Bako-holics

We've been out of reach of any form of internet or wi-fi for a few days, so it's been a while since my last posting. I'm not complaining, and you wouldn't either had you been where we were staying - Bako National Park.

This park was the first national park established in Borneo, created back in 1957, and is home to a wide variety of wildlife. It's not too far outside of Kuching, and it requires only a bus ride plus a short river and ocean boat trip to reach it. Not a big boat, but it should be sufficient....

....or so we hope. This sign did nothing to make me feel better. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. We weren't even thinking crocodiles until we saw this. It's no joke either - a young school boy was attacked several years ago while swimming here. His body was never found - there you go Annie and Owen, welcome to Bako!

We enjoyed a great view of the very picturesque and traditional fishing-based Bako Village as we left the estuary, and then headed into the short ocean crossing. Although Bako Park is not on an island, the government has kept access to the park limited by boat only, thus helping preserving the wildlife and natural beauty (plus keeping a heap of small boat operators gainfully employed).

Low tide meant we couldn't use the park jetty, but settled on a beach landing instead.

Welcome to Bako, now show me some animals.

Really? How dangerous can a wild Bornean Bearded Pig be? Apparently not very dangerous at all, and a little less 'wild' than you would think. The family of pigs just hangs around the camp headquarters most of the day - I suspect they've been fed by visitors.

But to see some real wildlife (hopefully more primates) we would need to head out on a trek.

Where we were immediately swallowed up by a dense and oppressively humid jungle.

We eventually saw the most famous resident of Bako Park - the strange looking Proboscis Monkey.

Over the two days we were here we ended up seeing these monkeys quite frequently, as they are neither afraid of nor interested in (nor in any way reliant upon) humans - they simply went from tree to tree eating the choicest leaves. While the female monkeys look a little unusual, it is only the male monkey who has the pendulous nose.

Let's face it - these monkeys definitely got the short end of the evolutionary stick. You've gotta feel bad for any creature whose nose looks like it belongs on that other part of its body. 

But we were able to show the kids plenty of other interesting creatures as well.

Including an up close and personal look at this venomous pit viper just near our cabin. He's a nocturnal snake, so it didn't even flinch when we got nearer to it. But it did make me wonder how close to our beds he might be at night.

I decided to take a quick stroll one afternoon while the kids and Shirley were reading, and was rewarded for my efforts with a spotting of this Silver Leaf Langur.

And to escape the sweltering jungle, there was always a breezy beach to explore.

But no swimming allowed, which disappointed Annie and Owen. Turns out there are jellyfish and stinging rays which patrol the beach out front. Despite these warnings, Owen saw a local boy out in the water and therefore tried to argue that he too should be allowed. Strange logic given all of the signs and gruesome pictures back at the park headquarters - but he really likes to swim.

So that meant another hike. Hooray! The kids were willing but not thrilled at the prospect of marching through the sweaty jungle again, but we found another youngster - a French boy living with this family in Brunei for a year - and that lifted their spirits. They don't see a lot of kids their own age here in Malaysia so any chance to socialize with someone young is seized with great enthusiasm.

Do the Dew!

We chose to go on one of the park ranger-led night walks. No large animals were spotted on this walking safari, but we did see a few interesting creatures.

Nasty looking centipede.

Venomous tree frog

Yet-to-be-determined beautiful long tailed bird.

So our two-night visit to Bako National Park was awesome indeed.

Granted, all our clothes came back so sweaty and stinky that we wanted to chuck them in the bin as soon as we returned to Kuching, but this was simply a sign that we spent our days out in the jungle getting exercise and fresh air (fresh thick hot muggy air).

And combined with wonderful and memorable wildlife sightings, these little expeditions in and around the park filled our days with adventure. This place really is an undisturbed magical place to visit. 

And though the pictures don't show it, we had quite a few downpours - so when the skies opened up one last time, it signaled the end of our visit. Back to Kuching we go, and off to a farm homestay for a while - will post again when I get a chance.