East Malaysia: Mulu
My trip to Mulu began, as many others do, with this
breath-taking flight in. The only way in to the jungle is by air or by
foot, and the later is rarely recommended. Stepping off the plane you are
greeted by mountains on all sides, and, regardless of the season, a sticky
humidity that will remain with you until you leave. Unfortunately for me, my
trip also began with a slight panic as my flight had been delayed, and following some unforeseen circumstances and poor planning, I turned up for a four day
tour with absolutely no idea what was going on. Fortunately, I was welcomed by
a lovely lady who announced herself as the wife of our tour guide, who drove us
to the entrance of the national park, before leading us to a small jetty
whereupon she asked us to wait. After some indefinite length of time we were
introduced to our ‘porter’, aka the man who was to lead us through the
rainforest to ‘camp 5’, the place we would rest our heads that night.
After a small amount of scrambling and gesturing to life jackets we were loaded into a beaten up longboat and we set off on our cruise down the Melinau river. The river winds its way down the Melinau Gorge, and is the most efficient way to reach the base of the most famous mountains of the park, Gunnung Mulu and Gunnung Api. The reason Mulu has gained National Park and World Heritage status is because of its fascinating natural geography. The ground is made of supple soft rock, such as limestone, which results in the formation of otherworldly natural structures, such as vast caves and beautifully carved riverbeds. Swiftlets darted across the river as we basked in the sunshine and sailed forwards. That is until… *bumpbumbpbump* we scraped along the bottom of the river before stopping entirely. Our porter immediately hopped out into the water and began to push! After struggling through a rocky patch we hit deep water again, our porter jumped back in the boat and off we went. Until… *bumpbumpbump*. This hopping out of the boat became a routine practice every 2-3 mins until one particularly bad patch where the porter, struggling to push the boat up a shallow rapid, looked my partner in the eyes, nodded, and before you know it, he too was in the water pushing our boat. At one stage I offered to aid in this task however it was insisted that I stay in the boat. Sexist? Perhaps. But in that moment I was not complaining.
After what must have been over an hour we pulled up along a non-descript part of the bank that looked indifferent to any we had passed previously. Our porter stretched his legs and gestured for us to get out of the boat. Then, much like a creature of the jungle we were eager to see, he leaped up the bank and beckoned for us to follow.
“We walk” he said.
“How long?” we asked.
“2 or 3 hours” he replied.
“How long?” we asked.
“2 or 3 hours” he replied.
And so we walked.
At one point we clocked the machete on the waist of our
porter.
“What is that for?” my partner asked, gesturing to the
machete.
“Wild boar.” He replied, before breaking into a wicked grin and charging off faster into the jungle.
“Wild boar.” He replied, before breaking into a wicked grin and charging off faster into the jungle.
Hours passed and eventually we spied the trees thinning
ahead of us. And then all of a sudden, we emerged in the most spectacular
clearing I had ever seen. Little wooden huts sat along the edge of a babbling
river, framed by breath-taking mountains overhead. People sat around benches,
eating and chatting, and the hum of cicadas provided a welcoming soundtrack. We
were told to wait around until our guide arrived, so we dropped off our things
and went for a stroll. Before long a group of five arrived, fronted by an
older, stocky man, bandana wrapped around his sweaty brow. We watched as the
porter greeted him and then gestured to us, before our guide, Andy, walked over
and introduced himself.
“Welcome to camp 5”, he said.
We had arrived.
That evening we wolfed down dinner, mostly comprised of
locally grown vegetables fried with rice and noodles and watched as the bats
flitted over our heads and the night chorus erupted around us. It was a surreal
experience, and one where you had literally no choice but to be present and
roll with whatever life was going to throw at us. That night we lay under our
mosquito nets with bats flying mere feet above our heads, and geckos
chattering, when a little firefly landed on our net, softly glowing, welcoming
us into his home.
DAY 2
We woke up before dawn, bleary eyed and disoriented, ‘ready’
to climb a mountain. I say ‘ready’ as until the previous evening we had no idea
what we would be doing the next day, and yet here we were about to embark on a
trek the welcome pamphlet said you ‘need to be fit. Like really fit’ in order
to climb. Andy awaited our arrival – breakfast prepped, and lunches packed. We
ate in near silence as the sun crept over the mountain peaks and dawns chorus tuned
their instruments. And before we knew it we were off. The hike takes you a mere
2.5km out, but also over 1.5km up. Meaning you are walking at a 45-degree angle
for around 4-5 hours as you climb up. When you reach the last 500m or so the
climb becomes so steep you find yourself literally climbing ladders, hauling
yourself up ropes, and scrambling up rock faces. Andy was an incredible
pacesetter though, treading at what initially felt like a snail’s crawl, our
legs were grateful hours later when we emerged through the rainforest, at the
peak, and cast our eyes upon the magnificent pinnacles jutting out of the mountainside.
Yet, whilst the view from the top was incredible, it was the
hike itself that blew us away. Panting and sweating you make your way up the
mountainside, through a well-trodden yet wild path, winding through dense
rainforest. The chorus of wildlife erupts around you, cicadas, squirrels, birds
and distant monkeys all curating a cacophony. Every few steps you find new
wildlife you didn’t even know existed. Giant ants devouring the ground level matter.
Vast poisonous caterpillars, hairy and squirming. And when the experience can’t
get much more surreal, a pair of Forest Nymph butterflies float overhead. These
ethereal creatures are bigger than your hand, and rather than flutter, as most
butterflies do, they glide, a ghostly white mirage drifting above your head.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and in order to
guarantee safe return before nightfall, we began our descent just before midday.
And that’s when the pain begins. Climbing up the mountain is difficult, but if you’re
reasonably fit, and have a fantastic pacer, you’ll get up no problem. Coming down
is another matter. The angle of the descent is so harsh you have to brace
yourself with every step to stop from slipping down. The impact on your knees
is terrifying. The ache in you quads is debilitating. The hike up is four
hours, but the descent is 5, testament to just how carefully you have to tred. But I cannot assure you enough that the pain is worth the trip, and eventually you will make it down, to the beautiful camp 5, upon when you can
have a much-needed shower and an entirely necessary swim in the river. The day is
tough, but one you would do again in a heartbeat (or at least once the muscle
ache has passed).
Day 3
Day three = cave day. You set off bright and early and
aching, well fed and ready for a day of caving. There are four caves that are
part of the tour circuit in Mulu national park, and you will be visiting all of
them. You leave camp 5 and trek back through the jungle, to the longboat
dropoff point, where your cruise bac down the river begins. As you travel down
you will stop off en-route, and enjoy some of the best caves the world has to offer.
The famous four are as follows:
Lang Cave: The smallest you will visit, but definitely worth
it. In our brief visit we were lucky enough to spy a family of baby porcupines!
Wind Cave: Hopping straight off the longboat and onto a
wooden jetty, you follow a winding path up to the entrance to Wind Cave. Whilst
undeniably beautiful, with incredible stalegtites and stalagmites lining the
floors and ceilings, the trademark of this cave is the refreshing cool breeze
that can be felt in the narrower passages of the cave.
Clearwater Cave: Upon leaving Wind Cave, you can follow a
short path leading you to a quaint little picnic area. Spiralling from there is
a 200-step staircase, leading up to the mouth of clearwater cave. Believe me
when I say those stairs are difficult after your mountain climb the day before!
But the climb is worth it as you will soon find yourself in (debatably) the
longest cave system in the world! With a rushing river running through the middle
of the opening passage. Huge amounts of this system are closed to the public,
and even more of it is yet to be explored by man!
Happy travelling,
Vicky
MULU ESSENTIALS
Tour Package: https://www.mulunationalpark.com/tour-packages-4D3N-Mulu-Show-Caves-Pinnacles.php
How to get there:
How to get there:
Fly to Miri, Sarawack (a city on Borneo) from Singapore, Borneo, or East Malaysia, and from there take a plane directly into the jungle.
Cost:
As of August 2019, the tour is around 1570MYR (which is about £300)
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