The Mighty Mount Kinabalu

COUNTRY: Borneo & Cambodia
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building & Conservation
WRITTEN BY: Natalie Saar

I am thrilled to say that since my last update our group has made it through two major challenges! On Wednesday morning, we embarked on our ascent of Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in South East Asia. The first day was hard work, trudging up steep, uneven steps, one after the next, loaded with a backpack of food and water for the day and warm, clean clothes for the rest of the journey. After 6 km walking we reached Laban Rata lodge where we were greeted with an optional icy cold shower and a bed to sleep in for the night. However, despite cocooning ourselves in numerous blankets, many of us found it difficult to get a quality night's sleep due to the cold at altitude. In any case, we all relished filling our bellies that night with unlimited visits to a delicious buffet dinner!

The next morning our alarms sounded at the fine hour of 2 am for a 2:30 departure up the final 2.5 km of the mountain, aiming to see the sunrise from the summit. Up bare rockface, in the pitch black darkness, we went, with only a white hand rope and faithful head torch to guide us. The last 100 metres was the hardest, clambering up slippery wet boulders on our hands and knees, desperate to reach the top.
I think it was the hardest thing I've ever done physically, but wow it makes you feel alive!!

Unfortunately the weather at the summit wasn't ideal so there was no view to be seen, and no one wanted to linger long in the finger-numbing cold and wind.  I broke open a celebratory chocolate bar, took a photo in front of the sign saying I had reached 4095.2 metres (this kind of thing requires photographic evidence) and mentally prepared myself for the long descent to the base. 

I was so overjoyed to see the entrance gate that I had walked through less than two days before that I swear I nearly cried! I did it! Our first night at Camp Bongkud, our last camp in Borneo, was a blur of a well-deserved shower, a good meal and the warm embrace of a mattress. 

For a couple of R&R days we hobbled around Camp Bongkud like little old ladies, taking small tours of the village and the school nearby as well as learning how to cook traditional steamed banana cake and bead bracelets. Our bums and thighs still sore, we received a briefing on our imminent second challenge: a 5 day trek in the Bornean jungle. The real deal this time : setting up our own hammocks each night beneath the forest canopy and cramming them into our backpacks the following morning; carrying our own food for the whole duration of the trek (a gourmet combination of instant noodles, cans of baked beans, biscuits, peanut butter, potatoes, canned tuna, oatmeal and oranges) which we had to ration ourselves. 

Most of us simply balked at the thought of torturing our poor recovering bodies again with more intense physical activity! But we looked forward to the challenge of testing our personal limits once again, particularly in the realm of personal hygiene. Nothing but baby wipe showers for 5 days? Bring it on!

We set out the next morning, our packs swollen with food and supplies, both apprehensive and intrigued to see how we would survive the wilderness. After meandering away from the camp on a gravel road for a while, we came to a narrow bridge crossing our first river. One at a time we tip toed along the haphazard wire mesh patched up with wooden planks.  It was the threshold into the world of the jungle! After that a porter came to the front of our single file march. Around his waist was a sheathed machete (known as a 'parang' in Malay), which he swung back and forth to carve a path through the undergrowth. Suddenly some of the girls (and, admittedly, the boys) began to squeal, alerting us that the leeches had come out to play. It was then we knew the jungle had swallowed us up and we would have to wait through the next few days to see if it would spit us out again in one piece! 

Upon arrival at each camp we went through the daily ritual of scouring every inch of our bodies for leeches.  Often I removed my shoes to discover my socks were decorated with blooming red stains where a leech had feasted. Those nasty buggers can penetrate anything! 

Each camp was situated beside a river, so whenever we began to hear the trickling whisper of running water we would quicken our pace in anticipation of the end of a day's walking. The river supplied water for our porters to fill their huge kettles, so we could have boiling hotbwater for our dinner of instant noodles or boiled potato, or breakfast of oatmeal with a scoop of milo (a specialty dish we have christened "chocolate oats"). This water was also boiled and cooled to be used as drinking water for the following day. It tasted like charcoal but at least we knew it was safe. A highlight of each day was definitely the evening swim. Slipping into the cool, shallow water in our underwear, gripping the smooth rocks of the river bed with our toes, soap in hand to scrub off the grit and grime of the day and let the rushing river wash it away.  It suddenly made our sweaty struggle through the jungle all worth it! 

The final destination of our trek, which lay at the top of one last gruelling upward slope, was the Sabah Tea Plantation. Beautiful rolling hills studded with tufts of green took our breath away. However, even more awe-inspiring for us were the longhouses there, equipped with real  mattresses, sit-down toilets that flushed, and - gasp - hot showers and clean towels! Absolute luxury! 

After the near claustrophobia of the jungle, where our path, forged through the thick undergrowth, was just wide enough for us to go single file, and the canopy of leaves and branches above  meant we often couldn't see the sky, the expansive green vista surrounding us simply made us sigh with relief. 

That night we dined on stir fry beef, chicken, omelettes and fresh green vegetables, all delicacies to us now since meat and eggs cannot be taken into the jungle. With the peak of Mount Kinabalu looming out of the mist in the background behind, reminding us of our recent achievement, we licked our plates clean with relish. Victory had never tasted so good!

Special mention to Hannah who made it all the way to the end with a weak, bandaged knee and a mammoth blister on her heel that got so infected that she had to go to a clinic when we came back to Bongkud to get it professionally popped! 

I am looking forward to getting stuck into work on the project at Bongkud. Of all our camps, Bongkud is in the closest proximity to the community we are assisting. Compared to Tinangol, where the community was a 20 minute trek away, here we are literally nestled within the village. The new community centre, whose brickwork construction we are contributing to, is less than 30 seconds away and the local school is on the property directly behind us. Sometimes the kids come and hang around our camp and the boys muck around with a football while we play hangman with the girls or paint each other's nails. 

Eve, the leader of the camp, was actually born in Bongkud village herself and has seen this camp built from the ground up! In fact, this land actually belongs to the community and Camp Borneo is leasing it from them to run these camp programs. So our volunteering here is helping the people here in more ways than one. Eve is kind and gentle hearted and I hope I can contribute something to her hometown, even in the short time that we have here. 

Until next time,
Thanks for reading,
Natalie