Think of cool temperatures.
Think of a walk in an orchard among temperate fruits such as apples and
Mandarin oranges. Think of paddy fields with healthy, fat water buffalos
wallowing away. Hear the sound the children playing in the distant, the
view of surrounding green mountains where cattle graze on clean looking
slopes. Think tranquility, think serenity.
In this day and age, we often forget to stop to smell the roses, taking time out to refresh one’s soul. No, do not think that this is another one of those Swiss holiday experiences. On the contrary this is what 22 off road 4x4 adventures were experiencing right here in Sarawak.
Ba’Kelalan is an idyllic rice
growing and trading village, elevated 940 metres (3,800 feet) above sea
level. Its only access is by air – daily rural air service by Malaysian
Airlines Twin Otter and by road. It is synonymous with Bario, with the
area better known as the Borneo Highlands.
It was the expectation of the difficult terrain and bad roads and a failed attempt in 1999 Borneo Safari that drove the off road adventurers to fulfil their quest to drive to Ba’Kelalan. With domestic tourism ripe for development, Off Road Trax a 4X4 training group, took the opportunity of putting together the expedition. Driver’s briefing and training outings were organised together with having arranged mechanics and vehicle spare parts on the trip.
After two days drive from Kuching, picking up more expedition participants from Bintulu and Kota Kinabalu, the group assembled in Lawas. Day 3 saw a late morning start after a sumptuous breakfast in Lawas. It was expected that the convoy of eight vehicles could cover the distance of 125 km from Lawas to Ba’Kelalan in about 5 hours. Satellite phone contact to Ba’Kelalan informed us that the village was experiencing ‘kemarau’ – a dry spell.
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