Saturday March 17, 2007
Frolicking in the falls
Story and pictures by LIZ PRICE
Trekking to the Sg Perting Fall.
If you would like to take a little day-trip out of town, the Sg Perting Fall, near Bentong, may just be the place for you.
My friend Jan has a strange hobby: he collects waterfalls. He finds them, admires them, then puts them on his website.
He started with the falls in Peninsular Malaysia; now he is branching out to Sabah and Sarawak.
This is how one mid-week morning, we found ourselves heading out of Kuala Lumpur for a day in the fresh air and greenery of Pahang.
There was little traffic as we sped out of town. We had a smirk on our faces looking at the traffic jam across the road heading into town. All those poor people were headed for yet another day in the office, whilst the three of us were out to enjoy ourselves.
We headed for Bukit Tinggi on the Karak Highway and stopped for breakfast at Janda Baik. Janda Baik has always fascinated me. Most passers-by just see the huddle of buildings and roofs built on the steep hillside as they race along the Karak Highway. However, it’s worthy of a stop, especially for a meal.
With the Titiwangsa Mountain range for backdrop, it is a peaceful place surrounded by vegetable gardens edging into the forest. It is becoming a base for activities such as trekking and white water rafting.
Janda Baik translates as “kind widow”, and stories say the name came about in the old days when a wounded warrior stopped to rest in the village and a widow nursed him back to health.
Fortified by breakfast, we continued along the old Bentong road. Few cars use this road now. In fact, many city people don’t even know of its existence. There is a small waterfall right by the roadside, where people often stop to wash their cars. The waterfall doesn’t seem to have a name.
We stopped to take photos, even though we had photographed the falls before.
Gushing cool water.
About 11km before Bentong, we turned left at a sign indicating Sg Perting Pandak, Batu 7. Following this track, we went past the new but seemingly deserted Perting Valley Training Resort.
I was intrigued to see that rubber-tappers in this area are now using plastic bags instead of cups or coconut shells to collect the rubber. I guess this is progress, rubber being replaced by plastic.
We reached our destination and parked. I was about to put on my shoes and socks for the trek when Jan suggested I would be better off going barefoot. I was a bit puzzled until he pointed out the river nearby and told me we had to cross it first. The water was cooling, and surprisingly clear. Once we reached the opposite bank, I dried my feet as best as I could, and put on my shoes and socks.
For the first few minutes, we were walking through ferns taller than ourselves, but people must have been this way recently as there was a clear track. This track then opened out as we entered the woods and went gently uphill. We walked quite fast and after 40 minutes reached a marker indicating where we had to turn. This involved a very steep scramble down to the river.
Finally, we reached the water and could see the waterfall. The falls are not particularly spectacular as they are not very high, but it was a very nice setting, with the white water contrasting against the green trees and blue sky. We took our shoes off to paddle and I was shocked by the coldness of the water.
I had brought my swimsuit with me, but when I felt the water, all ideas of swimming disappeared. Jan was the only one to brave the water and swim across to the falls. He struggled to reach the falls because of the current, but then the cold got the better of him and he soon returned.
Fungi growing peacefully by the falls.
I sat on a rock in a patch of sun and took in the surroundings. It was quite beautiful and peaceful sitting here, with my feet dangling in the water. My friends called me over to the beach and pointed at a hole in the sandy floor. I looked down and saw a clutch of eggs inside. There were four or five oval-shaped eggs, but no tracks surrounding the hole.
I immediately thought they could be snake eggs, but then wondered how a limbless snake could dig a hole. I tried to get the eggs identified later from herpetologist friends, but no one knew for certain as it’s difficult to tell from photos. So they could be snake, lizard or turtle!
We realised that people, possibly from the training camp, bring groups here and camp. Indeed, when Jan returned a few weeks later, he was unable to see if the eggs were still there as people were camping on the little beach.
When the sun disappeared behind clouds, it got a bit chilly. Jan asked if I would like hot coffee and, of course, I thought he was joking.
“Yes, where’s the nearest Starbucks?” I said.
He said, “Right here,” and from his daypack produced a stove, cups and packets of coffee.
Talk about resourceful. The water soon boiled and we had a choice of coffee or Milo, accompanied by muesli bars. It tasted good. Thanks, guys.
More clouds gathered so we decided to leave, not wanting to get caught in the rain. We walked back slowly, looking at the varied flora. It was quite dry and there was little sign of leeches. I only collected one bite near where we had parked the car.
Satisfied with our walk, we continued on to Bentong for lunch. Sg Perting Fall is a good place to go for a day trip from the city. Try it sometime.
Jan’s website is: http://www.waterfallsofmalaysia.com/
Originally published in The Star on
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