20 – The highlights of our road trip to Kuching’s surroundings

It’s time for a road trip in the Kuching area

In the final part of the previous blog, we announced our road trip in Kuching. Lars’ brother Berrie is visiting from the Netherlands and in the first week we explored the city. Now we wanted to show him more of the surroundings. Additionally, there are still many places we have not seen yet, so this was a perfect combination. We rented a car and set out to discover the area.

Hiking in Kubah National Park

The best way to experience more of Borneo’s nature is by exploring a nature park. There are plenty to choose from and this time we picked Kubah National Park. From the various trails, we chose the one leading to the waterfall. 

If you think you can take it easy at the start of this hike, you are mistaken; we had to climb steeply right away. Then, we left the big path and ventured into the jungle where we once again enjoyed the beautiful nature. Gorgeous colored flowers, strange and large insects and old wooden bridges overgrown with moss and other plants. We also came across various vines and Lars could not resist climbing them like a real Tarzan.

After a long walk, we were rewarded with a beautiful waterfall. This one was different from the previous ones we had seen so far. The waterfall at Bengoh Dam for example, was impressive due to the large amounts of water that was flowing through it. This one however,  was stunning because of its beauty. The rocks over which the water fell were shaped like a natural staircase. Additionally, the surroundings were very pleasing, with large fallen trees, various rock formations and all the green vegetation.

Fairy cave, Wind cave and Paku Rock Maze Garden

Well-known highlights in the Kuching area include the Fairy and Wind Caves. Lars and I had deliberately not visited these yet because we wanted to do so together with Berrie. Near these caves is also the Paku Rock Maze Garden, so we combined them. Not all in one day, but spread over several days.

At all three activities, you can enjoy Borneo’s nature. The caves each have their own charm. Wind cave has small passages with many bats, while the fairy cave is very large and spacious with beautiful rock formations and vegetation. Rock formations were also found in Paku Rock Maze Garden. It was a type of natural labyrinth made from all these rocks. Some of the formations, if you looked closely, resembled the shape of an animal. What do you recognize in the formation below, for example?

Would you like to learn more about these attractions? We will soon write separate blogs about these activities.

Relaxing at Abba paradise

During this trip, we stayed at beautiful locations, one of which was Abba Paradise. It is mainly known for the mountain-fed pond where families spend their day. However, if you walk a little further and look closely among the trees, you can find several treehouses, which is where we stayed. It was a small and simple place, but it comes with a spacious outdoor terrace and kitchen.

After the day’s activity, we first jumped into the water for some relaxation. Then, we settled on the outdoor terrace to play games that we had brought along. What we really enjoyed was that a group of friends was camping nearby and had brought their musical instruments. This allowed us to enjoy live music in the evening, which created a very relaxed and cozy atmosphere. They had a nice repertoire including “Baby” by Justin Bieber, some songs by Ed Sheeran and some other pop songs. Afterwards, we gave the group of friends a round of applause to show our appreciation for their music. It was received with a lot of laughter and a thank you.

The beautifully located Melano cottage

Another accommodation was Melano Cottage. It is located in Telok Melano and marks the beginning of the Pan Borneo Highway, also known as kilometer 0.0. Its unique location makes it a beautiful and peaceful place to spend a few days. It is beautifully situated; if you take just 10 steps from the cottage, you are already on the beach. On this beach, you have a good chance of witnessing a beautiful sunrise, so we set our alarm and got out of bed to watch it. Indeed, we were treated to a colorful and serene sunrise.

During our stay, we took some lovely beach walks where we saw a lot of tiny crabs, did a daily dive into the sea, took afternoon naps in the hammock, played some games and went looking for turtles. However, turtle watching led to an unexpected adventure.

An unexpected adventure during our search for turtles

A few kilometers from our accommodation lies Tanjung Datu National Park. It is said that this is where the rainforest meets the sea. Various rare animal species can be found here, including turtles. We frequently saw boats with people sailing from the beach to the nature park. Our hosts asked if we were interested in seeing turtles, which sounded appealing and so the adventure began.

A boat ride in the dark

We were supposed to set off with the boat between 8:00 and 09:00pm, during high tide and in the dark. We were picked up and had to walk a few meters through the water to climb into the boat. Around us were men with flashlights, shining them thoroughly around us. It seemed like they were searching for something, but due to the language barrier, they could not tell us exactly what. This added a bit of tension, so we covered the distance to the boat as quickly as possible.

Then the boat trip began. Since it was already completely dark, we could hardly see anything except the stars in the clear sky and the lights of other boats on the water. We did not know exactly where we were going or what to expect. Each of us received a flashlight, sat down and let the experience wash over us.

Our hero of the day at the turtle rescue center

Upon reaching our destination, we had expected our host to accompany us and guide us on our way, but this was not the case. We were instructed to get out of the boat and taken somewhere else. That is where we and our host parted ways and we met our new tour guide. He told us he would pick us up again at 11:00pm and promptly left.

Our newly assigned friend almost left us without explaining anything to us. Once he realized we were completely clueless, he fortunately decided to take us along for a quick tour. Apparently, our host had brought us to a turtle sanctuary where we were greeted by several rangers. We still felt somewhat lost as we had no idea what was going to happen. The rangers told us they were unsure about what to do with us since most tourists visiting the turtles usually stayed overnight.

They decided to show us around the facility and to explain their work with the turtles, including the registration process and breeding sites. There were two other rangers who would go on patrol to check for nearby turtles, but we were honestly told the chances of seeing any were very slim. After they returned from their patrol, we received the bad news: there were no turtles to be found tonight.

Back to where we started

Finally, when it was time to be picked up, we apparently had to take a path through the jungle to reach another beach. We had to do this on our own in the middle of the night, which made us a bit nervous. We walked briskly and I jumped up at every little sound. After around 10 minutes, we fortunately arrived at the beach and saw the boat that would take us back.

An interesting experience

Overall, it was an interesting experience because we were not well-informed or prepared. It was a good lesson for us for next time. Luckily, the friendly ranger saved our adventure by guiding and accommodating us so well. Big shout out to him!

The road trip was a success

All in all, we had a very nice and pleasant road trip with plenty of different activities. We continue to be amazed by the beauty of nature and the special places we visit. We are now back in Kuching and have another week with Berrie before he heads back to the Netherlands. More next week about the last week of his visit.