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| Route taken |
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| G Berlumut Recreational Forest |
Once again, my mid-life crisis-hit buddies wanted a climbing challenge. Somehow, Gunung Berlumut (1,010m) came within my group leader's radar. Situated 2 1/2 hours drive from Seremban, we made our journey southwards towards Johor Bahru on the PLUS Highway. We usually climb Gunung Ledang aka Mt Ophir, a mountain rich in folklore. We exited the highway to Tangkak and headed towards our destination. At 6.45am, we were in Kluang, Johor. Our lead driver found the famous Kluang Rail Coffee without any hitches but it has yet to open its doors. We waited for another 15 minutes before we could savour its delicacies.
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| Kluang's icon |
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| Rearing to order breakfast |
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| Tools of trade, bought a pack of coffee. |
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| Operating hours, we were early |
Kluang Rail Coffee was located within the railway station's compound. Now a grand old lady with 75 years of history, its name well known around this side of the peninsular. A no-frill place to eat, the shop was about 20 feet x 80 feet in size. Fitted about 12 tables in all. The lower part of the wall was cement and the upper half was 2"x2" chicken coop wire mesh. It had an airy feel and we were the ravenous chickens inside!
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| My fellow climbers |
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| We had nasi lemak, meehoon, kuih, eggs, toasted white & wholemeal bread with kaya and coffee :-) |
Within this tiny place, we had excellent local coffee, roasted with imported butter giving it a high 'kao' factor. Choice of soft boiled eggs was either from the farm or free range, your call. The serving of rice in the Nasi lemak was kind of small with a dash of sambal, peanuts and anchovies. Guys probably need two packets to be satisfied but then again it cost only 70 sen ( USD$0.25 ) a bungkus/ pack.
As the nasi lemak packet looked kind of small, we ordered some extras. Before we realized it, we had ordered a set of kaya toast on white bread, another set on wholemeal, 2 eggs, sambal pulut and coffee. Our breakfast was heaavvvvy.
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| Group photo with fresh faces |
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| Great foliage |
The drive to G Berlumut Recreational Forest, 25km away took 30 minutes. We stopped at the nearby police station to hand them a list of names in our team on this climb. A good practice for all climbers. The last stretch to the park was heart breaking. Vast tracks of land has been cleared for oil palm planting. Somehow, there was a tiny stream that flowed through this devastation with relatively pristine waters. Imagined if the land was untouched!
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| Car park area at the gateway to G. Berlumut |
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| Team leader (R) with guide Roslan |
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| Loved the morning sunlight |
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| Entrance to Jurassic Park? |
The ascend was relatively uneventful. The suspension bridge looked as though we were entering Jurassic Park. The profile started with a gentle track for 45 minutes. The nest hour was on steeper gradient. After that, we walked through a couple of horse back ridges before the final ascend.
Use of all four limbs required at certain sections were narrow. Tree roots became our source of grip and support. Halfway through this, we rested at Batu Bergigi, a saw-tooth rock formation. Looked like a jaw bone of a dinosaur in need of a good orthodentist.
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| Batu Bergigi - saw tooth rock formation |
The false peak took the wind out of our climb. This small clearing lets you have a glimpse of G Berlumut which was a distance away. We had to descend and ascend again to reach the peak. So near yet so far.... As the path was much narrower and overgrown, we had to clear small plants blocking our way by hand.
Thankfully, 2 factors we in our favour. The weather was distinctly cooler between these peaks and was not humid. After all we were at the montane part of the mountain and the mossy forest was beautiful. Currently, Gunung Irau in Cameroun Highlands holds the record as the most beautiful mossy forest in my books.
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| G Berlumut Summit |
The last group reached the peak under 4 hours. The sun greeted us in full force but cool winds saved the day. Lunch was 'bak chang', Chinese glutinous rice stuffed with meat, beans, salted egg, mushroom. After that an apple and some chocolate to replenish energy. It was a complete meal.
A quick change to dry clothes to prevent unnecessary heat loss has been my regular practice these days. Being warm and comfortable made the difference during descend.
We climbed a rock to view the surrounding vistas. False peak was a distance away and a reminder that we had to backtrack to it on the return leg. We could see a reservoir in the distance but otherwise our views were obscured by overgrown bamboo plants. Swiftlets were flying around us as if to warn us of the impending rain. Apparently swiftlets drink water from rain drops while in flight. Must verify this.
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Distinct rock on the summit
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| The vistas atop |
A brightly-hued blue bug welcomed us atop of this rock. Size of a cockroach but much prettier. It hovered around as if inviting us to photograph it. We obliged. The ladies screamed with delight as usual.
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| Our guest |
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| Close up of the bug |
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| Please don't go ...... |
The descend was not good on my left knee. Felt the creak in the joint each step down the mountain. Used knee guard to prop up this suspension of mine. A walking stick was used to augment and distribute my body weight to the upper torso.
Knee guard and hiking stick have been a necessary encumbrance to extend the 'mileage' on my knees. It took 3 hours to reach the park office. Had our bath there, changed and went for dinner before heading home ... satisfied.
