Story and photos by YIP YOKE TENG

On target: Bemban, 54, (left) and a villager demonstrating how to hunt with a blowpipe

A LOUD splash echoed through the cold wet rocks around us, followed by a wave of anxious gasps and wild wobbling of the torchlight as we scrambled to find out what was going on.

“I want to turn back, I’m not moving on, you all go ahead,” someone said.

“Are you having a cramp or something?” I asked.

“No, I just fell into the water, I am frightened and I don’t want to move on,” the girl added, leaning against a flat broad surface she finally found.

Turn back? We had come a long way to be where we were. We might have covered less than 20m and we had said goodbye to the sunshine just 10 minutes ago but it felt like forever as we were clambering through sharp moist rocks just to say hello to thousands of bats colonising the pitch-dark cave called Gua Telinga in Taman Negara.

Our guide Hamzah Abdul Hamid’s advice echoed in my head. “The path through this cave is only 80m long but the rocks are sharp and the passage is narrow. Use your hands to grasp the rocks firmly to balance yourself, do not mind the bat droppings. There used to be snakes in the cave but do not worry, they are not poisonous.”

Many among us, a group of more than 20 media members invited by the Mutiara Taman Negara Resort on a familiarisation tour of this 130mil-year-old rainforest, quickly volunteered to wait outside the cave to keep an eye on the backpacks and cameras.

I did not know why I had no qualms venturing in. Even when one of us slipped and fell into the shallow stream under the rocks, I had not regretted my decision.

The bat droppings were not as nauseating as I had imagined, and I could not really tell whether the black runny liquid on the rock surfaces were droppings or dirt.

The sharp and slippery rocks were more of a concern. We had to duck all the way, cautious about the edges above our heads and icy water beneath our ankles, not to mention bats darting in the darkness and the possible presence of non-venomous snakes.

Human beings communicate better during outdoor adventures. We did not mind relaying simple messages such as “Beware, leech!”, “Look out for this muddy patch” or “Be careful, ants here” to one to another when trekking through the 1.5km jungle trail before reaching the cave.

True enough, a flurry of heartening encouragements ensued to coax her to move on. And she did.

The passage became more challenging as we crawled on as the gradient became steeper.

At one point, we had to lie flat to cross a seam but soon we came face to face with the sight we anticipated – the colony.

Thousands of bats stuck upside down and shaking their bodies as they sent out heady squeaks and rubbed their faces hysterically as the flashes of our torchlights shone over them.

Nature’s wonder: A tree of this size is a common sight in Taman Negara.

None of us was worried that the bats would swoop down even though they were zigzagging overhead; they did not even give me goosebumps.

We stayed for a long while to adore the sight. The way out through the ear-shaped passage was also a feat, but a sense of gaiety and vigour overwhelmed me as I embraced the sunlight again.

It surprised me that I actually enjoyed the cave exploration, as with the other excursions arranged by the resort.

While wanting to escape from the city’s mad rush, the prospect of jungle trekking and shooting the rapids did not excite me.

I was even tempted to stay in the room imbued with the calming scent of straw mats, but the itinerary soon proved to be much more refreshing than a nap.

The programme started with hitting Taman Negara’s web of rivers spiced with rapids to visit an orang asli settlement. The unique four-seater motorised gondola made for a fun and unforgettable ride amid waves.

The head of the Batek settlement Bemban, 54, and his fellow villagers demonstrated how to make fire and hunt with blowpipes.

Toddlers and women gathered next to smouldering fires under their crude huts; babies peeped out and smiled shyly at the cameras.

Sarongs hanging on a string billowed in the evening breeze. The smell of tobacco, said to be a favourite among indigenous people, lingered in the air.

“The Batek are the only tribe in Taman Negara. Their main economic activities are selling rattan, bamboo and honey while receiving tourists from Taman Negara has helped them substantially.

“They are a peaceful people and never fight among themselves,” another guide, Romlan Jaafar, said.

“Leading a nomadic lifestyle, they often leave a place when someone in the family died to start things anew.

Queens of the jungle: Media members donning batik in the most creative style they can think of and were required to have their faces painted before tucking into a BBQ dinner.

“They never bury the body, instead, the men will bring the body deep into the jungle, place it in a box, haul it up a tall tree and leave it there so that the demise is closer to heaven,” he added, making the jungle seem all the more mystical.

We hurried back to the gondolas when it started to rain. The temperature dropped and mist started to collect atop lush foliage.

Raindrops and splashes jointly offered a full-body massage the natural way, it felt better than any spa treatment I had ever had.

The night jungle walk was another refreshing experience. Even though we did not have the luck to see many animals, the melody orchestrated by thousands of insects was memorable.

“What you hear at night is the drone of the insects whereas during the day, the birds will be the ones greeting you,” said Hamzah.

The next morning, before our cave exploration, we took to the forest again to tread the world’s longest canopy walkway measuring 530m.

It consisted of 10 bridges, nine platforms, the highest stretch was 45m above the ground which would provide visitors with the rare chance to touch the tips of some trees.

The walkway, built in 1992, would soon be extended with a dedicated stretch for bird-watching.

We had sort of ventured into the sky in the mysterious rainforest, crawled into a cave and it was time to take a dive into the river.

We managed to do that at the Kelah Sanctuary, where full-fledged programmes have been carried out since April to save the endangered mahseer fish inhabiting areas.

Campsites, jungle walks and catch-and-release programmes were made available to sustain the conservative efforts.

We had to take shelter at the information centre through the downpour but that did not dampen our spirit to swim with the shoals of fish in icy water. However, our laughs and chuckles rippling through the water had probably scared the fish away.

The brief two-day tour culminated in a merry barbeque dinner in which we were asked to dress as creatively as possible with a batik sarung.

I felt I had not had enough. There was still so much more to explore, including the wildlife observation hide in which visitors could spend the night to watch animals getting their mineral intake at the saltlicks, the waterfalls and hardcore adventure buffs can even trek up Gunung Tahan.

Fact sheet:

The 4,343sq km Taman Negara is the world’s oldest rainforest. Much of the park is untouched and remains as it has for the past 130 million years.

Covering parts of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan, it is situated in the Tahan Range and includes peninsular Malaysia’s highest peak Gunung Tahan.

The flora and fauna species in Taman Negara are estimated at 10,000 plants, 150,000 insects, 25,000 invertebrates, 675 birds, 270 reptiles, 250 freshwater fish and 200 mammals.

Scientists are still discovering species every day. Mutiara Taman Negara is the only resort within the stringently protected rainforest.

Source: TheStar