Geological wonders made of limestone

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Day 293: Saturday 18th April - Trekking to the wasp infested camp 5

I have high expectations about the coming four days. Mulu National Park has been described as the best national park in Borneo. That is high praise in an island full of national parks and abundant natural beauty. It is a half hour flight up to Mulu from Miri. There are four of us from the Highlands hostel on the flight, myself, Amy, an Australian girl who has a Swahili name I cannot hope to remember and an Irish girl. First of all, I am surprised to see the flight only half full. This is supposedly one of the premier tourist destinations in Borneo but you wouldn’t think so judging on the number of empty seats on the plane. When we arrive in Mulu, the park is just as quiet. This isn’t a complaint, quite the opposite I love the lack of people. I am met off the plane by a representative from Tropical Adventures. Joining me on my tour are Byron and Meghan, an Australian couple from Perth. Before we leave the airport, we have to pack a small rucksack for the next two days. The problem for me is that we need to carry a sleeping bag as well as spare clothes, waterproofs etc in our rucksack - how am I going to fit it all in?....... I knew that 2 metre rope that I packed would come in useful at some point during my trip and this is it. I manage to secure my sleeping bag to the bottom of my daypack and I’m good to go.

Our first stop of the day is to the local village to have a brief look at the longhouse that still exists there. We don’t have a chance to look around though before we have to get in a longboat for a half hour ride to Clearwater Cave. I remember reading in an article on the airline brochure on the flight I took from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu that this was one of the featured boat rides in what they considered the ‘top ten boat rides in South-East Asia’. I haven’t done enough boat rides to vouch for that but each time we take a longboat ride over the course of the next four days in the park is an awesome experience. A longboat is what the description implies, a long, shallow, narrow boat which seats up to 10 people and with an outboard motor attached to the back. Given its shape it is ideal to navigate the shallow rivers. As we glide upstream, we pass limestone cliffs and rainforest which overhangs the narrow river. At the caves, our first cave exploration isn’t Clearwater Cave but Cave of the Winds. This cave has spectacular columns and stalagmites and cool breezes as we walk through it. The guide tells us that we don’t have any time to see Clearwater Cave and that this will have to wait until after the Pinnacles Trek.

After lunch outside Clearwater Cave we board the longboat for another half hour ride up to the start of the trail to get to camp 5, our lodgings for the night. The river is so shallow in places that the guide in the front of the boat has to keep giving us a helping hand courtesy of a bamboo pole. At one stage, at a particularly fast flowing section, we all have to get out of the boat whilst the guides and the boatman push the boat through the rapids. We are dropped at Kuala Litut and have a 9km walk on a well marked level trail through the jungle. It is a lot easier going than recent walks through the jungle in Sabah and Sumatra, and it takes just over two hours to reach camp 5. Camp 5 sits beside the River Melinau and faces the spectacular Benarat cliffs, which rise over 1000 metres. It looks high and steep enough but I’m told that the Pinnacles climb is higher!! The setting reminds me of the hut you stay in on day 1 of the Milford Track. Byron and Meghan soon arrive along with the guides behind me and the five of us settle in to our peaceful but wasp-infested surroundings. I have never seen as many wasps and I consider it a miracle that I am only stung once. Of course the wasps take great interest in our sweaty bodies, clothes and bags so the only real solution - a partial one at that - is to jump in the icy waters of the river.

We are sharing the camp with a couple of German guys. They have just finished the Pinnacles Trek and tell us how difficult it is, how it took them 8 hours up and down and that going down takes just as long as going up and is more difficult. One of the German’s lives in Chile now so we talk about that great South American country and he shares my opinion that Patagonia is the most beautiful place in the world. Once darkness descends, the wasps leave us alone and myself, Byron and Meghan chat and play cards after dinner. Meghan spent time in West Timor, Indonesia on a school exchange when she was 14. Her story is really interesting and I can’t believe how brave she must have been to spend 6 months with a family in the early 90’s when communications with the rest of the world were less advanced than they are today. It would have been a massive culture shock for a teenager. They are only on a three week holiday (I find that in Borneo I meet as many people on short holidays as people on extended travels, maybe due to the expense involved in getting to Borneo and the fact that it is off the standard traveller route), but are planning to quit their jobs at the end of the year and travel extensively in Indonesia. They are good company and good fun and we have a laugh together over the course of the next four days.

Day 294: Sunday 19th April - Climbing up to The Pinnacles

Sleeping on just a thin sleeping mat in a open space room with all the sounds of the jungle to keep you awake, I have a restless night. This gives me plenty of time to think about and prepare for what lies ahead. The Pinnacles climb has been described by a couple of people I’ve met as more difficult to climb than Mount KInabalu - these people haven’t done both peaks though so how would they know?? The German’s told us that out of a Chinese group of 20 that were here the day before, only four made it to the summit. The trail is only 2.4km long but rises 1,100m - almost a 50% gradient - I can understand how it is going to be tough.

We start the Pinnacles Trek just before 7am, our two guides initially leading the way. The first 200 metres is a walk in the park, the track is a slight incline and within 5 minutes we are at the 200m mark. The next 1800 metres are not so easy, the track rises steeply through the forest at a 40% gradient and clambering over tree roots in near 100% humidity is energy sapping and takes time. I stop at the 700m mark for 20 minutes to let the other two catch up, otherwise I just keep on walking, taking about 5 minutes to cover each 100 metres. This sounds incredibly slow, but believe me this is quick and good going. Only at the 1800 metre mark and just for 100 metres does the track level off. After the 700m mark I don’t see the other two again on the ascent, and I have to wait half an hour at the 2000m mark for one of the guides to catch me up. I had stopped before the ladders and ropes section as I didn’t want to do this part on my own as I didn’t know what it involved and it sounded a bit risky to do on your own. Whilst I wait I notice that my left hiking boot has split open. On closer inspection, two out of the three layers have been sliced open, no doubt on the sharp limestone further down the climb. That will be another thing to replace, but at least it wasn’t my foot! The ladders and ropes section is near vertical, but is great fun and the 400 metres to the top takes only about another 20 minutes to cover. I’m pleased I waited for the guide though, as it is a bit precarious in places and it is best to have a buddy with you. The climbing isn’t technical but I would describe it as a technical walk as you use the limestone rocks to haul yourself up in places.

At just after 10am I reach the lower peak of Mount Api at 1175 metres altitude. From the top of the lower peak you can view the Pinnacles, dozens of limestone rocks shaped like shards of razor sharp glass rising 30-40 metres above the forest canopy. What a beautiful sight, and well worth the climb. Just before the top you can also look down across Mulu National Park, seeing the airport and the river where the climb started this morning. It is a long way down so that must have been a long climb up! I spend half an hour on the top absorbing the spectacular view of the Pinnacles before starting the descent. As I near the bottom of the ropes and ladders section coming down, which is probably the trickiest section of the whole climb and certainly the slowest going as you concentrate where you are placing your feet, I look at my watch and with the time being after 11am I decide that Byron and Meghan haven’t made the climb. You have to get to the ropes and ladders section before 11am or they won’t let you complete the climb to the summit as it will mean you arriving back in camp 5 after dark. Equally, they told us last night in the briefing that if it rains overnight they won’t let you climb either. I can understand this as the tree roots would be incredibly slippy and coming down in particular would be too dangerous. Anyway, just as I’m writing off the others’ chances of summiting, I see Meghan coming up from below at near to the 2100m mark. I’m very surprised as they were slow coming up and they both said they hadn’t done much climbing before and weren’t in good shape. It just shows how far determination and willpower will take you. I offer words of encouragement as Meghan passes me. I had joked with them both lower down the mountain that if I was the only one that made it they would never hear the end of it as the sole pommie would rip apart the two aussies. Meghan is one tough Aussie but it looks like the joke will be on Byron!

Coming down I stop at just the halfway mark and yes it is trickier coming down but I make good pace and I reach camp 5 at 1pm, 6 hours after I started the climb. I pass Byron at the 700m mark coming down, he asks about Meghan and is a touch surprised when I say I passed her at 2100m. I’m really tired when I reach the bottom and although the wasps are all over me like a rash, I need refreshment before I can haul my weary body into the shower and get cleaned up. Reflecting on the climb, the Pinnacles is definitely a tough climb. I can understand why some people say it is tougher than Mount Kinabalu as it is twice as steep. However, at 2.4km long it is a quarter of the horizontal distance and the 1100m ascent is only half that of Borneo’s highest mountain. Also, you don’t have to deal with the affects of the altitude and with it taking only one day you don’t have to deal with the stiffness in your legs when you descend. Climbing up and down tree roots also seems a bit easier than the deep steps on Kinabalu and it is certainly easier on the knees. Kinabalu is the tougher climb for me, but maybe climbing that mountain just 10 days ago helped to condition me for The Pinnacles?

I play a few games of cards with Byron, chat for a bit and then put my head down to get some rest. I can’t sleep though with the constant attention of the wasps. As the afternoon drags with the wasps a constant menace, myself and Byron estimate that Meghan will make it down between 4pm and 5pm. We are starting to wonder how she is getting along when over the radio news comes that she is at the 700m mark and is refusing to walk any further! Minutes later she arrives in the camp along with the guide....they were joking around with us! Well done Meghan. We share our experiences of the climb, rib Byron for not making it, play a few more games of cards before going to bed before it even gets to 8pm.....we’re all shattered!

Day 295: Monday 20th April - The biggest ‘shithole’ in the world

You would think that from the title to this blog that I am about to describe a day spent in one of Asia’s less than ascetically pleasing cities. That is not the case, I am still in Gunung Mulu National Park, which could quite easily be Borneo’s most impressive national park. I will explain the blog’s title in due course.

We leave camp 5 just after 8am and then walk through the jungle back towards where the longboat will pick us up. Despite a hard climb the day before and feeling stiffness in my legs as a result, I manage to cover the 9km in under 2 hours, quicker than on the way in. We meet the longboat and then have an hour’s journey downstream to our lodgings for the final night in Mulu National Park. The three of us have the lodge to ourselves, the accommodation being in the form of private rooms in a longhouse. After changing, freshening up and lunch we visit Langs Cave and Deer Cave. First, we must walk along a 3km boardwalk through the rainforest, which at any other time would be a rewarding experience but the three of us complain all the way along, particularly on any uphill sections. We’ve had our fill of walking!

Langs Cave is the smallest of the four ‘showcaves’ but the spectacular display of stalactites and stalagmites probably overshadows those in display in the Cave of the Winds. From Langs Cave it is a short walk to Deer Cave. This is the biggest cave at Mulu and is the largest cave passage in the world. The cave mouth is 175m high and is an over-whelming and awesome sight. The river that once flowed through the limestone cave must have been incredibly powerful. Wow! Possibly the highlight of the whole park? Before we enter the kilometre long cave our guide Anwar gives us a bit of background on the cave. He tells us it is home to an estimated 2-3 million bats of 12 different species, and that each night the bats eat around 15 tonnes of flying insects. Well, if you eat a lot you have to..um...well go to the toilet a lot too! Let us assume that 5 tonnes of the insects are required for nutrients into their bodies, well that is still 10 tonnes of a shit, every day, 365 days a year, making the Deer Cave not only the biggest cave mouth in the world but possibly the biggest ‘shithole’ in the world. So yeah, not the slums of India or countless other Asian cities, not even Middlesborough or Anfield...... Deer Cave takes the prize!! Walking through the vast cavern is breathtaking. You do have to be careful where you put your hands and feet though, for obvious reasons! For the local people the large piles of Guano were important. They knew that the guano contained salt and that the deer needed salt, so they waited here to hunt them. Hence the reason why the cave got its name.

Following the visit to the cave we walk back to the viewing area to hopefully watch millions of bats stream out of the cave in search of food. At the viewing area, Amy, Katie and the Australian girl are already patiently waiting. We discuss what we’ve been up to over the past 48 hours. Meghan and the Australian girl even went to school together, yet another example of how small the world is!! There must be no more than 30 people at the viewing area and this is the main attraction of the park in the early evening so this is another confirmation of how quiet the park is at the moment. The girls say that they have been up here the last two nights and whilst they saw the bat exodus on day 1, last night the bats didn’t appear. As the clock ticks on and the light gets progressively worse, I am starting to think that tonight is not going to be our night. This is our only opportunity, as we leave tomorrow afternoon. Then, just on cue at a little after 6pm, thousands of bats stream from the cave in a long floating ribbon. Around 10 ‘ribbons’ of bats leave the cave over the next 20 minutes as we watch the entrance to the cave. As we walk back to the park headquarters after another satisfying day, an almighty downpour starts and by the time we have covered the 3km we are all drenched. I suggest light-heartedly that a tropical downpour is part of the jungle experience.....well I guess it is and I can tick that box now. I think almost all my clothes are now either wet, smelly or both!!

Another early night is needed to sleep off the effects of walking about 17km today on top of the Pinnacles climb. Before sleep I want to see what is happening tomorrow. A visit to Clearwater Cave is on the agenda. I ask if there will be time to do the canopy walk. I ask three different people on several occasions and each time they tell me that there will only be time to see the cave. I don’t get this though. It is half an hour’s boat ride to the cave and then say an hour’s visit once there, and my flight out isn’t until mid-afternoon. I won’t take no for an answer and this time my perseverance pays off when finally I get a reply that it will be possible.

Day 296: Tuesday 21st April - The largest cave system in the world

I have to get up early to pack my bags. The condition to be able to do the canopy walk is that my bags are all packed and ready to go. At 6am though and with no electricity (it is run off a generator) I can barely see a thing as I fumble around trying to pack my bag. It may take a while longer than normal, but by breakfast it’s done. We get a longboat up to the village first where we see some of the crafts on display in the small market set up for tourists. After that we drop off a German couple at the Cave of the Winds, whilst us three walk on to Clearwater cave, a 10 minute walk away to wait for them and the guide. Clearwater Cave is named after the crystal clear river that flows through its subterranean route. Anwar tells us that two months ago they surveyed it and found further passages, making the Clearwater Cave now at 177km, the biggest cave system in the world. It is large and impressive inside, but for me the star of the show is still Deer Cave.

At the cave we bump into Katie and the Australian girl, and after the cave we have time for a dip in the pool outside the cave. We then have our final longboat ride back to park headquarters, where myself and the two girls are dropped off. I have just enough time to get a quick bite to eat with the two girls and Amy who joins us before my canopy walk starts at 1am. The group I join for the canopy walk is full of Malaysians with only myself and a retired man from London as the token foreigners. We aren’t going to see any wildlife though if these Malysians don’t stop their constant, over-excited chatter. As it is we do see many different species of butterflies, one of the highlights of the fauna in the park, on the half hour walk to reach the canopy walk. Mulu’s canopy walk is 480 metres long, making it one of the longest in the world. A series of swaying walkways are held aloft by steel cables about 20 metres above the ground offering visitors a different perspective of the forest canopy. Once the guided canopy walk is over I must walk quickly back to park headquarters to get picked up and transferred to the airport.

The Tropical Adventures guides have not only accommodated my request to do the canopy walk, but have checked my bag in, and brought me lunch. I can’t fault the tour for 800RM it has been good value and when I met a French? girl last night at the bat viewing area complaining that she hadn’t had the chance to do the Pinnacles as she had arrived here hoping to organise it and couldn’t, I know I have made the right choice booking a tour rather than doing it independently. Expectations met? Absolutely. The highlight of Malaysia to date and for me Borneo’s premier tourist attraction. Quiet, amazing caves, spectacular limestone cliffs, The Pinnacles, longboat rides and more this is a must on any Borneo itinerary.

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