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Hello,
We have had a packed few days here in Malaysian Borneo. For four days we went to the Mulu National park (the jungle) which was brilliant, the first brillant thing was that you can only get there via small airplane, which felt very intrepid. The main event for us was climibing Gunung Api to see the Pinnacles, which involved hiring a local guide and taking a longboat ride to the start of a 10km trek through the jungle to camp 5 (old Royal Geographical Society research post), the next day we climbed up Api mountain to see the pinnacles (limestone formation) and down again, which took 7 and a half hours. The following day we treked out the jungle. For this trip we acquired two Austrailain friends (Bret and Robin) for good company and cost sharing purposes!! Moral boosting was required as the food we took was woefully inadequate and quite awful. But we survived and made up for it when we got back to the park head quarters and due to the reputation of the trek climbing the pinnicals also gave us qudos back at the park! At Mulu we also saw some amazing caves: ones with bats in; and ones with stalactites/mites in; and ones with rivers in. In all a good trip though the jungle aroma one acquires over 3 days is in truth only surpassed by the Guana produced by about 30 thousdand bats!.(From Kirst)
Following a days rest at the tropical islands outside of Kota Kinabalu it was then off to the mountains again, this time, the big one, Mount Kinabalu. At 4072 metres it is a fair old hike and though the record for up and back is about 2 hours 40 minutes, we took a more leisurely 2 days. On the way up our guide introduced us to a few of the guides and porters who, carrying 4 times the weight at least ( the women that is) kept overtaking us and also helpfully pointed out the lad who is third on the record board and goes up the the guest houase at 3200m every day with a large gas cannister strapped to a wooden board in plastic shoes in about 1 hour, needless to say it was about 11am and he was on his way down.
However undaunted by the magnitude of our task after 4 hours we reached the guest house and overtook a few on the way. The second day starts at 2 am to reach the summit but it was amazing and a truely awesome place to reach, I thoroughly recomend it to all! (today however legs do not work), kirst would probably claim that the fact that you get to have first and second breakfast before and after the summit is worth the trip alone though i fear that the chef at the laban rata has now asked to be warned if she returns so that he can book extra porters for the pancake mix.
After all that we have treated ourselves to a bit of 4 star luxury, colonial style and have checked into the Jessleton in KK ( Yes, We got a bargain of course). The door is opened on arrival by a very nice chap ( we know he's a bloody nice chap as as he is a malaysian wearing beige fatigues and a pith helmet!), and I have bought an oldschool handle umbrella which is a vital part of any englishmans luggage in my opinion whilst in the tropics, (even if mine gets strapped to a rucsack!). Tomorrow invloves little more than a bit of coral reef snorkling on one of the islands off shore before we head back to the hills on the 11th for our trip to Bario in the Kelabit Highlands for a bit more walking, perhaps some gentle stuff this time eh! (from Ian).
Anyway Love to all back home or abroad and hope to here from you soon.
From Kirst and Ian
- comments
Nat hey guys this sounds amazing :) you 2 are soooo lucky I wish I could be with you. I cant wait till the next blog to see wot you have next good luck and take care guys love to you both Nat, Gav and Abbie xxxxx
Nanna Nice to see the wonderful pictures and read all about them. love, Nanna xx
Auntie Ann It's exciting to see nanna write her first blog and lovely to see you having such a good time. Take care. xx
Colin Actually, technically, Nanna posted a comment on Kirsty & Ian's blog. We may have to wait a little longer for Nanna's first blog !! Great to see you both having a good time - all very exciting !
Jac Happy birthday bruv. Hope you have a fantastic day. Snorkling around the coral and lounging on the beach sounds ideal. You re adventures sound brilliant. It's great to read about how you're getting on. All's good here. Have a great day xxx
Julia Hello Travellers, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ian..I'm sure you'll see to it that you have an amazing day. great to read of your adventures so far, I'll send an email too. Lots of love to you both. Mum xx
Mike Hurley Congrats on the climb, great sunrise view from the top - though the 2.00am hike in the dark from Laban Rata is a little bit tricky. Did you visit the thermal spring bathes on the way down? Really enjoying the blog, keep it coming! Happy Birthday as well!
Brenda Walker Hello K and I, I managed to read your read your blog without help so hope I've managed a reply as well. If so can you mention it in your next communication please. Lots of love Nan xx
Mum I've been pipped to the post by Nanna! Your latest photo album was, as expected, well worth the wait. But couldn't you find somewhere more comfortable to sit? Looking forward to the next instalment. Have fun, lots of love, Mum.