Fiona in Borneo: The Maliau Basin and the Lost World

Sunrise at Camel Trophy Camp

Yes I went to the Maliau Basin last weekend and had an adventure! It seems ages since I've had one - (unless breaking my arm could be counted as one) and here I was on my way to the Lost World. It has been on my list of things to do for ages and then suddenly the opportunity came up and I was getting a lift in a 4x4 into the Maliau Basin which is the only way in. The Maliau Basin is a geological catchment area of the Maliau river with steep sides protecting the forest and wildlife within. It was only "discovered" in the 1960s and has been a conservation site since 1981 and hopefully will become a World Heritage site. It is untouched and nearly 600 square km of forest which in itself is a miracle to be chereished.

It was a 7 hour drive from Tuaran and we arrived at the park headquarters in the dark but managing to see some deer and wild boar on the way. The first night we spent at the hostel and then the next morning at 8 a.m. Suzanne and I got our rucksacks on our back and met our guides and set off from Agathis basecamp. I'm not as fit as I should be and the first 3 km were really hard as it was nearly vertical. We were not only scrambling but climbing up ladders and our guide just kept saying "palan palan" (slowly, slowly) and finally taking it very gently, we were at the top on the ridge and everything seemed easier. After that it was a trek through thick jungle and the huge agathis trees towering above us. The flora and fauna were similar to the Kinabalu area with pitcher plants and moss and lichen and of course many leeches - both tiger and brown! We made our basecamp "Camel Trophy" (strangely sponsored by Camel cigarettes!) at about 2 pm and decided to continue onto the Ki ?? Falls another 3 km but we were feeling good so off we set again minus our rucksacks. By the time we returned at 5 pm we were tired and had managed to do 14 km in one day without being super fit.

tree bridges

Amazing waterfall and our guide

The Camel Trophy base camp is a wooden house and we had bunk beds which was a surprise as we were told we would be in hammocks and a generator for some light in the evening. We cooked up some pasta, ate a bar of chocolate and despite it being quite cool and various civets running through our room I slept like a log. It rained heavily through the night but the next morning it had stopped and it was lovely. The next big challenge of the weekend was to climb the ladder up the Agathis tree to admire the canopy. Which I did despite the termites on the rungs and it was well worth the effort for the view.

After we had come down it was time to hike back which seemed a real shame and I wished we had had another day's hike to Ginseng Falls - but maybe next time. I certainly felt stronger and fitter on the return and would love to do a few day's hike one day. So of course coming down was easier but very slippy and we were back at the HQ by 1.30 pm and ready to start the 7 hour drive back.