12:43 We reached the town of Batu Niah and had lunch along the banks of the Niah River.
13:11 I had Kampung Fried rice which was enriched by a certain kind of protein I didn’t find too desirable.
13:37 We reached the National Park HQ. Dark clouds had gather and we could hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance. We decided to risk it.
13:53 We crossed the river for a 2.85 KM walked to the mouth of the first cave at the Western Entrance on raised a walkway.
I had visited Batu Niah and the caves some 20 years ago. There were locals excavating guano from the caves and taking them out on foot along the raised wooden walkways that can be quite slippery when wet. There were long bamboo poles secure to the roof of the caves where locals would gather bird’s nest. I had brought a powerful torch light with me then and I was told not to shine it at locals who had perched themselves a couple of hundred feet up at the ceiling of the caves for fear of blinding them and causing them to slip and fall to their death.
Today, Guano collection was no longer seen on the route that we took. Swiftlet conservations have begun and the bird’s nest collectors have been order to move their bamboo poles out of the cave by April.
Walking along the river, we could not help but to notice how trees grew from the limestone rocks, intertwining and coexisting harmoniously together. Through thousands of years of water erosion, the river had carved out the limestone to form mini caves.
14:34 We reached Traders cave. Remnants of the huts that were built in the caves where traders and collectors would sell their wares still stand.
14: 46 The western entrance of Niah Cave was the Great Cave. We passed an archeological dig site, a burial ground dating back to AD 1400 which was discovered in 1957. Else where in the caves human remains dating back 40,000 years were discovered.
40,000 years ago a giant guano mudslide formed much of the brown stuff that we see on the cave floor. We were walking on crap.
The caves went on for a couple of more kilometers. I didn’t explore any further because the same acrid smell of sulphurous bat crap got the better of me.
15:35 we reached the drinks and souvenir stalls were the locals from a longhouse not too far away had set up their business. Bottled water for 2 RM, softdrinks for 3RM. Jungle conveniences come with a price.
There was a path on raised wooden catwalk that lead to their village some 20 minutes away. We decided to go for a walk.
13:51 We had reached the village. A rumah panjang (longhouse) on Sungai Tangap. At the end of the trail was an old man was trying to fix his outboard motor. The ladies were on their way to the river to wash and do their laundry. We were given permission to wander around and so we did. Pickup trucks were parked underneath the longhouse. The village was quiet. Some curious young children came out to investigate. We took our shots and went back to the trail. The old man had gotten his outboard motor running.
The village has a population of around 500, 160+ pintu or families. They had a school that accommodated primary education up to Primary 6. We were told that the road leading out of this village would lead towards Ladang Tiga, an old palm plantation on the way back to Miri. The old man went on to say that no one takes the river to get out of the village anymore. It used to take 2 hours to reach the town. These days they would use their shallow hulled boats to set up traps along the rive to catch fish.
There is no piped water supply. Rainwater collected from the roof of the house is channeled into large containers under the house. This is primarily used for cooking and drinking.Water from the river is used for general washing and bathing. Under each house are diesel generators locked away in a small store room. The long houses have Astro satellite dishes mounted on the roofs and the ladies at the stalls near the cave tells us they do have access to the internet. I’m not sure how but I think they make use the 3G networks.
16:01 We bid our farewell and head out of the national park. Stopping at the stalls again to get some more refreshments and we were offered the opportunity to take some portraits.
19:16 We had made back into Miri. We had walked a total of more that 10 km. Smelled guano, almost ate a grub. Driven over 300km. Spoke to some nice villagers. The weather held up.
20 years from now, what will the Niah Caves be like?