We 5 tourists, Eva and Julian from Holland, Natalie and Dennis from Belgium, with our guide, Mr. Nine, and the driver, got on the road shortly after 8. The tourists rode on the benches in the pickup bed. Must have been a half hour ride to the park. The entrance fee of 400B was included in the tour price. All of the tour in the park is in or on the forested mountains. We rode til 10:30, stopping often to get out for viewing of the valley and mountains, and the wildlife, seen mostly with binoculars and the telescope the guide set up when needed. Some animals, like the deer, monitor lizard and macaques were in or on the road. Others, such as the hornbill and many other birds were high up in the trees. Many of the birds are brightly colored, but we needed the scope to see the colors.
At 10:30 we got bottles of water and leech socks and were driven to a trail entry point. On the way I pulled up my pant leg and ripped the pants just above the knee. I took more care after that in pulling up on my pants. We started our 3 hour hike through the forest. We were in shade, but not deep shade. There were openings for the sun to shine on the ground. We stopped frequently, to view the wildlife, mostly with a scope, although we saw the gibbons, both black and white, without the scope. The gibbons stayed high up in the tall trees. Mr. Nine gave me his 300/4 L lens to use. I couldn't get any good shots when I had it, but it is the best lens I could have had to try. Mr. Nine was able to get some good shots of the gibbons jumping between branches. He had good anticipation reaction. We saw many more birds, but no ground creatures other than a chameleon and insects and spiders. We saw claw marks on a tree, maybe from a tiger. No sign of any leeches, and no snakes.
Trish called during the walk and we had a nice talk. She had talked to Mom and Tony. Mom has a bad cold.
At 1:30 we walked to a viewing tower and had lunch of fried vegetables and tofu on rice and a sweet coating on rice for dessert. Eva gave me her dessert because she couldn't eat any more. Didn't see any animals from the tower, which looks over a small lake, and a salt lick nearby. The salt lick is a bare soil ledge gouged or cut into the slope. After lunch we walked for 10 minutes to the pickup. We rode to the visitor center and were treated to a drink of our choice from the little store. We watched the macaques, one of which walked onto the lawn, then
, when the area was clear, dashed onto the counter and ran off with a small bag of chips. She ran back to the edge of the woods, opened the bag and ate the chips, pausing only long enough to climb up a tree when other macaques came toward her.We were driven to a waterfall at 3, and Eva and Julian were taken to the campground, where they are staying overnight. We 3 had an hour to look and photograph. The sign says no swimming, but several dozen of the tourists swam in the large pool below the falls. It may be unsafe during the rainy season when the water flow is higher and faster. The water was not as clear as the pool yesterday, and I decided to stay out of dirty water. I just took photos, and walked back up with Natalie and Dennis, the hundred or so steps, before our hour was finished.
We rejoined Julian, Mr. Nine and the driver, at 4 and rode through the park, looking at the scenery. The forest flora changes with elevation, and we drove up and down, mostly up, til we reached a high view point, next to a radar station. It was now 6 and the sun had set. The haze in the valley obscured the view. We had a treat of watermelon, then rode back down the mountain, to the campground where Julian got out. The air was quite cool and the front opening was covered with a rolled down plastic sheet to stop the wind.
Before we left the park, we saw several cars stopped up ahead and heard Mr. Nine call out 'Elephant on the road!'. The pickup stopped, then backed up with most of the cars. An elephant was walking on the shoulder of the road, and turned toward the salt lick by the time I saw him, or her. I was able to take out my camcorder, put it on night shot, and get some video of the elephant in the salt lick, shooting first from the pickup, then from the road. The cars headlights were too weak to shoot with anything other than night shot, and the elephant soon walked out of view. The elephant was wild but calm.
We were back in the cafe at 7. I had dinner with Natalie and Dennis, and another 3 guys who just arrived, from Holland. I again had fried vegetables with tofu on rice, but this time I drank a small can of Singha beer.
Took a cold shower, and got to bed about 10.
So my outlay for today is nothing, but I will owe for the room and tours and meals when I leave tomorrow.
0 comments:
Post a Comment