Blogs from Sarawak, Malaysia, Asia - page 49

Travelled back to Kuching - due to downpour on Sunday morning at Damai! Walked along the riverfront, looked at the waterfront stalls and main bazaar. Then went to pizza restaurant in evening before returning back to a surprise a Matang - unfortunately one of the cats had spent the weekend in our chalet! However Daisy had helped herself to some of our food supplies. We both spent the evening clearing up after this occurrence!... read more

On Thursday we cleaned quarantine as usual - today we were cleaning the three macaques. Boboy assisted by grabbing Ellie's leg. Most people have gone off the macaques due to their cheeky and aggressive behaviour! Generally they are fine though as long as you avoid direct eye contact - as they view this as a threat. Then we were fortunate enough to have the day off to do some sightseeing. First stop was the Windcaves - here we saw some impressive stalactites and numerous bats hiding in the cave crevices. Then we visited the crocodile farm - not a firm favourite (as some crocs were destined to become belts & handbags), although the animals were kept in a good condition in reasonably sized enclosures. Here we sighted some enormous crocodiles, along with various other animals - ... read more

One of the best ways to enjoy nature is to take to the water, so today we decided to go Kayaking with Kuching Kayaks.KuchingKayak After being picked up at 8.00am we were taken further out from Kuching to where the river meanders through the forest. Ellie and I had a two man kayak and after safely putting our camera in a watertight box we set off. The journey was fantastic with the river interspersed with logs and stones creating small currents for us to navigate around. After about 45 minutes we stopped for a refreshing swim in the cool waters before heading onwards. Looking up you could see the clear blue sky, between the tree canopy and occasionally the odd bird darting across the sky. On the banks the limestone rocks had been worn into all ... read more

It has been another eventful week at Matang Wildlife Centre. We have continued our work improving the Sun Bear enclosure, making platforms and building steps. We have also been decorating the orangs indoor enclosures. Nick has rediscovered his artistic talents and has painted rainforest flowers, a beach/rainforest scene and some modern art, whilst Ellie has focused on the more funky designs. Orangs see in colour so painting their sleeping quarters adds extra interest to their environment when they are not in their enclosures. Unfortunately when painting an orangutans den, it is not as easy as it seems. We had a little help from Doris who kept on flicking mud at us and from baby Mamu who was climbing above us and occasionally decided to release herself on you if you happened to be in the wrong ... read more

"The bats have left the bell tower, The victims have been bled" ("Bela Lugosi's Dead", Bauhaus; song released August 1979.) The biggest draw for tourists in Sarawak on the island of Borneo is the Gunung Mulu National Park.(Click here for link). It is a remote area of tropical rain-forest of great biodiversity that contains remarkable Karst formations and caves. The caves are some of the largest in the world. The Sarawak Chamber is the world’s largest natural chamber within a cave, whilst the Deer Cave is the world’s largest natural cave passage. Within the Deer Cave live millions of bats. They emerge every day (when it's not raining), to put on a spectacular display. They stream out of the Deer Cave and make patterns in the twilight , black streamers and circl... read more