Advertisement
Published: February 12th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Video Playlist: 1:
57 secs
So our 2nd experience exploring the Cameron Highlands definitely changed our opinion of the area….at least a little bit.
We took a guided tour, which included a visit to the 2nd largest tea plantation in the Cameron Highlands, a Land Rover ride up to the highest mountain in the Cameron Highlands and a tour of the mossy forest.
Our guides’ names were Wasu and his trusty sidekick Wacha or as we affectionately called him “Wildchild”.
The tour of the plantation was wonderful. This was what we thought the Cameron Highlands were all about when we first decided to come here. Beautiful rolling green hills of tea plants for as far as the eye can see. The grounds were meticulously kept clean and Wasu was so knowledgeable about the plantation and tea in general that we enjoyed ourselves greatly.
Once we were done the plantation tour we headed up to the top of the mountain. We were in Wildchild’s Land Rover and boy could that guy drive! He took corners as fast as he could and made a simple drive up a windy mountain road as crazy and fun an off road rally car race! Loved it!
The mountain top was a bit of a let down as a number of giant cell towers dwarfed the tiny viewing platform that we climbed up to get a better view of the area. On a clear day you can see all the way to Indonesia but of course because we were so high there were clouds and we only got a glimpse of some of the Cameron highlands themselves. But it was still cool cuz the mountaintop sits about 2030m above sea level. That’s pretty freakin’ high!
From there Wasu and Wildchild took us on a walking tour into the mossy forest which is a section of rainforest that is so high up that it looks like something right out of a fairytale story. Lush and green and everything covered in spongy soft moss. Along the way they showed us various plants and mosses and their uses and attributes to the forest. I now know how to survive for days in the mossy forest just by living off of bamboo and wild ginger….not that I would want to test out my new found skills but I could if I had to.
One of the things we loved
the most about this tour was how obviously happy and proud our guides were about what they do for a living. They are both extremely knowledgeable about the area and have a genuine love and respect for the environment. Wasu mentioned that in his lifetime he has seen only 3 tigers in the wild and the last one was in 1993 which is really sad as Malaysia used to have a huge tiger population that has since been almost completely wiped out to around 500 or so. Sad.
The tour through the mossy forest was amazing! It was so lush and beautiful. Wasu and Wildchild pointed out various wild orchids and carnivorous plants like the pitcher plant that actually eats bugs! Everything was covered in soft moss and the ground was spongy wherever you stepped. It reminded me a lot of our West Coast rainforest only there were palms and orchids everywhere.
Even though we were muddy Geoffrey and I were both smiling as we walked out of the mossy forest because we finally felt the beauty and respect for the Cameron Highlands that we had expected to see and feel. From way up there you couldn’t see
that mass destruction of the forests, the thousands of green houses and the piles of garbage. From up there all you could see were the rolling green hills of the tea plantations, the mossy forests and misty peaks of neighbouring mountains. That along with our two great guides made us happy about the Cameron Highlands…not happy enough to leave Camicakes up there but he came along for the ride and I know he enjoyed it as much as we did.
After the tour we headed back down the mountain to a tea factory (BOH Tea Factory) were we got to see just how tea is made. Did you know that every single type of tea whether it is green tea or black tea or flavoured tea all come from the same plant? The type of leaves and the processing is what makes them different. After our tour we hit up the gift shop were we picked up some wonderful tea that we would never be able to get back home. I can’t wait to sit in my living room and sip a cup of the green tea and reminisce about our time in the Cameron Highlands.
The last
stop of the day was to the butterfly farm, which also happened to be a creepy crawly farm too! They had numerous GIANT bugs, snakes, spiders and even a few cute bunnies which Geoff said were just food for the python. Ha ha haha. Very funny Geoff. Very funny.
I managed to get past some of my genuine hate for bugs by seeing these guys up close and I even touched a couple of them. The 1st one was a giant 3-horned rhinoceros beetle and the 2nd one was a big beetle that felt like velvet. The rest I just looked at through the glass of the tanks they were in. I even looked at the huge tank full of giant scorpions. Yuck.
After our long day of touring fun we headed back to Tanah Rata for our last night. We feasted on Southern Indian food at Restaran Kumar and then wandered around the town one last time. On our way back to our room we stopped to play with a local puppy we had befriended and instantly fell in love with the day before. We named him Heinz 57 as he looks like about as many breeds
of dogs in one dog as you can imagine. Geoff wanted to bring him home but I don’t think Sweetpea would have appreciated that souvineer very much. We then took a picture of our names that Geoff had scratched into some fresh concrete near our guesthouse. Thata boy Geoff! Vandalizing abroad!
Despite our mixed emotions of the Cameron Highlands we were both sad to leave the next day. Father’s Guesthouse was lovely as were the people of Tanah Rata. And although there are many bad things happening to the environment in the Cameron Highlands it has a lot of beauty still to offer….you just have to climb to 2030m to find it!
Next stop Singapore!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.086s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0445s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Michelle
non-member comment
I love Heinz 57!!! He is the cutest ever! Please adopt him and bring him home. Sweetpea will understand. All of your photos and your descriptions throughout your journey have been so beautiful. Well expect the bugs. But then again they are beautiful in their own special way. Miss you guys so much!