Bako National Park, Kuching

We booked an organized trip here through the tour desk at the Damai Beach Resort. We must have looked weak and weedy as the girl at the desk did not seem sure we would be able to cope with it. It turned out to be less strenuous than the jungle walk we had done the day before.

Bako National Park was very enjoyable. We were taken by minibus from our resort, then caught a boat to the park. We passed by some interesting rock formations on the way. Our Chinese guide was knowledgeable and informative. At one point he stopped to show us a stock of grass which to our amazement turned out to be a snake. We saw several poisonous snakes, wild boar, macaque monkeys and, though I've no good photos to prove it, proboscis monkeys.

The tour was very enjoyable and included lunch. Having a guide enabled us to see things we would probably have missed on our own.

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Not all the trails at Bako require a good level of fitness.

After having our lunch, we headed in the opposite direction to our 1st trek, and here we found a trail that had Board walks to walk on through the jungle. When it did emerge onto track, it wasn't hill and quite easy walking.
We saw some Birds and a Squirrel on this track

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When we finished the Jungle Trek, we came out on a lovely secluded beach.

Here, an offer was made to take you to see the sea stacks, with a local man in his boat, for a small cost. The more people that go, the cheaper it is, although very cheap even for 2 people.

You should do this, as if you don't, like some in our group, you miss out on seeing the beautiful scenery.

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After arriving at Bako village, we got into our small boat, and headed past the small fishing village. This was quite interesting.
There were houses on stilts, lots of small fishing boats on the water, fishing nets drying, and people out and about.

A little further on, we passed some with their nets in the water, one of them was having a snooze, so I guess it must be boring waiting for the fish!
Further on, and a beautiful view of Mount Kuching.
We passed by nice scenery, with sandstone formations, mangroves, beaches before coming to the National Park.

It really is a nice journey, I think it took about 30 minutes in our boat which was the old style wooden one, some are a lot faster aluminium boats, so that would cut the time back.
I really enjoyed the Old boat. A new one went flying past us, I would have had no chance for photos if I had been on that!

This is where the Boat pulls in.
You need to take your shoes and socks off, as you have to wade through the water to reach the Beach.

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We did day tour to Bako National Park. After travelling over a very bumpy road through Industrial area we arrived at the port to catch a local boat to the National Park.
You see Mt. Kuching in the distance and fishermen.

We had a guide with us because we were on a tour, this came in handy for spotting wildlife.

A jungle trek (not a paved one) was interesting & good, emerging from the jungle onto a beautiful secluded beach. We had a rest, then took a local boat (for a small amount of money) to view the Sea Stacks. These were beautiful as was the coastline, well worth doing.
Lunch was included in the tour, it wasn't the best, then we were left up to our own devices for a couple of hours.
Saw more Monkeys, Goanna and some Squirrels.

This trip is well worth doing. The trekking is on rough ground, includes climbing, so you need to wear appropriate shoes to avoid injury.

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Lizards and Snakes, hope you aren't scared.

This was when I was glad that we were on a tour, as our guide pointed out to us an Adult Wagler's Pit Viper and a Juvenile Viper which were in two different Trees. This is the only poisonous snake......It has a broad, flat, triangular head and is coloured Green.

I am sure if I had been on my own, I would have missed these, as being Green, they blend in very well with the Tree leaves.

There are other Snakes here, all of these are harmless. They are the grass green whip snake (bright colour, pencil-thin body and long snout) and Paradise tree snake’s black upper body is marked with green spots whilst its underside is yellowy-green with red spots

We saw the common water Monitor, olive green in colour and reaching a length of 2 metres, they were around the Cafe scavenging for scraps of food.

Some others you may see, we didn't are....... small, brownish grey skink or sun lizard,green crested lizard, common throughout the park, is usually bright green but is capable of changing colour if alarmed and Flying lizards are occasionally seen launching themselves from tree trunks and gliding through the air.
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As is the norm with a lot of wildlife sightings, wildlife at Bako is best just after dawn and just before dusk, when the animals are at their most active.

We did see wildlilfe, but probably not as much as if you were staying here overnight. We were on a tour with a small group, so our tour leader pointed out the Monkeys and other interesting Flora & Fauna.

We walked slowly and kept as quiet as possible. At one stage, there was that much crashing and noises overhead we all wondered what was going on! It was a large group of Proboscis monkey's. They are a BIG Monkey, so make plenty of noise!

Bako is home to approximately 275 rare proboscis monkeys, found only in Borneo. The male is an odd-looking creature, with a huge pendulous nose (I call it a Jimmy Durante Nose) and a large pot-belly, weighing in excess of 20 kg. Both male and female are covered in reddish-brown fur with grey limbs and a white tail.

You may see Long-tailed macaques, silvered langurs or leaf-monkeys, plantain squirrels, wild boar and mouse deer.
Some in our group saw the Silver Langurs. The Silvered Langur is docile, has silver-grey fur and a spiky crest of head hair, whilst the infants are covered in bright orange fur. I had to make do with a do with a look in the camera view finder!
The best places to see these are Telok Delima and Telok Paku trails and the mangroves at Telok Assam.

Otters are found at Bako - the oriental small-clawed otter and the hairy-nosed otter. Hairy-nosed otters are sometimes seen early in the morning around the mangroves at Telok Assam.
We didn't see any.

We did see the Bornean bearded pig near the Park's Office, It is Bako’s largest mammal.

This is a beautiful place for scenery, trekking and wildlife.

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With its rainforest abundant wildlife, jungle streams, waterfalls, interesting plant life, secluded beaches and trekking trails, Bako offers visitor an excellent introduction to the rainforest of Borneo. Bako may not have an instanly recognisable star attraction but there can be very few places in the world that pack so much natural beauty into such a limited area, all its sheer range of attractions and activities have made Bako one of the most popular parks in Sarawak.

Gazetted as a protected area on 1 May 1957 and was published to public on 4 may 1957. Bako is Sarawak's oldest national park, covering an area of 2,727 hectares at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula. It is one of the smallest national park in Sarawak, yet one of the most interesting as it contains almost every type of vegetation found in Borneo. A weii maintained network of trails from wasy forest strills to full day jungle terks, allows visitors to get the most out of this unique envirnment.