July 7th, 2016

Day 99: Mulu National Park – Day 2

For the next two days, we booked a trekking tour to see the famous Pinnacles – magnificent karst limestone formations that can only be viewed by climbing Mt. Api, deep in the jungle. You have to start the trek up the mountain before sunrise, so we would be staying at the Camp 5 cabins.

We had all day to make it to Camp 5, so we opted to visit the Clearwater and Wind Caves on the way to the camp in the morning. Since the Pinnacle trek was a guided tour and there was one other tourist joining us (an Australian guy named Alex), we assumed our small group would stay together with a private guide. Wrong! The three of us were simply added to the large day-tour leaving the park HQ at 9AM. We ended up having a very similar experience to the Lang/Deer Caves the day before – way too many people for our taste.

 

Our group tour is full of sickies again – INCLUDING THE SAME TWO FRENCH GIRLS. Luckily, only three of us are heading to Camp 5 after the caves, so we get our own boat.

 

Quick stop at the Batu Bungan village, where the Penan people have a craft market

 

Beautiful mats and bags made from woven rattan fibers

 

Several group tours queuing up to visit the caves

 

Our first stop was the Wind Cave – not particularly big nor pretty. You could feel breezes in narrow passages (thus the name).

 

Everybody and their mother going to see the Clearwater Cave – home to the longest cave river-system in the world

 

We stayed at the back of group again, both the avoid coughers and to wait patiently for unobstructed photos. However, this tourist was taking FOREVER snapping several panoramas with his phone. COME ON! You got the shot – MOVE ON! Igor finally broke down and asked the guy to move.

 

Finally – our turn to take pictures at the entrance to Clearwater Cave

 

Lindsay rinsing her hands in the Clearwater River

 

Lush vegetation growing along the sides of a skylight

 

“Miniature Pinnacles”

 

Clearwater Cave – apparently the only place in the world where you can see this “mono-leaf” plant. Quick- book your tickets!!! 😛

 

After visiting the caves, Lindsay decided to jump into the river, both because it was already really hot, and also because she was starting to stink. Actually, we both stunk. And our clothes stunk. Worst was our backpack – the straps had been absorbing our sweat for over a month now (Northern Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia) and it REEKED. We tried washing it in hotel sinks twice, with zero improvement. We kept trying to wash our clothes in the river, but we just had to accept the fact that we would be smelly until we got back to KL and a real laundromat. To our fellow travelers, SORRY!

At 12:45PM sharp, Lindsay, Igor & our new friend Alex jumped into our boat and headed up stream for about 2 hours to the trailhead for Camp 5. After being supervised in the park for so long, we were a little surprised when the boat driver just pointed at the trailhead sign, and then got right back into his boat and took off! Guess we are on our own! The walk was long – 9KM – but very flat and very easy.

 

Finally leaving the crowds of tourists behind, and heading off into the jungle toward Camp 5

Since our boat was going upriver, it would get caught in shallow bits every now and then. The first couple of times we’d jump out and help the two drivers push, until we finally realized we’d be more helpful by simply getting out of their way

 

When we got to the trailhead for Camp 5, the drivers pointed us in the right direction, and then took off back down river. The three of us continued on foot for the last 9KM – it was a long walk, but completely flat, so pretty easy going

 

Taking a short snack break at the halfway point on the trail to Camp 5

When we got to Camp 5, we had the place practically to ourselves – there was one group of 5 who had just finished the Pinnacles hike that morning, but no one else. In chatting with Alex, we heard that the park rangers had been turning away last-minute bookings, claiming that Camp 5 was completely full. We were confused, as there were 5 rooms which could each easily fit 10 people. Then, the *private tours* started showing up. A Malaysian group of about 7 people, a British father-daughter duo (we hope!!), and a very loud 20-person Chinese group made quite a crowd. According to our math, the camp still could have fit a few more – not that we wanted any more bedmates! Luckily, we had brought earplugs, plus everyone in the camp was there for a sunrise hike, so by 9:30PM it was pretty easy to fall asleep.

 

Once we reached Camp 5, a dip in the cold river is absolutely necessary – both to cool down and to clean up! There are showers at Camp 5 as well, but after an hour in the river, we felt clean enough.

 

Camp 5 is in a stunning location – beautiful views of the limestone cliffs and a scenic river

 

We got a little downpour in the late afternoon, which literally brought leeches out of the woodworks! We had read reviews that Camp 5 and the trek to the Pinnacles was notorious for leeches, so we were very careful to watch where we stepped

 

Camp 5 has a large kitchen, and private tours offer full catering service. However, we picked the cheap route – paying for just the entry fee and guide through the park, meaning we had to carry-in and carry-out all food. Once again, Lindsay and Igor must subsist on ramen. At least we bought a few different flavors this time!