I reached Kuching on the morning of 12 July 2012. The lady who owned the guesthouse I booked personally came to pick me up from the airport and arranged the tour of the cruise of Wildlife National Park at the Santubong peninsular, at the edge of Kuching. I initially wanted the Kuching riverside cruise, but seems that this Wildlife cruise is even better, as we could get to see nature at its best - monkeys, crocodiles, swamps, fireflies, even dolphins. I really enjoyed myself here!
The trip started with pick-up at the guesthouse around four in the afternoon, for a forty-five minute drive to the Santubong peninsular. We were dropped off at a marina where rows of yachts were parked. There were a few minibuses at the same time, so the driver told us to remember which minibus we came on as we had to take the same one back.
Since it would be a three hour journey, we were advised to use the bathroom first. The bathroom was situated at the corner of the marina in an outhouse, which was surprisingly clean and well-maintained. After that, we waited at the bridge leading to the water.
The marina where yachts were parked
The highway where I would pass by a few more times on my way to the Rainforest Festival
The bridge leading to the water - only five were allowed on at one time
Start of the cruise
First sighting - swamps and crocodiles, which we did not manage to see
Mount Santubong in front of us
More swamp land, with mudskippers close up
A yacht owned by a foreigner - apparently some actually sailed in during Rainforest Festival time on their yachts to attend the festival
2nd sighting - swamps and mangroves
Those two islands in the distance are the two Satang (Turtle) Islands
3rd sighting - Irrawady Dolphins and their feeding time (see the shape at the left of the boat?)
Dolphin surfacing
Dolphin swimming away
Dolphin's handler going off after feeding
4th sighting - Fishermen's village
This reminds me of Milford Sound in New Zealand, but of course Milford Sound is more spectacular!
5th sighting - Proboscis monkey (can you spot the monkey?)
Lucky to get the long-tailed macaques in a row together
Another proboscis monkey
Because dusk is approaching, the boatman went back to the first spot and wanted to try if we could spot any crocodiles. Unfortunately, there were no crocodiles, or else they were very well-hidden indeed, as even after shining a torch into the swamp area, we still could not see any crocodiles or any shape of a crocodile.
Back to the crocodile swamp at dusk
We ended the cruise with a firefly sighting. Because it was too dark, I could not manage to take any photos of the fireflies. But once night had fallen, the fireflies were all abundant in the trees and near the water.
After seeing the fireflies, the boatman navigated the way back to the jetty and we took the minibus back to Kuching city for our dinner. It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip indeed!
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