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Early
morning mist at the Batu Sembilan jungle railway station near Kuala Lipis, Pahang.
This is the access road to Kenong Rimba, a park with a few limestone hills
and caves
From this station, we walked
through a kampong where vegetables and meat were purchased and finally to
a riverbank where a boat waited to take us to the park. At the drop-off,
we were greeted by the cheeky laughter of wreathed hornbills and
sorrowful hoots of gibboons, although none were in sight ..... |
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According to
brochures, the Gua Tangkap cave in Pahang is known to be a
hideout for jungle elephants during the monsoon season. However, to do
this, they would have to scramble up some steep rocks before reaching
this rather cosy chamber - it would be fun to see them do this.
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Here's
the view from the top of the cave.
There are some
interesting herbs growing on steep rocks outside the caves around this
area eg Begonias,
Impatiens, a pretty variegated Piper (see below), Gesneriads like Monophylla and
Chirita sericea. |
| Nicely
patterened Piper from the base of the limestone cave. Such pattern may
help break up the leaf profile and discourage herbivores to eat it. |
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Giant
Pandans clinging on vertical cliff surface of Gunung Kesong, the
limestone hill in Kenong Rimba. A rare half-goat ungulate called the
Serow supposedly lives at the top of this hill. The only wildlife we saw
there were a couple of civets (can't ID them) that checked out the pots at
night and returned the next night to steal our bread hung high on a
pole. |
| My
guide, the jungle hopper Jefri, riding a longboat along a
tributary of Sungei Pahang, the longest river in West Malaysia.
The river winds into some shady and secluded areas where we met some
local fisherman laying their traps. One of them later showed us the
catch - a shrimp with long 20 cm claws (longer than the body).
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A sling
bridge leading into the Green Cave (Gua Hijau) which is inhibited by
large fruit bats called flying foxes. I slipped and fell heavily on the
slimy stinky floor. |
