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Walks around Siwa Village Walk 1 Type: Ultra easy, flat footpath. Half an hour. Interest: Views of Lodge, rice fields (padi),
secondary jungle and Lambir Hills. Directions:
Go
out of front gate and turn sharp right along the boundary fence; keep turning
right and following the fence. View of G.H. from opposite side of valley; rubber
trees to your left (whitish bark and small leaves, about 40 ft tall. Past
small lodge belonging to retired Government worker and lots of pineapples to
either side! Continue
along ridge, past palm oil trees on right (small black/reddish brown “nuts”)
and follow flat path between low scrub to end of hill. Pepper
plants in the distance on left side about 300 meters on facing slope. From
end of path, views down to farm huts and padi fields beyond. Return same way or
walk down the slope and bear right towards G.H. garden. Walk 2 Type: Long walk, mostly under trees. About one hour. Interest: Farming fields and smallholdings;
vegetables, rice and padi. Monkeys. Directions:
Turn left out of main gate (or short cut to the west end of the garden) and follow road/path about 100 meters straight ahead; small pitcher plants to be seen at the roadside after about 50 meters. Approaching
new bungalow with blue roof, bear right and then take first left through the
undergrowth, then left again on to a better path under tall trees. 150
meters further on, the path divides again – take the right fork and continue
down the good track, which meanders under tall fruit trees (some Durian!) going
up and down for about half a mile. Finally when you see the green padi fields
ahead, go down and across them towards the river (“sungei” in Malay). Cross
small makeshift bridge to riverside and follow upstream. Across the river in the
huge trees is the favourite haunt of the (thieving) monkeys that come down to
drink and pinch fruit. Take the dog if you want to ferret them out! After
about 200 meters, turn left under some big trees towards a little smallholding
across a log bridge and through some bamboo. Here they have everything from
chickens to rice to veg and fruit. Cats play amongst the chickens and there are
marigolds blooming outside the little hut. Keep going left, carefully avoiding
all planted crops and make your way back to the hillside and the path you came
down. (N.B. There are more variations, see Walks 5 & 6). Once
back on the hillside, follow path upwards to rejoin the way you came down
earlier and return to G.H. Walk 3 Type: Ultra easy, flat footpath. Half an hour. Interest: Views of Siwa Beach and access to it;
small beach hut. Sunsets to write home about! Directions:
Turn left out of main gate (or short cut to the west end of the garden) and follow road/path about 100 meters straight ahead; small pitcher plants to be seen at the roadside after about 50 meters. Approaching
new bungalow with blue roof, bear right and then keep straight on towards yellow
fire hydrant on your right-hand side. Bear right here and continue along well
used path/road. After approx. 300 meters, you will come to the main coastal road
– wide and rocky – turn right and walk along it for 150 meters. On your left
is the sea and beach; nearer are two small fish ponds and two little huts. Walk
down between the ponds (steep drive) and turn right along a grassy knoll; this
is our property and the little hut at the end is there for everyone to enjoy and
take refuge in from the elements and sometimes the sand flies and mossies! The
KEY is hidden under the house right next to the three wooden steps at the front
door. Padlock is a bit temperamental, but persevere! Inside there is fresh
water, coffee and tea and even a mattress in the bedroom! From
the beach house, walk straight down the bank and across the stream to the beach;
there you will find a hundred miles of unspoilt sand to explore. The sea is
shallow but provides pleasant swimming: keep your T-shirt on for protection
against sun, sand flies and possible jellyfish (rare). A spare T-shirt and a
bottle of water are invaluable! Walk 4 Type: Long and difficult! Interest: Jungle, hills, deserted Saw Mill Directions:
Turn
right out of main gate onto tarmac village road and continue straight ahead. At
crossroads do not turn left but keep straight on, still on tarmac, but heading
towards Lambir Hills.
At
T junction (about 200 meters) turn right along unmade road and follow this road
past several houses and farms, downhill over a small metal bridge and after
about one mile you will come to the Siwa River. If you have had enough already,
follow river to the right and make your way across fields back to the Lodge (or retrace your steps!) Otherwise,
across the river lies uncharted and nowadays inaccessible territory! There was a
sawmill up this overgrown road about 5 years ago, where some enterprising
Chinese man was doing his own logging (out of Lambir National Park!!). But now
even the timber bridge is gone and any explorers making this journey should
bring back some notes for us – please! Wear
long trousers and good boots or wellies; take a parang and plenty of water –
see you in a few hours time!
Walk 5 (Sarah’s Walk) Type: Long and varied! To the beach through farm rainforest and jungle! Interest: Jungle, fruit trees, hills, deserted beach at the end Directions:ROAD SECTION This walk takes about two hours before it brings you to the beach where a swim will be very welcome after your long walk. It is a very worthwhile walk as you pass through all sorts of territory and in the evenings there are lots of animals on the move. It is probably a good idea to wear long trousers and bring plenty of water and mosquito repellent. You will be passing through some unsheltered areas so a hat and sunblock would be advisable. Leave the guesthouse by the front gate and turn right. When you reach the fork in the road continue straight ahead (left takes you to the village). You should be able to see Lambir hills ahead unless it is overcast. At the T-junction go right, pass two houses one on each side and continue on down this wide sandy track. Along this track there are good views across a valley with fishponds to a stand of tall rainforest type trees. They are all typically straight narrow trunked trees that spread out at their tops fighting for their share of the sunlight. This is a good view point to look for animal and bird life because you are looking along the edge of the forest from the outside it is easier to spot movement than when you are in the forest looking up. There are some bamboo and banana plants along the track edges here. You should continue on this path over a wide bridge with metal railings and through some open farmland there are some huts on your left and pretty track through a big paddy field to a small holding on your right. (This is a good spot to see some lovely colorful butterflies) Following the same track as before you will pass a planted cleared field on the left and some hillocks with a few trees on the right before heading back into a more densely wooded area for a short distance. You will emerge from this into a clearing which runs along the left hand side of the track – there is a path to the left through jungle at the beginning of the clearing which you can ignore. RIVER SECTIONThe path we want is on the right about 50m further on, just where the wire fence starts. It is quite hard to spot this path but you will know if you have passed it by because you will come to a log bridge over the river; if you reach this you have gone slightly too far so turn around and look for a path to your left. This very short path leads in to a couple of well built farm buildings (de-luxe huts?). There is an area of planted crops (furrows!) in front of the buildings and we want to go down to the end of this area. To do this veer left from the track that leads to the buildings (you will be roughly parallel to the original track). Walk down along the crop area and you will see a rice field (high, thick, green and sharp!). There is a path through this rice roughly in the middle -it is overgrown but you can tell it’s a path. Follow this path westwards (into the setting sun!) along the Siwa river bank. This path emerges into thick jungle with a narrow but fairly clear track through it. The river will visible on your left at the beginning of this track. This path leads to another short area of rice or long grass but after crossing this area the path is distinct and easy to follow – there is a big trunk across the river to your right just before you cross this grassy area but ignore that and do not cross the here. For about fifteen or twenty minutes follow this track. There are a couple of tree trunks across it that you will have to scramble over but nothing too difficult and it is worth it to be so deep in this wild countryside where some of the locals come at night to hunt wild boar. Without taking any turns from this track it will lead you to a clearing that has a farm hut (made from a blue and white board that seems to have been a sign for “Miri” at some stage). At this clearing there are two bamboo pole bridges one straight ahead past the hut and one about twenty meters to the left approximately parallel to the hut, carefully cross the one on the left (think tightrope walking!). There is a clear and wide path here that leads steeply up two hills until it comes to a T junction . At this junction turn left (right will lead you back to the Lodge by an indirect but lovely route but make sure you check the directions (Walk 6) as it is not completely straightforward!) BEACHWARDS SECTIONThe path now passes through tall trees and is quite mossy underfoot it emerges into a large area of rough grassland (think `Little house on the prairie`!). If you look back the way you came from here the views of Lambir and the forest can be spectacular on a clear day. Walk on through the grassland on the track –to your left is another valley that offers an opportunity to see into the forest from a sideways view if you brought some binoculars here you might be able to identify some of the animals that are causing the many rustling and calling noises here. The grassland here is full of birds in the evenings and the path through it leads through the skeleton of a farm hut and then joins up with a slightly larger track. Veer right here and you should be able to see the main coast road straight ahead. On reaching the main road cross it and turn right along it until you find a suitable spot to scramble down onto the beach which is just below the road. It is a bit dusty and unpleasant on this road but after about 200 meters there is a gap to get onto the beach and from there you just walk about half a kilometer down the beach until you reach the beach hut. The KEY is hidden under the house right next to the three wooden steps at the front door. Padlock is a bit temperamental, but persevere! Inside there is fresh water, coffee and tea and even a mattress in the bedroom! (and see Walk 3 notes). For those who have not been there before a good landmark on the beach is the area where there is a seawall built of dark grey stones with wire netting over it this is just after the turn for the guesthouse beach hut, which is under a large spreading tree. You will be more than ready for a swim in the sea by now!
Walk 6 Type: Medium long and varied! Through farm, rainforest and jungle! Interest: Jungle, fruit trees, hills, rice padi fields at the end Directions:As per Walk 5 until the T-junction river (BEACHWARDS SECTION), then turn right along a steep downhill path towards the river, where the original log bridge is broken. Go some yards to the right and cross the river by another log. Over the river you join up with the farm tracks leading back to the Lodge. Keep left and skirt the padi fields before ascending the hill and through the tall shady trees back to Siwa village, taking a right fork after the tall trees. Notes: |