Other than the blinking fireflies, we also spotted two crocodiles at the edge of the water in the same canal, a juvenile and perhaps that of a young adult. The river's lined with healthy looking mangoves, several trees had displaying fireflies. The first day ended quite late in drizzling rain on the way back to Bungai Lodge, our abode for the nite.
The morning started off very early with another session on landscape photography. A few short minutes of breakfast followed by a portrait session with several local villages willing to pose for us. We continued the session in Bekenu town market, some folks were curious others thought we were filming for a Korean tv series perhaps prompted by the gear we were lugging with us.
We arrived Niah NP about lunchtime and set to get ready for a bit of trekking in the park when the afternoon light gets softer. The walk into the park was leisurely and pleasant. We reached the trinkets shelter around 5.30pm. Another photography session continued at the longhouse 20minutes away followed by a short foray into the main caves, by then it was already close to 6.30pm.
We hurriedly walked back in the direction of the jetty in completed darkness aided only by our little torchlights, a few last chirping of birds returning to roost and the occasional skylight when the canopy opens up to a glorious clear nite sky filled with stars.
We reached the jetty shy of 8:30pm, we made frequent stops along the way to appreciate the dark nite in the forest fully.
We continued with stargazing and watching a resplendent half moon at our hostel all the way into the morning, 3am to be exact!
Bleary-eyed the next day, we conclude our weekend event with a hearty breakfast at Batu Niah town, a 20minutes drive away.
The compounds of Niah National Park. The Park is undergoing some upgrades to further improve the facilities available for tourists and local visitors.
A star trail at Niah National Park, we were shooting into the late hours of the nite.
Rock formation fronting Bungai Lodge, operated by Pak Bujang of Kpg Bungai who lives across the road from the lodge.
Danish and Pak Gabak who's approaching 80 years of age though not many family members are aware exactly the date he was born. He is eldest of seven siblings, youngest is Pak Lamat who is 64 years old who was also at the tamu.
The view from Bungai Lodge.
Sunset on Bakam Beach on the way to Bungai.
Written and photographed by Nazeri Abghani/Nov 2010
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