1st -6th August 2010
Landing on the small airstrip, surrounded for miles and miles by meandering rivers and rainforest, we were ready for an adventure. Because travel arrangements are oddly difficult to this very popular national park, we had a tour company arrange our accommodation, our visits to the caves, and our trek to the Pinnacles. We were picked up, informed that something was wrong with our budget accommodation and that we would instead be staying at the luxury resort – the Royal Mulu. From the airport we headed out to see the Deer Cave (with the largest opening of any cave in the world) and watch the exodus of over 5 million bats at sunset. We quickly changed our shoes and headed directly to Gunung Mulu National Park. The Deer Cave is full of beautiful stalagmites and stalactites, millions upon millions of bats clinging to the high ceilings, and of course tons of guano! We were pleasantly surprised as it did not smell as horrible as we imagined. We exited the cave as the sun was setting and the bats had already begun their mass exodus. Besides the indescribable sight of these hungry bats, the cave itself was just gorgeous. As we reached the bat viewing platform, many of us laid down on the wood planks and watched the constant stream of bats for about an hour.
We were dropped off at the Royal Mulu Resort, checked into our rooms and handed meal vouchers. We really did not know what to expect – as we had heard that this spot was overpriced but also very nice. We had paid for budget accommodation and were needless to say pretty excited about our room and the delicious buffet dinner (they even had masterfully-roasted turkey) and yummy breakfast (waffle bar!!!) we enjoyed during our one night stay. In the morning we were picked up in a longboat and headed upstream to the Clearwater Cave (a river runs through it) and the Cave of the Winds (windy in one spot-imagine that) – both of which were extremely beautiful. After lunch, our five person group hopped back into a longboat for the hour or so ride to the trailhead for Camp 5 – the base for the Pinnacles Trek.
The longboat ride to the trailhead was gorgeous. We traveled up Melinau River, a much smaller river than any we had “longboated” up before. As this shallow, shady river wound its way upstream we took in views of the limestone formations, watched the butterflies and dragon flies who raced our boat, counted the multitude of giant logs that lined the banks and jutted out of the river, and watched swaying adventitious roots as they reached desperately for the river. We walked a quick 9km or to Camp 5 through dense rainforest and arrived in the mid afternoon to ready ourselves for the Pinnacles Trek early the next morning.
The Pinnacles Trek ascends over 1000 meters up the vertiginous Gunung Api (gunung is Malay for mountain) in just 2.5km (just over a mile) to the Pinnacles – limestone spires that are the remnants of the interior of an ancient collapsed cave. While only about a mile long, the uphill stretch takes around three hours on a 75% slope. The hike has an epic reputation. Scrapes and broken bones are not uncommon. Deaths are rumored but our guides refused to speak of these alleged incidents out of superstition. Needless to say, we were a little apprehensive going into our bid to view the Pinnacles.
While the uphill is daunting, the downhill slips and slides on muddy, mossy tree roots back down the steep gradient and can take up to five hours. Imagine – a 5km (2.3 mile) hike that takes around 8 hours. This may sound like unnecessary torture, and the guides may only allow you 30 minutes at the top to enjoy the Pinnacles, but like so many hikers before us we came to Gunung Mulu hoping to reach the top! The thing no one mentions (until you receive your briefing the evening before, after you’ve already walked the 9km to the trail head and paid the fees) is that you will not be allowed to hike if it is raining at the 6:30am departure time. Well folks, welcome to the rainforest. In fact, the area around the Pinnacles receives more than 6000 millimeters per year. Okay, do the math- that is about 20 feet of rain. Yikes!
The rain that began the day of our arrival continued through the night, and much to our dismay it was still going at our 5:30 am wake-up call. Nervous and impatient we milled around watching the rain, praying for sun, drinking weak coffee, and waiting for the verdict from the park ranger. “We are sorry to inform you that there will be no climbing to the Pinnacles today, it is just too wet. We are sorry. We know that you have come a very long way and paid much money.” You got that right, Mr. Ranger. We figure that the 22 hour downpour that canceled our hike must have amounted to about 10 feet of the area’s rain budget (maybe a little bit of exaggeration). This was the only day, so far, in our month of travel in Malaysia, in which it has rained in the morning. Was this bad luck or some sort of omen from the spirits of the Pinnacles?
The day, however, was not a total loss. In mid-afternoon, in a break in the weather, we took the opportunity to explore the Kerangas Trail with our Iban (a tribe famous for headhunting in the not so distant past) guide and some new friends-kindred spirits, the five of us bound together by dashed trekking dreams, small talk, and innumerable games of cards. The keranga geologic formation is tropical phenomenon formed by uplifted river sediments that that have been leached by 6000 mm of rain per year for many, many years. The result is very shallow, acidic soil, stunted plants, and (yahoo!) carnivorous, pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes. Pitcher plants thrive in this tough environment by munching on insects (more Nepenthes and fewer mosquitoes please). The day was redeemed as we walked in light rain to the top of this formation, gathering leeches along the way, reveling in the unique habitat where these beautiful, carnivorous plants live.
We departed Camp 5 the next morning more than a little disappointed but ready to explore the rest of the park and eager to scrub our quickly accumulating jungle grunge of mud, sweat, and insect repellant off with a proper shower. The jungle and the landscape of Gunung Mulu National Park are undeniably beautiful. This place has caused us to slow down and take notice of the many small details that make rainforest habitats so special. Minute orchids cling to tree bark and gigantic bird’s nest ferns hang from tree branches framed by the backdrop of vertiginous limestone cliffs covered in moss. Strolling on muddy trails and wooden boardwalks we have marveled at the park’s tranquil, slow rivers that meander past gigantic old-growth trees, whose tannin-rich leaves stain the water a translucent, rich brown. Mulu is a butterfly-lover’s dream. They literally come in all sizes and colors of the rainbow. The most spectacular of which is, perhaps the Raja Brooke -with a six-inch wingspan, a black body, a neon green wings, and a firecracker-red head. And, of course, all of these butterflies spend part of their life as caterpillars. Mulu’s pallet of caterpillars-gaudy, grotesque, and gorgeous is without comparison.
This morning (6 August), the morning of our departure from Mulu, we hiked (really we slogged through the mud) to a waterfall that flows out of an opening in the complex network of limestone caves that makes Mulu so famous. There, we were happy to meet up with some friends one last time who we've been running into ever since our visit to Teman Negara in mainland Malaysia and agreed that while the waterfall was quite short we were all curious about its underground (or in cave) origins. After lunch we rushed back to the Benerat Lodge to collect our bags and fly to Kuching on the west coast of Sarawak, Borneo. We have been looking forward to visiting the city of Kuching - Malay for "cat"- as it is full of good food, numerous national parks, hot showers, and will surely be a sweet end to our visit to Borneo and Malaysia. Meooooooooooow, that's all for now.
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