Jungle expectations

Several years ago, Leen & our close buddies went to Taman Negara in Pahang. As I’d just joined this company and could not get away, I stayed behind with the intention of going at the next best opportunity. I finally made good on that intent in early September 2006.

It was a departmental team building and away weekend trip, but I’m pretty sure we covered pretty much most of what Taman Negara had to offer for weekend visitors. I’d have to say though, that my expectation was perhaps a little high. I expected to be going to an isolated mosquito and leech infested environment with basic amenities and far away from civilization. Instead we found ourselves at a supposed 5-star resort within a stone’s throw from town, my cellphone never lost signal and just across the river, we could hear the satellite TVs broadcasting the weekend’s football matches.

With team building activities planned by the committee for pretty much all 3 days, we ended up being pretty focused on our events and I have to say we didn’t come across too many wildlife outside the resort. It doesn’t surprise me though, as all I could hear during the canopy walk up in the trees were the sounds of outboard motors from the boats on the river, or the noisy chatter coming from the nature hides provided for observing wildlife at night. City folk… *sheesh*

While it was fun with several jungle hikes, a cave exploration and a visit to the rapids, it was a very easy going weekend away. Certainly not the rough and tumble jungle expedition to Belum which Su went for the week before. But adrenaline was pumped, expectations high and our adventurelust not entirely sated. Perhaps as grand plans go, maybe a camping expedition to Tahan or at least a fishing expedition is now on the cards. Hmmm… City kid, beach bum with grand jungle hiking and mountain climbing plans… rite. Grand plans, ya.

Puteri Kapas

Meet Puteri Kapas, the baby dugong that was found off Pulau Kapas back in August. She was strayed and was found swimming alone beneath the boats and was rumoured to be part of as many as 3 sighted the day before. As our boat made it’s way back from a dive, several boatmen were sighted swimming near their boats. As our boat drifted over, a few of us slipped into the water and the dugong swam around us, calling out, probably for its mother. When we sighted it on 19th August and from the photos I managed to take, it was obvious that it was still healthy and uninjured.

The photos caused quite a stir, as it was documented proof of the first dugong sighting in Terengganu in over 30 years. The sighting had mobilized staff from the Turtle and Marine EcoSystem Centre (Tumec) within the next day, which promised immediate action to conserve and protect the dugong.

News about it in the media broke slowly, coming only more than a week after the first sighting. By then, the reports focused on the rescue and recuperation efforts to save an injured dugong calf that had been hit by propeller blades. When it was first sighted alone, staff from TUMEC suspected it to be a pup recently weaned from its mother, and not a newborn calf as dugongs still suckling from its mother may remain with her for a year.

From the news report that KLCC Aquaria was involved in its recuperation, I was hopeful. If it was indeed an orphaned or strayed dugong that’s still reliant on its mother’s milk, the best place would be in an environment where experts are able to call on assistance immediately from experts around the world. I believe KLCC Aquaria would have been far better than Gem Resort’s saltwater pool. News about Puteri Kapas was few and far between after the initial report. The next substantial report would be the sad news of its death.

It disappointed me that the Dugong was left in Gem Resort’s pool for recovery, even after the failed recuperation efforts for a dolphin several years back. It simply is not an environment that is capable of recuperating marine life of that size. It may very well be substantial enough as a turtle hatchling sanctuary but surely not for a dolphin or dugong. Enough has been mentioned in the various blogs and reports about the inadequacy of that facility, the decisions made and the efforts to recuperate it that I won’t harp along those lines.

At the end of it, we have lost an opportunity and it is sad and unfortunate that better care was not afforded to Puteri Kapas when the possibility was there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure TUMEC did the best it felt it could do. But it simply was not enough. Therein lies another problem. For a country so blessed with coastal and marine environments such that we have in Malaysia, I wonder, do we have enough marine biologists or even marine biology facilities in the country?

It's all about adventure

Exactly a month ago, I headed out to the east coast for some diving. The resort wasn’t your typical dive destination, but there was a dive operator on a nearby island and I was convinced, so why not. As usual, any trip I make with “the dive buddy” usually has its fair share of drama. So would it surprise anyone that this trip wasn’t without the usual gung-ho, by the seat of our pants plans? But both being super easy going, we’d plunge ahead regardless, and as it happens, it ended up much like the other trips… one pretty memorable adventure yet again.

This time though, it started with frustration. Fuming, sleepy and bored stiff, we were kept waiting to depart, late by more than two hours cos Trish was simply not contactable, not answering the mobile nor responding to sms… WTF! Eventually she called up and we were off. To top it off, we made it to the island by mid-morning despite missing our ferry. As a result of the delay and the fact that none of us were in any condition to drive any further by 6am, we lost an additional hour sleeping by the side of the road at some rest stop. To make matters worse, we realised we’d overshot our jetty at Marang and not Merang when we’d reached KT, almost 20minutes past it.

You’d think our misadventures would end there, rite? But no… on arriving at the island, we’re then told that there were too much jellyfishes and that conditions were bad so there’d be no diving for the day but that we could wait and see how it was the next day. The frustrations were just mounting…

But what happens when you put 2 crazy gung-ho fellas together on a holiday? Well… they lounge on hammocks and spontaneously turn 1-hour kayak rentals into a 4-hour adventure by kayaking from Gemia to and around Kapas island, rounding the open seas and stranding on reefs due to low tide, socializing and having tea with the local dive master, stopping a fisherman in the middle of the sea for a cigarette lighter as well as jumping in the water for a spontaneous dugong search. Frustrations? Long gone by the time the sun set. This is how holidays are meant to be!

Generally, that’s how the rest of the holiday unfolded as well… hiccups at the start of the day, but all rosy and hunky dory by the end. The highlight of the 2nd day obviously was that we finally went diving, but to top it off, it became a very memorable dive. Let’s just say my buddy left me behind and I had to surface by myself, but was not missed by the group, dive master nor my buddy. I was fuming as I finned 30m back to the boat on the surface to find the rest of the dive flight surfacing, oblivious to the fact I was not amongst them. So much for the buddy diving system. Let’s leave it there for a future post as that’s not what made it memorable. What did was swimming with and photographing the first dugong sighted in Terengganu in 30 years. That itself cast off all my frustrations with my buddy during the dive.


You’d think after that it would be difficult to top the 1st dive and you’d be right, but there was more in store for us as we came across huge cobias and a shovelnose ray. Not too bad for a dive site that’s not rated too highly amongst all the other east coast sites.

Our dives that day had all been at a site named Coral garden and although we’d approached it by boat, I’d made a mental note of our proximity to Gemia Island and judged that it would be well within snorkeling distance and accessible safely during low tide. After a pleasantly delightful late lunch and a soothing massage, it was back to Coral Garden, this time without any dive gear. With the frustrations endured before getting to the island, we were getting our just rewards. Within the hour and a half snorkelling, we’d come across schools of barracuda, garfish, sharks, triggers, stingray and a pair of cuttlefish at the far side of Gemia.

Another amazing starfeesh adventure.

More pix accessible from my sidebar…