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Malayan Tiger Spider

Crocker Range Park (part 3 of 4)

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Continued from Part 2…

(You may start reading from Part 1)

Here comes the highlight of my trip in Crocker Range Park, the night walk! I did two night walks, 1st night in Insectarium, and 2nd night in 2.036KM Crocker trail. You see nothing much in both places during daytime, but they turn into a busy world when night falls. If you are interested in night walk, you can arrange in advance with the Park at Administration Office or Crocker Nature Center during office hours. They will send a ranger to guide you. Usually the walk starts at 7:30pm.

Night Walk in Insectarium


For my 1st night walk in Insectarium, the Park sends two ladies to accompany me, wow. They asked, “would you mind if the guide is female?” I smiled and replied, “No… Of course not” (why should I, hehe..). Oh, by the way, the lady at the left is Tomomi Kan, a Japanese volunteer from JICA. At the right is Lucy Suin, a Sabah Parks staff.


No kidding… these girls have sharp eyes. They started to discover bugs the moment we stepped into Insectarium. Normally girls will scream when they see bugs. However, these girls are so happy to find creepy creatures in the dark, like enjoying a treasure hunt. With the aid of torchlight, we search every inch of Insectarium and left no leaf unturned.


One by one, the bugs reveal themselves under their torchlight. I wonder how they did it. Probably they are so used to insect collection. Crocker Range Park has over 400 species of insects, making the Park one of the best spots for collecting specimen.


Above: this might be a Malaysian Earth Tiger (Cyriopagopus thorelli) tarantula spider


Above: a cricket disguised as the tip of leaf!

There are more bugs discovered when we moved closer to the pond and stream areas. It was such a joyful experience!


Above: an agamid that can change color in minute


Above: a very long stick insect found by Lucy, the highlight of the 1st night walk.

It started to rain at 10pm, so we had to stop our night walk and said goodbye to each other. Anyway, I’m really happy to bag so many good shots.

Night Walk in Crocker Trail

Because of the exciting experience, I decided to arrange another night walk in Crocker Trail (2.036 KM) next day. This time the Park sends Mr. Rosandy Angkusup to guide me. I feel sorry to make them work until late night in fasting month (Puasa), so I tipped all the guides. Same as the lady guides, Rosandy has a trained eyes to beat the smart camouflage by bugs, especially stick insects.


Above: a moulting cicada. The moulting was so slow that we couldn’t wait until it finished.



Above: the cotton-like substance is a group of Wooly aphid insect, amazing…


We saw at least 3 fireflies in the jungle.

It is so impressive that crickets can look so different to one another.


Above: this alien-like cricket was shown in National Geographic channel before. The Crocker Trail is far more promising because the trail is inside the real forest.


Besides bugs, we also saw a Shama bird sleeping on tree, a mouse deer, heard the loud barking of a barking deer (probably smell our presence) and 2 civets at the edge of primary rainforest. We would get some if we carry hunting rifle, haha. Of course, poaching is prohibited in national park.



Above: giant river toad

Stick Insects

Rosandy is so professional in spotting stick insects (I always miss it!). I never saw so many stick insects in one night, nor do I know stick insects have so many species and variety. Some can play dead and some can release foul smell as a defense. Some can fly while some can’t. But all of them have one thing in common – they look like stick.


Above: very long stick insect

We moved so slowly that the night walk ended at 12:30am and our torchlight was almost out of battery. This is the best night walk I’ve had. I’ll be back one day.

WARNING: I know this blog would attract insect collectors. Please be informed that collection of any flora & fauna in national park without a permit, whether the subject is dead or alive, is a serious offense. You will be fined heavily or even jailed for illegal collection. Crocker Range National Park is NOT a place for you to look for toy pet!!!

Click Here for Next Article (part 4)

More Photos

You may check out the photo album of Crocker Range Park for more nice pictures:

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Part 1: Crocker Nature Center, Insectarium, Fern Garden & Rafflesia Plot
Part 2: Crocker Trail, Pine Trail & Observatory Tower
Part 3: Night Walk (this article)
Part 4: Accommodation in the Park

Photos taken in Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

More Night Walk photos:
Miki Survival Camp

Crocker Range Park (part 2 of 4)

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Continued from Part 1…

Crocker Range Park is one of the most important national parks of Sabah, due to its rich biodiversity and ecology values. About 500 plant species (1/3 of Borneo’s species), 107 mammal, 67 amphibian, 52 reptile and 26 species of freshwater fishes are found in this Park. There are two nature trails in the Park.

Please refer to the layout map below for the location of both trails:

Crocker Trail (2.036 KM)

Nature lovers should talk a walk in the 2.036-Kilometer Crocker Range. The starting point is just next to the Administration Office. It’s quite a leisure jungle trekking for less than 3 hours and ends at a point which is 500 Meters from accommodation area (hostels/chalets). You also can start the trekking from opposite direction (i.e. from ending to starting point).


The trail is a nature route but in fairly good condition, so you won’t lose your way. The terrain is not challenging though there are a few mildly steep path.


In the begining of the trail is a waterfall and small stream.


There is a signage in every 100 Meters. You should bring raincoat, insect repellent and a bottle of water with you. There might be forest leeches around in wet season, so you may put on your leech socks. It was very dry during my visit, so I didn’t see any leech.


The first half of the trail is inside old secondary forest, which was used to be a plantation, so you will see rubber, bamboo and banana trees.

Then you will come to the zone between secondary and primary rainforests. At night, if you are lucky, you would see wildlife such as sambar deer, sun bear, barking deer, mouse deers, wild boar or civets around this area. In daytime, I’m afraid you won’t see any big animal. I only saw a few birds, squirrels and treeshrews. You can pay attention to the shrubs along the trail, you might spot some interesting insects and plant.


Above: the moult skin of cicada. Cicada spends 12 to 13 years underground. If your child is as old as this cicada, he is in high school already.


Above: At 1,150th Meter, about halfway of the trail, there is a shelter for you to rest.


Above: the ending point of the Crocker trail. Just follow the gravel road and you will see your accommodation in 10 minutes. To be honest, this trail is less impressive than other forest trails I try in other national parks. But in night time, this trail offers so much to see. Read the next article to find out.

Pine Trail

The second trail, which I don’t recommend, is the Pine Trail near the ticket counter (refer to map for location). It is very poorly maintained and look more like an abandoned trail.


The dense pine woods look so beautiful from a distance. That’s why I decide to check out the Pine Trail. The pine trees were planted by the previous land owner. The Sabah Parks staff did advise me that the pine trail is in less than ideal condition and he doesn’t encourage me to explore.

The 1st 150 Meters walk to the Rusa Shelter (Pondok Rusa) is quite ok. I had a good opening view of Crocker Range and Keningau valley from the shelter.


Driven by curiosity, I proceed deeper to the pine trail, where the trail condition gets quite uninviting. The trail was almost unrecognizable and covered by long grass and dense shrubs, and some parts are so narrow. I feel very uncomfortable walking on grass stack with shrubs so near to me, coz that’s where the snakes like to lurk. Though I was hesitating, I was still moving in and I had no idea where is the end.


You also need to be very careful not to trip and fall on the sharp incisions of Acasia shrubs. Such “trap” is everywhere on the trail.


Above: the needle-like pine leaves
It took me more than 30 minutes to reach the pine tree area.


The trail disappears, so I assume I have reached the ending point.

You may watch the 1-min video of pine trail below:

Click Here to see bigger video


Above: anyone can read what is written on the signage?


Here I am, under the pine trees and surrounded by dense undergrowth. But what’s the point? What am I doing here?


Well, there are a lot of pine fruits on the ground. Someone like to collect this, but not me. Now you know what is the pine trail about.

On the way back to my cabin, I passed by a soccer field, which is worth a mention here.

Soccer Field

The football/soccer field is quite near the camping ground. The Sabah Parks guides tell me that I can see deers playing soccer here at night. Just kidding.


Yes, you can see Sambar Deers (Payau) and Barking Deers (Kijang) wandering in this field at night. Sabah Parks is trying to plant fruit and food crop to attract more deers. In future, they will open a new “Deer Trail” as a new attraction for deer sighting.



If you walk around, you would see deer dropping on the field, an evidence of their visit.

Observatory Tower

Another point of interest you should check out is the 20-Meter observatory tower next to the restaurant in Crocker Range Park. It is just a stone throw from the Crocker Nature Center.


Above: the restaurant (Cinnamon Cafe) next to the tower, opens from 8am to 9pm daily.


Above: having dinner in Cinnamon Cafe


Above: Cinnamon Cafe doesn’t have many choices of food but it tastes ok.


The notice says the tower only allows a maximum of 8 visitors at a time and use it at your own risk.


The structure of the tower is mainly steel and very solid.

You may watch the 2-min video of observatory tower below:

Click Here to see bigger video

The feature of this tower is – you can get a very nice view of Keningau town from the top. I took the following photos on the tower. You can see the Juta Hotel clearly, the highest building of Keningau.


Above: Keningau in daytime


Above: sunrise of Keningau


Above: Keningau after sunset

Click Here for Next Article (part 3)

More Photos

You may check out the photo album of Crocker Range Park for more nice pictures:

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Part 1: Crocker Nature Center, Insectarium, Fern Garden & Rafflesia Plot
Part 2: Crocker Trail, Pine Trail & Observatory Tower (this article)
Part 3: Night Walk
Part 4: Accommodation in the Park

Photos taken in Keningau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Climbing Mt. Tambuyukon (part 3 of 5), the 4th highest mountain of Malaysia

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Continued from Part 2…

(You may start reading from Part 1)

Today is the BIG day because we will go to the summit. Please refer to trail map for the location.

DAY 3. To the Summit!

All climbers wake up and had oat meal / Maggi instant noodle as breakfast at 3:30am and headed to the summit at 4am. In the briefing, our tour guide, Maik, says today will be the most challenging day and he is right. As difficulty multiple, the so-called 4 KM distance to summit looks more like a longish 8 KM trek.

Climb to Summit

For safety reason, we target to reach the summit before 11am. All climbers must return to Musang camp at 11am, no matter how far they make. As there is no water point along the way, a few porters will carry some water and follow the climbers.

Under a mixed feeling of apprehensive and excitement, we climbed slowly and quietly in the dark. The first 1.5 KM is steep and narrow ascending trail and many parts need to climb over by hands. Besides, the overhanging tree trunks always blocked our way that we have to move over or under them. My head bang on a tree and bleed when I struggle to move up in the dark.



Above: Mind your head and feet!

After KM12, we were awarded by a few hundred Meters of relatively flat trail to the Jeneral Camp (named after General Poon, who led a team of Royal Malaysian army on this route years ago) at KM12.6.


Above: climbing over network of slippery entangled roots

Jeneral Camp is a small open area which can setup 3 small camps. I checked my watch and it was 6:40am, but the summit is still a long way ahead.


Above: Jeneral Camp (KM12.6). Still a long way ahead…

You can watch 10-sec video below to see the Jeneral Camp:

Though it didn’t rain, after the morning shower by mist, the cloud forest was wet all over the place, and I can even feel the moist filling my nose. Most of the time, I had to hold the trees and roots to move up, actually I like it coz climbing by hands saves a lot of leg work.

Nepenthes Garden (KM11.5 – KM14)

When the day turns brighter, I can see clumps of pitcher plant along the trail after KM11.5. The most spectacular Nepenthes edwardsiana is hard to be missed due to their bright color and huge size (20 to 40 CM, and known to reach 50CM). Nepenthes edwardsiana is characterized by highly developed ribs and teeth peristome. They are most abundant between KM11.5 and KM13, where a few small colonies of Nepenthes villosa and lowii are also found in this mossy environment.


Above: Nepenthes edwardsiana (left) and rajah (right)


Above: Nepenthes lowii (left) and villosa (right)


Above: Nepenthes burbidgeae (left) and tentaculata (right)

After KM13, colonies of Nepenthes rajah, the largest pitcher plant species in the world, takes over. Botanists also record the presence of N. burbidgeae, N. tentaculata, N. fusca, N. stenophylla and various hybrids such as N. xKinabaluensis (N. villosa x N. rajah), N. harryna (N. villosa x N. edwardsiana), N. tentaculata x N. burbidgeae and N. edwardsiana x N. burbidgeae in Mt. Tambuyukon.


Above: pitcher plant from 1CM to 40CM

KM13

The summit trail is relatively less steep after KM13. Shortly the luxuriant mossy forest thin out and we came to a long rocky ridge with clearing to sky. If you turn around, you can have a panoramic view of neighboring ridges of Tambuyukon converging towards the summit. I feel like walking on the backbone of a gigantic dinosaur.

When the mist clears, I can see Nambuyukon (second highest peak of Tambuyukon Range) in Kota Marudu. I have to put on my jacket when it gets cold and windy in open area.


Above: Nambuyukon Peak, 2nd highest peak of Tambuyukon Range

An author (Clarke, Charles M.) has the best description of the mountain relief:

“The summit sits at the top of a number of very long ridges which drop away gradually over several Kilometers. The sides of these ridges plunge steeply down into deep and similarly long gullies. These gullies funnel strong winds up towards the summit. The winds rush over the summit at tremendous speeds, the result being that the vegetation can only grow up to 1 Meter high in places. The upper parts after 2,100M of mountain are covered with low, scrubby vegetation, punctuated by large ultramafic boulders.”

You can watch 1-min video below for panoramic view of Tambuyukon Range:

Ultramafic Boulders

We moved carefully along the rocky ridge and conquer a series of hillocks. At this point, we know the true meaning of Tambuyukon, which always cheats us with a number of “faked summits”. And DON’T believe those milestones as they lie too. My experience and gut feeling tell me that the distance between KM13 and KM14 is not 1KM, but 3KM!!!

The huge yellowish-grey boulders near the summit are ultramafic rocks. Ultramafic rock derived from the Earth’s mantle, the layer of the Earth below the crust and above the core, formed billions years ago from melted rock when the Earth first solidified. Such rock consists of heavy minerals (Magnesium, Iron, Nikel) and its soil is poor in nutrients, which promotes the growth of endemic and highly specialized plants adapted to this environment. Ultramafic rock was pushed to Earth’s surface mostly during tectonic movement and Mt. Tambuyukon has the highest concentration of ultramafic rocks in Sabah. Sound cool but watch out for snake under the rock.

After 9am, we reached the last and smallest camp, Rajah Camp (KM13.6), which can hold only one camping tent. More N. rajah is seen around this area.



Above: Rajah Camp (KM13.6)

The last 400 Meters to the summit is a narrow and rocky passage under the leptospermum recurvatum dwarf trees and dense with underbrush.


Above: see the summit at the right?

The Summit (KM14)

Finally, all of us reached the summit at 10:10am. The summit has no beacon or survey landmark, but only a signage that shows the trail distance and height of Mt. Tambuyukon.



Above: group photo on the summit. WE MADE IT!!!

The summit area is no wider than 20M across and densely surrounded by leptospermum trees. Frankly, it is not an impressive peak, but we are still happy about the victorious moment. We had an early lunch on the summit. The guides and porters have brought some rice with dried anchovy fishes, biscuit and 3-in-1 hot drink.

You can watch 5-min video below to see the climb from the start to the summit:

Behind the signage is a narrow trail that takes us to the side (very windy!) facing Mt. Kinabalu. Many say we can get the nearest and best view of Mt. Kinabalu from Mt. Tambuyukon. Too bad Mt. Kinabalu was covered by thick mist and refused to show her face.


Above: Mt. Kinabalu refused to show her face..

The temperature was about 20°C but the chilling strong wind makes us feel like 10°C. I notice there is a vast camping area that can house more than 5 tents behind the summit.


Above: camping ground behind the summit

You can watch 1-min video below to see the surrounding of the summit:

Return to Musang Camp

We need to be back to Musang Camp before 5pm, so we must leave the summit by 11am. By coincidence, today (24/6) is the birthday of Joimis, so all of us gave him a surprise by singing a birthday song to him on the summit. This might be the first time ever a birthday song echoes on the peak of Mt. Tambuyukon.


Above: The end is also the beginning. Now we are 0KM on the way back to the starting point.

The descending route is not easier than ascending. On the way down, I spotted a few N. tentaculata and N. burbidgeae. We arrived Musang Campsite around 4:30pm. The climb is considered over. Everyone was in relaxing mood and shared their joyful stories. We also prepared a birthday fruit cake for Joimis to celebrate his birthday.


Above: you do not want to fall from here….

Though extremely tired coming back from the summit, I took a shower at the small stream nearby. A leech bites me. Anyway, I feel fresh and clean after the cold shower. Because of humid environment, our cloth is always damp and “sticky”, making us uncomfortable. Tonight is still a warm night, but free of stress.

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Photos taken in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Climbing Mt. Tambuyukon (part 2 of 5), the 4th highest mountain of Malaysia

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Continued from Part 1…

DAY 2. From KM5 to KM10.8

We wake up at 7am to have chicken porridge as our breakfast and trekked 5KM to Musang Campsite (KM10.8) at 7:45am for day 2. Please refer to trail map for the location.

Wuluh Campsite (KM6)

KM5 to KM6 is mainly steep descending trail and we reached Wuluh Campsite (KM6) after an hour. Wuluh Campsite is next to Wuluh River and has large clearing that can house 4 to 5 camps.

If the mobile toilet and water tank there are not in bad shape, Wuluh Campsite can be the best camping spot on summit trail. We continued our climb after a brief stop at Wuluh Camp.


Above: Camping ground of Wuluh Campsite

Below: Wuluh River next to the camp



You can watch 1.5-min video below to see the surrounding of Wuluh Camp:

The undulating terrain between KM6 and KM7 was punishing and I was told that the narrow walk along the hillside at KM6.5 took a life of a foreigner who fell. We rest a while on a high point at KM7, then descended one hour to Kepuakan Campsite (KM8).



Above: probably an ant-snatching assassin bug that likes to pile stuffs behind its back to confuse preys and predators

Kepuakan Campsite (KM8)

Around 11:30am, we arrived Kepuakan Campsite, where we had Maggi instant noodle and fried rice as our lunch.

You can watch 1-min video below to see the surrounding of Kepuakan Camp:



Above: Kepuakan River next to the camp


The Kepuakan River next to the campsite is bigger than Wuluh River, but the camping ground is a smaller area which can fit only 3 camping tents. Mobile toilet and water tank are available in the site. Gaining more energy from lunch and rest, we crossed Kepuakan River to head to Musang Campsite (KM10.8) at 12:30pm.


Above: Crossing Kepuakan River

Tough! KM8 – KM10

80% of the trail between KM8 and KM10 is over 50 degrees of steepness and the worst part for day two. The climb is twice the difficulty of previous day.

Things got better after KM10. The trail is relatively flat and the air is cooling and refreshing, as we reach 1,400M above sea level. From the misty air, mossy carpet and slimmer trees around, we can see the switch of hill forest to montane vegetation. 10 minutes later, we came to a junction that can take us to Serinsim Substation in Kota Marudu. According to the ranger, the journey to Serinsim takes 5 days.


Above: Junction to Serinsim substation in Kota Marudu

We knew Musang Campsite was only a few hundreds Meters away so we speed up, then the ranger advised us to be cautious and stick to the right. Because a few steps to the left of the narrow trail is a sheer drop. A lady from Peninsular Malaysia fell here just a month ago and luckily stopped by trees from a fatal plunge.


Above: Entering lower montane forest (above 1,000M)


Above: I’m only one step away from the cliff at the left

About 200M before Musang Camp, we were surrounded by 3 to 4 species of birds. Probably they never seen a human before, so they perched on the trees and made calls to us, as if they were asking who we were. I only can tell there were an Ashy Drongo and a Magpie Robin among them.

Musang Campsite (KM10.8)

Situated at 1,445M above sea level, Musang Campsite gets its name from the presence of civets around the site. Though the ground is not so wide and flat, Musang Campsite is quite spacious and able to host more than 4 camping tents on a long ridge that overlooks deep valley at both sides.

We overnight here on day 2 and 3. The canopy of montane forest is thinner, allowing more light to enter, so the surrounding is brighter here.

You can watch 1-min video below to see the surrounding of Musang Camp:

However, the only available water source is a small stream that requires 5 minutes walk on a steep descending trail (10 minutes to come back). I checked out the stream and found that its volume is only slightly better than tap water.

Climbers can take shower there by scooping water from a small pond, though icy cold but still bearable. May be leeches exist in this wetter area, so few are keen to come here. I also saw an abandoned mobile toilet and shower area not far from the stream.


Above: small stream for taking shower (icy cold water)

You can watch 40-sec video below to see the stream:



Above: check if any girl taking shower

Our makeshift toilet is 15-second walk from our camp. Basically it is just a deep hole with rotten wood plank cover on top, and 3-side surrounded by canvas as wall. The toilet is really smelly after everyone “contributes” their bit for 2 days.

For dinner, we had rice served with dried anchovy fishes and mixed vegetables. It was a bit warm tonight and we were bitten by tiny sandflies (agas). The bites are very itchy and can last for days (The itches worsen if you scratch). There were a few leeches in the campsite, presumably brought in by porters who took water from the stream.

Tomorrow is the day to climb to the summit, so we went to bed earlier. The late night was windy, we heard loud rustling leaves and felt the howling strong wind shaking our tents. Mt. Tambuyukon is like a living monster that breathes.


Above: someone bitten by leech and bleed inside the camp

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Photos taken in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Climbing Mt. Tambuyukon (part 1 of 5), the 4th highest mountain of Malaysia

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Top 5 highest mountains of Malaysia are all in Sabah. After conquering the Mt. Kinabalu (4,095M) and Mt. Trus Madi (2,642M), last month I climbed Mt. Tambuyukon (2,579M), which is the 4th highest mountain and the hardest one. I’ll share my experience in 5 articles, 300 photos and 16 videos here, so you know what I went through in this 5-day trip.

Below is the structure of my blog on Mt. Tambuyukon trip:

About Mt. Tambuyukon (Gunung Tambuyukon)

With a height of 2,579.22 Meters (8,462 Feet) and lies northeast of Mount Kinabalu, Mt. Tambuyukon is the 4th highest mountain of Sabah and Malaysia. It is part of the Kinabalu Park and managed by Sabah Parks. Tambuyukon means “cheating” in Dusun language. The origin of the name is – during the climb, a guide named Tam keeps on cheating other climbers that the summit is not far ahead but it is still a long way.

There are two climbing routes to Mt. Tambuyukon, namely, the northern entry from Serinsim Substation in Kota Marudu, and southern entry in Monggis Substation, situated about 35 KM from Poring. We started our climb at Monggis as the summit trail is 14KM (Kilometers) and shorter than northern trail (over 20KM).

DAY 1. Start of Climb

Register at Kinabalu Park HQ

On day 1, we departed from Kota Kinabalu at 6:30am and reached Kinabalu Park HQ (Kundasang) at 7:45am. Even though we have booked the climb 1 month earlier, we still need to register in Kinabalu Park administration office before the climb, and fill up the indemnity form (MyKad / Passport is required for identification).


Above: Sabah Parks administration office (Kinabalu Park)


Above: Visitor Center of Kinabalu Park

Then we proceeded to Kinabalu Park visitor center to pay for climb permit and insurance, and collect our climber tags. We met our tour guides and transferred our luggage and supplies to their 4-Wheel drives (4WD). After having breakfast and buying packed lunch (fried rice) at a restaurant nearby, we headed to Monggis Substation at 10am. We stopped briefly at G*Mart Supermarket at 10:30am to purchase last-minute supply.

Road to Monggis Substation

The road journey from Kinabalu Park to Monggis Substation takes 1.5 to 2 hours (for 60KM). At first we drove on an asphalt road. After a roundabout near Poring Hot Springs (13KM from Ranau), we turned to Bongkud, the start of a long and dusty gravel road and the point we are about 35KM from Monggis Substation. We saw dozens of heavy trucks and dozers busy building this Ranau – Kota Marudu highway.




The gravel road can turn muddy and slippery during rainy season. With heavy trucks moving around, it is dangerous for vehicles to lose control on slippery surface. You must use 4WD to go to Monggis. The highway is supposed to be ready by April 2011, but it seems like it is far from completion and less than 5KM of this highway is paved (as of June 2011).




Then we passed through Kampung Pinawantai (village) on a narrower and bumpy gravel road. We crossed 3 small streams on the way. According to the guide, the streams would flood and become big rivers during rainy season, and only 4WD can cross them. We drove through a few single-lane bridges and saw two new bridges under construction.




About 10KM before Monggis substation, we came to a small countryside track of Kampung Monggis (Monggis Village). Finally, we arrived Monggis Substation (of Kinabalu Park) at 12pm, about an hour late to our planned schedule.


You may watch the 3-min video below to see the overall road condition:

Start of Climb

Our Sabah Parks rangers and porters already waited for us at the substation. We unloaded our bags and supplies, and did the final packing. Since it is noon time, we decided to have our lunch before the climb.


At 1pm, everyone put on their leech socks and joined the short briefing by Sabah Park ranger, Mr. Wasidi Wasli. The starting point is just next to the substation, which is 267M above sea level. The total distance to the summit is 14KM, and we plan to arrive Wuluh Camp at KM6 before 5pm today. You may check out the trail map. You will need to refer to this trail map again for the rest of the articles.


Below is the summit trail map of Mt. Tambuyukon. Click it for bigger picture:


We walked slowly under the tall and dense canopy of lowland and hill dipterocarp rainforests. Even though the climb just began, the air was so warm and humid that we felt a bit short of breath during jungle trekking. Then the rain showers came on and off, fortunately they were blocked by dense canopy. We didn’t see any big animals but we know the presence of sun bear, wild boar and deers from the claw marks on the tree trunk, or the footprint. Hornbills and monkey are also spotted or heard on the way. If we are lucky, we might see orangutan before KM11, the ranger said.


Above: Now I know bear also knows how to write ABC

KM0 – KM4

To experienced hikers, the first 4KM of the trail is not tough (and thanks to our porters who carried over 100Kg of our bags & supplies). But due to the warm environment, we sweated a lot, so we ran out of water very soon. You can refill water at two shelters, i.e. (1) Kulat Shelter (at KM2.2), and (2) Kera Shelter (at KM4), but the water tanks may not have water sometimes. There are small mobile toilets next to both shelters too.

Kulat Shelter (KM2.2). We reached Kulat Shelter (Pondok Kulat) at 2:30pm. Climbers may explore a trail that takes them to Kikulat Waterfall about 800M away. Due to time constraint, we didn’t visit the waterfall.



You may watch the 45-sec video of Kulat Hut:

Kera Shelter (KM4). The 2nd and also the last shelter. A shower area surrounded by canvas is found next to the water tank, but its pipe is not working. A wide and flat open space beside Kera Shelter is big enough to fit 3 to 4 camping tents, making this area a suitable camping site.


You may watch the 40-sec video of Kera Hut:

It’s dry season so we didn’t see many leeches, the little blood suckers that live in wet environment of rainforest. The trees are tall (30+ Meters) and many have huge buttress. The most interesting tree is the Seraya Putih trees with white-color trunk.

You may watch the 2-min video of the rainforest trees in Mt. Tambuyukon:

Camping at KM5

It is after KM4 where our hardship starts, the trail doubles in steepness and we were slowing down. We were supposed to camp at Wuluh Campsite (KM6), but had to stay at KM5 at 5pm, due to the vanishing daylight.


Above: view from KM5. The climbers are crossing a small stream

KM5 campsite is an irregular slope area with lot of shrubs and heavily foliaged ground. The area has less clearing and less suitable for camping. The only good thing is – a small stream is only a 30-second descending walk from the campsite, so most of us can take a shower that evening.

You may watch the 30-sec video of KM5 camp:

Our tour guides setup 3 dome camps for us and also cooked our dinner. Wood cutting is not allowed so they cooked with portable cooking stove. We had rice and porridge as dinner. No bench is available so we have to sit on the forest floor to enjoy our meals.


Without toilet, we have to do our business a distance away from our camp and river. This is the first time I digging a hole to do my number 2. I covered my “stuff” with soil and leaves, put a tissue paper on top as a marker, so others won’t step on it. Luckily, leech is not around here during dry season, so my private part is safe from leech attack, haha.

This is only day 1 so we went to sleep very early, hoping to fully recharge for the next 3 days. Due to painful toes and the loud snores in the camp, I didn’t sleep well. In midnight, I heard my friend sleeping next to me talking in his dream. I turned over to other side, trying to ignore the noise. Then he talked louder and louder, to the level that he’s like shouting and struggling. I quickly turned on the torchlight and he stopped shouting, opened his eyes and said “shit!”. Seemed like he was having a nightmare. After the trip, he told us that he experienced incubus and he couldn’t move his body, as if “someone” was pressing him. Spooky… many had told me that Mt. Tambuyukon is a place full of spirits.

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Photos taken in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sepilok Rainforest to Mangrove (part 3 of 4)

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Continued from part 2…
(You may Click Here to start reading from Part 1)

Long-Tailed Macaques

It was a late afternoon in Sepilok Laut Reception Center. “The bad guy is coming!” the forestry guide warned me, “Do NOT leave any belonging outside your room.”


>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest

Then I saw a long-tailed macaque sitting in the wood about 15 Meters away from us. It looks so kind, with a face like a friendly Santa Claus. In fact, macaques can be so aggressive that even the big orangutan doesn’t dare to agitate them.

After observing us cautiously for a while, this monkey came closer to our building and sneak under our platform, peeping us through the gaps of the boardwalk.

Then the rest of the cheeky monkey followed. The guide told me that just a few days ago, these monkey stole the syringe and medication of a tourist, who has diabetes, and ran into the forest. The monkey also knows how to open a door.


>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest

There is also a group of red-leaf monkey living nearby, but they are very shy and seldom come near to the building.

“This is an alpha male,” the guide says, “We call him Paul.” Indeed, Paul is relatively larger than other monkey in his gang. Look at the size of his balls!

The guide wanted to get Paul closer to me for a mug shot session, so he gave Paul a pack of chocolate biscuit. Paul came forward to accept the offering and enjoyed the biscuit only 5 feet in front of us.

The expression of monkey is so rich and human-like. Of course I got a lot of good/funny photos. It is not advisable to feed them. If they are too used to human, they will attack anyone who carries food and become a nuisance to tourists. For now, they are still wild.


That’s a female monkey on the roof. Probably the wife of Paul.


>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest

In the mudflat not far away from our building, a few baby long-tailed macaques busy searching for food. They also eat crab. That’s why they are also known as Crab-Eating Monkey.

And there was a big monitor lizard stalking on these little monkey. It is very smart. It stayed still whenever the monkey looked at its direction.

But too bad the monkey still discovered the lizard and making alert call to warn others.

Mission failed, so the disappointed lizard retreated into the mangrove.

After meal hour, those monkey groomed one another. They are so relax and don’t even bother about us. I even heard their annoying screeching noise during bedtime.







>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest

If you want to see more monkey faces, check out the video below:

Click Here to see wider video

This place is supposed to be ideal for bird watching. Due to the poor weather, I only saw a few Pacific Swallow, Ashy Tailorbird and Common Iora. If you are lucky, you would see woodpecker, kingfisher, hornbills, etc.

Night Safari

If you stay in the jungle, always take a walk at night, you will see more interesting stuffs than daytime. After dinner, I told the guide I wanted to do a night safari at night. He is also very interested and want to join, so we went into the wood at 7:30pm. As expected, there are so much too see at night. I search slowly with torchlight and turned almost every leaf. Though the guide was with me, he was always out of my sight, leaving me engulfed by darkness, scary…


Hammer head worm.


Stick insects.


Fungus beetles busy mating.


Big ant..


Jumping spider..

>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest
We also saw scorpion, frog, big millipede, snail, centipede and other small creatures.


Above: a few leaves weaved and connected by human-hair-like threads, spooky!


The jackpot of my night safari is the Borneo Anglehead Agamid, which is endemic to Borneo. It is quite small and shorter than the length of my palm. Unfortunately, suddenly it rained and I didn’t bring my raincoat, so we had to run more than half a KM back to our building. That ended my day.

FYI, they say there are a lot of fireflies in deeper part of the mangrove. You may hire a boat to check it out at night.

Read Next Article (part 4)…

Update (Nov 2012)!

The jungle trail to Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) is changed. You may want to read the new upgrade and latest change of SLRC facilities here.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Sepilok Rainforest to Mangrove (part 1 of 4)

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Nearly half of Sabah is covered by forest. However, less than 3% of our forested area is virgin rainforest. Our very famous Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center is part of Kabili-Sepilok Virgin Jungle Reserve. From there, you can try a 5.5KM jungle trail from Sepilok virgin rainforest to a pristine mangrove forest.


>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest

My plan is to spend 2 to 3 hours to complete the walk of this 5.5KM jungle trail to reach the mangrove forest, spend a night in the hostel of Sepilok Laut Reception Center, then take a boat to Sandakan town in the next morning. I know some travel agents offer such package but the response is very poor, as most tourists are only interested in seeing orangutan and not keen to try the nature trail infested by forest leeches.


View My Sabah Map in a larger map

As the Sepilok rainforest is a first class forest reserve, you need to get a permit from Sabah Forestry Department to enter the jungle. Therefore, I went to the Sandakan District Forestry Operation Office (not the HQ) in Bandar Leila (near to UMW) of Sandakan to collect the permit. Besides, I was also paying for guide, accommodation and boat (see details in this blog entry). Forestry Department is very efficient and thanks to Mr. Kwan. They also express that they really want to promote this place.

The booking and payment took me less than 10 minutes, then I drove 40 minutes to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, where the trail begins. My guide, Uncle Severinus, was already waiting for me. A forestry guide is required coz we may encounter dangerous animals such as orangutan, sun bear and poisonous snakes. Yes, dear tourists, orangutan can be very dangerous. Part of the trail is not well-marked, so people can lose their way.

First we walked on a boardwalk, which is the same one used by tourists to go to orangutan feeding platform. Then the guide opened a small gate to the forest trail. FYI, they also have a bird watching trail and a 2KM “Water Hole” trail. The trails here are really nature and heavily foliaged. The guide says in future they will open a new trail from Rainforest Discovery Center to connect to this trail.

Jungle Trekking from Rainforest to Mangrove
In the beginning, you will see many big trees of lowland dipterocarp forest, with an average height of 55 Meters! We pass by a Sun Bear conservation center which will be opened for public soon.

The forest trail is next to the river so it is flooded occasionally during rainy season and become wet and soggy.


>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest

In dry season, this trail poses 0 degree of challenge to me. But it was wet season that time in Sandakan, the trail becomes very muddy after weeks of raining. Though I was wearing the water-proof rubber shoes “Adidas Kampung”, I still have to avoid sinking my own feet into the soft and sticky mud.

Part of the trail is totally flooded. We have to walk at the edge of the trail, or snake around in the wood to find another easier route to bypass the flood. We even “lost” for a few minutes and had to turn back to retrace our trail. Luckily, my guide knows the place very well. He knew that we were on the wrong way coz he felt the place “macam lain” (look different). Now you know why you can’t go alone without a guide.

To feel what we had been through, you may watch the 4-minute video below:

When we were busy passing through the dense undergrowth, we waked up the sleeping blood suckers, the Tiger Leech! Leech is sensitive to vibration and body heat. I believe they can sense us 10 feet away though they are blind.

The tiger leeches always hide in the shrubs and leaves and most active during wet season. When my body was brushing through the shrubs, the tiger leeches would hop on me. I removed more than 20 big tiger leeches and countless small brown leeches from my shirt and skin. I was wearing leech socks but with so many leeches around, it is still a miracle that I didn’t get a single leech bite!


>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest

Usually leech is absent during dry season. After jungle trekking, I checked inside my shoes and removed a few more. Always “de-leech” yourself before entering the room! Leech is annoying but it does not cause serious harm. I worry more about falling tree branches during rainy day.

Not everything in rainforest is creepy. I came across some beautiful creatures too, like the golden hammer head worm above. Ok, it is as creepy as a leech too.

There are some tiny frogs found along the flooded trail. My guide is always happy to catch one to show me.


Above: the signage in the jungle. But they don’t tell the remaining distance to my destination. There is no hut and resting point on the trail.


Above: the footprint of Samba deer, the largest deer species of Sabah.


Above: sleeping centipede. Look nasty.


Above: sleeping tractor millipede. So, not only human feels sleepy during rainy day huh.


The trail is less muddy after 2KM. I saw some fungus but the variety is fewer than I expect. I feel that part of Sepilok forest is a logged-over forest.


Above: a “bleeding” tree


We saw a few camera trap on the way. But the researcher removed the camera due to flood concern.


Above: I saw thousands of such cicada chimney on the forest floor. We hear cicada calls all over the place as if they are the key residents of the jungle. We also heard the loud calls of Tokey lizard and it sounds like chicken.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest


When we get closer to the mangrove, we meet two hilly trails. They call the trail in photo above as “green hill”. It is a long descending trail.


At noon we reached Sepilok Laut Camping Park (a.k.a. The Gap) which is only 1KM away from my destination, Sepilok Laut Reception Center. It started to rain heavily and we took cover under the roof of a multi-purpose hall.


Then we heard something fled into the wood. It was a herd of proboscis monkey. I saw a big male proboscis monkey sitting on a tree about 100 feet away from us!


We used the water and toilet in the camping park. See the broken mirror at the basin? The guide says probably it is broken by angry monkey, who thought it saw a rival male in the mirror, lol.



The toilet and shower rooms are well-maintained and divided into male and female blocks. School teachers and students can consider to have a camping here. The camping ground can accommodate 80 people.


When the rain turned small, we quickly continued our jungle trekking. Very soon we saw the 500-Meter signage.


And finally we reached Sepilok Laut Reception Center at 1pm! I spent 3 hours 30 minutes, which is considered very slow as I stopped a lot to photograph. Normal people can reach here within 3 hours.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Sepilok Forest


The rain started pouring. But my guide, Uncle Severinus, wanted to go home. He is a very friendly village man from Tambunan. He is old but strong and even offered to carry my heavy backpack twice. I think he is very cute so I take one picture with him. You can see that my shirt is all wet. It’s sweat, not rain.

Another forestry staff, Justinus, in the center shared his lunch and rice with us, so nice. I had some chocolate bars as quick lunch, but it felt so good to enjoy fish and hot soup in cold raining day after a long walk. Justinus has stationed here for a week and happy to see human.

We were not alone. There were something lurking in the dark and looking at us…

Read Next Article (part 2)…

Update (Nov 2012)!

The jungle trail to Sepilok Laut Reception Centre (SLRC) is changed. You may want to read the new upgrade and latest change of SLRC facilities here.

Photos taken in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Long Pasia – Fefukan & Mataga Waterfalls (part 4 of 6)

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Continued from Part 3…

DAY 3 – RETURNING TO LONG PASIA VILLAGE

My biological clock wakes me up at 6am. My knee pain is gone after a long rest. I grab my camera and tripod and walk straight to Fefukan Waterfall to take some photos. I didn’t get a good shot of this waterfall yesterday coz it was dark by the time we arrived the campsite. Lait (our guide) also joined me.

Fefukan Waterfall

With a wide of 20 Meters and height of about 3 Meters, Fefukan Waterfall is one of the most unique and beautiful waterfalls that I’ve ever seen. I can sit there, staring at it for whole day without getting bored. In local language, Fefukan means the sound of beating. Some fishes try to jump over this waterfall during migration season. The fishermen will wait with a stick and hunt the fishes by beating them.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Long Pasia

I’m so proud to be one of the first Sabahan tourists who visit this waterfall. This is probably the first time the photos and video of Fefukan being shared online. The water is freezing cold. Crazy Lait is the only model who is keen to walk into the icy water for me to photograph. Thank you Lait, for helping me to get some excellent shots.


Click Here to see bigger video

Mataga Waterfall

It is a 2-in-1 bonus to come to Fefukan, as there is another waterfall nearby. Without hesitation, I joined Lait to explore the second waterfall, the Mataga Waterfall (Astaga Waterfall? Hehe..). Mataga means “beautiful” in Lundayeh language. It is only a 30-minute walk from Fefukan Waterfall.

Mataga is a newly discovered waterfall. Again, we are the first local tourists who visit it. Most of the time, we walked upstream along a small river to find Mataga Waterfall. We saw a few long-tailed macaques on the trees. To avoid getting wet, I had to remove my leech socks, and later find that two fat leeches sucking my blood between the toes, then followed by hour of bleeding, yaks! The bite marks are still visible after 3 weeks.


>> Click Here to see more photos of Long Pasia

Mataga Waterfall is about 50 feet tall. Though taller than Fefukan, it is lack of character. It is windy around the waterfall with splashing water. I shot only a few photos. One of the guides also collects some plant from the waterfall as herb.


Click Here to see bigger video

Going Home

We got back to Fefukan campsite for breakfast at 8:50am. Wow, we have kancil (mouse deer) soup and fried rice as breakfast today! The meat of mouse deer is a bit chewy and taste like beef, nice… Before we left, everyone decided to take a final dip in Fefukan Waterfall. I’ll never forget this beautiful place and joyful moment.


Above: mouse deer soup as breakfast!


Above: Lait insists we must play the “Wild men of Long Pasia”


>> Click Here to see more photos of Long Pasia


>> Click Here to see more photos of Long Pasia

We finished packing our stuffs and headed to Lelawid at 10:30am, where the boats will pick us up. Probably of the mouse deer soup, everyone walks as fast as a deer. We reached the river by 3pm, just on time for our late lunch. This time we had wild boar intestines soup, steamed tapioca and Pelian fishes (which was trapped in fishing net we setup yesterday). Pelian fish can be sold for RM60 (about USD$18) per Kg. It tastes really sweet but has a lot of Y-shaped bones in its meat. The wild boar intestine is as hard as rubber, very hard to chew and smell fishy.


Above: steamed tapioca in bamboo


Above: wild boar intestines soup, dare to try?


Above: Pelian fishes from Matang River

We left by boat at 3:30pm. Coz we follow the stream direction and the water level is higher today, we reach Long Pasia village at 6pm, quick fast. I saw a “moving wire” on the boat. At first I thought it was just a thread being moved by breeze. Then I notice it is a living thing. They call it “Cacing Sungai” (river worm). A search on the Net tells me that it is a horsehair worm or Gordian worm ( Nematomorpha ).


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Horsehair worm is a sinister parasite lives in water. If an insect such as cricket, mantis and beetle consumes the water which contains its eggs, the egg will hatch and grow inside its host. After weeks or months, the worm is fully grown (30 to 50cm long) and wants to get back to the water, so it’ll release a chemical to “mind-control” the host to walk into water, and then it crawls out of the butt of the host and swim away. In most cases, their host will die due to serious injury. Infection on human is possible but very rare.

It starts to rain when we walk home. I think we are really blessed. It’ll be terrible if it rains when we are in the jungle or river. However, I still catch a cold and sick for 2 weeks. We are so glad that the trip is mostly over. We are back to our homestay family and go to bed early. Zzzz….

>> Read Next Article (Part 5)

Photos taken in Long Pasia, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo