Kayaking in the Borneo Highland area is truly a fascinating way to be surrounded and intimate with Mother Nature and an ideal introduction to rural Sarawak. It is also a fun-filled activity for family bonding and corporate team building while paddling and seeing the stunning scenery of massive rocks among pristine rivers and an added bonus of sampling of the region’s Bidayuh folks’ hospitality.
Amazing rock formation along the river.
The trip for the kayaking usually starts early in the morning, with the operator picking up the guests from their respective hotels/lodgings. Then it is a one-hour drive along Jalan Penrissen and Jalan Puncak Borneo to the rustic little village of Bengoh. A clear and pristine stream nearby is where the kayaks are lowered and launched, then a few hundred metres down stream, the kayakers will hit the main river, the Sungai Sarawak Kiri (a tributary of the Sarawak River that ultimately flows pass the famed Kuching Waterfront).
Some part of the river is quite swift flowing.
From here it is an approximately 10 km paddle to the ending village, Kampung Semadang. Depending on the speed of the flow of the river (a torrent after downpour and languid during the dry season), it takes about 2 – 4 hours to complete. Midway along the river is the delightful village of Kampung Danu, peopled by the Bidayuh tribe, a friendly, gentle and easy going folks who go about their daily chores as farmers, a far cry from the olden days when their forefathers were feared head hunters!
A Danu villager preparing the harvested pepper berries for drying.
There are some rapids and fast flowing waters along the way to give kayakers a mild adrenaline rush, but it is quite tame during the dry season. Unique rock formations skirt the river and some of them you can even go under like the hull of a battleship! Depending on the wet/dry season, there are some side attractions like a waterfall (a short trek into a small stream) and even caves with some bats hanging around.
Great fun kayaking in the Borneo Highland areas of Kuching!
All along the way are lush tropical forests and orchards and plenty of pebbled beaches to take a dip. During fruit season, usually at end of the year, visitors may get to taste local fruits like durian, rambutan and langsat. However fruits like pineapple, soursop, bananas and jackfruit are plentiful throughout the year. Though some part of the river are under tree canopy, do bring along sun block lotion and sun hat to avoid getting roasted on a sunny day.
