It's a bit like Aggy.

Exercise Mulu EBOR adventurous training exercise to Mulu National Park Saranak, Borneo March 2001

By Mike McHale

Even long trips can be accomplished with the FXION, provided that additional spare cells are carried. Our experience makes the point that the Bicester stores should either rescind the care and issue of cells to Ripon JSMTC or become more expert in their care. So, what of the caves. 'Giant caves of Borneo' is the very best description, splendid in every sense of the word. Imagine countless passages the size of the Time Machine or Aggie. River passages that dwarf OFD, Lancaster Main Drain or DYO. Mulu has the biggest cave passage in the world, the largest natural underground space, one of the biggest cave river etc, etc.

We started with a tourist trip to Deer Cave (so called because early explorers shot deer in it's entrance) and saw the famous exit of millions of bats at sunset. Otherwise it's an easy trip with concrete paths. We were told that the connection beyond Deer Cave to Green Cave, its natural continuation, is much more challenging but our group were reluctant to wade through thigh deep bat guano to get there.

We also visited Stonehorse Cave, a dry system, which required some roped traverses. Bad weather and high water curtailed our plans to do the river caves so we boated and walked the jungle trail to "Camp 5". This is a National Park campsite consisting of a cabin sitting beneath the towering white cliffs of the mountain called Gunung Benerat. Our intention was to explore Benerat Caverns but a recce by John and I ruled it out as a venue for our novices. Much of the walls and roof were covered with decorations which would not have been soldier proof. We contented ourselves with a four hour exploration and then thought jealousy of the last exploration group in November 2000 who had added 10km to the known length of the cave. Much more exploration remains to be done throughout Mulu, with an estimated 50% of the cave passages still to be discovered.

There followed what was the highlight of the trip - An excursion to Nashib Bagus Cave and Sarawak Chamber. Nashib Bagus means Good Luck cave in Malay since it was discovered by good fortune when a dye test failed to colour the expected river green but did so to a neighbouring spring. The entrance is located over three hours jungle trek from the Park HQ and is best accomplished by staying in a makeshift jungle camp the night before. Conservation rules discourage camping at the entrance so we had a very agreeable night at a camp on the trekking path to Mount Mulu summit.

We then made our way starting at dawn for one and a half hours through indistinct forest trails, even our three guides could not be certain of the route. We eventually arrived at the spectacular entrance to Nashib Bagus. Unfortunately, the water level was low so we waded rather than swam the 100m which constitutes the entrance canal. The entrance soars up from a narrow rift and becomes a clear washed magnificent stream passage before reaching the second hazard a deep pool which can be carefully traversed or swam or even roped if water levels warrant this. Beyond a narrow canyon is negotiated. If water levels are low this is easily accomplished at stream level. In high water it may be necessary to traverse on ledges above the stream. Soon the tell tale covering of swiftlet guane indicates you are nearing the dry series. Following a slope of boulders and picking our way carefully over the blocks and guane banks we left the stream far below. The roof opens out, although both walls are still visible. Eventually the walls and roof pull away into blackness and we reached a large table shaped flat-topped boulder big enough to easily hold all twelve of us. This is the entrance to Sarawak Chamber, the biggest natural cavity in the planet. We had barely entered the neck of the vast cavern. It was not considered safe to take a novice group any higher into the chamber as it consists of a steep slope of unconsolidated boulders, formerly the roof. They are huge and unstable. John and I, with the approval of the National Park guides, climbed on and up for another twenty minutes until we reached the base of the chamber proper. The top of the slope and the far side of the chamber was probably more than an hour further. We looked back at the now tiny glow of the group's lights. Without more powerful lights it was hard to sense the full scale of the space. Non- the- less it remains deeply impressive.

Time was now pressing so we turned and made a retreat back to the water and the sporting exit down the stream, jumping into the plunge pool and wading out to daylight. A rapid change followed enlivened by the leeches, which had found their way into my clean shorts. A long 2 - 3+ hour trek back through the forest to Park HQ brought an end to the caving phase of the expedition. A number of other trips remained available for a group but these depended on the availability of suitably experienced guides to take us to their entrances e.g. Barangs to Clearwater. Our guides did not have knowledge of these entrances so we turned to the trekking phase of the expedition.

The Park is more well known to eco-tourists and wilderness travellers for the quality of its jungle trail than it is for its caves. Primary rainforest of the quality available in Mulu is increasingly rare and the Park attracts many aficionados of jungle trekking. The expedition chose to do the trek to the summit of Mount Mulu peak only reached for the first time in the 1920's by a Cambridge University expedition. It is rarely visited, even today and remains an arduous four-day excursion over steep limestone terrain cloaked in rainforest stratified according to altitude.

In addition to Mount Mulu, John and I did not think any CSCA trip to Borneo would be complete without a visit to Mount Knabulu. John had been there on the original Lowers' Gully Rescue. He had been so involved in the rescue operation that he did not have time to reach the summit. Thus we made a rapid transit to Kolakinbulu by plane and reached Mount Knabulu the next morning by taxi. We enjoyed a leisurely ascent and a rapid descent, punctuated by an overnight stay at the highest mountain hut where we were amused to hear the tales of a Canadian Bigwall Climbing group who had been attempting a descent of the gully. They were busy in the hut cookhouse comparing the merits of Chip Rafferty's first and second expeditions in Lowe's gully. We felt obliged to give them the facts of the matter.

Having experienced both the lows and highs of Borneo. It was time for me to return to the UK. John went on to accompany the expedition on the third phase of their Malaysian experience taking part in a battlefield tour of the area by Kuching where he saw much more of this fascinating country. The Future Arranging a sport caving / tourist caving trip to Mulu using the contacts we established would now be fairly easy, albeit increasingly expensive. Huge potential for original exploration also remains. For further information and advice contact John Roe or Mike McHale.