Abseiling down
treacherous waterfalls, battling rapids and exploring dark
caverns – Gopeng is perfect for adrenaline junkies.
By JOLEEN LUNJEW (The
Star - Saturday July 21, 2007)
Ahh, the great
outdoors . . . wait, the great WET outdoors.
Being an adventure-seeking
junkie, I find nothing beats spending the weekend enjoying what
Mother Nature has designed for us.
When I heard about
MMAdventure’s AquaAdventure, which included a spot of
waterfall abseiling, white-water rafting and caving, I was
absolutely thrilled and immediately signed up. My two-day
adventure began with a leisurely drive to Gopeng town in Perak
to meet up with Michael Manivanan, founder of the outfit.
River rodeo:
Riding the rapids down Sungai Itek.
My excitement went up a
notch by the prospect of what lay ahead.
“We will be abseiling
down that??!!” That was my first thought as I eyed the
towering 15m waterfall before us.
“Don’t worry, it’s
easier than it looks,” assured Michael.
He proceeded with a safety
briefing.
“We use only the best of
equipment here as safety is our priority. The Stops (gadget used
to stop the ropes) are more expensive than the figure-of-eights
used by other companies, but we insist on using them as the
device is much safer.”
With my harness and Stop
in place, I eagerly climbed the hill to the top of the
waterfall. Michael’s team was already there, checking and
securing the ropes. They made sure my harness was in place and
gave me a refresher course on how to abseil.
My heart was beating fast
as I looked down the steep drop. One slip and . . . well,
let’s just hope I don’t slip.
I was the first to go
down. All eyes were on me as I gingerly made my way down, the
refreshing waterfall splashing all around me. My confidence grew
with every step and soon I was taking bigger strides. It
wasn’t that bad after the initial vertigo. As luck would have
it, I did slip on the mossy rocks but the ropes held perfectly.
By the time I reached the
bottom, I was giddy from excitement and had only one thought on
my mind: Can I go again?
Swept away
Next on our itinerary was
riding the rapids of Sungai Itek.
We were lucky as the water
level was high because it had been raining. This meant
higher-grade rapids and a faster and easier ride down the river
because the rocks would be submerged.
Our guides divided us into
groups of five per raft, and we were each given a helmet,
lifejacket and paddle. They proceeded to brief us on the safety
procedures, rafting commands, and what to do should a raft get
stuck or capsize, and then how to pull someone back into the
raft if he falls overboard.
Nothing is better than
experiencing something for yourself, our guides reasoned, so
they made us jump into the river to be swept away by the rapids.
This was to simulate a rescue operation for when somebody falls
into the water.
I quickly found that I was
no match for the ferocious currents as I tumbled through the
rapids.
What you have to do in
such a situation is relax, lie on your back, keep your feet
straight out in front of you, and let the current take you to
safety. Our guide was at the end of the rapids ready with a
rope.
I missed the rope the
first time and only caught it on the second attempt. It was such
a relief to hang on to that rope and be pulled to safety.
|
Abseiling
down a 15m waterfall in Gopeng. — JOLEEN LUNJEW
|
After all had had a taste
of this, we hopped into our respective rafts and paddled down
the river. We were blessed with 14 grade-three and grade-four
rapids and managed to put our skills to the test manoeuvring the
bends and dips of the river.
Our Sabahan guide was
excellent as he managed to keep our raft afloat at all times but
we did see other rafts capsizing. All were safely hauled back
into the raft, however.
Our two hours on the river
proved too short in the end. Oh well, that’s just me, an
adventure never lasts long enough, but the rest of the
participants seemed happy.
We rode back to the Gopeng
Nature Resort in an open-back one-tonne lorry. It was such an
experience and, though soaking wet and feeling somewhat like
farm animals being transported, we laughed all the way back.
That night, we retired
exhausted but content.
Dark waters
Adventure caving, here we
come!
We gathered at the mouth
of Gua Tempurung early next morning for a briefing by Michael.
Michael, who has been
spelunking many caves around Asia for almost two decades now, is
very passionate about underground caverns. He explained that his
company provides a unique caving experience because he combines
adventure with education.
Our adventure started off
tamely enough as we walked along the colourfully lit walkway of
the cave. Michael pointed out the various cave formations and
told us how they were formed.
A fascinating section that
caught our interest was the Rolls Royce Cave which apparently
got its name because of some intriguing drawings said to be by
the communists. They depict the ambush of a car that looks like
a Rolls Royce with a clock next to it, its hour hand at seven.
The drawings are said to be the attack plan for British High
Commissioner to Malaya, Sir Henry Gurney. He was killed not too
far from here in 1951 as he made his way up to Fraser’s Hill
and was ambushed by communist guerrillas.
Our wet underground
adventure began when we reached a trickling underground stream.
The stream grew wider and the passageway narrower as we
proceeded further into the cave. We soon found ourselves
crawling on our bellies and wading through the cold dark waters,
thankful for our helmets as the ceiling had really rough edges
which we kept bumping into.
Our efforts were rewarded
later as we swam towards the light and emerged triumphantly at
the other end of the cave.
We had a nice picnic lunch
before heading back the way we came, packing all our rubbish
with us so as not to disrupt the cave’s ecosystem.
Crawling on bellies through
dark Gua Tempurung.
We moved a little faster
on the way back as it was getting dark and Michael said the
river would fill up the cave very quickly if it rained. We
didn’t want to be trapped inside, so there was definitely a
sense of urgency.
We swam, waded, crawled
and clambered back, acutely conscious of the river’s level
now, but the water didn’t rise much.
It was an exciting five
hours that I truly enjoyed and I would definitely recommend it
to anyone who likes to get “down and dirty”. It was
absolutely heavenly.
This article is from The Star
Online (http://thestar.com.my)
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/21/lifetravel/18225517&sec=lifetravel
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