Romping into the Heart of Borneo (Part 1) By Jason Hon, Sarawak Conservation Programme

 

Field work had been delayed for almost one year, due to COVID-19 pandemic and movement control orders. The Wildlife Conservation team of Sarawak Conservation Programme were eager to go down to the ground again, but COVID-19 numbers did not give us any clear indication if the situation would improve or worsen. The memory cards from the camera traps, which contained precious wildlife data, have to be retrieved! That was the mission. 

There was a small window of opportunity, finally in September, that the trip could happen. The team scrambled through last minute preparations (nothing can be pre-planned too soon during COVID-19 season). Flight tickets confirmed (lucky if you get a seat and the flight is not cancelled!), police permits to travel done, mandatory swab test completed (three days prior to travel and you better be free of the virus, else all travel plans will go down the drain), all necessary paperwork filled (pray it is not the weekend or holiday when the officer-in-charge could be off-work), and the consents of the headman and District Officers obtained (hope they are reachable and give you a ‘ok’). And yes, most important of all, the travel party must be fully vaccinated. 

Travel day arrived. Excitement was high. Just the day before, AirAsia notified that the flight from Kuching to Sibu would be delayed by six hours. Ah, that’s ok, the team could still fly out on the same day, and arrived in Sibu in time to do the necessary stocking up of field consumables. Next day, it was a three-hour journey to Kapit on a chartered van, followed by a hectic day of stocking up more rations for the next eight days of field work. All settled, the team had a good rest in anticipation of the next day’s tiring eight-hour 4WD journey to the deepest part of Sarawak. 

Day three was fully set aside just for traveling (yes, we have not reached the destination point yet). The journey on a double cab 4WD traversed some of the most mountainous regions of Sarawak and along the mighty Baleh River. Occasionally, trucks laden with timber drove past, the experiences were more numerous as compared to the wildlife we saw. This is the heartland of the logging industry in Sarawak. Halfway through the journey, a pair of rhinoceros hornbills flew overhead, perched on a tall tree, and started calling. That was a pleasant welcome greeting to the team! Further in, we saw some long-tailed macaques by the road side, and that was about it, our encounters with wildlife. Occasionally, we made brief stops at places overlooking rolling hills with lush greenery, worthy to be made into a wallpaper!

  
The last one hour of the journey was already in total darkness. The highly experienced drivers relied on their car lights, but we were pretty confident that almost the entire journey was guided by their internal human brain ‘Waze’ or ‘Google map’ which know the slippery patches and muddy potholes. Last time check: 1930 hours – the team finally arrived at a Kenyah settlement called Long Singut B. It was a huge relief for the team! Swiftly the team swung into action to unload all the stuff, unpack and prepare for dinner. They needed a good night's rest because the real adventure had yet to come…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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