I’ve been lucky enough to visit a few different jungles on my travels. Each one has something distinctive and enchanting about it, and visiting these places is often the highlight of any trip for me. Mulu will not disappoint. In fact, it should be a crime not to visit Mulu National Park if you ever go to Borneo.
The trip to Mulu from Kota Kinabalu was an experience. I mean, for someone who doesn’t like to fly it is a challenge, as the only option is to fly (or to take a very long boat through the jungle, which I think is off limits for tourists now). We made our way there in a propeller plane; I have been told that all planes are technically propeller planes, but for me this was a slightly scary prospect. However, once up in the air, the incredible views of the virgin rainforest will completely take your mind off the trip – the type of plane we were on had to fly at a lower altitude than your average plane, making for a spectacular vista.
Once we had arrived, classically in the middle of a torrential downpour, we were met by our jungle guide Nelson. We were thrown straight into our first activity, a jungle walk, which was very interesting and opened my eyes to a whole new world of bugs (genuinely, some were the size of my head!). However, it was the night walk which truly ‘wowed’ me. We saw a variety of different insects (mainly the flying ones trying to land on our head torches), and we had a couple of rare sightings. Our guide was particularly excited that we saw a rare jungle boar; something that we would have never seen without him; his ability to see things in the dark was astonishing, and we wouldn’t have seen anything if he hadn’t been with us.
The whole hike was going well for me, until about half way in. We were creeping through the jungle on our night hike, only the sounds of rustling leaves disturbing us, and then a familiar, yet excruciating, feeling hit me – fire ants. Three on my leg. I leapt around, forgetting where I was, which only seemed to spur the ant on. Our jungle guide, however, who had walked through the same nest that I had only seconds before me, had no problems brushing the ants off his legs, as if they were nothing. “They don’t hurt me anymore, I used to hunt barefoot with my father so I am used to them” he said. I couldn’t believe it!
The next day, after getting over my fire ant ordeal, we trekked across the jungle to ‘Deer cave’ and ‘Lang’s Cave’. ‘Deer cave’ is one of the main attractions of the park, especially for bat enthusiasts, and you have to wait until around 7pm to see why. Studies suggest that over a million bats live in this cave (the overwhelming smell of guano, or in other words bat poo.., certainly gives it away), and if the conditions are right, you are treated to a spectacular show as the bats pour out of the cave, in search of their evening meal. It truly is breathtaking, and although the cave is massive, it’s hard to imagine how they all manage to fit in there!
The cave also boasts a rock formation which looks like a certain ex president – can you guess which one?
‘Langs cave’ is a short walk from ‘Deer cave’ and definitely worth visiting. It boasts a beautiful array of stalagmites and stalactites, and some incredible rock formations, including an opening which is known as the Garden of Eden – a lovely glimpse of the stunning jungle in which the cave lies. We left the caves quite late, so impressed with the bat and wild fauna selection, that we lost track of time. We had to be up early the next morning for a canopy walk, but the excitable monkeys which lined the route back to our accommodation made our journey a far more slow and enjoyable one.
I’d never heard silence like it; standing in the jungle canopy at 6.30am, with only the noises of beautiful random birds breaking the silence was an incredible experience. We’d spent the last hour walking over a labyrinth of different rope bridges, hoping to see the jungle waking up, but we hadn’t had much luck. However, as soon as we reached our end goal, the furthest point on the walk, our efforts were rewarded and we saw a variety of birds that the jungle had to offer. Our guide explained to us, that on her breaks she would go and sit up there and meditate – I could see why.
Mulu in one word: tranquil.
These Wild Journeys 