas essbarem in der Hand herumläuft. ... read more
