Steve and Cathy's Blog

We get up at the usual 5:45am and are greeted by yet another beautiful sunrise.  I keep putting these photos in our posts because 1) they are very beautiful and 2) it is one of the wonderful benefits we get by being at sea and it is part of our voyage.  The scene is a constantly changing one that is a great way to start the day.  These four photos below are taken between 6:30 and 6:50am.

Well, we listened to Peter Croyle yesterday and learned a great deal about the city of Kuching and the Malaysian state of Sarawak.  But our excursion today, Bako National Park, will not take us anywhere near Kuching.  It is actually twenty-five miles from there, and can be reached only by a road built in the 1990s or by boat.

We disembark from the ship minutes after it arrives in Kuching, and are greeted by three lovely young ladies in classic dress.  We really love it when the port goes so out of the way to make us welcome.  It really speaks well of the city/country/port and sets up a very nice tone for the visit.  Don’t get me wrong.  We are not looking for special treatment, but a friendly welcome like we see here really makes a lasting and positive first impression and makes us look forward to meeting the people that live here.

Our tour will be by a small boat that holds six passengers and leaves from the village of Kampung Bako, which we reach by bus in about twenty minutes.  Our guide tells us that his name is Zake, which is short for Zakaria. He explains that the word ‘bako’ means ‘mangrove’ and that, while Bako National Park is the smallest of the thirty national parks at 10.5 square miles, it was the first one in Malaysia and contains seven different ecosystems.

He goes on to add that there are over 150 species of snakes on the Island of Borneo, most of which are not poisonous.  It is also the only place where you can find the Proboscis Monkey.  He does caution us that there is no way to know what animals we will see today.  Sometimes it’s a good day and other days the animals are just not in sight.  We certainly hope to see many, because we will be out in the steaming hot equatorial rainforest for almost six hours. Already it is h-o-t, which is normal and to be expected as we are only 1 degree, 40 minutes north of the equator.

There are a fair number of us, probably around thirty.  We arrive at the village and board these small 40hp outboard-powered aluminum boats six to a boat.  We will travel for about a half an hour along the coast of the South China Sea, a beautiful area with a very interesting rocky coastline dotted with islands.  It is a gorgeous day for a boat ride.

We arrive at the park at a nice, sturdy dock and are given a quick welcome and introduction to the park by Zake and our very jolly local guide Ais (pronounced Ees).

I’m not sure how the subject comes up, but we learn that the operation of the boats and the park are all handled by a private company. The government felt that the park would be better-managed by a private vendor, and we immediately see the results as we are led along a path that runs parallel with the sea toward the center of the park where our tour will begin.

The park is very well laid out with hundreds of yards of wooden bridges over the wettest areas, a very large main pavilion with outdoor seating and refreshments available, several bungalows where people could stay overnight, and … a Happy Room.

We are divided up into three smaller groups of fifteen.  Our group almost immediately begins to see animals, in this case a lemur in a tree right next to the boardwalk.

We walk on for about three minutes and then our guide spots a couple of proboscis monkeys, one with a baby. They are way up in some trees and it is hard to get a good photo.  Here is what I did get, along with a photo lifted from Wikipedia:

Very shortly after that, we start see long-tailed macaques.  At first just one or two, then more of them.  It is pretty cool, and we all take four trillion photographs.  That isn’t as easy as it sounds.  These guys are pretty well hidden in the foliage of the trees, and of course they keep moving around.  They aren’t fazed at all about our presence.  It is just what we are hoping would happen, and everyone is very psyched that we are seeing so many animals.

All of this is taking place within a hundred yards of the main pavilion, and we are due to take a walk in the rainforest.  Before we do that, however, we gather around a bush to take a look at an Asian Pit Viper snake.  Again, it is difficult to spot, especially because the snake is green.  It is very poisonous, but this one is fast asleep. Here are some photos of her (we think it is a her because there was also a baby one with her – I couldn’t see it, and I sure didn’t photograph it, but that’s what I was told).

By now it’s about 11:00am and the temperature and humidity are both in the 90s, so Cathy decides to pass, so Brian O’Dell and I proceed.  Our next activity is a 300-metre walk on the Lintang Trail into a dense rainforest, mostly to see the incredible variety of trees and plants there.  Much of the walk is on a boardwalk as the ground is very wet much of the way.  Our walk ends at a small cave.  We turn around and return the same way.  It is quite an experience being in such an environment.  Talk about biodiversity!

We return to the main pavilion for another stop at the Happy Room, and just kind of hang out for a while to get refreshed and take photos of the beautiful beach and scenery.

The heat truly is oppressive to us North Americans, and none of us are youngsters, so the guides want to make sure we are okay before we continue.  The long-tailed macaques are still putting on a show in some of the trees, and then Brian O’Dell brings me over to have the opportunity to watch a couple of silvered langurs:

Eventually we are ready to resume our tour with our guides.  We are heading back in the direction of the dock and are passing some kind of concrete storage building when Cathy spots a large bearded pig just sniffing around the edge of the building to see if there’s something tasty to eat.  He looks fierce but is utterly unconcerned with our presence. Cathy of course is extremely startled and wary, and scurries down the path.  We all take turns photographing him.  Another specimen we had hoped to see.   Check.

We pass by the dock on to a raised wooden walkway.  We are in a mangrove forest.  Our guides are anxious to take tourists there to explain the importance of these mangrove forests to the ecology of Southeast Asia.  Rapid development has reduced the number of these forests, where many species either live or at least grow to adulthood in the protection that mangrove forests provide.  They also mentioned that areas where mangroves grew saw much less damage during the 2006 tsunami that hit Indonesia than those without such shielding.  They walk us into the beginning of the forest, but the going starts to get rough and we are running out of time anyway.  So we retrace our steps.

They do point out one peculiar species that thrive in the mud and shallow water of the mangrove forest: walking fish.  I did not catch the actual name of these critters, but they sure were an odd sight. Yet another discovery for us. What a enthralling place this Bako National Park is.

Alas, it is time to leave, which is just as well.  A boat ride will be refreshing.  It takes about five boats to accommodate us all.  Cathy and Steve and Brian wait until the last boat, and still cannot understand how come some of our fellow tourists are so anxious to be the first ones on the bus/boat/whatever.  Just where are we in a rush to go?

The trip back to the fishing village is very pleasant, and we board our bus happy to be back in air conditioning.  I am sorry to keep mentioning the climate, but we really want to get across what it is like to be near the equator at sea level.  Anything and everything will grow here, but we can also certainly understand why our guides describe the pace of life as slow and easy.  It has to be in this climate.

We arrive back on the ship starving.  A quick bite to eat at Waves Grill, and we are back in our stateroom to relax.  The ship sails at 6:00pm for Bali, Indonesia, which is 995 nautical miles away.  Another Sea Day tomorrow; a chance to get caught up on this blog … a little.