The Lost World of Kinabalu

A tropical, jungle-clad, cloud enveloped and rugged mountain terrain with multiple micro climates hosting mesozoic mosses, prehistoric fungi, Jurassic tree ferns, dwarf shrubs, colourful orchids, carnivorous primeval pitcher plants, gigantic parasitic flowers which stink of rotting flesh, a multitude of unique and uncategorized flora and fauna with mysterious rugged trails leading through dense and unexplored forests up to the towering heights of the massive mountain peaks and ridges. 

This could be the screenplay setting of a movie such as The Lost World or even Jurassic Park but in fact is a description of Mount Kinabalu National Park in Borneo. This UNESCO world heritage site remains once of the least explored parts of the world and is home to one of the richest and most bizarre diversity of animal and plant life you will find on this planet. It is indeed like entering a time warp which takes you back to the prehistoric days of dinosaurs or walking into the film set of Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. As you walk on the many trails through this mystical environment you would not at all be surprised to stumble upon a Velociraptor or Stegosaurus popping out from behind the trees and bushes.

Dominating this whole area are the massive slabs of granite rock which soar over 4km into the clouds. The ragged skyline ridges of the mountain in many ways resemble the back of a Stegosaurus further exemplifying the Lost World analogy. Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo and is also one of the youngest mountains, still growing at some 0.5cm per year. 


This is certainly one of the most formidable and commanding mountains you will see but for all of this, is easily accessible and can be climbed, or rather walked, with relative ease. I use the term "relative ease" lightly, as having walked the first 2km up the Summit Trail from the Mesilau Gate park entrance on the east side of Mount Kinabalu, it is no walk in the park! It is however one of the best trail walks I have done and one day I plan to explore more of this trail and perhaps even conquer the mountain itself. 

Also of interest at the Mesilau Gate entrance there is a short private trail walk you can take, known as the Nepenthes rajah Trail or Nepenthes Garden, named because of the proliference of these incredible pitcher plants. These carniverous plants range from tiny specimens no larger than your finger nail up to the large Nepenthes rajah species which can hold up to 3.5 litres of water and 2.5 litres of acidic digestive juices. These incredible plants have an ingenious hinge mechanism allowing them to close off when it is is raining to prevent the acidic brew inside the plant from diluting or opening up to allow unwary insects, frogs, lizards and even birds to fall into the attractive nectar scented trap. A unique serrated ridge on the underside of the pitcher plant urn prevents the trapped insects from escaping.

Close to the Mount Kinabalu Park is the small town of Poring where you can visit the famous Poring hot springs or walk on the elevated canopy walk high in the trees. Around this area it is also possible to see the largest flower in the world, the Rafflesia, named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. You will see signs on the roadside advertising flowering Rafflesia plants and for a small fee a guide will take you through the jungle to the place where the flower is blooming. Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest single flower of any flowering plant and is sometimes known as the corpse flower because of the rotting flesh smell exuded by the plant. The plant has no stem, leaves or true roots and is an endoparasite of the vines of genus Tetrastigma spreading its absorptive organ, the haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside of the host vine is the five petaled flower. These plants flower over a period of only a few days and then decompose into a black mulch.

So whether you come to climb Mount Kinabalu, play golf on the highest golf course in South East Asia at Mount Kinabalu Golf Course or explore the trails at the lower levels of the mountain this park offers so much from the stark, rugged scenery of the mountain peaks, the incredible variety of flora and fauna and the fact that you are in a relatively unexplored part of the world. Who knows what you may find.

Balinese Cacao

In the hills of Bali you can find many farms growing cocoa, vanilla and coffee plants. Cocoa bean (also cacao bean, often simply cocoa and cacao) is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter are extracted. They are the basis of chocolate, as well as many Mesoamerican foods such as mole sauce and tejate.

A cocoa pod (fruit) has a rough leathery rind about 3 cm thick (this varies with the origin and variety of pod). It is filled with sweet, mucilaginous pulp (called 'baba de cacao' in South America) enclosing 30 to 50 large seeds that are fairly soft and white to pale lavender in color. While seeds are usually white, they become violet or reddish brown during the drying process. The exception is rare varieties of white cacao, in which the seeds remain white.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family.

In bamboo, the internodal regions of the stem are hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement. The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, even of palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering.

Bamboos are some of the fastest growing plants in the world, as some species are capable of growing 100 cm (39 in.) or more per day due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. However, the growth rate is partially dependent on local soil and climatic conditions.

Bamboos are of notable economic and cultural significance in South Asia, South East Asia and East Asia, being used for building materials, as a food source, and as a versatile raw product.

Tasman Valley, Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

This is the view back down Tasman Valley on the walk up to the Tasman glacier in the Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, South Island, New Zealand. What you don't see from this photo is just how strong the wind was blowing.

The National Park is a harsh land of ice and rock. Glaciers cover 40% of it. There are 19 peaks over 3000 metres including New Zealand’s highest mountain, Aoraki/Mt Cook. The park is also part of Te Wahipounamu – South Westland World Heritage Area in recognition of its outstanding natural values. There is virtually no forest in the park. Instead, the park is alive with the most wonderful alpine plants. In summer, look for the striking giant buttercup, the large mountain daisies and watch out for the fearsome spear grass/taramea. Birdlife includes species such as kea, kärearea/falcon and the elusive rock wren/pïwauwau. The braided riverbed of the Tasman is home to the black stilt/kakï, one of New Zealand’s rarest birds.

Thistle

Having just returned from a business trip to Holland and a short weekend visit to my home country of Scotland I thought it appropriate to post a photo of the famous Scottish thistle.

Onopordum acanthium (Cotton Thistle), is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia from Iberia east to Kazakhstan, and north to centralScandinavia, and widely naturalised elsewhere. It is a vigorous biennial plant with coarse, spiny leaves and conspicuous spiny-winged stems.

The thistle has been the national emblem of Scotland since the reign of Alexander III (1249 - 1286) and was used on silver coins issued by James III in 1470. According to the legend, an invading Norse army was attempting to sneak up at night upon a Scots army encampment. During this operation one barefoot Norseman had the misfortune to step upon a Scots Thistle, causing him to cry out in pain, thus alerting Scots to the presence of the Norse invaders. Some sources suggest the specific occasion was the Battle of Largs, which marked the beginning of the departure of the King Haakon IV (Haakon the Elder) of Norway who, having control of the Northern Isles andHebrides, had harried the coast of the Kingdom of Scotland for some years. Which species of thistle is referred to in the original legend is disputed. Popular modern usage favours Onopordum acanthium, perhaps because of its more imposing appearance, though it is unlikely to have occurred in Scotland in mediaeval times; the Spear Thistle Cirsium vulgare, an abundant native species in Scotland, is a more likely candidate. Other species, including Dwarf Thistle Cirsium acaule, Musk Thistle Carduus nutans, and Melancholy Thistle Cirsium heterophyllum have also been suggested.

You Can Never Hold Back Spring

YOU CAN NEVER HOLD BACK SPRING

Tom Waits

You can never hold back spring

You can be sure that I will never

Stop believing

The blushing rose will climb

Spring ahead or fall behind

Winter dreams the same dream

Every time

You can never hold back spring

Even though you've lost your way

The world is dreaming, dreaming of spring

So close your eyes

Open you heart

To the one who's dreaming of you

You can never hold back spring

Remember everything that spring

Can bring

Baby, you can never hold back spring

Baby, you can never hold back spring

Interflora - Vietnam Style

Flower and plant delivery by bicycle in Ho Chi Minh City by a man in an appropriate "green" hat.