Kubah National Park

We arrived late the night before and headed straight to the hostel. We had an overnight hike the next day so we had to stock up on supplies. Not a great selection. We found a convenient store that was open and picked up some unhealthy prepackage food.

Caught 10am bus to Kubah National Park. From the Park headquarters we took the Rayu trail. It was a slow 4 hour jungle trek to Matang Wildlife Center. I’ve come to realize jungle hiking isn’t my thing. Way to hot and sweaty.

We had accommodations in a old long house at the park and dropped off our gear. From here, we explored the Matang Wildlife Center. It had a very ominous vibe with the oppressive heat and surrounding jungle. There was nobody around. We joked that it felt like the setting of a horror movie. It was a stark contrast to some of the other zoos we have seen on our trip. However, Matang is not a zoo. It is a dedicated centre where endangered species, such as orangutans are rehabilitated and released into the forest. Most were confiscated from members of the public, who illegally kept them as pets, and must be taught how to fend for themselves in the wild. The orangutans looked very intimidating. I wouldn’t want one as a pet.

The park it’s self was an interesting place with campgrounds. It’s probably a popular destination on the weekends for locals. We took a quick swim in the river as a rain shower rolled through. We did a short walk out of the park to a convenient store. It was really just a local’s garage with a fridge at the back, a whole group of locals just stared at us as we bought some beverages.

That night we enjoyed an intense thunderstorm from our longhouse under our covered porch.Read more