A quick way to develop local knowledge is to assist a local guide. They dont receive a lot so I just volunteer my labour, get to have a great time and learn so much. The guide I am with is a older man and a real character nick named Happy. And you get to meet lots of local people which never hurts and in a hospitable place like Malaysia adds to the experience.
We went to the Chiling waterfalls (thats the name honest) which is in the foothills of the main dividing range.
I was keen to recce it to see if it was worth an overnighter and if I could bring the dog or the family.
The walk starts just after a bridge over a small gorge.
This pic is not of a waterfall but a view of the river from 15-20metres above. It is all white water. The gradient increases after a 90 deg bend and a constriction.
The middle reaches used to be the premier white water venue in this country before it was dammed so I was concerned to check out the crossings. The river has also killed campers in flash floods and 5 died in the waterfalls plunge pool.
The walk to the waterfall took about 90 minutes and started in fern land
The stream we went up was far less boisterous than the river in the gorge a short distance away
A bit of a scramble in places
But usually a nice walk by the river
Strange natural designs. Note the double 90 degree bends in the liana on the right of the corkscrew one
Lots of fish in the quiet sections. No fishing allowed (this is a restocked river)
Some crossings were a bit trickier than other but all were quite manageable
It helps if there is a bridge
Tip: walk in your socks if bridges or rocks are slippery or if you are concerned about falling (like me)
We got there at last after 6 river crossings
The falls are hard to photograph as they are in two sections, the upper one facing south and the lower west.
The lower pool is to the left of the two people and is where the fatalities have occurred. Happy says he tossed a ball into the waterfall at this point and it took nearly 9 minutes to reappear. I think the reason is heavily aerated holes in the pool. Just to the right of the pool is a large cave entrance
The upper falls have to be photographed from a different angle. The red shirt belongs to an abseiler. He lost control of the descent a moment after this picture but managed to regain some control after sliding on his rear end for a few metres.
What do you think of the rock above him?. Many people say it looks like a head with deep eyes, big nose and a thin mouth just where the abseiler is.
Our guide was annoyed by the abseiling groups poor safety and the way they urged less confident members to have a go so we moved down stream to a crossing point to have a cup of tea.
Happy is high tech so I did not have to scrounge around for wood and for the first time in 4 years I had a gas stove brewed cup
The group splashed and played while lunch was being set up.
We set off about 3pm before the rain arrived. Happy had forecast the hill weather very well and we were out safe and dry-(ish) before the rains came.
We went to a nearby hot springs to soak. It was very hot Japanese bath house hot - but unfortunately no bath house ladies to scrub our backs and get in the tub with us.
We then went in true Malaysian style to eat (the national hobby) which we did and I was as impressed with his choice of restaurant as his guiding a view of mist covered hills and palms and sugar cane around our country café. I was too stuffed to get up and take a better photo
The food - clay pot prawns and curried fish head were better than most city restaurants. This place does only a few dishes and all are good. They ran out of pigs trotters by the time we got there.
Now you might think that Happy had a good thing going the outdoor life, hot springs, cold beer and good makan (food) but life as a guide is tough. What do you do when your client has a leech in a very private place? This happened to an American girl. And what is the guide to do if she cant bear to touch the leech but wants it removed anyway? So you see life is difficult!
Next stop was a Siamese Buddhist monastery set in a pretty location with forested hills on one side a agricultural land on the other.
They had the different astrological animals for the Sinic zodiac but it was evident that sculptors of very different ability and taste did them
Although I thought I had been duly respectful, it seemed that something or someone had it in for me. Bad karma or I should have made a donation to the monastery
As I came down the slippery steps from the toilet, I slipped and crashed down on my back on the top step hitting my back. I thought I was a goner as I bounced down the steps. I lay on the ground for several minutes in the rain convinced something must have broken under fat boys weight.
Happy had asked me earlier at the waterfall, whether people who fell actually yelled/screamed as they went down. Id replied I didnt think so but wouldnt like to find out by watching some one fall.
Well the answer is Yes they do yell but only after they land
This temporary disability has made me more considerate of the situation of the elderly and infirm as I totter around the empty house unable to do simple things like pick things up that drop. I will recover, they have no such prospect.
So my bushcrafting this week is in an armchair
We went to the Chiling waterfalls (thats the name honest) which is in the foothills of the main dividing range.
I was keen to recce it to see if it was worth an overnighter and if I could bring the dog or the family.
The walk starts just after a bridge over a small gorge.
This pic is not of a waterfall but a view of the river from 15-20metres above. It is all white water. The gradient increases after a 90 deg bend and a constriction.
The middle reaches used to be the premier white water venue in this country before it was dammed so I was concerned to check out the crossings. The river has also killed campers in flash floods and 5 died in the waterfalls plunge pool.
The walk to the waterfall took about 90 minutes and started in fern land
The stream we went up was far less boisterous than the river in the gorge a short distance away
A bit of a scramble in places
But usually a nice walk by the river
Strange natural designs. Note the double 90 degree bends in the liana on the right of the corkscrew one
Lots of fish in the quiet sections. No fishing allowed (this is a restocked river)
Some crossings were a bit trickier than other but all were quite manageable
It helps if there is a bridge
Tip: walk in your socks if bridges or rocks are slippery or if you are concerned about falling (like me)
We got there at last after 6 river crossings
The falls are hard to photograph as they are in two sections, the upper one facing south and the lower west.
The lower pool is to the left of the two people and is where the fatalities have occurred. Happy says he tossed a ball into the waterfall at this point and it took nearly 9 minutes to reappear. I think the reason is heavily aerated holes in the pool. Just to the right of the pool is a large cave entrance
The upper falls have to be photographed from a different angle. The red shirt belongs to an abseiler. He lost control of the descent a moment after this picture but managed to regain some control after sliding on his rear end for a few metres.
What do you think of the rock above him?. Many people say it looks like a head with deep eyes, big nose and a thin mouth just where the abseiler is.
Our guide was annoyed by the abseiling groups poor safety and the way they urged less confident members to have a go so we moved down stream to a crossing point to have a cup of tea.
Happy is high tech so I did not have to scrounge around for wood and for the first time in 4 years I had a gas stove brewed cup
The group splashed and played while lunch was being set up.
We set off about 3pm before the rain arrived. Happy had forecast the hill weather very well and we were out safe and dry-(ish) before the rains came.
We went to a nearby hot springs to soak. It was very hot Japanese bath house hot - but unfortunately no bath house ladies to scrub our backs and get in the tub with us.
We then went in true Malaysian style to eat (the national hobby) which we did and I was as impressed with his choice of restaurant as his guiding a view of mist covered hills and palms and sugar cane around our country café. I was too stuffed to get up and take a better photo
The food - clay pot prawns and curried fish head were better than most city restaurants. This place does only a few dishes and all are good. They ran out of pigs trotters by the time we got there.
Now you might think that Happy had a good thing going the outdoor life, hot springs, cold beer and good makan (food) but life as a guide is tough. What do you do when your client has a leech in a very private place? This happened to an American girl. And what is the guide to do if she cant bear to touch the leech but wants it removed anyway? So you see life is difficult!
Next stop was a Siamese Buddhist monastery set in a pretty location with forested hills on one side a agricultural land on the other.
They had the different astrological animals for the Sinic zodiac but it was evident that sculptors of very different ability and taste did them
Although I thought I had been duly respectful, it seemed that something or someone had it in for me. Bad karma or I should have made a donation to the monastery
As I came down the slippery steps from the toilet, I slipped and crashed down on my back on the top step hitting my back. I thought I was a goner as I bounced down the steps. I lay on the ground for several minutes in the rain convinced something must have broken under fat boys weight.
Happy had asked me earlier at the waterfall, whether people who fell actually yelled/screamed as they went down. Id replied I didnt think so but wouldnt like to find out by watching some one fall.
Well the answer is Yes they do yell but only after they land
This temporary disability has made me more considerate of the situation of the elderly and infirm as I totter around the empty house unable to do simple things like pick things up that drop. I will recover, they have no such prospect.
So my bushcrafting this week is in an armchair
to go with it
