Kayak Borneo – Flash Floods, Blow Pipes and Wild Boar

The second month of the rolling expedition kicked off well with Nick Bennett, Patrick Clissold and Tom Haywood joining me to paddle the classics from the previous month.

Nick Bennett enjoying the incredible Sungai Tolokosan, deep in the Malysian jungle.

With a bit of boating under our belt, we decided to have a punt at a 60km gorge littered with rapids marked on a 1980’s pilotage chart.  The river slices through the Mulu national park, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site which houses the extremely rare, Sun Bear, Pigmy Elephant, Orangutan and also the largest cave system in the world! We used a traditional long boat to enter the park, then hired a powerful 4×4 to claw our way up to the get-on.  The river dished out huge whirlpools, unpredictable boils, and a terrifying seven meter river rise overnight.  After speaking to indigenous people on the way down, the crux 30km gorge was out of the question.  Water disappearing underground, unportageable waterfalls and two recent fatalities made the decision easy.  This trip was special because we often encountered indigenous tribesmen.  Nomadic until the 1980’s, they still hunt wild boar, bare-foot, wielding their deadly blowpipes, clad in loin cloths and draped in stunning jewelry.  Although the river wasn’t world class, these precious memories made this mission my favorite.

The two indigenous hunters that we met at a long house. They still hunt with a blow pipe and poison darts, capable of stopping a man’s heart in five minutes.

Patrick Clissold enjoying one of the many waves found during high water in the picturesque Sungai Tutoh gorge,

With water unprecedentedly high, we headed back into the hills above Lawas, Sarawak, to jump on a previously scouted multiday.  The river started slowly, through incredible scenery, bursting with inquisitive monkeys and majestic birds surveying overhead.  Eventually the river gorged in, as the gradient picked up, forming some awesome grade 4/5 kayaking, just what we needed.  After a relaxed night in the hammocks, the river quietened before a final 10km of stunning boulder garden rapids.  Locals warned us of a waterfall plunging into a crocodile infested plunge pool further down, so we hopped off with huge grins, after an awesome couple of days of adventure.

Tom Haywood deep in the jungle during the Trusan multiday.

Home sweet home.

During the month of scouting rivers, we couldn’t help but notice the devastating environmental damage caused by the immense logging industry:  enormous palm oil plantations, ruined water supplies, as well as a loss of spiritual connection for the indigenous are just the start.  Unfortunately, most of the economic gain is funnelled into a few big pockets, so that the indigenous land owners are forced to abandon traditions and move to the cities.

A common view in Malaysia. Virgin jungle is logged and replaced by ether palm oil and rubber plantations or Acacia tress used to make white paper.

Malaysia is the world’s largest exporter of palm oil. We witnessed first hand the effect this has on the environment; loss of biodiversity, flash floods, relocating indigenous tribes and landslides are just the start.

One thing that I hope we never forget from the trip is the unrelenting Malay hospitality.  Along every river bank we were met with incredible generosity:  offers to put us up, lifts to get-ons, free tanks of fuel and enough wild boar to sink our Everests (nearly), all on the good-will account, as they nicely put it.

A village chief gives Nick Bennett some vital local knowledge after giving us dinner and a place to stay.

The last couple of days were spent coaching the next generation of Malaysian kayakers.  The Riverbug raft guys are super keen to get in kayaks and hope to start coaching others soon.  They couldn’t wait to get their hands on our boats at the end of the trip.

Nick Bennett enjoying high water in Malaysia. Just after this rapid, the water flows off a waterfall into a pool full of hungry crocodiles. Luckily the locals had warned us about it!

Keep your eyes on the blog for the final leg’s mission into the wild Indonesian jungle.  www.kayakborneo.co.uk/blog