Name: | Expedition 06A Sabah |
Date: | 3 Feb - 12 April 2006 |
Venue: | |
Project Leader: | Rory Hall (Country Director, Malaysia) |
Members: | William Chan, Tham Pei Ting, Aaron Liew, Jason Chung, Yao Shieh Ning, Yew Weng, John Yong, Justin David --- Loh Shih Chung as Staff |
| Phase One | Phase Two | Phase Three | |
 | Aaron Lee Chin Hann Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) | Danum Valley (Environment Phase) | Kampung Rita (Community Phase) |
 | John Yong Kg Saguan | Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) | End |
 | Jacon Chung Keat Loon Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) | Batu Puteh (Community Phase) | End |
 | Justin David Kampung Rita | Imbak Canyon (Environment Phase) | Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) |
 | William Chan Guang Yu Imbak Canyon | Kampung Saguan (Community Phase) | Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) |
 | Yao Shieh Ning Batu Puteh | Imbak Canyon (Environment Phase) | Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) |
 | Leong Yew Weng Danum Valley | Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) | Kampung Saguan (Community Phase) |
 | Tham Pei Ting Crocker Range, ReefCheck & Mount Kinabalu (Adventure Phase) | Kampung Rita (Community Phase) | Imbak Canyon (Environment Phase) |
 | Loh Shih Chung - Staff Danum Valley - Project Manager
| Batu Puteh - Project Manager | Batu Puteh - Project Manager |
Updated 29 March, 2006 Once again three weeks have flown by and the seven groups arrived back from their various phase 2 project sites on Monday 20 March. The venturers have now moved into their final Alpha groups and have deployed to their new project sites for the last time. After another three weeks of hard work, the venturers are now experts and are pretty much running their own projects. In this final phase they will again have to learn to adapt to new surroundings, make new friends, and face new challenges. Changeover was once again held at the ‘Borneo Paradise Resort’ where everyone had the chance for a bit of rest, to wash their clothes and themselves, and to re-fuel for the next phase (there was permanently a long queue at the ice-cream counter!) Over to the venturers now to describe how things went in phase 2… Community Projects Alpha 1 Project Managers: James Adams and Ginny Fox A1 – Kampung Saguan On the 28th February 2006, near magic happened when Phase 2 Alpha 1 were brought together under a palm tree at the Borneo Paradise Resort. Our mission was to continue to build a kindergarten in Kampung Saguan, a remote village in Central Sabah. James’ drawings, which Norman Foster himself would be jealous of, showed us what was planned for the new kindergarten – and we all rose to the challenge bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Our tails slightly lost their bounce, however, when on arrival in the village we saw that we didn’t actually have any materials to build it with and were relying on a mysterious man named Roland many miles away. On the second night and to our evident delight at being dragged from our hot milo, we heard the truck had arrived though unfortunately had its progress hampered somewhat by a 30ft crater in the road. Despite an irate driver throwing timber from his lorry in a fit of rage, we managed to receive (just about) all we needed to begin work on the kindergarten. Building work started with floor and roof truss construction. Unfortunately we quickly discovered problems with bent wood and a tendency for the tools to buckle under pressure like a rich tea biscuit in a hot mug of milo. Progress was slower than anticipated due to a seriously temperamental generator, though as we told ourselves better a quality floor than walls which will fall down. We would all like to thank the villagers who hampered, I mean helped the process along, especially MC Hammer who had a clear love of nailing floorboards and Willy who was nifty with a bulldozer (even when intoxicated) and a real morale booster walking round the worksite giving the thumbs up and saying ‘Baggus!’. The group got very well acquainted with the community, attending a funeral in the next village, Church every Sunday with blasts of ‘Sing Hozannah’, parties and homestays with the locals. At all events (barring church perhaps) great hospitality and copious amounts of food was enjoyed by all. This suited Alpha 1 (aka the Alpha of Eternal Hunger) very well given that certain members appear to have hollow legs (investigations will be made by medics at Changeover). The group also took the opportunity to exercise their teaching skills on the villagers in the local school. Covering topics such as food, directions and weather, some even had to teach the teachers long division in English – I think it may have tested our brains more than theirs! Unofficial teaching also took place, though more along the lines of dance moves (namely the Macerena) rather than verbs and tenses. On a daily basis the group enjoyed nursing each others sunburn, washing (or attempting to) in our private river, volleyball, football and quiz evening on Friday night. We expanded our minds with questions on the first working computer, the number of spoken languages in China (32 if you’re interested) and naming the largest suspension bridge in Britain. Every day’s a schoolday…… When looking back, Alpha 1 have really enjoyed their time here in Saguan. The village is a fantastic place and we hope to leave behind the makings of a great kindergarten (even if it doesn’t have any walls). Written by Sarah Ross Phase 3 project team – Flora Blathwayt, Jessica Eagan, Ruth Newton, Katy Roberts, Robert Clifford, Philip Crook, James Sale, Mark Watson, Leong Yew Weng ___________________________________________________________________ Alpha 2 Project Managers: Colin Dyson, Rosie Harman and Hannah Sharman A2 – Kampung Rita After stories of a fantastic place and first phase, Alpha 2 the second headed off on the road north to Kampung Rita. Having stopped at the local market, building merchant and library on the way we arrived at our home for the next 3 weeks and got to experience the luxury accommodation that the first team had thoughtfully laid on for us – beds, food stores and interior decoration included not to mention of course the infamous longdrop ‘George’ (though he was less popular this phase!). The first day comprised a tour of the building site and introduction to the tools and our future tasks on the library construction led by the ever-enthusiastic Colin. Talk of building walls, constructing a roof and laying the flooring all seemed a little optimistic to those of us who had never held a hammer! But we soon conquered our fears after a few days on the building site and discovered that we can saw (well with varying degrees of accuracy and speed anyway), paint stylishly, hammer straight (or at least sometimes) and even get our beautiful blue roof trusses in place (not to mention dismantling scaffolding like professionals and learning the jargon). We also enjoyed getting involved in community life and the daily wash at the river with hoards of children. Activities included church services, bead making, successful teaching in the local school where many verses of heads, shoulders, knees and toes could be heard chorusing around the corridors and a new hair colour ‘orange’ was named. Then there was the traditional Rungus dancing and meals out. We had two fantastic meals at Annie’s house who after much confusion we discovered was the chief’s brother’s daughter where our hosts apologised for not having invited us sooner because they had not harvested enough rice. They were amazingly generous and greeted us with great warmth, as well as laying on karaoke which we were clearly keen to join in with! We soon discovered that Terri had a fantastic voice and let’s just say others who performed did so with enthusiasm! On the second occasion we were joined by Rory and after dinner were taken onto the longhouse for cultural dancing in full traditional costume. Everyone looked great but perhaps we have uncovered an area for development for some …? We also had the opportunity to participate in the rice harvest on the hill behind the shop with a fabulous view of the surrounding fields and sea. We’ll never view Uncle Ben’s in the same light again! Unfortunately the beach seemed to conspire against us what with the rain and boat motor but we did all make it in the end and enjoyed games of football and Frisbee amongst the beautiful surroundings and between the showers. The final evening’s ‘at home at the library’ with several members of the community and a large number of local children held on the newly constructed floor of the library under our very own roof sheeting, was a great success. Biggest problem was getting the children to leave the game of jump down off the floor when it was time to go for a final dinner at the chiefs house with lots more delicious food, generosity and dancing! Written by Hannah Sharman Phase 3 project team – Fiona Cormie, Belinda Hewitt, Lucy Taylor, Gemma Wilson, Charles Fursdon, William Higham, Aaron Lee Chin Hann, Ben Mutch, Charles Sheldon, Lawrence Wong __________________________________________________________________ Alpha 3 Project Managers: Shih Chung, Frances Jenyns A3 – Batu Puteh In a small goat shed on the outskirts of a humble river village, live the Raleigh International venturer team Alpha 3 – Saviours of Kampung Batu Puteh. The day begins with a 20 minute boat ride to work along the Kinabatangan River, often accompanied with sightings of monkeys, monitor lizards, crocodile and rhino hornbills. The work site is an eco lodge set by an oxbow lake in protected rainforest. The eco lodge is run by Malaysian organization MESCOT, who with Raleigh, aim to finish its construction. The eco lodge will be a tourist attraction that will bring more money to the village people, improving their quality of life. So far the Raleigh venturers, in particular, Jason have contributed to the local economy by purchasing, en mass, doughnuts and banana fritters from the local vendors. Construction work has however, been prevented by the worst flood in 10 years which has meant we have mainly searched, in a team style, for iron wood planks buried in river sediment. Venturers Romesh and Claire have been the inspiration for the group, always mucking in, never afraid of getting dirty. The group has had to move a lot of materials, by hand, to and from the eco lodge, which is where Borneo’s strongest man, Jaslin has come into his own. The construction work done on the lodge has been lead by the team DIY expert, Toby who is always keen to improve his skills. Other work has consisted of moving grounded jetties as the flood water recedes and disposing of the invasive water plant, Sylvania. As the work day ends Alpha 3 return to the village for a wash at the jetty and diving lessons from Cecy for the team and the locals. Late afternoons and evenings are spent interacting with the community. There are volleyball matches every day starting at 4:30 in the afternoon, at which Sam and project manager, Frances are often seen. There have also been English lessons for adults and kids usually ending with Kat becoming a Butlins red coat entertainer for hordes of over enthusiastic kids. Malaysian cooking lessons have been popular especially with the Delia Smith of the group, Julia. This inevitably leads to a clamoring of mess tins for more at the end of each meal. The community also gives traditional dance lessons which are eagerly attended by Amy, involving much flexing of the wrists, despite her accident-prone nature. There are also Malaysian martial arts lessons, known as Silat, enjoyed the most by young grasshopper Matt. The team has also been lucky enough to have been invited to attend two Muslim weddings in the community. This has lead to karaoke singing by project manager, Chung and Alpha 3 gaining a reputation for being party animals. It even turned out that there was an arranged marriage in the Alpha 3 group between Kat and Jason. They got married on Saturday on the waterfront jetty and are honeymooning in a nearby cowshed. As well as the weddings Alpha 3 has toured the sights of Sabah visiting the Sepilok Orangutan sanctuary, the bustling markets of Sandakan and a touching World War II memorial park. Each day ends with an exhausted but content team only regretting that our time in Batu Puteh is not longer. Written by Matthew Bentham Phase 3 project team – ___________________________________________________________________ Environment Projects Alpha 4 Project Managers: Nick Smith, Mervyn Hudson, Liz Watson A4 – Danum Valley We arrived in Danum Valley Holiday Camp only 12 hours after setting off from Borneo Paradise Resort. After travelling in 4x4’s for 4 hours from Batu Puteh – a journey on which we saw elephants – we arrived late and a little apprehensive as we thought we were going to have to put up mossy nets in the dark, only to find that our camp had electricity, a kitchen, showers and European toilets. The rest of the phase was spent basking in this luxury, as well as making the most of the facilities – a resthouse with comfy chairs and tea, coffee and banana cake, internet access, a burger stand in the evenings and a shop – it was awesome! As well as relaxing in the sun on the rivery beaches, playing cricket with iron-wood bats bigger than Merv and playing volleyball with the rangers, Alpha 4 held the social event of Raleigh with our black tie dinner. The girls looked stunning in their sleeping bag liners, whilst some of the boys looked more interesting – Carlos had a Jodi Marsh jungle outfit made from the finest leaves! We’ve also been working very hard on our trail, we finished digging the trail and started putting gravel on the muddy path – it was fun! We spent a lot of time with the scientists, especially Jake (with stunning eyes) collecting leaf-litter, but also collecting frogs with Austrian scientists at night, going reptile hunting (Nick fell over a bridge in the dark on that particular expedition) and perhaps most excitingly finding ants… We had a detailed talk about rainforest and the importance of conservation with Glen – the head scientist at Danum – are now all tree-huggers! The wildlife around our camp has been extraordinary, we had a bit of a fire-ant incident saw monitor lizards and monkeys around the camp, and were irritated by ‘Porkey’ and his girlfriend, the resident bearded pigs – who munched their way through a tarpaulin, tea bags, toilet roll, and Lisa’s entire washkit. Hodge set up a leech league table, and the winner gained 86 points, including one ‘full internal knowledge’ leeching worth 30 points. Our phase was finished with a night in the Batu Puteh goat shed, and we joined their leavers party and enjoyed their doughnuts! Danum Valley is an incredible place, the wildlife and just being in the jungle had been educational and interesting and socially we’re all had a fab time! Written by Ellie Dunn Phase 3 project team – Alpha 5 Project Managers: Matt Ryland, Claire Turner, Gregor Stenhouse A5 - Imbak Canyon An adventurous yet muddy car ride landed us at a place that more than made up for our journeys lack of grace. Imbak Canyon presented us with a basin surrounded in thick virgin rainforest. Inside sat a rangers’ hut, barren ground which would become our comforting home, and our environmental project for 3 weeks. Imbak, being a unique blend of 2 of Sabah’s most established and prominent sites, Maliau Basin and Danum Valley, holds a sentimental importance to Sabah, and made our project all the more worthwhile. With the support of consistently great weather, we worked on a progressed nicely with many projects. We completed a surprisingly professional toilet block, and aided with the building of the frame for an impressive looking rangers’ accommodation. A late yet rewarding project saw us patch up a bridge along a nature trail. The work at times proved frustrating – as work usually does! But after a talk from a local ranger, our perspectives were aligned and the phase took on a new and fulfilling shape. We were a catalyst for the expansion of Imbak towards eventual World Heritage status, through means of logging prevention, wildlife protection and expanding the eco-tourist attractions. The social aspects served as a respite from the work. Walks to waterfalls and pebble beaches gave us amazing and unique opportunities to experience jungle life. Food was luxurious – pizzas, banoffee pie, garlic bread, assorted birthday cakes, and shepherds pie forged from the ordinary tins of rations. The river provided ample refreshment from football – the mainstay of male activity. The ‘Rampant Raleigh Raiders’ beat the rangers 6-5 in games, which were full of incidents. English-Malay lessons also gave the evenings plenty of interest. A particular Poker session ran late into the evening, Gregor crashing out, all in on a pair of sevens – the stupidity was clear to see. A second journey of equal discomfort to the first saw us leaving a canyon that had certainly changed since our arrival, and, although we couldn’t see it, the canyon had certainly changed us. Written by Rob Clifford Phase 3 project team – ___________________________________________________________________ Adventure Projects Alpha 6 and 7 A6 Project Managers: Colin Lovell, Ness Miles, Bex Ciappessoni The first section of phase 2 seemed like a dream. This wasn’t the Raleigh we knew; where was the mud, the smelly clothes and hard work? We arrived on Mamutik island and immediately fell in love with the white sand, blue water and permanent sunshine. Under the excellent instruction of ‘Borneo Divers’ we spent an enjoyable four days completing various standards of PADI diving courses. By the end we had one Rescue Diver, one Advanced Open Water, and 10 Open Water qualifications between us. When we weren’t diving we spent our time exploring the island, sunbathing, playing volleyball, and eating piles of pancakes (all in the name of carbohydrate-loading for the trek, of course). The last day was spent putting newly learnt skills to use whilst doing a rubbish sweep of the coral reef as part of Project Aware. On our final morning we woke up to pouring rain and as we got on the boat to Kota Kinabalu we hoped the weather would clear up before trekking began. Our Mountain Leader, Colin, left us as the Harbour to return to Fieldbase for medical reasons, so with a mixture of trepidation and excitement we got on the bus and set off for the Crocker Range. We were greeted at the Rangers huts of the Mahua waterfall by Adorty, our guide for the next section of the phase. Having been promised a 500m walk to our campsite we swung our rucksacks onto our shoulders and set off in good spirits. Something was clearly lost in translation because a 3 hour trek later we finally arrived at the area of jungle which would be home for the next four days. We fondly named the area ‘The Hill of Death’ due to its near vertical gradient, the mudslides and the fact that you had to abseil down to the longdrop! Despite the obvious flaws in our campsite we all managed to put up bashers and make ourselves at home. Under the guidance of Adorty we spent the next four days digging a trail through the jungle, starting where Alpha 7 left off. It was hard work but the whole group put in a fantastic effort and we were all proud of the result. Trekking was the next part of our adventure phase. We therefore loaded our rucksacks with Beanfeast, porridge and Tofi Luk and started our challenging trek on the Crocker Range. The 5am wake up came as a shock to many on the first day and despite our 8hr trek being primarly uphill we made such fantastic progress that we stormed through our designated campsite and walked a further 2hrs before setting up bashers for the night. The next day we made another early start, and with the 2hrs already covered the previous day, it wasn’t long before we reached our next campsite ahead of schedule. The group consensus was therefore to trek to the next campsite in one day to beat the impending rain. Unfortunately by lunchtime the rain had caught us and we stepped up the pace as we still had 7 rivers to cross. On the third day our group gained new members – in the form of 4 live chickens. The enjoyed a comfortable ride strapped to the back of Ben and Will’s rucksacks before making a very welcome addition to that evening’s rations. It must be mentioned, however, that only 3 chickens made it into the cooking pot as one made a bid for freedom and was last seen flapping into the jungle. After 6 days of trekking we were aching and smelly, we had scaled never-ending hills and fought off armies of leeches, but we were still smiling. It had been the most incredible week and we enjoyed a much-needed day off before setting off to Mount Kinabalu. Climbing Mount Kinabalu was such a brilliant way to end the phase. Unfortunately by this stage many members of Alpha 6 had come down with the dreaded D&V so getting everyone to the top was a real team effort. The first leg of the ascent was a 5 hour climb to base camp. At 2am the next morning we set off on the final effort to the summit and as the sun rose across Sabah it made the hard work all worthwhile. The view was stunning and the sense of achievement was fantastic. On the descent we all looked forward to a shower and a clean change of clothes. This phase has been challenging, physically tough and horrifically smelly but in terms of team spirit, excitement, achievement and pure fun it will be hard to beat. Written by Jess Eagan Phase 3 project team – ___________________________________________________________________ A7 Project Managers: Emma Harding, Dave Fidoe, Serena Woodrow-Clarke Despite our sadness at leaving our old Alpha groups, the newly formed Alpha 7 quickly bonded over a mutual fear of hills / sweat / mud and all other trekking related things… well we had to get over that one pretty quick! We began our phase at a magnificent – if a little chilly – waterfall at the foot of the highest peak in the Crocker Range. In order to pay for our trekking guide across the Salt Trail, in true Raleigh style, we stunned all traditional methods of payment (like cash) and instead opted for… STEPS! That’s right… Alpha 7 built, no crafted, 267 steps in 4 days. And these weren’t your average run of the mill steps, these were simply superb. In fact in 5 years’ time tourists will flock to Sabah to marvel at Mount K, the rainforest, the stunning beaches, the orangutans… and Alpha 7’s steps. Our time at the waterfall also gave us some insights into the trekking days to come; Alpha 7 will do anything for Tofi Luks (snacks straight from heaven), and can never pass up a bet. It soon emerged that ‘Trekking Terror Syndrome’ was a myth, and Alpha 7 sailed through the Crockers injury free… oh, unless you count one venturers ill-fated encounter with a rather steep bank (no injuries sustained) – anyway what’s a 30ft drop between friends?! Alpha 7 didn’t just improve their physical stamina, we worked up a mental sweat too, passing the time with countless games of 20 questions, celebrity name game, and other high brow pursuits. We soldiered on through dehydration induced bouts of hysteria, by keeping images of our awaiting island imprinted on our minds. After staggering over the finish line, we arrived at Borneo Divers covered in mud, smelling of… roses, and desperate to ditch the hiking boots and feel the sand between our blistered broken toes. The island didn’t disappoint, it was quite simply paradise. A week of diving, eating, sunbathing, eating, relaxing, eating and wetsuit sexiness – mercifully immortalised on camera by Becs, for PR purposes - flew by. Before we knew it, our feel began to ache in anticipation and it was time to strap on those hiking boots and tackle the mountain. With Alpha 6, once again we were faced with steps that reached as far as the eye could see! After a lot of panting we reached the mid-station and did what Alpha 7 do best – ate a lot! Our joy at being in a bed was short-lived as bleary-eyed Alpha 7 rose at 2.30am and made for the summit. The weather was perfect and we witnessed the most spectacular sunrise. Once we were all satisfied that we were all cold enough and had taken enough photos to keep Kodak in business for another year, we raced to the bottom. A very tired and slightly crippled Alpha 7 then boarded the bus and headed back to Changeover. And so we prepare to go our separate ways, and embark on our next phase. A little fitter… a little fatter… and with an unhealthy appetite for a good bet! Written by Ruth Newton and Lucy Taylor Phase 3 project team – Project Managers: Emma Harding, Dave Fidoe, Gregor Stenhouse And a new group… Alpha 8 Project Managers: Andy Smith, Alex Wilkinson A8 - Kampung Paus In this three week project, sponsored by Coca Cola, we will be providing vital repair work to a gravity water feed system in Kg. Paus, in the Ranau area. Kg Paus is a Christian village of around 500 people. The gravity water feed system that they currently have does not work properly and has very low water pressure. In conjunction with locals from the village, including some ex-venturers, and with the support of the Minister for Industrial Development, Sabah, we will be working to provide repairs and increase the water pressure in the system.
__________________________________________________________________ Fieldbase – ‘Zero’ Phase 2 flew by for Fieldbase as we were busy making sure that everything ‘behind the scenes’ ran smoothly. All this whilst also continuing to man the radio 24 hours a day. Andy and Nina spent a week in the Land Rover visiting each project site (or almost all of them, the river was once again too high to get into Imbak Canyon) delivering supplies, replacing equipment and handing out much-anticipated post. They were entertained very well by the venturers at every stop! Catherine spent much of phase 2 queuing in the flight offices, or the visa office trying to get everyone’s tickets sorted out for onward travelling. Bex has come back to Fieldbase for phase 3 to take over the admin reins. Liz is also back for the final phase to get the finances back on track after her spell in Danum Valley. With a short stint out of the office to dive and climb Mount Kinabalu, Becs has spent much of the last phase preparing for the opening ceremonies and the end of expedition magazine. Fieldbase medic Julie has now gone back out to the ‘great outdoors’ to join Alpha 6, and Ness has come to Fieldbase to offer her words of wisdom to any sick venturers or staff. Alex spent phase 2 sorting out all the logistics for the final phase and she’s now gone out to be a project manager for the newly formed Alpha 8. Hannah has now returned to Fieldbase and will be sorting out logistics during the final phase as well as the very important task of arranging the end of expedition parties. | |||
Updated 6 March, 2006
How three weeks flies by! The seven groups arrived back from their various phase 1 project ites on Monday 27 February to stay in a small resort just outside Kota Kinabalu. After three weeks f hard work everyone was excited to be back together, catching up with news, comparing the number of mosquito bites and finding out where they would be going to next. Not to mention finally having a warm shower and eating some delicious Malaysian food! Our teams have spent three weeks living and working together in small communities or remote areas. They’ve experienced many things from being caught in flooded communities, to teaching English, to taking part in local football tournaments, to learning building skills. This was all against a backdrop of learning to live without the things that we usually take for granted – running water, electricity, beds to sleep in. But, all returned with a smile on their face and with hilarious tales of their antics. Many of these tales were acted out on Monday night as each group performed a ‘skit’ recounting what they’d been up to during the phase. There was just enough time to wash clothes, stock up on well deserved snacks and sweets and then it was back into planning for the next phase. Every Venturer should complete one community, one environment, and one adventure project during the expedition and so we rotate them around the project sites for each phase. Each Venturer has now been allocated to a new group and a new project, where they’ll form new friendships and be part of new experiences. In the early hours of Wednesday 1st March, the first bus rolled away, followed by several others taking our Venturers away to far-flung corners of Sabah. Over to the venturers to describe in their own words what the first phase was like….. Community Projects
Alpha 1 Project Managers: James Adams and Ginny Fox A1 – Kampung Saguan We arrived at Kampung Saguan after 3.5 hours on a killer pot-holed road. We were invited to dinner at a local’s house that evening. The next day we set up home in the community hall and celebrated Tristan’s 19th birthday. We were however woken up in the middle of the night as the locals were worried that the river was about to burst its banks. We had to move up to higher ground and spent the rest of the night in a classroom in the local school. The next morning we heard news that the bridges on either side of the village had been washed away and that we were isolated! On Sunday we went to Church and struggled to follow the Malay hymns and sermons, but it was culturally very interesting. We then had a meeting with the locals to discuss building materials for the kindergarten, and the state of the bridges. On Monday we started work on the project. We cleared the site of rubble and foliage and started to dig foundation holes. Hodge and Freddy put together some kitchen units in the community hall (DFS and rival companies beware!). Connie, Ginny, Charlie and Freddy taught 25 children to say good morning and to dance the hokey-cokey. Tuesday was Valentines Day and we exchanged ‘secret valentines’ cards and poems which was highly entertaining. In the evening we had a valentines ‘party’ at the Church with the rest of the village. Over the next few days we continued to dig foundation holes on the project site and to prepare the foundation posts. Exhausting work in the blazing heat! The final week was spent putting the foundation posts up, then taking them down again, then putting them up again, before finally agreeing that ‘straight’ was only a state of mind. After a hard days work we spent time playing sport with the locals (mainly volleyball, football and the local game ‘tacro’) and every afternoon we taught English to local children and adults, an experience that we all found highly rewarding. On our final day we organised a mini sports day for the children which was a huge success – we had about 40 children taking part in egg and spoon (well, stone and spoon) races, sack races, three-legged races and tug of war. We entertained ourselves in the evenings with games such as a pub quiz, Family Fortunes and even a careers evening. We also had the opportunity to do a ‘homestay’ with a local family. By the end of our stay in Saguan we all felt part of the community and were feeling very at home there. In fact, ex-Saguan venturers can to this day be seen digging 3-foot holes and offering menial labour in exchange for ‘tofi-luk’ chocolate bars! Written by Connie Frost and Tristan Humphreys Phase 2 project team – Project Managers: James Adams and Ginny Fox ___________________________________________________________________ Alpha 2
Project Managers: Colin Dyson and Rosie Harman A2 – Kampung Rita During phase 1 we cleared the padi field and dug and built the foundations for the library. After a long debate with the hardware shop our materials finally arrived and we were also able to lay the floor supports and build the roof trusses. Outside of building work, we all had the opportunity to teach English at the local school, and to play football against the local team (for the record the score for Kampung Rita & England v. Teachers was 5-4!). There was lots of other interaction with the locals as we played chess, Connect 4, and badminton together and washed and swam in the river. We also enjoyed 2 nights of cultural dancing in the village longhouse. Kampung Rita is one of the only places where longhouses are still used so it was a huge privilege to be invited in. We are the first Western people to ever stay in the village. On our days off we trekked up to a nearby waterfall, and visited a beautiful beach that’s only accessible by boat. Other highlights and luxuries included: a laundry service provided by the locals, fresh coconuts at our request, church on our doorstep, a sit down longdrop ‘George’, fresh pineapple from the market. All in all the phase was amazing – 10 out of 10! Written by Diana Scullion and Peter Smith Phase 2 project team – Project Managers: Colin Dyson, Rosie Harman and Hannah Sharman Alpha 3 Project Managers: Mervyn Hudson, Frances Jenyns, Bex Ciappessoni A3 – Batu Puteh Selamat Datang from Batu Puteh, a small friendly quintessential Malay village with the best donuts ever!! The village was situated next to the Kinabatangan river but is now currently in it! We have had the heaviest rain since Noah turned to his wife and said ‘let’s put the animals into pairs’. We arrived aiming to build a jungle camp and to help complete an eco-lodge for tourists to stay in. However, the rains came and we were instead given a goat shed to make into our home! Many an hour has been spent re-furbishing it into a luxury Raleigh resort complete with en-suite jetty and long-drop! Rob, Mike and Paul furnished our lovely long-drop with some decking which has raised the market value of the goat shed no end! Workwise we became the fourth emergency service, helping the locals to build a jetty, moving things from flooded houses, preventing equipment from floating down the river (but we couldn’t save our tool shed!). Fiona, Mattie and Nicole spent a morning helping our neighbours move stuff from beneath their house and away from the ever-rising waters, while Fiona has demonstrated a natural prowess with a saw! In our last week we worked hard lugging wood through the jungle, heading for the eco-lodge. Mark and Bertie made an incredible ‘team extreme’ with the help of their comedy ‘vine’! We have equally been doing a lot for the very welcoming community, besides eating their donuts! We have been teaching English to the children and homestay members, with Louise doing a particularly enthralling game of ‘Simon says’. Meanwhile Shieh Ning has found a budding career as translator of love songs for the locals, much to their delight! We have also been doing Malay cooking lessons with the ladies in the village, adding even more to the groups’ waistlines! Our days off have included a trip to Sepilok, which gave the group the chance to see more of Borneo while also seeing the orangutans, something our resident camera woman, Nicole, caught on film! We also got to see the orangutans in the wild with an early morning river cruise (yes, we did all get up a 5am to get the boat on time!). Overall, our time in Batu Puteh has been more than fulfilling! We have all learnt a lot and have grown both mentally and physically during our stay here. We truly feel we’ve experienced a Malaysian community in it’s best and wettest form! Written by Mattie Edwards Phase 2 project team - Project Managers: Shih Chung, Frances Jenyns ___________________________________________________________________ Environment Projects
Alpha 4 Project Managers: Nick Smith, Shih Chung, Juliet Clegg A4 – Danum Valley We left for Danum at 6am and had a 12 hour journey, on buses then minibuses to get into the Valley. On arrival, the rain meant that our worksite was flooded for the first few days and we were also cut off from the outside world due to collapsed bridges. Once able to start work, during the first week we cut 2.7km of trail through the jungle, with the help of head ranger Melvin. Melvin’s pastimes include sharpening his ‘parang’ whilst watching TV, drinking home-made whiskey and barbecuing orangutans (apparently!). In the following weeks we managed to level out the ground on a third of the trail. One venturer should be noted for his strength and ability in cutting through the jungle – much appreciated by the girls! During the phase, some venturers were able to assist a scientist with his investigations into the jungle fauna and flora, aka ‘tree hugging’. Other encounters with the local wildlife included frequent leech attacks! We also adopted a resident bearded pig named Porkey as our pet. He made frequent visits which included activities such as eating the tarpaulin, crushing water bottles, decorating the camp with rubbish and stealing walking boots. We also had visits from ‘sun bears’. One ‘special venturer’ stared at a ‘sun bear’ for 20 mins one night before realising that it was actually a large rock. One of the highlights (or disasters) of the phase was the boys football match against the rangers. After scoring the first goal they suffered a narrow defeat 11-1 due to the lack of appropriate footwear and severe conditions on the pitch. On the plus side, the girls enjoyed watching thirty half naked boys sliding around in the mud! Although maybe the mudfight wasn’t such a good idea with no spare water for showers! Special events included Catrin’s birthday aka ‘cat day’ where everyone wore ears and whiskers and went to ‘club jungle’ …… need we say more?! Written by Catrin Tyler and Jonathan Barber Phase 2 project team – Project Managers: Nick Smith, Mervyn Hudson,Liz Watson Alpha 5
Project Managers: Matt Ryland, Claire Turner and Ness Miles A5 - Imbak Canyon Much of our stay at Imbak Canyon can be described as ‘drenching wet, exhausting, muddy, sweaty, eaten alive, and frustrating to breaking point’. So it says a lot that, despite this, we had some of the best, most unforgettable experiences of our lives. ‘Plan A’ (as well as B and often C) went askew from the first day and was never to make a comeback. A dangerously swollen, uncrossable river delayed our entry by four days. Subsequent landslides and a collapsed bridge cut us off from surrounding townships, leaving 20 of us stranded in one very claustrophobic room of a 3-walled logger’s hut. On the upside, we found the building was rich with wildlife for those nature enthusiasts, and group bonding was at a high. By day four, Yayasan Sabah (the government logging department) was making plans to airlift us out, but to our disappointment the downpour stemmed overnight and we made a safe crossing. After a thrilling 4x4 ride that you would pay good money for back home, we finally arrived at the clearing of Imbak’s campsite. The sun was shining and there was an all round feeling of utter ecstatic elation! On day two at Imbak we built our ‘bashas’. If someone had told us before then that we could easily create long-term A-frame wooden shelters using only wooden poles, rope and tarpaulin I think many of us would have laughed. However, our campsite came together brilliantly, complete with kitchen, table and seating area built by the rangers in a matter of hours. An old oil drum, mud and sticks created a smokey but working oven. On day three, many of us discovered our tarpaulins leaked: hammocks becoming aquariums, and Ipods becoming (dead) fish. But we soon settled into camp life; by the end of our time even the most delicate of us could take on the insect world, despite that every bug… ants, spiders, centipedes, cockroaches and more are supersized. We began work on day three, as we began to clear ground and scrub for a new building site, including Imbak’s first real plumbing! It was then that we encountered ‘the never-ending hole of doom’. This giant pit was to be the main building site. We spent much of our 2 weeks labour and most of our patience lugging rocks, boulders and earth to fill this hole. The relief and joy when the last barrow-load of earth was trampled in will remain with us for a long time! Other days were spent trekking high up into the jungle to move around 150 massive wooden planks down to our building site. This involved forming chains down precarious mud slopes in the pouring rain. It was at the end of these days that, despite complete mental and physical exhaustion, we felt a sense of remarkable group achievement. Our contact with the outside world was limited as we had trouble with our radio communications. We were therefore shocked and thrilled when, in the middle of one particularly muddy work day, a BBC helicopter landed in the middle of camp. The two poor journalists, found themselves surrounded by sodden but gleeful venturers. A highlight of our stay was definitely Valentines day, celebrated with bouts of speed dating and many anonymous cards to be read aloud. On our official day off we also trekked to a huge and beautiful waterfall. By the end of our stay, it was evident that isolation induced ‘Imbak madness’ had set in – most males had shaved their heads, and others were reduced to twitching and mumbling as cigarettes and Milo ran out. Twenty of us entered Imbak with dry clothes and sanity, twenty of us left with much less of both. Never forget us Imbak! We’ll never forget our time with you. Written by Belinda Hewitt Phase 2 project team – Project Managers: Matt Ryland, Claire Turner and Gregor Stenhouse ___________________________________________________________________ Adventure Projects Alpha 6 and 7 A6 We first went diving on Mamutik island and one of our first projects was to finish constructing a shelter for other Raleigh groups to use. However the foundation starting collapsing due to poor construction. We have had a few epic games of volleyball and football with the locals, as well as as few jamming sessions with Mark’s new guitar. Scuba diving is great but a test of nerves for all of us. The people at Borneo Divers have been fantastic and we all made friends with our instructors. Animal sightings include a Komodo Dragon, Monitor Lizards and of course a large variety of sealife. Also plenty of small geckos that Pete always finds and holds. After the island we spent some time at Mahua waterfall. When it wasn’t raining we enjoyed bathing in the pool under the waterfall which was truly freezing and exhilarating. We also helped to keep the local shop busy. The day we left Mahua waterfall to go to our trekking site, we make a stop in a little town called Tambanan. We enjoyed a large and inexpensive lunch, and few minutes of internet access and everyones favourite, beancakes! After a 5 hour trek to the ranger station, we had found our place to sleep for the night. The next day we were supposed to push on the Salt Trail to truly start our trek. However a few medical problems and other factors working against us held us up and we were unable to continue along the Trail. In place of trekking, we stayed at our site at the ranger station and did some Trail maintenance around the area. We also put together five different treks during our two full days. The treks included a sightseeing hike, and fast paced trek to another campsite 18kms away and back, a night hike and a few river walks. Whilst it was disappointing that we couldn’t complete the Salt Trail, it was not a total loss, and we had a great time. Leaving the ranger station, we trekked back for 3.5 hours to the village of Tikolod, hanging out in the local shop and keeping the children entertained. The next morning we went off to Mount Kinabalu. However our bus had a puncture after 10 minutes and so we ended up arriving at the mountain too late to meet our guides. We therefore had to spend a night in a hostel nearby and we set off up the mountain first thing the next morning. 8 hard hours later we all managed to reach the summit! After that it was a scramble to make sure we would get past the most treacherous parts before sun fell. The descent is where everyone really started feeling the effects of the altitude and the extensive amount of hiking we had done. The descent groups were split into two teams, arriving at the bottom within an hour of each other. Alpha 6 was the largest and second ever group to climb the whole mountain in one day! We finally got to Changeover with exhausted smiles on our faces! Written by Reid Hellman Phase 2 project team – Project Managers: Colin Lovell, Ness Miles, Bex Ciapessoni ___________________________________________________________________ A7 Our 11 day trek through the Crocker Range proved to be naturally challenging, yet equally fulfilling. From an unsuspecting four-hour trek on day one to a gruelling 10 hour walk on our final day, we were pushed to our mental and physical limits with every challenge we faced. Day 8 proved most problematic, when it poured with rain when we were due to set up our bashers. Flora’s dive from a path meant that she had to be airlifted to hospital. But the trekking phase only proved to show that little would prevent Alpha 7 from working as a great team. After the hardship of the trekking phase Alpha 7 deserved some quality r and r. It arrived in the shape of Mamutik island and did not disappoint. Right from the first moment we landed on the island it’s natural beauty dazzled us. Unfortunately the sleeping facilities were not up to the same standard. The five days scuba diving was an amazing new experience for most of the group but proved to be only one of the highlights that also included the island café, playing football with the locals, snorkelling and the lunches prepared by Borneo Divers. Mamutik island served its purpose and with a few days Alpha 7 were back to their very best and were raring to climb Mount Kinabalu! The early stages of the mountain were reminiscent of the dreaded trekking phase, but then, halfway up, the incline increased dramatically! Our legs and knees felt the pressure but Alpha 7 continued to the summit where we were greeted with breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape. Pete did a handstand at the top of the mountain, much to the amazement of the group. We then made our descent down the mountain, with thoughts of the previous weeks’ adventures fresh in our minds. Written by Eoghan De Faiote and Peter Banks Phase 2 project team – Project Managers: Emma Harding, Dave Fidoe, Serena Woodrow-Clarke ___________________________________________________________________ Fieldbase – ‘Zero’ Having thought that we’d have time to breathe again after the first deployment, those hopes were soon banished and fieldbase were hard at work in the office making sure that everything behind the scenes ran smoothly. Fieldbase man the radio on a rota basis 24 hours a day. Each group must radio in twice a day to give us an update on their project and wellbeing and to relay / pick up any messages. In addition, they can call us at any time if there is an emergency. So far we haven’t had too many late night radio calls! We have been working hard to create closer links with government ministries and third parties that we hope will increase their involvement in future expeditions. The most important aspect of this is encouraging them to work with us to secure the participation of more Malaysian venturers through local support or youth groups. We are also hoping to get some of the Ministers out onto some of our project sites to visit. It’s also been key that we maintain our profile in the media here. Raleigh is very warmly received here in Sabah and we’ve been making sure that the press keep hearing about the great things that we’re doing. We’ve also had fun collecting information for our internal ‘changeover newsletters’. And in any spare moments the Fieldbase team have been pulling together ‘Radio Raleigh’ – a weekly radio show presented to venturers and staff in the field. This included a Valentines special. The Logistics team of Alex and Hannah have been endlessly meeting (or rejecting!) requests for items as varied as malaria tablets, fire extinguishers, gas, and of course food! They’ve also been meticulously pouring over spreadsheets making sure that everyone gets what they need for phase 2 – no easy task! Liz has been keeping everyone’s spending in check, whilst Catherine has been endlessly sorting out visas, flight tickets changes and other admin issues. Andy, our driver, has been ‘off the road’ for a while with a knee injury but seems to be making a great recovery so he’ll be out and about more this next phase. Medical issues and queries coming in from ‘the field’ have been dealt with by Fieldbase medic Serena. Medic Juliet will take the reins at Fieldbase in phase 2. During phase 1 Rory, myself and Mia (a new member of Malaysian staff who will be trying to get more Malaysian venturers to join our expeditions) went out on the ‘loop vehicle’ getting a very warm reception as we visited all sites delivering mail, topping up supplies and generally making sure everyone was happy and the projects going according to plan. Liz and Hannah will spend phase 2 out in the field, with Nina and Andy also going out on the ‘loop vehicle’. So everyone should now be settled into their second project site. We’ll be back again in three weeks’ time to let you know how they’ve got on! | |||
.JPG){kind=small}
0 comments: