Dhahran British Grammar School Expedition 2006

24 March: Kota Kinabalu to the National Park.

The bus took us past the huge state mosque on the way out of KK. Our guide told us that it could house 14,000 people for prayers, although I found that hard to believe. A little further on the road to the Kinabalu National Park is the local university – a huge new campus, elegantly laid out in a Greenfield site just outside of town.

We arrived at the National Park, one of two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Malaysia, just before lunch. We were met at the park gate by a young guide who took us on a nature trail through the rainforest. At over 1500m the climate was pleasantly cool. The park has a huge variety of plant and insect life; there are over six hundred species of orchids alone. One, the Laughing orchid, has a small landing platform that wobbles, making it very difficult for some insects to land. The ‘right’ insects to pollinate the plant have no problems landing however. It’s called the Laughing Orchid because this landing platform rocks back and forth when you touch the flower, making it look like a laughing face.

Roslan, our local guide for this section, also pointed out the kerosene fruit. This small red/orange berry looks not unlike a rose hip and smells like a cross between a persimmon and a lemon. When the berry is squeezed though, oil spurts out of the tip and can be lit – making a miniature flamethrower.

After lunch in the park’s Chinese/Malay restaurant we watched a DVD about the park and its wildlife. Not a good move perhaps. Tired, well fed children, in a darkened room – not the best combination for attentive viewing.

In the afternoon we checked into our hostel and gave the students some free time. They played Frizbee, went for short walks in the grounds and looked at the insects and rats frequenting the building. At five, we gathered together once more for an hour of charades, organised by Sam and Megan.

There are amazing insects here. One moth that flew into the common room was orange and brown, highly visible whilst it was flying. Once it had landed though, it became a broken leaf, green and veined and as unlike a moth as you could imagine.

Dinner at Park headquarters and a briefing completed the evening; we did have the students pack their day bags before bedtime though. We decided to check these as the students have repeatedly shown that they don’t listen to instructions and have a tendency to pack either too much or too little.