Maliau Basin April 2015

Transcription

1 Maliau Basin Journey This report describes my 5-day journey in the Maliau Basin from April 6. to April 11., It is not a scientific report but a personal journal. Introduction The Maliau Basin is one of the few places that are hardly influenced by man and remained unexplored except of very few scientific expeditions. Although still much has to be discovered, it is already obvious that the Maliau Basin is a place of extraordinary importance in reference to biodiversity and conservation of rare species. The Maliau Basin is surrounded with a mountainous ring of a diameter of around 30 km. All the water is collected in the Maliau River, which leaves the rim through the Maliau Gorge at the south, the only entrance to the basin. Also located at the South is the Studies Centre, the noble main entrance. Well-prepared paths lead from the close Agathis Camp uphill to the Camel Trophy Camp, further to the Maliau Falls, the Ginseng Camp and back to the Agathis Camp. Except on these paths, all located in the southern part of the basin, there is no human activity in the basin. Arrival at the Studies Centre After a long car trip on perfect roads from Kota Kinabalu to the security gate, the road changed dramatically to a small and steep forest road, which led to the Studies Centre (Figure 1). This main camp consists of many buildings and gives a noble impression, especially for the dining room and the lounge (Figure 2). Figure 2: Dining Room at the Studies Centre At late afternoon, we met our guide who offered us the first tour into the rainforest via Belian Camp and back. At a first glimpse, the rainforest have not looked to me that much different from a natural forest in Switzerland: Medium-sized trees covered most of the sky and the soil was hidden behind smaller plants and rotten leaves but allowed at quite large view between the stems (Figure 3). Figure 3: Path between Studies Centre and Belian Camp However, after a closer look, the plants looked different and the high diversity of the many plants became apparent. Climbing to Camel Trophy Camp After a short car ride to Agathis Camp we started the hiking trip towards Camel Trophy Camp. As this means to climb the Southern Rim we had to walk above 1000 m above sea level. Figure 1: The author at the Studies Centre gate Daniel Margadant / KS Wettingen maliau basin report.docx 1/5

2 During this hike, the forest types changed starting with mixed dipterocarp forest, which changed to lower montane forest, oak-conifer forest and small parts of tropical heath forest (Figure 4, Figure 5). Sometimes the change was continuously but most often after a short turn, the forest looked completely different. With a change in altitude, also the temperature, humidity and kind of noise/songs from cicadas were different. Figure 6: Giant forest ant Figure 4: Mixed dipterocarp forest Figure 7: One of the largest found spiders Figure 5: Lower montane forest Although the animal biodiversity in rainforest is among the highest, it proved difficult to spot animals. As there are many dipterous insects in the air and woodlice below rotten wood in European forests, there were only few in the Maliau Basin. However, after careful inspection I found some very fascinating arthropods (Figure 6, Figure 7, Figure 8). Figure 8: Red forest millipede Omnipresent were termites, which walked in busy roads (Figure 9) and leeches, which fortunately were blocked by my leech-socks (Figure 10). Figure 9: Termite road Daniel Margadant / KS Wettingen maliau basin report.docx 2/5

3 Figure 10: One of many leeches Soon after we arrived at the Camel Trophy Camp a heavy but short rainfall started. Thankfully, our guide boiled hot water for instant coffee (Figure 11) and he prepared a huge and delicious dinner too. The camp was rather small, but comfortable. I noticed many insects in the small meadow around the house as well as orchids. The electric lamp attracted further insects after nightfall and our meal two civet cats (Figure 12). Carnivorous plants and waterfalls The tropical heath forest is found on nutrient-poor soils with low ph-value. Trees are smaller and not as common as in other forest types allowing more sunlight to pass to the soil. Various kinds of mosses and lichens cover the stems. Among the smaller plants, carnivorous plants are prominent. They obtain nitrogen and other nutrients by digesting small animals. Here, the family Nepenthaceae is found with many species with pitchers from 2 mm size up to ones that catch 1 l (Figure 13). Figure 13: A large species of Nepenthaceae in the tropical heath forest During a steep descent, the forest changed to a variant of the mixed dipterocarp forest with high humidity and palm trees. At one point, the trail allowed a magnificent view over the Maliau Basin to the Northern rim (Figure 14). Figure 11: The author with a cup of coffee Figure 14: View over the basin with the Northern Rim at the horizon Figure 12: Civet cat close to Camel Trophy Camp In the valley, we reached the famous Maliau Falls. They are as magnificent as on the photos but only being that close gives an impression of their impressive height (Figure 15). The water was dark and covered with foam, natural products of the dipterocarp trees. Daniel Margadant / KS Wettingen maliau basin report.docx 3/5

4 Figure 15: One of the two Maliau Falls accessible from the trail Similar as on the first day I have to look carefully for animals but it was worth to do so. Only one out of many crickets is shown in Figure 16. During a rainfall a black millipede with a length of 15 cm was spotted (Figure 17) and still in the heath forest, I found a spider with extraordinary shape, most probably to pretend to be a flower to catch insects (Figure 18). Figure 18: A spider of extraordinary shape and colour The Ginseng Camp was much larger compared to the Camel Trophy Camp and built on piles probably to be save from wild boar which are common in the Studies Centre (Figure 19). A small rodent proved to be proud enough to stay at the ceiling during our meal (Figure 20). Figure 16: Although large this cricket is well camouflaged Figure 19: Ginseng Camp Figure 17: A black millipede of impressive size Figure 20: A small rodent in the open dining room Daniel Margadant / KS Wettingen maliau basin report.docx 4/5

5 Wild bees and loud cicada The way back to Agathis Camp was shorter but still fascinating. Again, the forest types changed often as did the surrounding sound. In some regions, it was completely calm except our footsteps whereas in others the sound of the cicadas was enormous. The cicada larva leaves the soil to perform its final moult on a trunk (Figure 21). Some of the various bee species build an entry tunnel to their hive inside a tree (Figure 22). Around many I could see the flying bees, which are much smaller than the common honeybee. Figure 21: An empty cicada exoskeleton Figure 23: View from Observation Tower, the large white tree is an ironwood Conclusion These three days in the jungle and two days at the Studies Centre allowed me an intense and immersing rainforest experience. What makes this place extraordinary is the fact that here we find genuine rainforest undisturbed and even unnoticed by man. There are no cages for animals and none of the trees has been planted. It is harder to find animals or to distinguish the various plants compared to other places. However, I then also appreciated the success more. The concept only to have few camps and connecting paths in the basin keeps the surrounding nature undisturbed. Hence, tourists get a good experience without destroying an important ecosystem. Surprisingly, there were very few tourists in the Basin, although the location is great and a journey through the Basin only to be recommended. Figure 22: Entry tunnel for a wild beehive On the car drive from Agathis Camp to Studies Centre we visited the Observation Tower. From here I had a fantastic view over the rainforest (Figure 23). Seeing only green trees until the horizon one forgets how fragile and endangered rainforests are. Acknowledgements I like to thank the Yayasan Sabah Group and especially their employees in the Tun Mustapha Tower for the organisation of this journey and their kind welcome at our personal visit. I also thank our guide (I unfortunately forgot his name) who prepared delicious and plentiful food in the middle of the jungle. Daniel Margadant Daniel Margadant / KS Wettingen maliau basin report.docx 5/5