Dhahran British Grammar School Expedition 2006
19 March
Wind and Clearwater Caves to Camp 5
We split our baggage into two piles today, one to carry with us on the next stage, the other to be transferred to Limbang. Repacking caused some students a problem. How could you travel I the jungle for five days with only one spare T-shirt and an extra pair of socks. I had to help a couple of boys lighten their packs.
Richard weighed in the baggage to be sent on. Most of the students had stayed well within the weight allowance of 15 kg, just as well as the excess baggage charges were prohibitively expensive. One boy had two bags weighing in at an outstanding 26 kg, not including the bag he planned on trekking with or his well filled waist pouch. Three people offered to carry these bags across the bridge to the trucks for him. But based on the principle that “you bring it, you carry it”, we left him to struggle and hopefully learn to pack less next time.
Five long canoes, with outboard motors and the most hideous orange lifejackets, were waiting at the jetty to take us up rive to Wind Cave. Jas’ outfit, an elegant and newly laundered pink, clashed terribly, but at least she wouldn’t drown.
Low in the water and powered by substantial outboards, the canoes were surprisingly fast. Impressively, none of the kids seemed remotely tempted to rock the boat. The nearest anybody came to getting wet was the driver of one canoe. When our more substantial boys all decided to get into the same boat, its owner looked most perturbed.
First stop was Wind Cave, so called because of the refreshing breeze that blows through the chambers. The cave has a spectacular collection of stalagmites in King’s Chamber. Unusually, the stalactites are tiny and don’t seem to grow well at all. The stalagmites are huge, columnar structures, capped with mushroom-shaped protuberances. In the ceiling high above the path, the word July is written quite clearly, although it is a natural phenomenon, not man-made, according to our guide. I was sceptical.
For the adventurous, it is possible to travel from this cave to Clearwater Cave through a long, tortuous system of passages. We took the easy option and climbed back out of the cave in order to follow the simpler path above ground. This is a large cave system, with well over 100 km of charted passages. Our guide, Philip had been involved in the original exploration and was both proud of the cave’s length and saddened that, due to recent discoveries, the system is now only the world’s 11th longest.
From Wind Cave a path cut though the cliff high above the river leads to Clearwater Cave. The locals are expert at making boardwalks. Now if only they could find a way of making them less slippery …
The canoes were waiting for us near Clearwater – so called because the waters from the cave system flow out into the river at this point. Unlike the river water, which is rich brown with sediment, the strong current of cave water is pure and clear. Two little boys were swimming in the pool when we arrived sticky and dripping with sweat. No instant respite for us though. After a short break we had 200 steps to climb to the cave entrance, and a further 200 steps down again into the cave system itself.
This cave entrance was used at one time as a burial site. It has been excavated by the Sarawak Museum (which we visited whilst in Kuching). Human remains have been found dating back more than 1000 years. Today the cave mouth is notable for its wonderful dripping stalactites and large one-leaved plants (Monophyllae pendula and M. glauca). Inside the cave entrance there are strange spike-like formations in the limestone. The spikes, several inches long, all face in the same direction – towards the light from the cave entrance. Our guide, both very knowledgeable and keen to share his enthusiasm for the subject, explained that the spikes are formed by a type of bacteria that grows on the moist limestone only in the sunlight. The bacteria produce carbon dioxide that speeds up the process of solution erosion. The bacteria must concentrate in parts of the limestone, which then become deeper with time, producing the spikes.
Hundreds of steps later, we were back at the pool of clear water for lunch and swimming. First in was Saad, and about three quarters of the group picked up the courage to risk the water. A vague worry about leaches and crocodiles kept some students out.
A final boat journey to the starting point of the trail for Camp 5 took us several kilometres up river. The navigability of the rivers in Borneo very much depends upon the rains. We were lucky in that there had been rains recently and so could take the boat further up the river – and nearer to our destination than was normal. As we moved further upstream, the river became more shallow and sinuous, making navigation hazardous. At times the outboard motor was striking so many pebbles that I began to wonder about the propeller. The boatmen had to resort to punting at several points.
Before we arrived at the start of the walk I managed to take a short nap. It appears that I can sleep anywhere these days, even in an uncomfortable canoe.
By the shore there was a small hollow with butterflies crowding around to collect the mineral deposits. A huge Rajah Brooke butterfly was quite oblivious to our presence, even when we tried to photograph it at point blank range.
The eight-kilometre walk along the muddy path to Camp 5 was hot, wet and incredibly humid. The students took it at a cracking pace. Perhaps, by passing quickly through this territory, they hoped to avoid the leaches. They were to be disappointed. First victim was Will, with a small one on the neck. Mrs Sheehan was disappointed that he got rid of it before she saw it, but having expressed this was told that indeed she herself had a large one attached to her shin. The bites bleed for ages once the leaches have been removed. By the time we got to Camp 5 Mrs Sheehan looked ready to star in a horror movie. Apparently the bleeding stops more quickly if you let the leach have its fill of your blood and drop of naturally …
Saad ran through a particularly deep patch of glutinous mud and left a boot behind. Will lost an old scab from his knee revealing a huge and gruesome would that Sam treated and bandaged with admirable skill. Jas and EJ got mud everywhere and showed that it isn’t easy to look elegant when trekking through the rainforest.
At Camp 5 we talked about leaches, played Frisbee and messed about in the river before dinner. Then we played speed scrabble and told ghost stories before the generator was switched off and we had to return to our open sided dormitories and the safety of our mosquito nets.
