Bako National Park
A ride out of Kuching to Bako National Park. Bako covers the northern tip of the peninsula and has a wide range of vegetation - swamp forest,s mangrove forests, and beaches. It also had a number of well-marked trails covering 19 miles throughout the park - offering strolls and serious full-day hikes.
It only took about 35 minutes to drive to Bako Village from Kuching. From the village, it was another 25 minutes by boat to the Park. Bako has been a National Park since 1957 and is one of the best places in Sarawak to see wildlife in natural surroundings.
Long-tailed macaque and silver monkeys, proboscis monkeys (the male can have up to 10 mates in his harem), wild boars, monitor lizards and numerous species of birds abound in Bako. And then there was the plant life - specifically, carnivorious pitcher plants. (Remember, Little Shop of Horrors with the plant "feed me"?)
One of the naturalists took a group of us on a hike. Much harder than we envisioned, primarily because it was slippery and if you fell, there were nasty looking thorns with huge hooks crowding the sides of the trail, poisonous snakes (we saw a viper instantly) and some mean wild boars lurking in the brush. (We like nature in tame doses.)
Lunch was in the Park's canteen built on stilts for easy monkey watching. One monkey tried very hard to get something out of this coke can. There were accommodations in the park and camping was allowed.
Bako Park Canteen
Back to Kuching for the night. Take a handheld game to play for downtime....
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