Taman Negara National Park

---

The Lonely Planet describes Taman Negara National Park as "a buzzing, leech infested mass of primary forest" and though we avoided leeches due to the dry weather, the forest is definitely buzzing!
The park is virgin primary rainforest which is over 130 million years old and in the more remote parts of the park are Malay tigers, Asian elephants, and Sun bears. We stayed in a nice hostel here called "The Yellow House" which had dorm beds in an AIR CONDITIONED room for only 10RM (just over $3). We were pleased to find resident geckos in our room as this always means less mozzies, though they make some very strange noises at night.
We arrived in the park via a 3 hour boat ride from Kuala Tembelling. The boat ride was stunning as the Sungai Tembelling into the park is undevelopped and except for the odd local person, or Orang Asli fishing, there are no people in sight. The jungle was magnificent - but our butts were really sore after sitting in a long motorized canoe for 3 hours! Last night we signed up for a "night safari" which consisted of riding in the back of a pickup truck along the border between the park and the Palm plantations looking for animals. We managed to see 2 leopard cats (I think these are like smaller leopards), Malay civet cats, snakes, pigs, and birds. This morning we crossed the river into the park and hiked about 2 kms to the Canopy Walk. Now, I have walked on suspension bridges before...but nothing prepared me for this. The park boasts that this is the longest canopy walkway in the world - it is over 500 metres long and varies from 30-45 metres above the jungle floor. It is high, and wobbly underfoot, and pretty darn scary! The wooden planks attached to the netting shift up and down as you walk, so not only does the walkway shake from side to side, but the wood moves up and down as you dangle 30 metres above the ground. Its a one time thing.

Tommorrow morning we are off to catch a bus (well actually a series of 3) to Melaka - back to the city for awhile!

---

Comments

[Dougal]

OK.....better
Ok, It was better than the last manouver and required some balance, skill, and I don't see a safety harness......4.5 Must have been quite the rush up that high. Too bad about Singapore, but you'll find something else to do. Good pictures.....hard to smile when you're scared shitless eh Jodes. More power to you for doing it. How come there is no animal wrestling? Keep up the good work....stay safe