GA Study Tour 2016

Our arrival in the Cameron Highlands was a welcome relief from the heat and humidty we had experienced in previous days due to lying at more than 1000m above sea level. An area of hills which are now mainly white due to the polytunnels reminiscent of Almeria. This area was known as the Peninsula's hill station where Chinese vegetable farmers and wealthy landowner's in search of a weekend retreat established tea plantations and built mock-Tudor buildings. Incredibly touristy everywhere we visited was busy. Not only is tea produced but also flowers, vegetables and strawberries. On our way to the hotel we stopped for some tea looking over the plantations.
The Heritage hotel was by far the best and most spacious that we had stayed in. Two queen sized beds and a large bathroom with both bath and separate shower.
Breakfast had lots of choice although due to the weekend was very busy - and this was to permeate through most of the day.
Around 9am we boarded two 4x4 ex-Austrian military vehicles to ascend to 2032m to Gunung Brinchang where we climbed a very rusty tower to get a view of the highlands. We then descended to the Mossy Forest where we were supposed to take the boardwalk through but deemed too busy by the guide we were taken "off track" through the forest - where all trees are covered in a spongy, soft cost of green - like a film set for the Hobbit.
Our next stop was at the BOH tea plantation with a quick tour of the production process - most picking is now done mechanically. Very busy we bought tea and then enjoyed a cuppa with the hoards overlooking the tea bushes before walking through these to the buses. Our last stop in the 4X4's was to a strawberry farm where we could see the hydroponics and I sampled a rather blend cheesecake. Close to the farm was a market which we browsed and bought cooked sweetcorn for lunch.
However a our previous experiences of mass tourism were lost when we had a private tour of the Sunlight flower farm - a family run enterprise growing Chrysanthamums for the export market. We saw the processes from cuttings taken from the mother plants which originated in the Netherlands to replanting and finally dyeing and packing. 50% of the flowers were destined for Japan. After picking and packing they are transported in a chilled lorry to KLIA at 11pm and would arrive in the destination at 6am the next day.
Our task was to look at the sustainability of the farm.Read more