Going Batty

We'd been seeing some small limestone stacks buried in the forest along the Headhunters trail, which you could have mistaken for the hidden temples around Angkor Wat if they'd taken more geometric shapes. But when we emerged from the jungle and saw the limestone karsts, we realised that we'd barely scratched the surface.

Our first overnight stop in the park was at the creatively named "Camp 5", which sits nestled between the peaks of Gunung Api and Gunung Benarat. Although, "peaks" is not really the best description, because Gunung Benarat rose about 1,600m vertically from the surrounding rainforest. It was like looking at the cliffs of Yosemite on steroids! Suddenly our exhaustion was forgotten, as we stared in awe at the scenery, including a brief glimpse at the Pinnacles (limestone spires) that atop Gunung Api. But we were still drenched in sweat, so we each dropped our bags in the dorm and took a blissful dunk in the river.

Camp 5 was like a hikers rest stop, and had the feel of a hippy commune. There are communal dorms, and one big kitchen/dining area where everyone sits around sharing stories. That evening we were given a show by the fireflies, and then woken the next morning by a torrential downpour...a wonderful natural combination ("wonderful", thanks to the roof over our head). Unfortunately, Camp 5 was only a temporary stop over, and that morning we had another hike to get to the Park Headquarters.

This was also a lovely spot, with several local restaurants and varying accommodation options. In the early 90's an airstrip was constructed near the NP, and with it brought much simpler access for less adventurous tourists (including a Marriott hotel to stay at!!). This increases the number of tourists, but that helps to keep the funding up, which in turn ensured that all the walks around the headquarters were excellently maintained. Here we stayed in the hostel for two nights, which allowed us to see several of the major draw cards for Gunung Mulu NP.

We began with a visit to Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave, which were pretty, and each included their own sink holes in the ceilings which let in a very photogenic amount of light. After this we undertook a nail-biting climb along the tree-top canopy walk. This 300m long tangle of timber, steel and rope reached about 26m off the ground at it's highest point (equivalent to a 9 storey building) and allows you a great view into the unseen world amongst the roof of the forest. And, amazingly, the Malaysians managed to construct it without actually pinning it (ie nails, rods or bolts) into any of the trees.

We also checked out Lang Cave, which contained some very cool rock formations as well as cave worms which "fish" for insects. These amazing creatures attach themselves to the underside of overhangs, then make a very sticky thread which they dangle below themselves. Once an insect gets caught in this line the worm just has to reel them in and digest them...yum.

Finally, on our last evening, it was time for the big one (literally). Deer Cave was one of the main reasons we chose Borneo, and the nightly bat exodus was also supposed to be one of the World's great migrations (especially given it's frequency). It didn't disappoint, and the shear number of bats that drained out of the cave at sunset were unbelievable. Apparently 2-3 million of these little winged creatures swarm out of Deer Cave every night to feast on about 15,000tonnes of insects! As they exit they form a spiral which is supposedly designed to confuse predators, but it seemed that at least a few of the local bat hawks had their number. The whole exodus took about 30 minutes, which implied an average of around 1,500 bats every second! How they manage to avoid crashing into each other is a miracle.

Until 2009, Deer Cave held the record for the World's largest cave passage: 170m wide and 120m tall. It is literally large enough that the Airbus A380 could fit into it...2 abreast and piled 5 high! It was an awesome sight which was almost impossible to capture on camera.Læs mere