Kampong Sungai Itek Things to Do

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This adventure began with a 6:30am departure from KL for our transfer to Sungai Itek which is in Kampar, Perak. We breakfasted at Tanjung Malim which is about 1 hour north of KL.

On arrival at the Tempurung Cave car park we changed into our bathers at the nearby change rooms.

Michael, the owner of MM Adventure Services, promised that our adventure begins here as we jumped onto the small truck with our raft tied to the back. And as we were driving along a narrow village track leading to the nearby Kampar River while bouncing on top of the raft I certainly had to agree with him.

On reaching the river we stopped and started applying our sunscreen lotion under a durian tree which was heavily in fruit. While my son was off chasing a monitor lizard into the jungle when I heard my daughter scream.

I quickly went to investigate and in the short time that it had taken for her to apply some lotion, a couple of leeches found their way up her leg. Not having much experience with removing these bloodthirsty critters I called for Michael's help.

But since the leeches were still marching up her legs, the only that was needed was a quick flick with a thumbnail to remove them. It's only when they stop and latch on that they become very difficult to remove. Then some suggested tactics were using either a cigarette ligher or some tobacco leaf to get them off.

We didn't need to employ either of these suggestions so I don't really know how effective they would have been. We then donned our helmets and were fitted with life jackets.

The first thing that our captain Mickey wanted to know was how well we could swim so we were ran into the river and were soon sucked into the fast flowing water and swam to a small sandy beach on the opposite bank. All my kids have been through an extensive swimming program down under so we all passed with flying colours.

With our captain satisfied in our swimming abilities, we then had a 10 minute safety briefing which covered paddling commands and techniques plus a man overboard and river rescue procedure.

From here it was into the rapids for our 8km or so river adventure. We rode through about a dozen rapids including the 'Double Decker' which consisted of two quick descents. Before entering this spot Mickey said we had a 50/50 chance of capsizing.

Luckily we negotiated this stretch by finishing on top of our raft and not under it. But I do think that we nearly bounced off it on the way down!

There are also long, calm sections of river where you will need to paddle. The Kampar River runs through a very deep valley surrounded by steep slopes covered in lush tropical jungle and is one of the most scenic parts of Malaysia that I have seen.

The Kampar River is fed from the 2,000m peaks of the Cameron Highlands so the waters are quite cool but certainly not cold. I can guarantee that you will get wet and you will end up in the river whether you want to or not. Watch out for Mickey, he has a mischievous streak of fun in him!

You will also get stretches of river where you can test your swimming skills with body rafting. This involves jumping into the river and being taken downstream with the current. All you need to do really is to steer yourself between the rocks which suck you in between their gaps and shoot you out the bottom. It's best to go feet first!

The total cost for this trip came to RM1,020 for three persons and included transfers from our KL accommodation, rafting, caving, Kellie's Castle side trip, meals and refreshments.