First discovered by a British pilot in 1947 when he flew over what he thought was a mist-shrouded jungle, only to find himself encircled by steep cliff rising about the jungle floor. It was largely forgotten until the first expedition in 1988.
Sabah’s Lost World without the dinosaurs. Only about 50% of the area has been explored. And a Maliau Basin Studies Centre was setup to study and uncover new species of life within the conservation area. And the dormitories for the students and researcher is where we will put up for the night.
23 September 2010. After registering ourselves at the Shell Maliau Basin Reception. it was dirt road all the way into the Maliau Basin Studies Centre. Stopping at a viewpoint, we have a partial panoramic view of the conservation area. Before our last stretch of journey in, our guide, a trained ranger, gets more anxious and stop us a few times. He told us he was listening for the wild elephants herd. They can be dangerous and if we ever encounter them, we may need to abandon our bike and run, if we don’t turn back quick enough.
Compare to my ride in Phnum Samkoh Wildlife Sanctuary. I am less wary as I have companion, and an experienced one. Not too long and we can hear the elephant cry not far a distance from us. We slowed down and stop at times with our bike engine off to cut down the noise, which may intimidate the animals. Slowly we creep forward, though we didn’t get to confront the animal, as I hope. All that still excite us is our close encounter with a pile of fresh elephant dung in the middle of our path!
We reached the center before sunset. The dormitories was a pleasant stay, though we are warned to close all our door and windows to guard against the invasive macaques surrounding the compound. So much for a green holidays…
