Jungle Jim & Dora The Explorer

The right place at the right time. It all started with an overheard conversation in Kuching - something which often happens on the travelling circuit. People trying to outdo each other with their stories of how cheaply they did something, how close to death their adventure brought them, blah blah blah (sounds like our blog). Anyway, this one bird was (fortunately) very loud and she was regaling what a marvellous place the Highlands Lodge was and how its owner was a pilot and he's flown them off to some place in the middle of the jungle. It went on and on, so much so that even Andy took notice. Waiting for the taxi to take us from Kuching to the airport, I recalled the conversation and happened upon a leaflet for The Highlands. It just happened to be in Miri - our next destination. So with moist palms, we endured another domestic flight to save us an 11 hour (++) journey in the hands of a maniac bus driver.

As we reached The Highlands, we were warmly welcomed and happy to realise there was a room free. Overlooking the river, the lodge was beautifully serene and only had a couple of other people staying there. At only 40 RM per night, we'd happened upon something good. David, the owner was also about and began telling all about the surrounding areas. As luck would have it, he was due to fly to Bario the following day and asked if we would like to join him on his Twin Otter aircraft to venture out to the jungle! Given Andy's aeroplane terror, he was less than keen, but I managed to persuade him this was too good an opportunity to miss.

Bario is a tiny village in the middle of the Kelabit Highlands and is renowned in Sarawak for its pineapples and its world-famous rice. The Kelabit peoples were "discovered" in the early 20th century and at this time were a tribe who fiercely defended their territory from imposters. Otherwise known as the "headhunters" they were distinguished from the other 30 or so tribes in Sarawak by their elongated earlobes and the women have tatoos which cover from ankle to thigh. Earlobe elongation begins in infanthood by hanging heavy brass earrings and the male warriors have an additional piercing in their upper ear which is adorned by leopard's fangs. Traditionally, the Kelabits live in "longhouses." Within these many families live communally with open-plan living and kitchen areas. It is quite normal to wander into each others' territory and feed whoever might be passing through the village. As a foreigner however, you must have an invitation to visit. Would be be lucky enough I wondered?

As we boarded the tiny 19-seater, our excitement escalated. We sat quite close to David and his co-pilot so that we could see what was going on. Andy felt reasurred that he could what they were doing and if they remained calm, all would be well. We were taken on the sight-seeing route and passed over Mulu National Park and the Pinnacles - a set of bizarrely jagged limestone points sticking up though the vegetation. We then flew scarily close to Batu Lawi - the twin mountain peaks opposite. An hour later, we landed safely, had a cup of tea and our first taste of Kelabit pineapple. It was here that we met Peter, a local guide and Jenny who is the "adopted" daughter of Peter's family who still reside in a longhouse. David then introduced us to Munney (or Douglas as he likes to be called) and said we could stay at his place "De Plateau." Before we knew it, we'd been invited to have dinner at the longhouse with Peter and his parents, Jenny and her friends from Miri. Considering we'd made no plans, this was all coming together nicely!

Lying some 1,000 metre above sea level and close to the Indonesian border, Bario is noticeably cooler and less humid than the lowlands of Miri. At last - some respite from the humidity and heat! If only to make the trekking easier, I was relieved. We made our way to De Plateau straight away we began to wreak havoc in the serene village of Bario. The can wouldn't start so we had to push to get it going. Within a few mintes, it broke down again, so Douglas had to take us individually on the back of his motorbike to his home. He designed his beautiful wooden home himself and it operates on a sort of "homestay" basis. "Don't worry Douglas," I reassured him, "You'll won't know we're here."

We spent that afternoon walking to the next village - a peaceful stroll with lots of pretty ferns to keep my macro lens busy, and a few frisky water buffalo to keep us on our toes. Upon our return to Douglas' house, we showered in cold but lovely water from the waterfall, before Jenny and the gang arrived to give us a lift to the longhouse. Bario Asal is the original (and oldest) longhouse in the region. We met Peter's parents, a wonderfully friendly and welcoming couple in their 90's! Peter's father still tends to his buffalo each morning and owns a pineapple farm. Here is Peter's mother after she put her earrings in when she realised they had company for dinner. And so began the feast preparations. The previous day, a wild boar had been caught and this was to form the basis of our dinner. The generator kicked in about 7pm but up until that point, the cooking had been going on in the dark. Meanwhile, we were shown around the tawa - an enclosed corridor which runs the length of the entire house. this forms the focus of the longhouse and is the plce where celebrations occur. We wandered along and admired all the old family photographs of the residents before coming out again at the end of the house. It felt very strange just walking though strangers living rooms but it wasn't long before we met another elderly gentleman who greeted us warmly and shook our hands. At dinner time, the boar was very tasty and along with the famous Bario rice (the best rice ever) and ferns, it made a great meal.

We had to be on our way however as it was an hours walk back to De Plateau (if we didn't get lost) and we had an early start in the morning. We'd been asked if we wanted to join the others for a trek in the jungle to a previously unvisited waterfall. We passed packs of dogs and wolves howling in the distance as the moonlight guided us safely home. It was late and so the generator had been turned off. By torchlight we prepared for bed. The outside loo was a bit dodgy and I had told Andy he must pull the red string in order to flush it. "I think I could have worked that one out," he replied and before long he was standing in the bathroom, being sprayed with great volumes of toilet water, with a piece of toilet in his hand. I was less than pleased as I stood there getting soaked trying to hold the offending pieces together while Mr. Know It All went off to find the mains tap. Unsucessful in his mission, I told he he would have to wake Douglas up. I just knew he wouldn't be able to find their bedroom, which I knew was located off the kitchen. He returned 10 mintues later - having failed his second mission. "Don't be angry with me..." he pleaded while I went off to finish the job. It took some time to rouse the snoring Douglas, but eventually we managed to wake Mrs Douglas who took over the task. She insisted we went to bed and leave her to it. We felt pretty awful, (especially as I pulled the mirror off the wall the next morning) but still managed a pretty good sleep despite the enormous dragonfly which repeatedly battered itself (eventually to death) against the window.

After snapping the mirror off the wall (yeah, you'll never know we were there), we set off on our expedition. First stop was to visit a Penan settlement in the jungle. The Penan tribe are semi-nomadic people whose very existance is currently under threat from logging. The export of tropical woods and the demand for palm oil is the driving force behind this devastation. Apart from several discreet pockets of jungle, the logging industry is relieving indigenous people and animals of their habitats. I read one statistic which stated that at the current level of deforrestation, 1,000 species per year is reaching extinction and that logging is ocurring at a rate of four times the sustainable rate (source unknown). Of the little I have learnt, it is apparent that traditionally the Penans are gentle people who rely on their rainforest not only for their everyday materials, but it also forms the foundation of their spiritual and cognitive world. Skilled hunters, they eat wild boar, fruit, vegetables and make much use of sago. Time is measured by the noises of the jungle, the position of the sun and the growth cycle of the sago palm. They listen to the forest for auspicious signs such as the sighting of a white-headed hawk flying from left to right before setting out on a long journey. The forboding call of a kingfisher might turn back an entire hunting group.

Hunting is still done with poisoned darts. The toxin (or tajem) is derived from the sap of a tree known as Antiaris Toxicaria and provides a potent cardiac glycoside called antiarin. Causing lethal arrhythmias, it is only effective if it enters the bloodstream. Darts without poison are sufficient to kill smaller animals, but once you reach monkey-size, you need something more powerful! Apparently, in the Amazon, they use a substance called curare which is a muscle relaxant and works by suffocation. Antiarin sounds preferable I think. Fishing is sometimes performed with the aid of a biodegradable toxin derived from some fruits, stems and roots. This inhibits respiration and ultimately causes death by suffocation. Is used occasionally and in localised areas, this poses no threat to the ecosystem. Conversely however, logging activity causes the rivers to become muddy and uninhabitable to aqauatic life, causing further detriment to the lives of the Penan.


After visiting the Penan settlement, we set off to the waterfall. Peter discovered it recently and reckons we were the first people to ever go there! This was to be our spot for lunch. No picnic for us - they had come prepared with chicken, boar and vegetables stuffed into bamboo and roasted over the fire. Ray would've been proud! After this, I foraged around the depths of my bag for some teabags and next thing I know, I was handed a bamboo-cup full of tea! Lovely.

We were pretty knackered after our days trekking, so we declined another invite to the longhouse's BBQ. We settled instead for a delicious home-cooked meal at De Plateau - local chicken, ferns, baby bamboo shoots (a bit like asparagus) and that famous rice. The people of Bario seem to consume pineapple at least four times a day! Whilst it is the sweetest we've ever tried, I'm not sure our stomachs could handle it!

So thanks to the chain of events which lead us to Bario on that day, we had a brilliant time and felt privileged to meet such lovely welcoming people. The others in the group were also great fun and we helped each other through some quite challenging parts of the jungle. Great thanks to Peter and his family for their kindness, Douglas and his wife for their hospitality, and Jenny for inviting us along in the first place. Also thanks to David for the smooth flight and sorting out our tickets. Also (excuse the spelling) to Hilda, Wem, Robert & Marte - the lovely Nederlandse mense - thank-you for teaching me the Dutch for barbed wire (prikelbras!!) Thanks to Douglas for the Tiger beer we had to secretly drink in the longhouse and to Alice for saying I looked like Linsay Lohan (pre eating-disorder, I presume?)