Ganung Gading Rafflesia trail...
Gunung Gading National Park is the place where visitors can track down the worlds largest flower, the Raffelesia. It's a hit and miss affair as to whether anyone turning up in the hope of seeing one actually does, so it helps to have an insider to spill the beans on the latest Raffelesia flowering situation. Framkie the guesthouse owner makes a phone call, and it's game on for an early start tomorrow, and the rare sighting of a Raffelesia.
Frankies driving the 2 hours to Lundu, south-west Sarawak although I could have taken a bus from the city bus station - K26 drops passengers in the town then it's about 30 minutes of hiking to the Gunung Gading Park HQ. Its going to cost of course - "￡4 park entrance, ￡6 for a guide since they only know the Raffelesias exact location and I can chip in with the petrol", says Frankie.
Antonio is our guide, Frankies friend and park insider, enthusiastically leads the way up into the forest. Less than 5 minutes from park HQ and we are lead off the main trail to the left - an unofficial track on which is a Raffelsia flower, past it's best but at least I've seen one! Antonio is pretty knowledgeable and quite shrewd too because the staff at HQ didn't know about this flower, infact they were not aware of any flowering Raffelesia today!
About an hour forreging in the undergrowth with Anotonio explaining the various flora names and giving out facts on which spiders were poisonous and which were not. A few lizards spotted and an odd looking creature attached to a tree, something like a cricket, but clearly not. "every day there are new species of flora and fauna found in Gunung that have no names, not been seen before", explains Antonio. So, not having hiked very far at all, we have managed to spot quite an array of forest and jungle plants, insects and other creepy crawlies in the 1 1/2 hours here, quite a successful morning.
Back to Antonio's for a cup of tea and a look at some wild Orchids on display in the garden. Not just Orchids but a vast array of forest fruits and herbs - from citrus fruits to curry leaves to wild Strawberries, its all here at Gading Laksa Cafe for visitors to eat.
Gunung Gading National Park is the place where visitors can track down the worlds largest flower, the Raffelesia. It's a hit and miss affair as to whether anyone turning up in the hope of seeing one actually does, so it helps to have an insider to spill the beans on the latest Raffelesia flowering situation. Framkie the guesthouse owner makes a phone call, and it's game on for an early start tomorrow, and the rare sighting of a Raffelesia.
Frankies driving the 2 hours to Lundu, south-west Sarawak although I could have taken a bus from the city bus station - K26 drops passengers in the town then it's about 30 minutes of hiking to the Gunung Gading Park HQ. Its going to cost of course - "￡4 park entrance, ￡6 for a guide since they only know the Raffelesias exact location and I can chip in with the petrol", says Frankie.
Antonio is our guide, Frankies friend and park insider, enthusiastically leads the way up into the forest. Less than 5 minutes from park HQ and we are lead off the main trail to the left - an unofficial track on which is a Raffelsia flower, past it's best but at least I've seen one! Antonio is pretty knowledgeable and quite shrewd too because the staff at HQ didn't know about this flower, infact they were not aware of any flowering Raffelesia today!
About an hour forreging in the undergrowth with Anotonio explaining the various flora names and giving out facts on which spiders were poisonous and which were not. A few lizards spotted and an odd looking creature attached to a tree, something like a cricket, but clearly not. "every day there are new species of flora and fauna found in Gunung that have no names, not been seen before", explains Antonio. So, not having hiked very far at all, we have managed to spot quite an array of forest and jungle plants, insects and other creepy crawlies in the 1 1/2 hours here, quite a successful morning.
Back to Antonio's for a cup of tea and a look at some wild Orchids on display in the garden. Not just Orchids but a vast array of forest fruits and herbs - from citrus fruits to curry leaves to wild Strawberries, its all here at Gading Laksa Cafe for visitors to eat.
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