The idea of trailing the Mulu Caves was mooted some 3 years ago, after I and frens have successfully reached the top of Mount Kinabalu ( Year 2007). There was an excitement of getting it thru at that time but due to our daily busy schedules it was never mentioned again till late 2009.
I was contemplating on want to go or not to go. Siah ( my good fren insisted that I must go with her and Min another senior lady who managed to trail Mount Kinabalu) . I told her to get permission from my husband Hisham if she really wanted me to go and she did. Hisham said yes.
I didn't get a full understanding of The Headhunter's programme and what await ahead. 2 weeks before the trip Siah fell sick, very very sick and unable to join us ( supposedly 12 of us ) . The day came and Min was ready with her new backpack and overnight at my place ( Hisham will send us to the airport)
Alas, she received a call from her boss calling her back to work the next day ( come on Boss, its Saturday!!!) So Min back off at the very last minutes
Again the excitement seeing Masliah & her son joining the trip keep my energy high. Yes Masliah was much older than me and kept me company. The rest of the team were pretty young and full of energy . At the end only 9 of us...only 3 guys
My imagination that the Mulu Caves Trail was just the trail like other Caves, an easy trailing and sighting the bats, stalactites and stalagmites . Never once thought that the whole programme was much more tougher than Gunung Kinabalu....beyond my imagination
Shuana our camera lady, did a good job. She brought along a high speed camera which can capture what my little digital can't do. What more interesting, Shu ( her nickname ) keeping notes & dictated all the daily activities . This make my sharing of experience a lot more easier
Day 1 :
- meet the remaining members at LCCT. Our day started from 4,30am. We must catch the flight to Miri scheduled at 7am. Members - Awie ( the Chief) , Maryam Bibi, Shuana, Julie Lokman, Masliah and her son ( Afiq) and 1 more couple from Perak ( Wan & his nurse fren...)
- Reached Kuching for connecting flight to Miri. Again we waited for Mas Wing to reach Mulu Airport, a very small airport...one flight a day. Then only I know that Mulu can only be reached via air, or boat.. by foot
- We reached Mulu ( pl do not expect any commercial activities here) around 4pm. Straight to the registration office. Our guide , Burung ( his Iban name or Richardson) explained on our 1st day activities ie to visit Deer Cave , walking about 3km using the plank trail by foot.
- It was amazing to reach the area outside the caves, the environment , surrounding and nature...just amazing....it was only 4.30pm but it was as if almost 6pm. Burung is a well-trained guide. All of us felt very close to him on the very 1st day. He smart, intelligent and got all the answers for us....
- Deer Cave is the biggest cave out of 170 caves around Mulu..oooo.. I know there are 170 caves. We walked inside, step by step , deeper inside the cave. It was so cold , dark that was why we were advised to bring along the head gear torchlight. At around 5.30pm we got the chance to see million of bats flying out , batch by batch , out of the cave ,circling in the sky before heading towards the sea. We also managed to see the bat's hawk, the predator waiting for its food, the bat.
- we also managed to capture the shadow of Abraham Lincoln at the mouth of the cave...the rock formation that resemblance of AL....it nose especially.
- Next we headed to Gua Lang ( eagle) not so big , but fantastic formations
- It was already late, Burung advised us , its time to head back to our 1st camp for dinner and rest
- It was an eerie experience though. Our trip back were full of eerie and scary experiences. I guess this the longest journey I ever had , experiencing the flying spirit around you, following you as you walked back. It was almost 8pm that I saw the light from the office camp...sigh,...wirid..wirid...wirid...all the way.
- after dinner, got our room keys and straight to the room. 1st nite , sharing a room with Shu. 12midnite , suddenly all lights went off....they turned off the generator. In the middle of thick jungle , you won't expect continuous supply of electricity. I have no complaint though, the room is ok nice bed, blanket, pillow were all ok.
- so the water supply was powered by the generator...mmm no water supply throughout the nite till the next morning...we used the RM8per bottle mineral water for washing and ablution...such an expensive water....we can see the river just next to us but dares?
and some of memoirs by Shuana....
on Gua Rusa:
Gua Rusa. It looks so ancient, eh?
Once, deers flooded this cave to get their kicks out of the abundance of salt lick in this area. Now one might guess the source of this salt.
It is called guano. Or simply, the secretion produced by the bats (apparently from its poo). As I looked up the cave, I could see huge black spots as if marking certain continents on a map, on the ceiling. Those were bats hanging upside down. There were an estimated 20 million bats in Deer cave alone.
Once, deers flooded this cave to get their kicks out of the abundance of salt lick in this area. Now one might guess the source of this salt.
It is called guano. Or simply, the secretion produced by the bats (apparently from its poo). As I looked up the cave, I could see huge black spots as if marking certain continents on a map, on the ceiling. Those were bats hanging upside down. There were an estimated 20 million bats in Deer cave alone.
On Bats:
The BAT EXODUS!!!!!!!! I love this part.
It is still a mystery to what draw these creatures out of its habitat. Burong has been studying the bats behaviour over the years (Apparently, he is obsessed with bats). He is still trying to figure out what could have motivated these bats leave the cave. There were times that even on fine weather, these bats stayed still in its cave, there were instances where they went out even on rainy days. Bats could cover over 78sqkm to prey for food. They are also known to have flew almost 100km away from its cave in search for food.
But what could have motivated them to fly such distant in one night, and came back?
Should we ask Mr. Batman?
It is still a mystery to what draw these creatures out of its habitat. Burong has been studying the bats behaviour over the years (Apparently, he is obsessed with bats). He is still trying to figure out what could have motivated these bats leave the cave. There were times that even on fine weather, these bats stayed still in its cave, there were instances where they went out even on rainy days. Bats could cover over 78sqkm to prey for food. They are also known to have flew almost 100km away from its cave in search for food.
But what could have motivated them to fly such distant in one night, and came back?
Should we ask Mr. Batman?
On the formations:
I personally think that the formation of the stalactite and stalagmites in the caves is very mystical. Imagine that some million years ago, these caves were actually underwater and were slowly pushed up by the colliding planks.
We could also see some twirling marks on the wall of the cave. This is the result of the rush of over 20,000 gallon/sec of water inside the cafe which must've taken place when it still laid underwater.
We could also see some twirling marks on the wall of the cave. This is the result of the rush of over 20,000 gallon/sec of water inside the cafe which must've taken place when it still laid underwater.
