Mt. Kinabalu Park & Beyond
Trip Start
Apr 28, 2012
1
7
20
Trip End
May 17, 2012
Where I stayed
Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Travelled toward the foothills of Mt. Kinabalu and stopped at Nabalu, a fruit and crafts market on the side of the mountain. Bought some bananas including some red ones! and a couple of polo shirts. Unfortunately the mountain kept its reputuation for shrouding the spirits behind cloud so we only got some glimpses of the steep and rocky faces.
Went into the Mt Kinabalu Park World Heritage site and walked about looking at orchids of all shapes, colours and sizes with knowledgeable commentary from Adrian. This had us at an elevation of 1500 metres so happily leaving the high temperatures and humidity behind.
On the way to our overnight accommodation we visited the Kundasang War Memorial Park which was established to remember the 2400 or so POWs from Aus, NZ and UK who were marched 265 km from Sandakan to Ranau while having been starved and beaten. These death marches were toward the end of the war and were responsible for the deaths of all but 6 of these marchers. The Malaysian locals seemed to take a very strong interest in the memorial also as did our guide who had played an active role in flying one of the local heroes, who helped hide and feed some of the marchers, to Australia for a commemoration ceremony. Pretty moving story if you wish to take the time to read up on it.
Travelled on to view an example of the world's largest flower called a Rafflesia. This thing takes about 12 months to grow and only last for a few days once it blooms fully so we were lucky to see 2 of these. They are on private land but overseen/managed by a Central body called Sabah Parks who coordinate the tourist aspects. The few landholders who nature has chosen as hosts for these flowers must consider themselves mighty lucky as they generate a steady income with visitors handing over AUD10 each to see them.
Staying in a tiny little lodge on the Sabah Tea Plantation with hopefully good morning views of the mountain.
