Tag Archives: nepenthes

Sabah Agriculture Park, the largest garden of Sabah

Sabah Agriculture Park (Local Name: Taman Pertanian Sabah), in Tenom district of Sabah interior, is one of the largest garden parks in Malaysia. This attraction is so underrated because people think that it’s only about farming. In fact, Sabah Agriculture Park has a wide range of exotic flowers and fruits origin from the tropical regions of Asia, Central & South America, and Africa.

Sabah Agriculture Park (Taman Pertanian Sabah) in Tenom is one of the largest garden parks in Malaysia.

Furthermore, Sabah Agriculture Park is a 500-acre mega garden with over 20 mini gardens that have special collections categorized by plant families or characteristics. Casual visitors would be dazzled by thousands of flowers, trees, fruits, and vegetables in variety of forms and colors, and enjoy a stroll at the beautiful lakeside and model gardens. If you are an avid botanist, gardener or farmer, you would wish that you discovered this plant kingdom earlier.

Visitor Hall and entrance of Sabah Agriculture Park (Taman Pertanian Sabah)

Tours

Sabah Agriculture Park sprawls over an area of 6 square kilometres, which is too big for visitor to cover everything in a day. The park is like a buffet, you can spend from a few hours to a week, depend on how much you want to see. My favourites are Crops Museum for sampling of tropical fruits, Native Orchid Centre for rare Borneo orchids, and Model Gardens for photo-taking.

Site map of Sabah Agriculture Park (Taman Pertanian Sabah) for paid visitors.

Quick Tour

For a quick tour to experience the highlights, the following activities are suitable for family and normal tourists who want to spend only a few hours:

Take a free ride on a tram-train to visit orchid and models gardens near the end of the park (save a lot of legwork). The tram starts around 9am and operates hourly (depend on the number of visitors).
Check out Crops Museum and Ornamental Gardens near the entrance of the Park.

Tram-train starts around 9am to provide free ride for visitors.

The park used to rent bicycle, which provides an excellent mean to explore the park. Sadly it’s not available now.

Educational Tour

Sabah Agriculture Park is an ideal outdoor classroom for school trips. The educators also can organize knowledge quests for students to learn about plant in a fun way. Who knows this might inspire them to find their passions in agriculture and horticulture (other than becoming a Youtuber, just kidding).

Guided Tour

Instead of wandering aimlessly in the park, an interpretation walk by a knowledgeable guide will make a big difference to your experience. They will share interesting stories of the plant, let you sample some foreign fruits and show you some special plant in the park. The guiding service is free. However, you need to request in advance with the Park by phone or through their Facebook (subject to availability).

Family can explore the gardens which have a network of paved trails connected to other gardens.

Tips

There are mosquitoes in areas near to water, you will need insect repellent.
No water station in the Park, bring a bottle of drinking water with you.
Visit in the morning so you don’t exposure to hot day. Use sunblock lotion (or umbrella) to prevent sunburn.
June to August is the best period to visit because of the fruiting season.
Wear comfortable walking shoes, especially the ones with slip resistant.

Left: Cannonball tree (*Couroupita guianensis*), native plant of South and Central America. Its fruits are edible but don’t taste good. Right: a heart-shaped flower

Gardens of Sabah Agriculture Park

There are over 20 sections that feature different flowers and plant. Every garden has signage, name plates and information panels (most have English version) for your DIY tour. You can walk to one garden to another via the network of paved path that connects most gardens. The following is an overview of the main gardens in the Park.

There are more than 20 small gardens (sections) in Sabah Agriculture Park for visitors to see different categories of plant.

Ornamental Gardens

Ornamental Garden is the best starting point for flower lovers. This super garden has over 20 well-landscaped mini-gardens that showcase different groups of plant and flowers. Fans of Bougainvillea, Hibiscus, Hoya, Ixora, Lily, Clerodendrum, Cactus, Carnivorous or Parasitic plant would be really pleased by the magnificent collection there. Some species are endemic to Borneo.

There are thousands of plant species of different forms and colours in Sabah Agriculture Park

Which flower is the Queen of the Tropical Flowers? What’s a wax plant? You can find the answers in this garden.

Crops Museum

Do you know that coffee was introduced from America and oil palm is the native plant of Africa? Some crops are so useful (or tasty) that they become part of our lives. You would be impressed by 400 tropical fruit trees divided into 15 major sections on this 8-acre ethno-botanical garden. These are cash trees with economic values due to their uses as food, medicines, spices, oil, fibers, cosmetics, handicrafts, etc. Some of them are from South America, Africa, India and Australia. Read more…

Local and non-native fruits in Sabah Agriculture Park. Can you tell which one is used as lipstick? And which one is guajilote fruit from Mexico?

Model Gardens

Model Gardens consist of five small themed gardens to demonstrate different landscaping and gardening styles that serve specific community and environment. For example, City Garden with cooling water fountain and seats, Sabah Garden with common vegetables and local ornamental trees. Sabahans love to plant papaya, pandan, banana and shallot on their yards.

Hybrid Orchids Centre

70 species of showy hybrid orchids grow here, mainly under genus of Oncidium, Cattleya, Aranda, Renenthera, Mokara, and Doritaenopsis. This is also a great location to take some portrait photos. Read more…

Hybrid Orchid Garden of Sabah Agriculture Park. These orchids have big and showy flowers for better commercial value and are more tolerant to sunlight.

Native Orchids Centre (must visit!)

Next to Hybrid Orchids Centre is the real gem of the Park, the Native Orchids Centre, where 400 species of indigenous Borneo orchids are cultivated. In contrast to the flamboyant hybrid orchids, many native orchids have smaller flowers, and some have smelly flowers. Some rare and endangered species found here include Elephant Ear Orchid, Rat Tail Orchid, Slipper Orchids, Bella Orchid, Giant Orchid and the Rose Orchid.

Native Orchid Centre of Sabah Agriculture Park has some impressive collections of rare Borneo orchids. Note the Giant orchid (*Grammatophyllum speciosum*) on the arch. This garden is next to the Hybrid Orchid Garden.

Evolution Garden

This garden exhibits how plants evolved and adapted to the environments even before dinosaur age, from pond to semi-arid zone, as well as harsh habitats such as salty and limestone territories. What would catch your attention there are the floating Giant Water lily that can hold a toddler, and the rotting smell of Giant Aristolochia flowers.

Plant Evolution and Adaptation Garden. The Giant water lily (*Victoria amazonica*) at the right can hold the weight of a small child.

Animal Park

Near the Sapong Lake is a mini zoo that raises some livestock and farm animals, for example, deer, ducks, tortoise, goats, ostrich. Many children are afraid of chicken because they never see one. Time to bring them here to see the real stuffs.

Lakes & Camping Ground

Oddly, lake is not very common in Sabah, so I’m happy to see three lakes in the Park. Visitors can enjoy the view and walk on the suspension bridges, or have a scenic view of the lakes on top of the 4-storey lookout tower. The Park even creates four islands in the lakes, one of them is Camping Island, which has a camping ground with tents and toilets (alert: many mosquitoes).

Bird Island (left) and Padas (right) Island in Sapong Lake of Sabah Agriculture Park

For a permit fee (RM2.00), you can fish at the lake, which has Tilapia, Grass and Common Carp, Patin, Toman, Kalui, and Lampam Jawa, to name a few. You can take home your caught too (for RM8/Kg). Boating is another fun activity in the lake.

Rundum Lake in Sabah Agriculture Park. You can walk up to the 4-floor-high Lookout Tower at the right for a nice view.

Amenities & Accommodation

Overall, Sabah Agriculture Park is a family-friendly park with complete amenities. Lot of parking spaces near the entrance. There are ticket counter, souvenir shop, restaurant, and toilets in the arrival hall.

Camping & Adventure Islands, and camping ground at the lakeside

Decent accommodation is available for those who want to overnight in the Park. However, it’s closed as of this writing. The fees below are for your info. You can follow their Facebook for the reopening date.

Hostel (per night per person): Adult (RM25), Student (RM15)
Chalet: RM150 per Chalet per Night (max 6 people)
Camping: RM 10 per person/night

Opening Hours

The Park is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 4:30pm. It’s closed every Monday (unless that day falls on a Public Holiday).

Common plant in Sabah Garden. Left: giant Bird’s-nest fern, Right: *Doringin* (or Simpoh Ayer), its big leaves can be used for packing rice (Linopot)

Entrance Fee

The best deal is family group ticket for parents who bring two children. (For international tourists: Based on currency exchange rate (as of this writing), one USD can exchange for about four Ringgit (RM4 or MYR4).)

Category	Malaysian	Foreigner
Adult (13 years and above)	RM10	RM25
Student (Secondary school / Undergraduates of higher learning)	RM7	–
Child below 13	RM5	RM10
Accompanied child below 6	Free	Free
Government Pensioner / Senior Citizen	RM7	RM25
Family (2 adults + maximum 2 children below 13 years old)	RM20	RM50
Handicapped	Free	Free

Ticket fee to enter Sabah Agriculture Park

How to get there

Sabah Agriculture Park is about 164 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu City (KK), and 14 kilometres from Tenom town. The Park is highly accessible by highway and paved road, and takes nearly 3 hours of driving from KK. The GPS coordinates of the Park is 5.174728932499501, 115.98344250484831 (see Location Map). Do not rely on public transport to move around Tenom. Use your car or rent one.

Cactus Garden (left) and hanging bridge (right)

The following is the contact of Sabah Agriculture Park:
Address: Taman Pertanian Sabah, WDT, 28, 89909 TENOM, SABAH, MALAYSIA
Facebook: Taman-Pertanian-Sabah
Website: sabah.net.my/agripark
E-mail: agripark@sabah.net.my, tps_tenom@yahoo.com
Phone: +60 87-737952 / 737558

Photos taken in Tenom, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Pitcher Plant Hunting in Weston

How to get there

Weston is a small town at Sabah’s West Coast and 125 KM (2-hour drive) south of Kota Kinabalu city. 400 Meters before Weston, turn to a junction named Jln Lubok at your left, and you will reach the place in a few minutes (see Location Map).

Pic: you will see a Chinese temple (Chinese name: 聖王廟) near the junction.

This place is an open space without gate and fence. But don’t litter around when you visit the land.

Have you visited this place? Please tell me, if you see other species of pitcher plant there.

Photos taken in Weston, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

An Interview with Pitcher Plant

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Pitcher plants of Sabah belong to the genus Nepenthes. Some call them “Monkey Cup.” Pitcher plant is one of the coolest plants on earth because it can “catch” bugs without chasing around. Pitcher Plants normally grow in places where the soil is very poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen.

To survive, they become carnivorous plants that are equipped with pitfall trap, consists of a deep cupped cavity filled with liquid. The lethal bait is the nectar of the pitcher that makes it smells like a jug of irresistible honey. Insects which forage for sweet food will fall accidentally into the deep cavity, drown in the digestive liquid and consumed by pitcher plant.

To learn more about this fascinating plant, I interviewed a pitcher plant named “Pit” who is fond of eating bugs.

Pit: Hello! I am Pit, a Nepenthesis Rajah (species name) from Sabah. Rajah is the world’s biggest pitcher plant that can hold 1.5 to 2 Litres of water. I am only found in Mesilau, Kinabalu Park and Mt. Tambuyukon, that means I am endemic to Sabah.

MySabah: You make Sabahans proud. But wait! Are you man-eater?
Pit: Nepenthesis Rajah can grow up to 35cm. There were two documented cases of mouse corpses found in pitchers and our cup can trap small animals such as frog and lizards, but no, pitcher plant is not big enough to eat human though we wish. We cannot move so we cannot bite, unlike the common myth saying that we can open and close our lids to chew your fingers.

Above: pitcher plant about to open. The locals say the serum inside virgin nepenthes is used as hair tonic

MySabah: 35cm!!? WOW, you are such a huge fruit!
Pit: Wrong. The pitcher is not a fruit. It does not make sense for flower to kill pollinators that visit it, right? As a matter of fact, the pitcher is the modified tip of a leaf that has evolved to trap insects. Pitcher plants do have small flowers that attract different kinds of insects for pollination.

Above: insect trapped inside pitcher plant

Above: snail trapped inside pitcher plant

MySabah: Is the murky fluid in pitcher poisonous?
Pit: The water in pitcher contains highly acidic enzymes (sometimes up to pH 1.90!) to digest the prey and some wetting agents that make their escape harder. However, most captured insects died of drowning when they fail to climb out from our smooth inner wall, instead of being killed by the acid. The liquid is acidic, smelly and full of bacteria, so drinking it will lead to very uncomfortable consequences. You have been warned!

Above: larvae of mosquito inside pitcher plant

MySabah: Weird… How come I saw mosquito larvae swim happily in your “gastric” then?
Pit: Oh yes. Larvae of certain insects such as mosquito and flies, live in the pitchers during juvenile stage, have adapted to the acidic environment. Actually they also help to break up the carcasses of the death bugs so my enzymes can decompose the prey easier. By sharing food, they also keep my cup clean by removing excessive organic leftover. The insects will leave me after they grow up and fly away, never return again except for laying eggs.

Photos: endemic pitcher plant of Sabah

MySabah: How many species of pitcher plants are found?
Pit: There are about 160 species of Nepenthes in the world. Most of them are concentrated in South-East Asia. 39 species are found in Borneo and 22 species are found in Sabah. Six out of the 22 species are endemic to Sabah, with four endemic to Mount Kinabalu (N. burbidgeae, N. edwardsiana, N. rajah, N. villosa), one endemic to Mount Trus Madi (N. macrophylla) and one obligate ultramafic species (N. macrovulgaris).

Above: flower of nepenthes (left is male, right is female)

Most pitcher plant species have very restricted geography distribution. Sometimes two different species crossbreed with each other naturally to produce a hybrid, such as Nepenthes xkinbaluensis (fusion of Nepenthes rajah and Nepenthes villosa).

New species is found at a rate of 1 to 2 every year. In October of 2006, Dr Charles Clarke discovered a new species on Gunung Alab (highest peak of Crocker Range Park) in Sabah, and named it as Nepenthes chaniana after Sabahan Datuk CL Chan. This is the first nepenthes species named after Malaysian!

MySabah: You are so cute. Can I plant you in my garden?
Pit: All pitcher plant species are protected in Sabah. For people who possess or trade pitcher plants without a license, they can be fined RM5,000 or being jailed for 2 years, or both. In severe case, the penalty fee can reach RM10,000 (USD3,000++). You can buy a diamond for that price. Besides, pitcher plant is hard to cultivate in-house, most of them die under human care.

Above: Nepenthes Garden of Tenom Agriculture Park

MySabah: Many tourists would love to meet pitcher plants and get autograph of them. Where are the best places to find you all?
Pit: If you would like to see many species in a garden, you should check out Botanical Garden of Lokkawi Wildlife Park or Carnivorous Plant Garden of Sabah Agriculture Park in Tenom. They have collection of over 10 beautiful local and foreigner species. Even the roadsides to Beaufort, Papar-Kimanis, and Keningau have a few common Nepenthes species wait to be seen. If this is not close enough, you could look for them in nature jogging trail of Tun Fuad Stephens Park.

Above: wild pitcher plant at Tun Fuad Stephens Park

To see pitcher plants in the wild, Mesilau, Kinabalu Park, Maliau Basin, Mt. Trus Madi and Mt. Tambuyukon are the best spots to look for rare & endemic species. But you need to have very observant eyes because the colors of pitcher plants blend nicely in the wood. January to May is a good time as we grow well in wetter season.

Above: rare Nepenthes macrophylla in Mt. Trus Madi

Above: pitcher plant in Maliau Basin

Pitcher plants are sensitive, so please do not touch it. If you have to, hold its body gently and do not flip its lid, which is the most fragile part, to see what is inside. While you enjoy watching them, please do not feed them with stuff such as cockroach, as pitcher cannot cope with a mouthful of bugs. Camera flash is believed to be harmful to us, so please use it sparingly. By being considerable, the next tourist can see our beauty intact.

MySabah: Thank you so much, Pit!
Pit: You are welcome. For further info about us, you could read the book “A Guide to the Pitcher Plants of Sabah” published by Natural History Publications. All the best!

Photos taken in 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.

Click Here to read Next article…

More Photos

You may check out the photo album of Mt. Tambuyukon trip for more nice pictures:

All Articles:

Part 1: Day 1. From Starting Point to KM5
Part 2: Day 2. From KM5 to Musang Camp (KM10.8)
Part 3: Day 3. To the Summit! (this article)
Part 4: Day 4 & 5. Going Home
Part 5: Planning & Preparation

Related Posts:

Mt. Kinabalu (highest mountain in Malaysia)
Mt. Trus Madi (second highest in Malaysia)

Photos taken in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Monkey and Monkey Cup of Weston

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In the past, Weston is the first town to have a railway station in Borneo, but it is under-developed and remain a seaside village today. Now tourists find a reason to visit Weston, as it is one of the three places offers wetland eco-tourism in Klias Peninsular to see long-nosed monkey, besides Klias and Garama.

Weston town is about 3 hours drive (125 KM) from Kota Kinabalu city and accessible by paved road. You will pass by Papar, Bongawan and Beaufort towns on the way.

Last month I joined a river cruise tour in Weston. I arrived Weston around 10am and our guide, Richard, and his boat, were already waiting at the jetty. It had been raining every day that time, so I was so glad that we had sunny day. For a start, we had a river cruise tour on the Weston River. The wetland here is mostly intact and well-preserved. Unlike the brackish and lifeless water in peat swamp of Klias and Garama, Weston wetland is a wide river with flowing murky (like color of milk tea) water.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

Compared to Klias and Garama, Weston wetland is located at downstream and closer to the sea. In fact, its estuary is where Padas, the largest river of Sabah, ends as the meeting place of sea and river. As tide level changes daily, so is the depth of the water. We can see some lands exposed during low tide, with mangrove trees growing on it. During high tide, about lower half of these trees will be submerged into the water. A funny view but these vegetation have the ability to live in such intertidal environment.

Within 10 minutes, our boat spotted the first proboscis monkey. It’s a female monkey foraging at the river bank. Crocodiles also live in Weston River, but most are concentrated in further upstream, so this monkey is safe.

Then we saw about 4 herds of proboscis monkey (about 4 to 8 monkey per group) on the trees next to the river. Each group is dominated by a male proboscis monkey with big nose and belly. Proboscis monkey is one of the biggest monkey species but they are very elusive. They fled into the forest before our boat could get closer, so a binocular would help a lot.

Besides monkey, you can spot some water birds such as kingfisher, egrets and Lesser Adjutant.

Weston is rich in seafood too. We saw some fishing boats in the river, and a few of them were checking the fish traps.

Surprisingly, as an old town, the river of Weston is not really dense-populated. We found wooden houses of fishermen scattered along the river. Richard says the contour of the river always changes, so I assume any area near the river is not suitable for permanent settlement. Due to land clearing upstream, more silt is carried into Padas river, and this would affect the course and flow of the river.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

Klias and Garama wetlands have beautiful peat swamp forest, but I think Weston has the densest and most beautiful view of Nipah forest. Someone told me that nipah tree is an invasive species and very easy to plant. You can see nipah tree in swampy area and wetland in Sabah.

Does nipah tree sound so unfamiliar to you? In fact, most of you (Malaysians) have eaten its fruit. Its popular name is “atap fruit”. Chinese calls it “水椰” (water coconut). The sweet Nipah fruit is a common item served in dessert called Ais Kacang or “ABC” (acronym for Air Batu Campur, literally means “Mixed Ice”).

Above: the semi-transparent and oval-shape nipah (nypa) fruits. The fruit is sweet with chewy texture, taste and feel like jello candy.

Above: nipah fruit is a nice addition to Mixed Ice dessert.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

But what Weston most famous for is its crabs. For unknown reason, the crabs from Weston taste sweeter and more chewy. Even my mother knows this and ask me to buy some from Weston.

Another popular seafood of Weston is the freshwater prawn “Udang Galah” ( “大头虾” in Chinese). You can fish this prawn with specialized fishing hook. Normally the fishermen throw some rice in the river, after a while catch it using the fishing net. You can buy directly for cheaper price from local fishermen in Weston. In fish market, Udang Galah is sold for RM20 (about USD$6) per Kilogram. Unfortunately, due to overfishing, the crabs and shrimps in Weston are getting less.

At the end of our morning river cruise, we stopped at the jetty of Weston Wetland Resort, which has its dining area and reception building built next to the river. We were welcome by a fat and friendly cat, aww… so cute.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

Below is a 5-minute video of our river cruise tour and Weston Wetland Resort. Sadly, I notice my video has very low click rate. Now I’m not sure if I should waste my time making video next time.. 🙁 At first I thought it was a great idea..

After taking some coffee and pineapples as light refreshment, Richard wanted to take us for a “pitcher plant” walk in a forest nearby. I thought I was the smartest one in the group. Assuming that it might be a “mud” walk, I was wearing short sleeve shirt and short pant, without knowing that I was totally unprepared what was coming next..

The 5-minute walk on the boardwalk allows us to take closer look at the nipah trees, without getting ourselves wet and dirty in the flooded swamp. However, the boardwalk is not well-maintained, so I had to watch my steps for missing plank.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

Then we came to a bush area with dense shrubs. Wow, there are pitcher plant (Nepenthes) everywhere. Some are hanging on the shrubs and there are carpets of pitcher plant on the ground too. We have to be very careful of our steps. Pitcher plant is also called “Monkey Cup”, but it has nothing to do with monkey though, except that it looks like a miniature cup used by monkey.

Some are smaller than finger… This is Nepenthes tentaculata I think.

Some nepenthes have peculiar shape..

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

There are a number of nepenthes species around this small area. The one above is Nepenthes rafflesiana if I’m not mistaken.

Overall, we saw 4 or 5 species of nepenthes in just a small area. The one above is Nepenthes ampullaria, the highlight of our Nepenthes Hunt. Cute, isn’t it?

For those of you who plan to visit the Weston Wetland, you need to prepare for horse fly, an annoying blood sucker. I saw no horse fly in Klias and Garama but there are plenty of them near the Weston River. Horse fly is so persistent that they keep following you until you kill them or they are done sucking your blood.

There were more than 10 horse flies following me. According to Richard, my clothing in dark nature color attracts horse fly. Horse fly would not come near to people in bright color dress. In one case, one of his visitors killed 40 horse flies. When I didn’t pay attention, the horse fly cut a small wound on my exposed skin and fed on the blood. I ended up having 4 or 5 bites. They said the bites would become really itchy on next day and they were right. The worst thing is it will get worse if you scratch.

Normal insect repellent can’t drive horse fly away. One of my friends introduced me the repellent spray above. It is really effective against horse fly but this spray is not available in Malaysia shop. What you can do is to dress in bright color and cover your skin as much as possible with long sleeve and pant. Horse fly may carry parasite or disease, so don’t take it lightly.

Richard showed us his resort, but the room and accommodation is not ready yet, as of this writing.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

We had our seafood lunch in Weston Wetland Resort. I remember my Sabahan friends and I once ordered shrimp in a restaurant in Peninsular Malaysia. We laughed when we saw the dish, coz the shrimps were so tiny that they are only qualified for making dried shrimps in Sabah. Sabah is blessed with abundant and “big” seafood, is because of our well-preserved wetlands (e.g. mangrove, coral reefs), which is a nursery and breeding ground for our seafood. Remember, our mangrove forest and swamp are not wasteland, they are important supply of our seafood.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Weston

Before we said bye-bye to Weston, we had another river cruise near the exit of estuary (river mouth of Padas), where we can see Brunei in front. Do you see the light area in the sea, in photo above? The water there is only a few feet deep. We had too many people onboard so we didn’t move further or we would risk our boat stranded in shallow water. Yes, you are correct that the last photo is the land of Brunei.

Photos taken in Weston, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Climbing Mount Trus Madi, the 2nd highest mountain of Malaysia – Part 3 of 3

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Continued from Part 2… (Note: The trail & accommodation have improved a lot after 2014. Please check out my latest Guide on Climbing Mt. Trusmadi.)

Day 3

Though I didn’t sleep well, my muscles were able to relax and recover. I advise climbers to invest in a good (=expensive) backpack that can spread the weight evenly, otherwise you would have back pain like me. Everyone waked up at 2am, after having some cookies and instant noodles (with curry meat, sardine and tuna) as breakfast, we packed and headed to the summit at 3am. If plan went well, we could reach the summit before 6am to watch the sunrise.

Conquering Mt. Trus Madi

The morning was total darkness. With the aid of LED headlight, I could only see a few feet in front of me. We were only 1.5 KM away from the summit, but most of the trail was over 50 degree of steepness. Certain section was impossible to climb without the help of ropes. My head even knocked on overhanging branches a few times. When I tried to grab anything along the steep trail to support myself, I felt a sharp pain and found that I grabbed on a thorny rattan. This sinister plant is so abundant along the trail to the summit.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

With heavy camera, tripod, drinking water, etc., I had over 5Kg of weight on my back so I moved very slowly. Near the top of Taliban Peak, I could see the streetlight of Keningau town far away, it was so beautiful. Thanks to the stupid La Nina phenomenon, it has been raining all night and the trail became muddy and slippery. That’s no way we could avoid contact with mud, so our pants were dirty.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

Finally I reached the summit around 6:30am. I didn’t feel excited. Instead, I was glad that it was over. I looked around and found that none of us was clean, our jeans were full of mud stains.

Above: group photo on the summit.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

Someone say climbers will be rewarded by the beautiful sunset and close view of Mt. Kinabalu (only 40 KM away). Due to the heavy rain and dense fog, we saw nothing. According to the book “Mountains of Malaysia” by John Brigss, Mt. Trus Madi has “The most beautiful mountains view in Malaysia”.

Above: a marker that divides Mt. Trus Madi into Tambunan and Keningau districts

Since we were there anyway, we took some happy faces group photos. FYI, due to a nearby repeater, your mobile phone may get full bar of signal. You can call your love one to say that you call her/him from the top of Mt. Trus Madi. It may sound romantic too if you jump off the peak to prove your love, lol. Or at least you can post an update to your Facebook or Twitter.

Above: Yayasan Sabah repeater. Some say this area is haunted by spirit of a porter who died of malaria

The Summit

The guide showed us a unique plant (Melastoma minahanse) below, it is only found on Mt. Trus Madi and Papua New Guinea. Apart from Myrtaceae, the summit vegetation is dominated by small, leathery-leafed shrubs such as from the families of Ericaeae, Theaceae, Podocarpaceae.

Above: Melastoma minahanse, this plant only found in Trus Madi and Papua New Guinea

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

The most special plant community of Trus Madi is the scrub community on the summit. The mix of the montane and subalpine species growing on the summit is unique to Mt. Trus Madi. The shrub species that occur separately as montane and subalpine elements on Mt. Kinabalu are condensed into the same habitat on Trus Madi, and this results in such high species richness. Such coexistence of ecologically divergent species is not found on Mt. Kinabalu!

Descending

We only stayed about 20 minutes on the summit, then we descended to the cabin. I was not in a mood to rush home, so I walked slowly and took photos on the way. The mossy jungle of upper montane forest looked like an alien world, as one said, we were like entering the world of “Lord of the Rings” movie. Characterized by persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, this moist forest is part of the cloud forest zone. You can see abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, so it is also known as mossy forest.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

I also photographed some orchid and rhododendron flowers that are only found in higher altitude. The flowers look so nice with raindrops on them. I was told that a Proboscis Monkey was once spotted at 2,000 M above sea level. That’s so unusual, as this monkey only lives around mangrove forest.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

Endemic Pitcher Plant

You must check out the Nepenthes macrophylla pitcher plant here, which is a montane species endemic to the upper slopes of Trus Madi. There are so many of them along the trail from summit to the cabin, like a pitcher plant garden.

Later we found a Nepenthes xTrusmadiensis pitcher plant on top of a tree near our cabin. Limited to summit ridge from elevations of 2,500 to 2,600 M, Nepenthes xTrusmadiensis is the natural hybrid of Nepenthes lowii and Nepenthes macrophylla. Sadly, this biggest hybrid species is under threat and getting scarce, because tourists pluck them.

Above: Nepenthes xTrusmadiensis on the tree

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We packed our stuffs and left the cabin at 10am and descend to the starting point. The rain has stopped and we could get a clear view of the surrounding mountains. Trus Madi Range is 80 KM in length, so long and vast that it covers Tambunan, Keningau and Ranau districts. The misty mountain range of Mt. Trus Madi looks like the backbone of a huge green dragon starts and ends in nowhere. I missed this view the previous day due to the dense mist and heavy rain, so I kept shooting photos.

Above: Nepenthes lowii

Above: Nepenthes macrophylla

Above: Nepenthes xTrusmadiensis (hybrid of Nepenthes lowii and macrophylla)

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

Going Home

I took more than 5 hours to reach the starting point of Mt. Trus Madi from the cabin (3.4 KM). When I was about 30 minutes to the Starting Point, I heard a lady screamed in front. But there was no person in front of me. I ran quickly to check but found nobody. The scream was so loud and clear, so I am sure it was not an illusion. Some say the jungle spirit played a trick on me when I was alone. It still remains as a question mark to me.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

Whatever, I was back home in one piece later. Weeks later I was informed by one of the lady climbers that she was pregnant during the climb (she also didn’t know). Phew… that makes me sweat.

May be Mt. Trus Madi does not have astonishing and magnificent landscape like Mt. Kinabalu, but its pristine and unique flora beats Mt. Kinabalu. In fact, Mt. Trus Madi has the potential to become the next UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sabah. It is a must-go for nature lovers.

Lastly, a special thanks to our ethnobotanist guide, Julius Kulip, for identification of the plant species and being our nice company. Julius is one of the few plant experts who is very knowledgeable about Trus Madi and even wrote a few publications about it. I also used some of his info in this blog.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

If you are interested in climbing Mt. Trus Madi, the info below might be useful for you.

Planning the Climb

Mt. Trus Madi is a Class 1 protected forest reserve (FMU 10) managed by the Sabah Forestry Department, so you need to apply for the permit to climb. Please note that only a maximum of 16 people (include guide & porter) are allowed to overnight on the mountain every day, so you may need to book the date earlier. Sabah Forestry Department will charge various fees such as Entry Permit, 4-Wheel Drive entry permit, forestry guide, certificate, etc. The rate is higher for foreigner tourists.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

One Forestry Guide is required (compulsory) for every 5 or less climbers. For example, you need to hire two forestry guides if you have 7 people in a group. The Forestry Guides are not Tour Guides, they only monitor the tourists (some tourists like to steal the precious Gaharu wood and rare orchids in Trus Madi forest) and take care of their safety.

Working out the budget is a difficult task. Fortunately, the tour operator can register and pay Forestry Department on your behalf, but for a service fee. Usually the tour operator provides the 4-wheel drive transport (a must), 1-night accommodation in Tambunan town, tour guide, insurance, porters and cook, so the cost can vary, depending on what you need and how big is your group (minimum 3 persons. bigger group can get better rate).

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

You can contact TYK Adventure Tours (Tel: (60 88) 232821 / 238702, email: tykadto@gmail.com, website: www.tykadventuretours.com) directly for the tour package.

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

Though you can hire porter to carry your bag, you better improve your physical fitness by exercise regularly before the climb. If you think climbing Mt. Kinabalu is hard, don’t even think about Mt. Trus Madi!

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

Things to Bring

Sleeping bag (temperature can drop to 10°C at night)
Backpack (with rain cover)
Raincoat / poncho
LED Headlamp
Warm clothing such as wind breaker / jacket / sweater
Spare clothing & small towel (in case you get wet or dirty)
Hand gloves (for climbing with ropes)
Water (1 Litre): you can refill water in resting hut and cabin, so don’t carry too much (heavy!).
Toilet paper
Food & Cooking Utensils such as portable gas stove and pot (if you cook your meal)
Dining set (spoon, plate, cup)
Camera & spare batteries
Comfortable trekking shoes (Addidas Kampung rubber shoe is the best!)
Plastic bag (to store rubbish. Leave nothing behind!)
Optional: trekking pole, medicines (for headache, minor wound), deep heat spray (relieve muscle pain), energy bars, rehydration salt

Above: for climbers who make it to the top, they will earn a beautiful certificate issued by Sabah Forestry Department

>> Click Here to see more photos of Mt. Trus Madi

The lighter your bag is, the better. In long hours of climbing, every pound counts. You can hire a porter to carry your bag (up to 20 Kg) for about RM150 to 200 per trip. If you spend a night in Tambunan, you can leave those unnecessary things such as used clothing behind.

Good Luck!

Photos taken in Tambunan, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Part 5 of 8. Trip to Nepenthes Camp (Heath Forest)

Continued from Part 4…

Day 4 in Maliau Basin

I am ready to go home today morning. We have to cancel our trip halfway coz Ms. S is injured and suffer muscle pain. When all of us are in “quitting” mode, Ms. S has geared up and I can sense the “Go! Go! Go!” mood on her face. “Did you tell her… our decision?” I ask the others quietly. They look at one another and shake their heads. What?!! None of us told her the bad news? Probably nobody dares to upset her.

Then she is quite shock to find out the rest of us have decided (without her) to cancel the trip and return to Maliau Basin Studies Centre today. She assures J, our guide, and O, Senior Ranger, that she is almost fully recover, after she did the stretching exercise advised by the doctor over the night. J is very doubtful and tries to convince her to stop. Then they quarrel. The rest stay away from the “storm” and wait. It is not for us to decide because only Ms. S knows her own condition.

Above: GPS reading of Ginseng Camp

Soon the thunderstorm is over, the face of our guide looks pale, like a cock losing a fight; he comes and informs us to get ready to Nepenthes Camp. We almost jump and scream in joy. Though we wish to continue the trip, we really concern about her condition. We don’t want her to proceed just because she doesn’t want to spoil our trip. Again, she shows no intention of quitting. The guides say they will observe her condition, if she can’t make it for the first 500 Meters, then we have to turn back. If you read my last blog, you know how terrible the trail is. Later we find that we worry too much. She always walks at the front. The “Iron Lady” is back!

Above: GPS reading of Nepenthes Camp

Going to Nepenthes Camp

At 8:30am, we start walking from Ginseng Camp (566 M above sea level) to Nepenthes Camp (formerly Camel Trophy Camp) at 1,005 Meters. Today is also one of the best days. In 7KM of jungle trekking from 566M to 1,000M in elevation (a lot of climbing then!), we will pass through 3 types of forest, namely, mixed dipterocarp rainforest, lower montane forest and heath forest. We will stay in Nepenthes Camp for a night.

Above: trail (in red) from Ginseng Camp to Nepenthes Camp

Above: trail in 3D model

The terrain is as undulating as our previous trails. We first walk in mixed dipterocarp rainforest with many hundred-feet trees, quite similar to what I saw in Agathis-Ginseng trail. For every 100 Meters we ascend, the temperature drops by 0.75 degree Celsius, so it is getting cool and fresh.

About two hours later, a forest of huge trees changes to a forest full of slim and short trees only about 15 to 30 Meters high. Conspicuous green cushions of mosses, liverworts and lichens are seen along the trail. We have entered the Lower Montane Forest (750M – 850M above sea level). There are some weird plants that you would notice in montane forest (see photos below).

Above: Tristaniopsis sp. tree with orange bark, you can peel off the skin easily.

Above: a Rengas tree which can cause intense allergies, and is related to the well known Poison Ivy.

Above: Fan palm is common in montane forest

Heath Forest: Garden of Pitcher Plant

Then we saw the first pitcher plant at 11am. Very soon we saw many more small pitcher plants along the trail. The guide asks us not to waste our time to photograph these ordinary pitcher plants, because there are more big and special ones ahead. And they are right. We enter the tropical heath forest, also a garden of pitcher plant! We can see very obvious change of vegetation; the heath forest contains dense stands of smaller sized, small-crowned & shorter trees mostly shorter than 20 Meters. The trail is quite narrow, but more sunlight due to smaller canopy.

Above: first pitcher plant

Occur from 900 to 1,600 Meters above sea level and occupy 21% of Maliau Basin, heath forest is a type of tropical moist forest found in areas with leached, acidic, white sandy soils that are extremely nutrient-poor. Heath Forest is locally known as Kerangas in Iban language, the word means a forested land with underlying soils which are unsuitable for growing rice. There are not many heath forest in Sabah and this is the first time I see it.

Above: white sandy soil in heath forest

Because of the infertile soil, the plant is rich in tannins, which is indigestible or toxic to plant eaters. The tannins leaching out of the peaty leaf litter is hard to be broken down, so it stays in the water. The reddish brown color of river water in Maliau Basin is mainly caused by heath forest. The forest floor is criss-crossed by tangled roots encrusted in moss, making the ground very marshy and soft.

We can see fascinating pitcher plants in every few steps. Some are on the ground, and some dangled up to tree top, attempting to capture high flying insects. Except Maliau and Mesliau, there is no other place in Sabah where I can see such a big concentration of pitcher plant. 9 species of pitcher plant are found in Maliau Basin, namely, N. veitchii, N. tentaculata, N. stenophylla, N. mirabilis, N. hirsuta, N. lowii, N. gracilis, N. reinwardtiana, N. stenophylla x veitchii (hybrid). Most of the pitcher plants I see in this heath forest are Nepenthes veitchii and Nepenthes stenophylla.

Besides rich variety of pitcher plant, we also found some flowering orchids and Rhododendron. 21 species of Rhododendron are found in Maliau Basin. I was told that many Japanese tourists and botanists don’t want to leave this natural botanical garden as they love it so much. Mr. T is a plant expert, so he keeps me busy taking photos by showing me some unique and rare plants around.

There are fewer leeches in heath forest, but they are bigger here. Probably due to the white sandy soil here, the tiger leech has white, instead of yellow, stripes at the side of its bodies. We don’t see any other animals except a noisy Temmink’s Sunbird. We are close to the camp when we enter the Jalan Babi (Wild Boar Road), which is a clear and wide trail created by migration of wild boars that feed on fallen acorns. You better stay close with your guide because there are many junctions here, as you could be lost easily.

Above: “Wild Boar” road

Nepenthes Camp (formerly Camel Trophy Camp)

We arrived the Nepenthes Camp at 2pm (a total of 5.5 hours of walking). Constructed by the participants of Camel Trophy (hence the old name “Camel Trophy Camp”) in 1993, Nepenthes Camp was the first and oldest permanent camp within the Maliau Basin and it is located strategically at the meeting point of lower montane forest and heath forest on southern plateau of Maliau Basin.

Nepenthes Camp is a 2-storey wooden house smaller than Ginseng Camp. It is complete with bunk beds, showers, kitchen, toilet and solar electricity, which can accommodate up to 15 visitors. Personally I think it is more comfortable than Ginseng Camp, coz it has proper rooms with beds. The ground floor is the kitchen, dining area, toilet and shower room, and our rooms are in 1st floor.

Nepenthes Camp is the oldest camp and frequented by most visitors, so it has the most number of plaques (nearly hundred) created by tourists. Some plaques are very creative and interesting. We can spend hours just to look at them, which is great, as we have nothing to do at night. We also find the names of our friends on some plaques.

Above: part of the plaque collection in Nepenthes Camp

Above: Honeymoon in Maliau Basin. Are they serious?

Above: this one made in 2002, probably the oldest plaque

Giluk Falls

I have a quick lunch at Nepenthes Camp, then proceed to Giluk Falls at 2:30pm. Ms. D and Mr. T are tired and so they don’t follow me and Ms. S. We walk so fast that we arrive Upper Giluk Waterfall in an hour. Giluk Falls is also a multi-tier waterfall but it is much more smaller than Maliau Falls. However, it has the beauty of its own.

We can see white foams flowing slowly on the water (look like someone does her laundry in the upstream). Actually these frothy white foams are created by soapy saponins from the leaves, and they are commonly seen on the river around heath forest. The reddish brown river is rich in Humic acids, produced by, and washed from, the very slowly decaying leaf litter beneath the heath forests and highest montane forest. Humic acids are difficult to degrade so they remain in the river. The water is also low in oxygen level, so only 4 fishes and 2 crab species are found in the rivers of Maliau Basin.

Due to time constraint, we don’t go to Takob-Akob Waterfall, which is far away with very challenging landscape. We are back to the Nepenthes Camp around 5:20pm.

Update (May 2011): I visited Takob-Akob Falls, the tallest waterfall (38 Meters) in Maliau Basin, in my second trip. You may watch the video below:

Click Here for bigger video

The Evening

The water pump in Nepenthes Camp broke down, so we have very limited water that we have to take our shower in a river nearby. But I have to climb down a 5-feet drop, walk on the dirty muddy riverside to the river, so I give up. I get a scoop of clean water in the toilet to wash myself with wet towel.

Nepenthes Camp is powered by 6 solar panel on the roof. The electricity is only enough for lighting of our dinner. During dinner time, about 3 Malay Civet cats (Viverra tangalunga) turn up outside our house. We give them our leftover food and they enjoy it. Though they keep a distance from us, they seem to get used to human already. One of them is lack of one limb and being chased away by other two. If you stay still, they can come as close as 2 Meters away. From the info of other web sites, visitors and guides have been feeding them since year 2001 (but I’m not sure if it is always the same group of civets).

The night in Nepenthes Camp is not too cold, probably we sleep in a proper room. The sky is so clear and full of stars. I can even see the Milky Way (our galaxy) runs across the sky like two parallel silver rivers. It’s so great to be alive. You can’t see this in city coz it is overshadowed by street light and dusty air. We feel so relaxing because we have finished all the challenging trails. Tomorrow we will go back to Agathis Camp and it is mainly descending trail.

Late in midnight, I heard someone was shouting to the air. Next day I was told that it was a guide who asked for “permission” from spirit so he can pee from the balcony. The reason was – when he took shower with another guide at the river in evening, they felt that “someone” throwing thing at them. He might think that the spirit in forest dislikes him, so he tries to be respectful.

>> Read Next Article (Part 6)

Photos taken in Maliau Basin, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

All Articles of Maliau Basin Trip:
Part 1. Introduction to Maliau Basin
Part 2. Day 1 in Maliau Basin
Part 3. Day 2 in Maliau. Trekking to the 1st camp
Part 4. Day 3 in Maliau. Maliau Waterfall
Part 5. Day 4 in Maliau. Entering the garden of pitcher plant
Part 6. Day 5 in Maliau. Skybridge & Night Safari
Part 7. Day 6 in Maliau. Leaving Maliau
Part 8. Conclusion & Notes

More Photos

You may check out my Maliau Basin photo album for more pictures:

BONUS! More new photos of Maliau Basin…

The Biggest pitcher plant in the world

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This pitcher plant is Nepenthes Rajah and yes it is in Sabah! The best place to see Nepenthes Rajah is in Mesilau, about 2-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu (12 KM away from Kundasang town). All you need to do is just going to Mesilau Nature Resort and register for a 2-hour guided tour that is started at 11:30am. For Malaysian adults, the fee is only RM5 (RM10 for foreigner tourists). A park ranger will walk you to the natural habitat of Rajah pitcher plant.

Mesilau is nearly 2,000 Metres above sea level so the air is a bit cooling. You don’t feel really warm when you walk in the first 20 minutes of Mesilau trail, which is under the shade of sub-montane forest. The first thing you pass by is the Mesilau cave. It is not so deep anyway.

Sabah Parks ranger, Mr. Sukaibin, was very knowledgeable and introducing the plants that we saw along the trail. Above is a coffee plant that probably we can call it “Mesilau Coffee”? We also saw a bush warbler bird just feet away.

Photo at left above is a tomato plant, the left is wild pinang (betel nut). We saw a few ginger flowers too. It is such a lovely nature garden. Too bad I didn’t see any red-lipped snake, which is endemic to Sabah only. It likes to warm itself on the rock exposed to morning sunlight. Its kiss of death is 3 times more venomous than cobra. Sukaibin said someone cooked and ate the snake before, and got tummy ache, in a way suggesting that its meat is poisonous too.

Juicy wild berry (photo above) is abundant in Mesilau. It looks tasty but we are not sure if it is edible. Look safe to me. Then we came to a big boulder (photo below) with soil seemed to be removed at the bottom, enough to fit a few people. According to the guide, this huge rock was coming from top of Mt Kinabalu due to a landslide some 50,000 years ago during ice age. Legend passed down from ancestors said the space under this boulder was a temporary hiding place for villagers who were trying to escape from a plague.

Finally we arrived a locked gate. Sukaibin opened the gate and we crossed a small river on a hanging suspension bridge.

When you see many big rocks and boulders in river, that means it is an upstream. This ordinary river was how Mesilau got its name. During rainy day, the water will wash the soil down into this river, turning it into yellowish colour. Mesilau means “Yellow River.”

Then the next minute it was a walk to the trail uphill. The slope was created by landslide. Most part does not have boardwalk and railing for walking, so you need to walk carefully and make sure you wear suitable shoes.

Every soon I saw the first pitcher plant. It is quite big but it is not Nepenthes Rajah that I looked for. However, it is Nepenthes burbidgeae discovered in 1800’s and only found in Kinabalu Park of Sabah. The dark dots make this pitcher looks so cute.

“Monkey Cup” is another nickname for pitcher plants. In early days, researchers saw a group of monkeys sitting next to pitcher plant, making it looked like the cup of monkeys thus giving this name. I doubt if monkey really drinks the water in the cup coz the fluid is acidic and poisonous. Pitcher plants normally grow on the soil which is very poor in nutrients. As you can see in the photo below, the soil in Mesilau is dry and yellow and mixed with rocks and sand. Even the trees here are few and short, an obvious sign of infertile soil. The grass doesn’t look so green either.

Besides Nepenthes burbidgeae and Nepenthes rajah, smaller pitchers such as Nepenthes fusca and Nepenthes tentaculata could be seen in Mesilau. Part of the trail is off-limit to tourists so I think there are more species available here. Besides the standard 11:30am guided tour, visitors can request for another tour at 2.30pm a few hours in advance. I do not recommend this. Due to little shady area on the slope, it is quite hot on the slope in the afternoon, and we want to minimise disturbance to the pitchers. BTW, you could enjoy a breath-taking view of Mt Kinabalu foothill on top of the slope (like photo below).

Walking further up and finally I saw the huge Rajah Pitcher Plant! Most of them were laying on the ground and waited for the bugs to crawl into its pitfall trap. The nectar inside pitcher lures the foraging insects to climb into pitcher, fall into the fluid and drown, then slowly digested and consumed by pitcher plant. Pitcher is not a fruit or flower, it is a modified leaf.

Young Nepenthes rajah is quite bright in colours. It will turn to reddish brown when grows older. To let you get an idea how big it is, I place a 1-foot ruler next to it. Sukaibin was glad to be the scale model in my photo too. Rajah can grow up to 16-inch long and hold 2.5 Litres of water. It is really the king of pitcher plant, on top of 80 Nepenthes species.

Many think that pitcher plant can move its lid up and down to chew its preys. Some even call it a man-eater. I placed my hands to its mouth and nothing happened, so you have to believe me that pitcher can’t move. I didn’t insert my hand into its mouth coz pitcher plant is sensitive. Even too many camera flash light can make it to dry up sooner, the guides told me.

January to May is wet season so it is the best time to see pitcher plant. The pitcher can last 2 to 6 months, depending on the species. Even I went in Aug, there are still plenty of them around in Mesilau. Insects and bugs are the main food of pitchers. There are two documented cases of mouse corpses found in pitcher plant. Other small animals such as frog, lizard and snail were found too. Sorry, no baby monkey was found, like the myth claimed.

Inside pitchers is a murky and acidic liquid, which contains digestive fluid, wetting agents (to make escape harder) and rainwater. The pH can reach 1.90, so it can burn you badly if you drink it. All pitcher plants in Sabah are protected species. You can get fined RM5,000 and 2-year jail, or both, for stealing, owning and trading pitcher plant. In serious cases, the penalty can go up to RM100,000. In Sabah, there are more than 20 species of pitcher plant and many are endemic species.

Even though the fluid in pitcher plant is very acidic, some insects are adapted to it, as shown in the photo of mosquito larvae above. Certain mosquito spends its juvenile stage in pitcher, breaking down the death insect so the pitcher plant can digest it more efficiently. Once the larva grows up, they will leave forever and never come back except laying eggs. By sharing food, the larvae can help to keep the pitcher clean inside.

Pitcher plants kill insects but they have their own flowers that attract different kinds of insects, so they don’t go extinct by killing their pollinators every time. The seed will be distributed by wind. Surprisingly, the guide says nepenthes edwardsiana species is rarer and more sought after than rajah. It is very hard to find it and he hopes it still grows well somewhere in the park. Now I know what is my next target.

Sabah Parks tries to transplant some pitcher plants into the garden behind Mesilau Nature Resort but with little success. A long drought period can massacre pitcher plants in large number. For example, the droughts in 1997 and 1998 killed most nepenthes lowii in Mt. Kinabalu. Now we are even dealing with global warming problem, lets wish the pitchers still have a bright future.

Photos taken in Mesilau, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo