Caving Craving

Mount Mulu, being one of Nature's most spectacular achievements and the largest national park in the world, covering 52,865 hectares of primary rainforest, is dominated by three mountains - Mount Mulu (2,376 m), Mount Api (1,750 m) and Mount Benarat (1,585 m). Mulu's greatest attractions lie deep below the surface. Hidden underneath the forested slopes of these mountains is one of the largest limestone cave systems in the world making Mulu the 'Jewel in the Crown' of Sarawak's expanding network of national parks. 

Aerial view of Mulu from the Twin Otter

On 1st of November 2003, flying on a 19 seater Twin Otter I could see the enchanting Mulu from above the rainbow. The flight trip took approximately 45 minutes from Miri International Airport. Flipping through the pages of my little black organiser, I realised I had not gone travelling for quite some time. Later then I wondered how boring my life had been.

As we reached Gunung Mulu National Park, we were greeted by the Penan, a community in the forest who believe that the rainforest and its bounty were given to them by the Creator, the God Balei Nge Butun. However, the continuous large scale logging in Malaysia since the early 1960's has destroyed the Penan's source of food, medicine, building materials, and all other requirements for life. As Penan are the only true nomadic people in Sarawak, in order to survive as a culture they must keep moving, but they have almost nowhere left to go. With a slight trace of symphaty on my face, I acknowledged them with a wave.

At the reservation counter, we were told that the trekkers must be accompanied by offical park guides. Pulling few red notes out from our pockets, an arrangement for the cave tour was then made. The next morning at 0800 hrs, equipped with torchlights and the park guide guiding us the way, we took a 45min walk to Lang Cave. Feeling rather exhausted, we stopped at Bat Observatory Theater to take a sip of chilled water we brought along. From there we could see bats hovering everywhere at the mouth of Lang Cave. Before entering the cave, the park guide strictly advised us not to touch anything we saw in there. This was mainly to protect the cave formations, such as the stalagtites and stalagmites from being ruined and damaged by clumsy hands. Besides, touching blindly in the pitched dark cave would only harm the 'life-forms' that crept around. Forms of stalagtite and stalagmite decorating the inner part of the cave were extra-ordinarily impressive. It was like being taken a tour to another world. Before I could regain back my 'sanity', we were already exiting to the other side of the cave. 

A wind passage at the roof of Deer Cave

Exploration of the day did not end there. Few yards ahead, the Deer Cave, looking like a giant whale was waiting to swallow us into its big belly. It was quite a gruelling journey inside; bat droppings could be seen everywhere on the cave's floor making it a bit slippery for us to walk. Deer Cave being the World's Largest and Longest Cave Passage, has its own unique alluring charm. Cold water cascading down from the cave's roof forming two waterfalls, Adam's Shower and Eve's Shower and at the corner of the cave was an entrance to a mystified garden, known as Garden of Eden.

Having through with the exploration, we walked back to our rooms and surrendered ourselves to the comfort of our beds. Dinner was served at 2000hrs. Accompanied only by the enchanting sound of the forest that surrounded us, we ate our dinner with full of enjoyment.

Melinau River

First sunlight that broke into through the glass window woke me up and urged me to get off the bed and get ready for the last-half of the cave-tour. Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave were a boat ride away along Melinau River. The two caves lied at the very end of the river. We had to climb 200 steps to get to the entrance of the Clearwater Cave and in there, we could see a small stream passing through. I took a short dip into the cave water before hailing a sampan (small boat) for a ride back to the National Park.

As the hands of time striked 1600hrs, we boarded the plane back to Miri. Thanking God for endowing us such priceless gift, I took one last glimpse of Mulu from the sky. Simply amazing!