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flowering season invites a large variety of birds and insects to the lake

In the late mornings, the white-handed gibbon (we call the Wak- Wak) begins its cacophony of screams, songs and 'wook-wook' calls, high up in the canopy. Batin stopped us just 50 yards from a tall tree. Up in the crook of the branches and against the light, we saw a most beautiful sight, a mother wak-wak and her two youngsters. The mother lazily stretched her lanky arm to tear off young shoots, stuffing them into her mouth. Having had enough, the mother moved on to another tree with the two babies in tow. We were told that it was a pretty rare sight and it was good fortune that the mother had not noticed us. We even bumped into a family of wildboars scrounging for grubs on the wet, muggy forest floor. First came a youngster, then a female adult and then a large male. Along the trail are mud baths where the wildpigs would wallow to keep cool. The mud provides protection from infuriating mite and fly bites. There were also old porcupine (landak) burrows close to the trails. Porcupines and armadillos only leave their burrows to rummage for food in the cover of darkness and therefore are seldom seen in the day. We mentioned to Batin that while driving on the road to Lake Chini Resort the day before, we almost ran over a long, black snake slithering across our path. He nonchalantly replied that it was a black cobra - often found in plantations. Its relative, the yellow cobra is also common here. He explains that it is difficult to spot these reptiles especially where there are dead leaves and tall undergrowth. Their body twisting and twirling around, the female cobra gathers dead leaves to make into a small mount where she lays her eggs. The nest is so well camouflaged that any unsuspecting person could easily walk into it. Before we could go any further, the clouds had darkened and it was time to return to the chalet. An end to a most educational trek - all worth the money spent.

things to bring with on the trek

• water & snacks
• cap
• binoculars
• wear contact lenses. Spectacles get fogged up easily
• insect repellent. Spraying Baygon on your shoes is the best, although not too environmentally friendly - it'll keep the leeches from crawling into your trousers. Plenty of leeches! another method is to buy a packet of cheap tobacco , soak it in a bowl of water and then dab on shoes, socks, anywhere you think the leeches may sneak in.

Chini boat trip

The Chini River is the only river draining into the Pahang River from the lake. At the mouth of this 4.8km river, is a dam built to retain and maintain the water level in the lake. The lake water used to rise and fall with the seasons. During rainy seasons, water would gush down from Datang River in the Northwest, Gumum River in the Northeast, Perupok River in the West and Melai River in the South and all the excess water would converge down Chini River and gently filter out into the Pahang River.

Up until a decade ago, the lake would take its natural course. During the monsoon

black and red broadbill repairing its nest along Chini River

season, the lake swelled, covering a large area of the swampy forest. Nutrients seeping into the water from the land nurtured the lake and the fishes. When the rain stopped, the water receded and the swamp forest rose again. The fishes matured and swam away, lotus blooms covered the stretches of water where Jakun fishermen collected abundance of fish for sale in the market.

Then came the day when it was decided that Tasik Chini was to be promoted as a tourist' venue. In response to requests, local authorities dammed up the Chini River in 1995. However, foolishly the dam was built without a sluice to control the level of water in the lake. In doing so, the lake flooded - way above acceptable level - inundating the low areas.

Trees in the low-lying area were quite accustomed to natural and temporary flooding but could not survive the continuous flooding and soon the strain became obvious. The trees in the low-lying plains began to die off. The first was the Eugenia sp. , a common swampland tree.(they're the spooky looking ones on the edges of the lake with off-white branches stretching upwards).

 

Trees by the banks of Sungai Chini survived the high water level caused by the dam by pushing roots through its trunk just above the previous water level so that it could breathe. The problem now is that the banks are eroding away...eventually, the trees will topple and die.

There were other species of trees that coped with the flooding by pushing roots through the trunk just above the water level ( as in the photo). By 1997, it was obvious that the damming of the river was a disaster and something had to be done to arrest the situation. During the early days of the dam, the water level rose 2.8 meters. The new, 'corrected' dam was then constructed to rectify the mistake, which now allows the water level to rise and fall. A fish water canal was also built to allow the river fishes to return to the lake to spawn.

But erosion is still occurring. The constant rush of the local boat operators, speeding their customers along the Chini River is still left unmonitored. The speeding action along the narrow Chini River creates waves that smack into the soft banks, slowly washing away the ground from under the remaining large trees rooted along the riverbanks.

As we travelled down the same river with our boatman skilfully steering the boat, we managed to spot a couple of monitor lizards, 2 pairs of black and red broadbills tending to their nests suspended from the overhanging branches just above our heads, 6 species of kingfishers, a racket-tailed drongo. If you're planning to make a boat trip up the river, make sure to tell your boatman not to speed. That's the only way to take in what the jungle has to offer.

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