Expedition & Adventure Directory |
GRRR! My First Jungle Trek Having arrived in Borneo one of my first thoughts was "Let's go jungle trekking!" It was awhile before I got the chance to go and then couldn't find anyone with the time to come with me. Now I already knew that one of the first rules of jungle trekking is "never go alone" so spent some time trying to coax, bribe or threaten someone into the idea but no takers. The people of Sarawak in Borneo are lovely people but to most of them the idea of trekking off into the jungle for the fun of it would be like suggesting to a Londoner that they go sit in busy traffic for a day or two, you know, for giggles? "Why would you want to sleep in a tent in the jungle, when you have such a nice house lah?" I was asked. Don't get me wrong, Sarawakians love and appreciate the forest as much as anyone. They just don't want to sit in it, away from their television and air-con. When you've grown up living right next door to the world's oldest rainforest it just doesn't have the pulling power it has on a guy who grew up in the flattest, dullest country of England in the UK. Sure there's some "wildlife" in Essex and certainly some nightlife. I lived 20 minutes from London, meaning for me the wild jungles of Borneo were about as far removed from commonplace as you could get. Even if I had to go alone, I was gonna go jungle trekking! I wasn't entirely unprepared, indeed had a professional-level rucsak (with water bladder and drinking hose), a good tent and other gear specially purchased for just this event. Only the best made it onto my shopping list and with over $1,000 of gear it was NOT going to sit unused. I'll save some of the other details for another time but for now let's fast forward to my first setting up of camp, "deep" (about 5 miles) into the darkest jungles of Borneo. Well Gunung Gading National Park anyway. Naturally, it was raining Naturally it was raining. Hey, we're talking so poorly-planned I went alone, you expected me to check the weather? We're talking good quality gear and yes I'd practised in the wilds of Essex beforehand so despite getting dark even quicker than normal and rain pelting down it didn't take me long to find a suitable spot, clear the loose debris and erect my 2 man tent. Everything was quickly stowed inside and my (ultra lightweight) towels soon came in handy. Before long I was snug and dry, listening to the horrendous din of rain pelting every leaf from 100ft up before plonking against the tent or nearby. Until you experience it you cannot believe that sound. As quickly as it came the rain stopped and soon I was doing a turtle impression, with just my head and shoulders sticking out the tent flap as I brewed up some hot chocolate on the little stove. Despite the rain stopping water continued to drip from the massive vegetation and trees above for awhile but I managed to avoid diluting the chocolate. A quick popping out for a pee and I was all set for my very first night in the jungle. Alone. The more the rain eased off the more the insects started up and soon there was an incredible chorus of bugs and frogs squeaking, popping, scratching and clacking all over the place. There was so much noise it all blended into one exotic wave of sound, becoming almost peaceful as so many little critturs tried so hard to be noticed. The sheer energy of it all compared to my own aching legs and the final peace of settling down soon had me surprisingly sleepy. I've always been a bit of an insomniac and one concern I'd had was wondering if I'd actually get any sleep but it didn't look like it was going to be a problem... Grrrr "Grr" Snuggling down a bit deeper into my sleeping bag I heard it again: "Grr" It was distinctly different from all the other noises, deeper, much deeper, so deep I almost couldn't hear it. I found my ears straining for a repeat... "Grrrrrrrr.." Yipes, what the ^*&% was that? I listened intently for awhile but couldn't hear it any more. My mind raced... tiger? No, not in this part of Malaysia. Right? Right? Wild boar? Do boars growl? Dog? Wild dog? Pack of wild dogs? Large pack of hungry wild dogs...? "GRRRRRR" This wasn't funny. Something large enough to make a deep evil-sounding growling noise was off in the distance but not too far away. The sound was so deep it was hard to pinpoint just how far and I had no desire to move at all let alone unzipping the tent to go look. Slowly, silently, I eased around until I had my machete at the ready, my sheath knife within easy grabbing range and my torch in my hand, thumb on the switch. Anything poking it's nose through that flap was going to get blinded then hacked to death by a fear-crazed 'orang putih'. I considered my options. In the wet darkness I could pack up all my gear then on wet mud go staggering back the way I came, in the dark, for a few miles hoping not to get too lost and almost certainly drawing attention to myself. I could peg it into the bushes and leave my gear behind or I could just sit still and hope the evil growling thing would go away. Sit still it was then. New option - I could go out with the torch and machete and growl back, yell at the thing and hopefully scare it as much or more than it was scaring me? Mmmm... "GRRRRRRRRRRR" Sit still it was then. After that last roaring growl even the bugs had gone quiet. "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrah, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" Motorbike. Arse. In the morning I discovered I'd set up camp less than 100 yards away from the national park HQ. Someone had been waiting for their girlfriend or something, every now and then revving the engine of their bike. Through the forest I'd heard nothing except the deep growling sound. Even as I approached the building later there were numerous little motorbikes whizzing to and from. I noticed one had a distinct growling sound. Bastard. |
