So this morning we get picked up for the start of our 3 day jungle trek. It’s raining so we’ll be needing our raincoats…So after a 1 1/2 hr drive to Chiag Dao Nest we get our brekkie and organise our bags. We’ve culled down the medical supplies to only essientials and are taking 2 changes of clothes each..plus all the camera gear.
So first it’s a 40min ute ride with John and I swished in the front trying to be as unobtrusive as possible with the gear stick for the driver. Here we meet our first guide who takes us down a ridiculously steep driveway and wander through a village to a hut where we leave our stuff. Here we get 2 local guides to take us to the cave. I was thinking we go to a little cave and just check it out…how wrong was I.
We start wandering throgh the cave..which is much like Jenolan Caves but without the profesional lighting. After awhile we have to crouch to walk around and then it’s on our hands and knees and then almost crawling on our stomachs. There’s no way you’d fit Matt…the space is pretty small. It’s really hot in here and we’ve been given hard hats which come in very hand for the stagagmites that you don’t notice and run into. So we wander around this cave for like an hour and the guides torch is a bit dodge..bulb keeps failing..this is where i wish i’d made room for the head torch i bought. I can imagine the games that kids would play i these caves…come in as far as possible then switch off their light and see how long it takes to find your way out.
So then it’s back to the hut for a huge lunch…and then off to the waterfall. We arrive at the fall and it’s a bit smaller than i was expecting..oh well..big cave, small waterfall instead of small cave, big waterfall. Then we hike back to the village that we are staying the night. The hills are ridiculously steep and the ground is wet and slippery. On one of the foot trails on the side of the hill both my feet slip and i’m down on my butt in an instant.
We get to our hut for the night, and change out of our ringing wet clothes. Dinner is yummy but again HUGE! It’s really cold up on the mountain so we head for bed to try and warm up. There’s a bird nesting with at least 3 babies above our bed and we snig extra blankets from a spare bed..I’m sooo cold after being wet all day + sitting in the wind for dinner.
