That Friday morning I was thrilled that tomorrow is going to be my "ice breaking" session to the outdoor world again. This trip is going to be my third addition to my caving experience, and second visit to Gua Tempurung, Gopeng, Perak.
The limestone-base cave was named according to its dehusked coconut shell shape, which in Malay called "tempurung". Streching more than 3km long, its one of the longest cave in the Peninsular Malaysia. It is believed that the cave has been in existence since 8000 BC. The view inside is beyond words, specially at the beginning. Spectator will be awed by the super-large space inside the cave, it can actually fit in few Boeings. The view was just spectacular, even for a second timer like me.
This time around, I joined HIKAT, the group I joined since then. There was 17 participants this time including few familiar faces and a long time team mate & of course we made new friends. There are few things you need to keep in mind for the trip;
Things to bring;
Headlamp, waterpoof bag
Water - you can't drink the water inside the cave .... guano much...
A spare torchlight & batteries would be helpful
Some tits-bits - you WILL get hungry
Things to wear;
Preferably water shoes as sponge shoes tends to weight you out, avoid very loose garment and use easy dry one. If possible get a knee guard and long sleeves.
Thing to remember;
Watch your head & never walk alone in the dark cave, get a buddy.
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| The view outside the cave |
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| The HIKAT Team |
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| Some inscriptions about Gua Tempurung |
Below are the list of highlights of the cave we came across accordingly;
Golden Flowstone
There are several tour packages you can choose from, and we took the "Grand Tour" which will span around 3 ~ 4 hours. At the beginning, we have to climb 640 steps to reach the where you can see the golden-like stalactite and stalagmite flowing down.
The Wind Tunnel
The chamber was windy. The tour guide did mentioned that if outside temperature is hot, then inside will be cold and vice versa. As soon you reached the platform you can feel the cool breeze, the intensity depends on outside weather.
Tin Mine Cavern
Found tin mining utensils as well left over by the communists during the war.
Tongkat
A tall stalactite resembling a walking stick.
Fallen Warrior & Battlefield Cavern
A cavern with an amazing formation of a fallen warrior in a battlefield.
Anyway, there are total 1000++ steps all together for our grand tour (according to our guide) that we have to go through. 230 steps to go down for our river adventure and the rest are climbing. Then we come accross a slide, quite intimidating for me at least, but it is not really that scary. Our river adventure starts from this point on. Wading through about half an hour we reached an open space on the eastern side of the cave facing North-South highway. Everybody was taking a break there and having light eateries.
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| From left: Shah, Wan Muhsin, Rais - HIKAT Team |
We continue our journey into the dark cave, braving the river, survived few falls and cold. But the view inside the dark pathways was spectacular. The built of the natural rock formation was simply outstanding. And who would expect there's sparkling white marbles embedded in the wall. Anyway, the journey quite long and dark and prepare to feel intimidated by the small space & darkness.
Finally the group reached the exit (basically the entrance door but down in the river). I survived the dark with a sprained right ankle. Barely able to walk. Luckily, my friend Zura & her husband helped me all the way to the exit. After the cave exploration, the team continue with the flying fox activity & archery. I take it a day off. I think I had enough fun already. haha. After lunch which we had a feedback session. Thank goodness everybody is in one piece.
Looking forward for another great adventure... and great friends.
~:: Failure is when you stop trying ::~
