Today is another big journeying day
into the jungle or rather the Danum Valley Rainforest. After our late arrival into Koto Kinabalu
last night we have a lazy morning exploring our surrounds in KK, including the
obligatory good cup of tea and then are collected to go the airport for our
flight to Lahad Datu.
Our plane is completely full with
Oxford University students on a fieldtrip (we never had anywhere quite as
exciting!) and a group of Earthwatch volunteers – who will all take further
roles as our journey into the jungle continues…
After the usual formalities we set
off in our 4X4 pick up truck along the worlds most bumpy road for what we think
will be a 2.5 hour journey to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge right in the very
heart of the Danum Valley – one of the only areas of pristine rainforest left
in the world.
One hour into the journey we round a
corner and……
….an extremely large tree has just
fallen completely blocking the road. I
knew we should have gone on the Ray Mears jungle survival course before we left
the UK! So we are now stuck in the
rainforest, with no way of moving the tree and it is getting dark and creepy,
raining heavily as our driver is busy on the radio in what we assume is asking
for immediate back up or failing that a very large chain saw, crane, JCB etc.
20 minutes later we are still in the
car, and the tree is still crossing our path, and then lights come around the
corner and the police have arrived (in advance of some VIPs arriving tomorrow)
– surely we must be saved? Sadly not – in fact all they seem to do is concur
that it is in fact a very large tree, and as Mr M would say ‘we cannae shift it’.
Time is ticking on and I am now
getting fully prepared for a night in the car, when more lights appear and it
is the 3 mini-bus loads of the Oxford University Students and the group from
Earthwatch. One of the Earthwatch men as
obviously completed his jungle survival course and whips out his ‘kukuri’ and starts chopping away at
branches, unfortunately given the diameter of the trunk is 1m thick that night
in the car is looking more and more likely…
1½ hours later a land rover appears,
but my hopes are not high…. Until it appears that at last this is chain saw man
– we are saved! 15 minutes of chain saw
action, combined with some Kukuri and the Oxford Students then rolling the tree
trunk sections away at last the road is clear and we are on our way!
We finally arrive at the Lodge after
another 1½ hours of driving tired and hungry, but pleased to have made it – it
is made all the more amusing as the staff welcoming us are obviously practicing
for the arrival of a certain VIP couple tomorrow and welcome Mr M as Prince
William and me as Kate – due to our middle names (William & Kate) they
thought they were arriving early! Let
the VIP treatment commence.
Mrs M
A case of 'can't get to see the rainforest for the tree' !
ReplyDeleteOr as I've always said 'if it doesn't shift, make it shift'
ReplyDelete