Klang Gates ridge, KL

Hiking up to see the beauty of KL's Klang Gate Ridge
Published on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en)
Sunday, August 10, 2008


Captivating: Klang Gate Ridge is one of Malaysia's most valuable geological monuments built almost entirely of quartz, measuring 16km long and 200 metres wide. Picture: Liz Price

Liz Price
KUALA LUMPUR

THE spectacular Klang Gates quartz ridge forms the backdrop to the Ampang side of Kuala Lumpur (or fondly called "KL" for short by the locals here), extending to the Karak highway where it almost touches the toll booths.

It is an impressive site, almost resembling the backbone of some prehistoric creature, guarding the Kuala Lumpur valley. Although often mistaken for limestone, it is the longest quartz ridge in the country at about 16 km. Quartz is a common mineral, a silicate used for making glass.

The ridge has ragged cliffs up to 120m high, and its length is broken into sections by river valleys. Its top is a jagged knife-edge, in some places only a few metres wide, with precipitous drops on either side. It is a popular place for walkers, climbers and nature lovers. From the ridge top there are stunning views over KL and also the Klang Gates dam. Certain areas of the ridge are on private land. Unfortunately developments encroach closer and closer to the ridge and in some parts houses almost touch the cliffs.

The most spectacular part of the ridge is its mid-section, Bukit Batu Tabur, which stretches 4km to 5km from Taman Melawati to the National Zoo. The access point is from the Puncak Niaga waterworks. The initial climb up to the ridge is hot and sweaty work as you follow a steep narrow path. But it is worth the effort as the first view is over the dam. The dam was the first reservoir in Malaysia and it was opened in 1958. It is one of the water catchment areas for KL and Selangor. Beyond the dam are the mountains of the main range, still covered with thick rainforest. If you are lucky to get good weather, you can see for miles.

On one occasion I went to the ridge with a friend who is agoraphobic. This was a mistake as his fear of open spaces meant that as soon as we emerged from the narrow, sheltered path onto the main ridge, he started to worry. And as we went higher and the pathway got narrow and the drops steeper, he was not at all happy. Once up on the ridge you can follow the trail as it winds slowly upwards. After millions of years of erosion, the ridge is now just a narrow spine. It is relatively easy going, although there are a couple of sections where you have to do some simple rock climbing.

However it is not the place to be if you suffer from a fear of heights. And you need to take great care if it has been raining. My friend left me at the first climb, when he saw that we had to scale a small rock face. He found a tree to sit under and let me carry on alone. I realised then he suffered from aeroacrophobia, which is a fear of high open spaces. It's preferable to start your ascent early morning, to avoid the full heat of the sun. However there are wooded areas which provide welcome shade. Some of the trees and shrubs are very hardy, climbing precociously onto sheer rock walls. It gets very windy up here sometimes. The part of the ridge surrounding the dam and forest reserve is rich with vegetation. Surveys indicate at least 265 plant species thrive here, with five of them endemic to the area. There are a lot of mosses in the shaded areas. Because of the endemic fauna and flora, the ridge has been made into a wildlife reserve. The serow or wild mountain goat inhabits this type of terrain although is probably not in the areas frequented by human visitors.

From the ridge you can hear the gibbons in the zoo calling, although there may also be some wild ones living in the rainforest. You can walk along until you reach the area that overlooks the Karak highway. However most people don't get that far, as it can be quite a strenuous walk. The ridge is worth a visit, as it is unique, and could be a valuable geological monument.

However very little has been done to protect it.

A native of England, now living in Malaysia and specialising in cave and karst research. A freelance writer who is a nature lover and traveller, who prefers off the beaten track tourism.

The Brunei Times
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Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/travel/2008/08/10/hiking_up_to_see_the_beauty_of_kls_klang_gate_ridge

Chillagoe

Published on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en)

Chill in Chillagoe for a taste of the real Australian Outback
Liz Price
CHILLAGOE, AUSTRALIA

Sunday, May 18, 2008


KANGAROOs were bouncing across the road and a flash of bright colours in the trees ahead indicated the presence of cockatoos. The blue sky contrasted sharply against the brown earth. This was bush country, the real northeast Australian outback.

In the dry season here in Chillagoe, everything is brown. There is no other colour except for the cloudless blue sky. The creeks are bone dry, the cattle painfully thin, and there is not a drop of water to be seen. But the harshness of the landscape is somehow fascinating, especially knowing that everything is lying dormant, waiting for the rains.

And when they come it is a different world. The wet season is from November to March and the whole landscape is transformed. Everywhere is green. The bushes and trees all develop leaves, there is grass where previously there had just been dusty earth, and even flowers are blooming. The creeks are all running and often the roads get washed out. The rivers overflow their banks and flood huge areas, and you realise why the locals warn visitors never to camp near a riverbed. Flash floods are so common.

Chillagoe lies about 200km from Cairns at the southern end of the Cape York peninsula in a landscape totally different climatically and geographically from Cairns. The limestone area of Chillagoe comes as a great surprise. I first saw the towers jutting out from between the trees. As we got closer the rocks appeared to rise vertically from a jumble of cracked and broken boulders to end in enormous jagged ramparts standing clearly out against the tropical blue sky. It is like a scene from a film set, and is similar to the limestone area of Guilin in China.

The Chillagoe limestone is noted for its sharpness, and this is an understatement. Razor sharp edges cover every surface, and I can see why the area has been likened to the Mountains of Mordar in Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. House sized boulders are jammed in crevices and every- where there are holes, some leading into caves, others just into impenetrable fissures.

Chillagoe is now an area of National Parks, divided into nine separate areas within a 16km radius. The two largest parks are Royal Arch and Donna Cave. They consist of limestone bluffs which are honeycombed with caves, rising from an undulating plain.

The plain is open woodland and grassland with trees such as ironbarks, bloodwoods, and ghostgums. On the bluffs are fig trees and helicopter trees. The leaves of the latter give a nasty sting. Many trees have roots which extend deep into the caves in an attempt to search for water.

Various caves are open to the public, and the more intrepid can go adventure caving. But apart from the caves, Chillagoe is noted for its aboriginal paintings, its smelters and its marble. As recently as one hundred years ago, the area was inhabited by aborigine tribes who made use of the relatively reliable water supply (the climate is drier today) and hunted the wallabies and other small mammals. They drew rock paintings of spirit figures and animals and they made hand stencils. The spirit figures were thought to represent deities inhabiting the caves. Thus people themselves stayed away from the caves.

The first white settlers encountered fierce resistance from the aborigines in the 1880s and many bloody battles were fought. The first settler, William Atherton, built his homestead at Chillagoe Creek. He and his family explored the caves. An aborigine girl was murdered by one of his stockmen and her body was thrown down a cave — her spirit is said to haunt the area, now known as Haunted Tower. Atherton sold his cattle to the miners who were beginning to flock to the area, prospecting for gold, silver and copper.

The mining boom lasted fifty years, and Chillagoe grew into one of the biggest mining centres of Queensland and at its peak in 1917 it had thirteen hotels, two newspapers and a hospital to cater to the population of 10,000. Today there are about 200 people. The workings were closed after WWI, and the smelters fell into ruin. Today, marble quarrying is the main industry. The Parliament House in Canberra contains genuine Chillagoe marble, which was sent to the marble area in Italy for finishing before being shipped back to Australia.

Tourism is also a thriving industry as people come for the cave tours, and also to experience the beauty of this stark landscape.The Brunei Times

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Source URL:
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MADAGASCAR Tsiribihina Gorge

This was my second caving trip to Madagascar, this time in 1999. Following our recce trip to Kelifely in 1998, Kelifely and Antananarivo to Kandreho we planned to return to the Kelifely area as this seemed a good place to look for caves as it had never really been explored before. Our original plan was to fly up on to the plateau, and our supplies could also be dropped off this way, thereby avoiding that awful walk we did last year. But as it turned out, it was impossible to fly as no one was willing to land there, despite having previously said yes when we were in the office.

So the next idea was to boat down the river from Kandreho. Then there was a major cholera outbreak in Madagascar. But we were forced to change plans for another reason - bandits were causing problems in the Kelifely area and it would be unsafe for us to go. So with just 5 weeks to go before the expedition, we had to completely change our area.

We decided we’d go to the Tsiribihina Gorge to the south of Bemaraha, in the west of the country. Maps from Kew Garden showed limestone there and that was what we wanted.

The expedition members met up in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo. We had to buy carbide for our caving lights and got some in a repair garage.

buying bread

 

Tana is built between 12 hills

After leaving Tana we drove through the fertile Antsirabe valley which is a major crop growing area – carrots, potatoes, cassava. We stopped at a village to take photos -

Because of the cholera outbreak, we had to stop at the military roadblock for the cholera checkpoint. All southbound travellers had to take 3 x 100mg doxycycline (tetracycline). This is compulsory. There is even a belt with nails in the road to ensure all vehicles stopped.

After half an hour we all felt queasy and had to stop the van to recover. We stopped at a good place as locals were making and selling wooden models of lorries and trucks such as Coca-Cola. The whole family takes part. They apply the paint with wooden sticks.



making the toys

 Herds of zebu, the Malagassy cattle, went past. We stayed there for quite a while until we all felt OK. As soon as we started driving we went through a big swarm of locusts.

zebu roadblock
 

Our next stop was Antsirabe , a town full of pousse-pousse or rickshaws. We went to the hot springs but they are being renovated so there was nothing to see. We walked round the market then had lunch of zebu and chips. The market and station area of town was much busier, and we saw the THB brewery, the famous Three Horse Beer.

chickens for sale

butcher

fruit

pousse pousse

That afternoon we drove on, past many villages, all of which have one or two communal water pumps. Much of the landscape was bare, Malagasy means people who burn and they have burnt the forests which haven't been logged. That night we stayed at Miandrivazo near the large Mahajilo River. Flying fox was one item on the menu but we didn't try it.

dinner with THB

The following morning we went into town to do the shopping for the next 10 days. We had to buy rice, fruit and veg, basic groceries and of course a crate of beer, and rum for the ancestors. We got about 10 days worth of bread, and surprisingly it didn't get too stale. We also bought 3 chickens which were christened Thursday, Friday and Saturday.



the main shop in town

buying our chickens




buying rum for the ancestors



Miandrivazo market

the tea man  

The next 28km took 2 hours as the tarmac road was very broken. We stopped at a village for lunch but there was no food, so the guide made sardine sandwiches from our supply whilst Roger filmed the locals.                                                                                           



filming the locals and letting them see the screen

 

We reached Masiakapy and set up camp on the banks of the river Mahajilo, a tributary of the Tsiribihina. It was dry season so no fear of flash floods.

lemurs check us out

a wild brown lemur

campsite the river Mahajilo

 The following morning we moved onto the boat which would be home for the next few days and set off for the Tsiribihina River.

crossing the river on pirogues

 

loading the boat



breaking camp next morning, always being watched

on the Tsiribihina River

Saw our first limestone soon after in the hills ahead [only it turned out not to be limestone after all]. The Tsiribihina Gorge was quite beautiful and we saw our first crocodile sunning on a rock. We also saw some lemurs and some big birds. We stopped to walk up to a cascade which was like tufa in places.

 

 

the gorge

 We were excited to do the first cave, Bat Cave, but before we could enter, we had to pour some rum on the ground to appease the ancestors.

 

Then the boat broke down and we drifted downstream a long way in the current before we could get near a bank and stop. The younger boat boy jumped over and tried to act as an anchor. No one could fix the engine. We wanted to set up camp whilst it was light.



cavers relaxing



studying the maps and gps

We decided to walk to a nearby village so set off. The village was miles away and we had to trudge through sand, memories of Kelifely. Roger turned back at some swampy streams. The full moon was up and it was beautiful. There was a fire up on the opposite hill – the Malagasy were burning again. Our guide assured us we could go back by boat, I wasn’t convinced and the walk went on and on. I wasn’t enjoying the trudge. The village shack had some plastic bags from Asda in UK!

 

The next day our boat was towed back to Masiakapy and we camped on the river bank again. The lemur came to say hello.

back to Masiakapy

  Next day we set off once again with some extra supplies (beer) -

view of the river, we had climbed the hill to look for a cave



beautiful pool inhabited by crocs



is this a cave?

there are crocs here

 

fish for lunch

my early morning shadow

small tsingy

dry river

blue pool



tourist boat

 We did some more caving and had a few adventures.

 

relaxing on our boat

bundles of grass



we found some bats



bats



our cave guide in the middle

nice to be in a cave again

cave temperature 24C



boys being silly!

more bats

picnic lunch

bats

 

my new caving team

cluster of bats

Martin surveying

an entrance


                                                                                                                



 

We went to another village



locals looking at the video



ducks water bowl made from tortoise carapace

our doctor treating the villagers



our boatman models a caving helmet

We had lots more adventures but this blog has got rather long, so that's all folks!!!

See more on the ACG site.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission