I
get up from my hammock at 6 am sharp. The rain hasn't stopped, still drizzling
a bit. I went to the guide rest hut to prepare breakfast. I am very hungry
because I skipped dinner last night. I cooked two packages of instant noodles
(again) and drank a cup of hot milo. I had some discussions with my guide and
my researcher friends. First, it was still raining. Second, we need to cross
two big rivers to reach Eastern. My guide was concerned that if we are stuck in
between two rivers and ran out of food, it will be life-threatening by then.
The two researchers agreed to skip the hike to Eastern Julan for safety
concerns and start the hike back to the trailhead.
When
it comes to hiking, I am more of a thrill seeker and if I have the chance to
explore, I will normally go for it. But then again, this is a team effort, not
a single-man game, so we go back today. But before that, I ask my guide to
bring me to the top of the plateau. I wanted to see the abandoned Millionaire
Club. The Millionaires Club of the Usun Apau is a planned luxury mountain lodge
that was started in the 1980s but ran into financial difficulties just before
it was completed. The project was initiated by Dato Jacob Sagan, the originator
of the Millionaire Club project. I read about this a lot on the internet and
wanted to see it with my own eyes.
We
start the hike at 10 am and reach the plateau edge at noon, about 2km from campsite
no.2.
We
venture into a zone with many big boulders covered by moss. The ferns are
bigger than my arms and look like the vegetation that can only be found during
Jurassic time. It is extremely humid, and the number of leeches here are two to
three times more than I encountered yesterday. With every check, I can find
leeches on my leg, or inside my shirt. The leeches here are desperate for blood.
During
our hike, I heard dogs barking. Then I thought, why is there a dog in the
middle of the highlands here? My guide told me it was a deer, so we detoured to
trace the deer. The guide had sharp eyes. While we were hiking, he stopped me
and pointed to the direction in front of me, asking me to look at it.
Nothing?!!! I said.
But it was the deer, a big size deer, and it ran away. The
same deer that sounded like a dog barking. With the deer out of our sight, we
continued to the millionaire club home.
I
keep pouring the minyak kapak on my ankle; the leech has just lace on my ankle.
We are hiking up the ridge, a very steep ridge. I checked on my GPS, and the
summit is just above this ridge wall, but it was too steep at almost 90'.
We
hike in a spiral direction instead of straight up; it will take a longer time
but is safer and easier for us to get a grip to go up. Just right when we reach
a point where I can feel the breeze, my instinct told me we are at the top of
Usun Apau. I checked on my GPS and I am right.
The
rain comes and goes, there is a very thick fog in front, and thin tall trees
are everywhere with moss covering the trunk and bark. There is a trail, we
follow the trail to hike further into the jungle. I inspect the rocks on the
floor and notice they don’t look and feel like sandstone, or solid rocks, maybe
these are volcanic rocks?
Not
long after my hike, we manage to see a piece of abandoned machinery. After a
close inspection, it is a sawmill machine made in the USA. There is also an oil
drum and a stack of zink.
We hike further in toward the opening of the plateau,
it is very wide the surroundings were covered with tall ferns leaf. We reached
a viewpoint but unfortunately, all the view was covered by thick fog. And this is where the millionaire clubhouse
was, now all being claimed back by nature.
At
this point, I had been attacked by more than 20 leeches. I have leech bites
around my legs and arms. I shared the stories about the millionaire with my
guide, and also told him about Bukit Selidang, Bukit Batu Mabun and Bukit
Kanawang. These are the remnants of former volcanoes, according to the
information I get. There is a 1.5km wide volcanic crater which reached 1433
meter above sea level. And this will be a good place to explore in my next
adventure at Usun Apau.
This
concludes my exploration trip to witness the mighty western Julan waterfall,
retrace the millionaire club, and also future plan to search the volcanic
crater in Usun Apau. I hope you enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed
writing it. I will see you guys on my next adventure, till then stay safe and
never stop exploring. Bye.
Telang Usan Tableland Exploration:
