Batu Maloi, Negeri Sembilan

Batu Maloi is not a limestone cave. It is actually a large space below granite boulders in a river bed. It is located in Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia.

I wrote this article for The Star in 2004.

NewsHome > News > Features
Saturday March 27, 2004
The cave that wasn’tBy Liz Price

When is a cave not a cave? That of course depends on whom you ask. Generally a caver will say a cave is a natural opening in rock big enough for a human to enter. Most caves are in limestone formations. So I was sceptical when I kept coming across tourist leaflets which described a cave in Negri Sembilan as being 1km long.

I knew there were no limestone outcrops south of Kuala Lumpur, and I couldn’t imagine that there could be such a long cave that Malaysian cavers hadn’t heard of.

There was only one thing to do to satisfy my curiosity – go and investigate.

I found a willing victim – sorry, volunteer – to accompany me. My friend Mick is not a caver but I told him he could enjoy the day out in a forest reserve and wait in the sunshine while I explored any cave I might find.

The writer wading through the rush of water between boulders.

Pinpointing the location
So one bright morning we set off for the wilds of Negri Sembilan.

According to the tourist leaflets, the Batu Maloi Cave was in the Kampung Tanggai Forest Reserve in the Johol sub-district, 35km from Kuala Pilah. But they neglected to say in which direction from Kuala Pilah, and didn’t mark the reserve on the map!

Another write-up said the cave was 10 minutes from Johol and 30 minutes from Tampin. Well, at least from this I could roughly pinpoint the position.

I assumed the 10 minutes was by vehicle rather than by Shank’s pony.

We set off from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban, and then turned onto the Rembau road. From Rembau we went left onto the Johol road, and climbed up and over a big hill, which was covered in virgin rainforest.

The 884m Gunung Rembau was on our right. It was sad to see the forest alongside the road being cut, presumably for road widening. As we sped down the hill from the summit, there was a police roadblock at the bottom. I think the police were surprised to see two Mat Sallehs on this country road and just waved us through.

As we reached Johol and headed for Tampin, I made a note of time and distance, so I could estimate roughly where Batu Maloi was. After some time, I thought we had overshot.

So I stopped and asked some workmen, and we went back to Renggoh and turned off by the school. Six kilometres down this road, we finally saw a sign to Gua Batu Maloi.

A cluster of fragrant blossoms belonging to the Saraca, a common riverine tree.

Granite, not limestone
There were cows ambling down this lane and they made no effort to get out of the way, not expecting visitors mid-week. The lane ended near a surau, at a pleasant campsite situated by the river.

A signboard announced that there was indeed a cave, and as I suspected, it was of granite. The board also highlighted the dangers of caving.

We followed the path into the campsite and then got a bit confused as to the way on. We chose a trail which followed the river. We came to a junction after a short while, and I saw a few large boulders by the water.

This looked like the start of the so-called cave and an arrow marked the way in. But neither of us wanted to get our feet wet this early on, so we elected to take the forest path, to see where it went.

It meandered gently uphill, and after a while we noticed a very pleasant smell, which reminded us of honeysuckle. Looking round for the source, I noticed some orange flowers high in the tree canopy.

Then we spied a few flowers closer to us, almost at ground level. This orange blossom belongs to the Saraca, which is a common riverine tree. Although the individual flowers are nothing special to look at, together they provide a bright orange canopy, and their scent is very nice.

Impressive monolith

I was keeping an eye out for leeches, as this was ideal territory for them. Luckily they didn’t seem very abundant. This suggested there weren’t many mammals around in this area, and indeed we saw none, not even monkeys.

We came to a dilapidated wooden shelter later. I wondered who had had to carry all the materials up here to build the shelter, which had fallen apart through neglect.

Nearby was a huge granite boulder. This isolated monolith was about 8m high and 15m long. It was a very impressive sight.

The writer's friend Mick gets dirty scrabbling up and down some muddy slopes.

Mysterious creature?

After a while the trail began to descend. We soon reached the river, and I could see we were above the start of the cave. We decided to continue upstream for a short while, just to explore. We stepped into the clear water and paddled upriver. In this way we got rid of the few leeches that had attached themselves to our feet. Birds were singing on either side of us, and the sun shone brightly though the thick foliage of the tall trees.
We came across another cluster of Saraca trees with the same sweet scent. There were fallen logs covered with bracket fungi. At one point we saw an animal’s footprint in the mud, and were very puzzled as we only saw one print. What mysterious creature had left it?

Frogs plopping

The shady spot under the Saraca trees would have been an ideal place for a picnic, but we had nothing with us. So it was time to turn round, and go and investigate the cave at the huge boulders situated in the riverbed. Arrows painted on the rocks marked the way through, although in fact there was only one route here.

This section of cave was a mere 15m long, and had natural light filtering through. Mick, my friend, however decided he would go around the outside and meet me at the other end.

I soon popped out of the first section of cave and plodded downstream to the next set of boulders. Here the cave was a bit narrower and I was glad to have my torch.

A rope showed the way through, and I found the first section had quite deep water. The rush of water between the boulders and the plop of frogs as they jumped into the water when I disturbed them was quite atmospheric.

In the next part, I decided the water was possibly too deep to keep my daypack dry, so I hauled myself up and over some huge boulders and carefully inched my way across the top and down the other side.

Somehow I managed to slip the last few feet and landed in deep water. Luckily I managed to keep my camera dry.

It was fun negotiating this natural obstacle course. It was as if some giant long ago had been playing marbles with these huge stones, and had lost interest and left them scattered in the river bed.

I went through the final section of cave, and found Mick waiting for me on the other side. He had managed to get rather dirty, scrabbling up and down some muddy slopes. We had both had fun.

As suspected, Batu Maloi wasn’t a cave in the true sense of the word, but it was an interesting place and worthy of a visit.

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

Batu Maloi (All Malaysia)

Published on All Malaysia.info www
The cave that wasn’t
By Liz Price

When is a cave not a cave? That of course depends on whom you ask. Generally a caver will say a cave is a natural opening in rock big enough for a human to enter. Most caves are in limestone formations. So I was sceptical when I kept coming across tourist leaflets which described a cave in Negri Sembilan as being 1km long.

I knew there were no limestone outcrops south of Kuala Lumpur, and I couldn’t imagine that there could be such a long cave that Malaysian cavers hadn’t heard of.

There was only one thing to do to satisfy my curiosity – go and investigate.

I found a willing victim – sorry, volunteer – to accompany me. My friend Mick is not a caver but I told him he could enjoy the day out in a forest reserve and wait in the sunshine while I explored any cave I might find.


The writer wading through the rush of water between boulders.

Pinpointing the location

So one bright morning we set off for the wilds of Negri Sembilan.

According to the tourist leaflets, the Batu Maloi Cave was in the Kampung Tanggai Forest Reserve in the Johol sub-district, 35km from Kuala Pilah. But they neglected to say in which direction from Kuala Pilah, and didn’t mark the reserve on the map!

Another write-up said the cave was 10 minutes from Johol and 30 minutes from Tampin. Well, at least from this I could roughly pinpoint the position.

I assumed the 10 minutes was by vehicle rather than by Shank’s pony.

We set off from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban, and then turned onto the Rembau road. From Rembau we went left onto the Johol road, and climbed up and over a big hill, which was covered in virgin rainforest.

The 884m Gunung Rembau was on our right. It was sad to see the forest alongside the road being cut, presumably for road widening. As we sped down the hill from the summit, there was a police roadblock at the bottom. I think the police were surprised to see two Mat Sallehs on this country road and just waved us through.

As we reached Johol and headed for Tampin, I made a note of time and distance, so I could estimate roughly where Batu Maloi was. After some time, I thought we had overshot.

So I stopped and asked some workmen, and we went back to Renggoh and turned off by the school. Six kilometres down this road, we finally saw a sign to Gua Batu Maloi.


A cluster of fragrant blossoms belonging to the Saraca, a common riverine tree.

Granite, not limestone

There were cows ambling down this lane and they made no effort to get out of the way, not expecting visitors mid-week. The lane ended near a surau, at a pleasant campsite situated by the river.

A signboard announced that there was indeed a cave, and as I suspected, it was of granite. The board also highlighted the dangers of caving.

We followed the path into the campsite and then got a bit confused as to the way on. We chose a trail which followed the river. We came to a junction after a short while, and I saw a few large boulders by the water.

This looked like the start of the so-called cave and an arrow marked the way in. But neither of us wanted to get our feet wet this early on, so we elected to take the forest path, to see where it went.

It meandered gently uphill, and after a while we noticed a very pleasant smell, which reminded us of honeysuckle. Looking round for the source, I noticed some orange flowers high in the tree canopy.

Then we spied a few flowers closer to us, almost at ground level. This orange blossom belongs to the Saraca, which is a common riverine tree. Although the individual flowers are nothing special to look at, together they provide a bright orange canopy, and their scent is very nice.

Impressive monolith

I was keeping an eye out for leeches, as this was ideal territory for them. Luckily they didn’t seem very abundant. This suggested there weren’t many mammals around in this area, and indeed we saw none, not even monkeys.

We came to a dilapidated wooden shelter later. I wondered who had had to carry all the materials up here to build the shelter, which had fallen apart through neglect.

Nearby was a huge granite boulder. This isolated monolith was about 8m high and 15m long. It was a very impressive sight.


The writer's friend Mick gets dirty scrabbling up and down some muddy slopes.

Mysterious creature?

After a while the trail began to descend. We soon reached the river, and I could see we were above the start of the cave. We decided to continue upstream for a short while, just to explore. We stepped into the clear water and paddled upriver. In this way we got rid of the few leeches that had attached themselves to our feet. Birds were singing on either side of us, and the sun shone brightly though the thick foliage of the tall trees.

We came across another cluster of Saraca trees with the same sweet scent. There were fallen logs covered with bracket fungi. At one point we saw an animal’s footprint in the mud, and were very puzzled as we only saw one print. What mysterious creature had left it?

Frogs plopping

The shady spot under the Saraca trees would have been an ideal place for a picnic, but we had nothing with us. So it was time to turn round, and go and investigate the cave at the huge boulders situated in the riverbed. Arrows painted on the rocks marked the way through, although in fact there was only one route here.

This section of cave was a mere 15m long, and had natural light filtering through. Mick, my friend, however decided he would go around the outside and meet me at the other end.

I soon popped out of the first section of cave and plodded downstream to the next set of boulders. Here the cave was a bit narrower and I was glad to have my torch.

A rope showed the way through, and I found the first section had quite deep water. The rush of water between the boulders and the plop of frogs as they jumped into the water when I disturbed them was quite atmospheric.

In the next part, I decided the water was possibly too deep to keep my daypack dry, so I hauled myself up and over some huge boulders and carefully inched my way across the top and down the other side.

Somehow I managed to slip the last few feet and landed in deep water. Luckily I managed to keep my camera dry.

It was fun negotiating this natural obstacle course. It was as if some giant long ago had been playing marbles with these huge stones, and had lost interest and left them scattered in the river bed.

I went through the final section of cave, and found Mick waiting for me on the other side. He had managed to get rather dirty, scrabbling up and down some muddy slopes. We had both had fun.

As suspected, Batu Maloi wasn’t a cave in the true sense of the word, but it was an interesting place and worthy of a visit.


Originally published in The Star on Saturday March 27, 2004

Spelunker and the Cave Quandary, Batu Maloi on WildAsia

The Spelunker and the Cave Quandary

Batu Maloi Cave, located in a forest reserve in Negeri Sembilan, is not like other mostly limestone caves in Malaysia, LIZ PRICE checks out this cave dilemma.

[published on WildAsia 21 Oct 2004]

When is a cave not a cave? That of course depends on whom you ask. Generally a caver will say a cave is a natural opening in rock big enough for a human to enter. Most caves are in limestone formations. So I was sceptical when I kept coming across tourist leaflets which described a cave in Negri Sembilan as being 1km long.

I knew there were no limestone outcrops south of Kuala Lumpur, and I couldn't imagine that there could be such a long cave that Malaysian cavers hadn't heard of. There was only one thing to do to satisfy my curiosity - go and investigate.

I found a willing victim - sorry, volunteer - to accompany me. My friend Mick is not a caver but I told him he could enjoy the day out in a forest reserve and wait in the sunshine while I explored any cave I might find.

Pinpointing the location

So one bright morning we set off for the wilds of Negri Sembilan.

According to the tourist leaflets, the Batu Maloi Cave was in the Kampung Tanggai Forest Reserve in the Johol sub-district, 35km from Kuala Pilah. But they neglected to say in which direction from Kuala Pilah, and didn't mark the reserve on the map!

Another write-up said the cave was 10 minutes from Johol and 30 minutes from Tampin. Well, at least from this I could roughly pinpoint the position. I assumed the 10 minutes was by vehicle rather than by Shank's pony.

We set off from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban, and then turned onto the Rembau road. From Rembau we went left onto the Johol road, and climbed up and over a big hill, which was covered in virgin rainforest.

The 884m Gunung Rembau was on our right. It was sad to see the forest alongside the road being cut, presumably for road widening. As we sped down the hill from the summit, there was a police roadblock at the bottom. I think the police were surprised to see two Mat Sallehs on this country road and just waved us through.

As we reached Johol and headed for Tampin, I made a note of time and distance, so I could estimate roughly where Batu Maloi was. After some time, I thought we had overshot. So I stopped and asked some workmen, and we went back to Renggoh and turned off by the school. Six kilometres down this road, we finally saw a sign to Gua Batu Maloi.

Granite, not limestone

There were cows ambling down this lane and they made no effort to get out of the way, not expecting visitors in mid-week. The lane ended near a surau, at a pleasant campsite situated by the river.

A signboard announced that there was indeed a cave, and as I suspected, it was of granite. The board also highlighted the dangers of caving.

We followed the path into the campsite and then got a bit confused as to the way on. We chose a trail which followed the river. We came to a junction after a short while, and I saw a few large boulders by the water.

This looked like the start of the so-called cave and an arrow marked the way in. But neither of us wanted to get our feet wet this early on, so we elected to take the forest path, to see where it went.

It meandered gently uphill, and after a while we noticed a very pleasant smell, which reminded us of honeysuckle. Looking round for the source, I noticed some orange flowers high in the tree canopy.

Then we spied a few flowers closer to us, almost at ground level. This orange blossom belongs to the Saraca, which is a common riverine tree. Although the individual flowers are nothing special to look at, together they provide a bright orange canopy, and their scent is very nice.

Impressive monolith

I was keeping an eye out for leeches, as this was ideal territory for them. Luckily they didn't seem very abundant. This suggested there weren't many mammals around in this area, and indeed we saw none, not even monkeys.

We came to a dilapidated wooden shelter later. I wondered who had had to carry all the materials up here to build the shelter, which had fallen apart through neglect.

Nearby was a huge granite boulder. This isolated monolith was about 8m high and 15m long. It was a very impressive sight.

Mysterious creature?

After a while the trail began to descend. We soon reached the river, and I could see we were above the start of the cave. We decided to continue upstream for a short while, just to explore. We stepped into the clear water and paddled upriver. In this way we got rid of the few leeches that had attached themselves to our feet. Birds were singing on either side of us, and the sun shone brightly though the thick foliage of the tall trees.

We came across another cluster of Saraca trees with the same sweet scent. There were fallen logs covered with bracket fungi. At one point we saw an animal's footprint in the mud, and were very puzzled as we only saw one print. What mysterious creature had left it?

Frogs plopping

The shady spot under the Saraca trees would have been an ideal place for a picnic, but we had nothing with us. So it was time to turn round, and go and investigate the cave at the huge boulders situated in the riverbed. Arrows painted on the rocks marked the way through, although in fact there was only one route here.

This section of cave was a mere 15m long, and had natural light filtering through. Mick, my friend, however decided he would go around the outside and meet me at the other end.

I soon popped out of the first section of cave and plodded downstream to the next set of boulders. Here the cave was a bit narrower and I was glad to have my torch.

A rope showed the way through, and I found the first section had quite deep water. The rush of water between the boulders and the plop of frogs as they jumped into the water when I disturbed them was quite atmospheric.

In the next part, I decided the water was possibly too deep to keep my daypack dry, so I hauled myself up and over some huge boulders and carefully inched my way across the top and down the other side.

Somehow I managed to slip the last few feet and landed in deep water. Luckily I managed to keep my camera dry.

It was fun negotiating this natural obstacle course. It was as if some giant long ago had been playing marbles with these huge stones, and had lost interest and left them scattered in the river bed.

I went through the final section of cave, and found Mick waiting for me on the other side. He had managed to get rather dirty, scrabbling up and down some muddy slopes. We both had fun.

As suspected, Batu Maloi wasn't a cave in the true sense of the word, but it was an interesting place and worthy of a visit.

Batu Maloi - Star 2004

The cave that wasn’t
By Liz Price

Originally published in The Star on Saturday March 27, 2004

When is a cave not a cave? That of course depends on whom you ask. Generally a caver will say a cave is a natural opening in rock big enough for a human to enter. Most caves are in limestone formations. So I was sceptical when I kept coming across tourist leaflets which described a cave in Negri Sembilan as being 1km long.

I knew there were no limestone outcrops south of Kuala Lumpur, and I couldn’t imagine that there could be such a long cave that Malaysian cavers hadn’t heard of.

There was only one thing to do to satisfy my curiosity – go and investigate.

I found a willing victim – sorry, volunteer – to accompany me. My friend Mick is not a caver but I told him he could enjoy the day out in a forest reserve and wait in the sunshine while I explored any cave I might find.


The writer wading through the rush of water between boulders.


Pinpointing the location

So one bright morning we set off for the wilds of Negri Sembilan.

According to the tourist leaflets, the Batu Maloi Cave was in the Kampung Tanggai Forest Reserve in the Johol sub-district, 35km from Kuala Pilah. But they neglected to say in which direction from Kuala Pilah, and didn’t mark the reserve on the map!

Another write-up said the cave was 10 minutes from Johol and 30 minutes from Tampin. Well, at least from this I could roughly pinpoint the position.

I assumed the 10 minutes was by vehicle rather than by Shank’s pony.

We set off from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban, and then turned onto the Rembau road. From Rembau we went left onto the Johol road, and climbed up and over a big hill, which was covered in virgin rainforest.

The 884m Gunung Rembau was on our right. It was sad to see the forest alongside the road being cut, presumably for road widening. As we sped down the hill from the summit, there was a police roadblock at the bottom. I think the police were surprised to see two Mat Sallehs on this country road and just waved us through.

As we reached Johol and headed for Tampin, I made a note of time and distance, so I could estimate roughly where Batu Maloi was. After some time, I thought we had overshot.

So I stopped and asked some workmen, and we went back to Renggoh and turned off by the school. Six kilometres down this road, we finally saw a sign to Gua Batu Maloi.


A cluster of fragrant blossoms belonging to the Saraca, a common riverine tree.


Granite, not limestone

There were cows ambling down this lane and they made no effort to get out of the way, not expecting visitors mid-week. The lane ended near a surau, at a pleasant campsite situated by the river.

A signboard announced that there was indeed a cave, and as I suspected, it was of granite. The board also highlighted the dangers of caving.

We followed the path into the campsite and then got a bit confused as to the way on. We chose a trail which followed the river. We came to a junction after a short while, and I saw a few large boulders by the water.

This looked like the start of the so-called cave and an arrow marked the way in. But neither of us wanted to get our feet wet this early on, so we elected to take the forest path, to see where it went.

It meandered gently uphill, and after a while we noticed a very pleasant smell, which reminded us of honeysuckle. Looking round for the source, I noticed some orange flowers high in the tree canopy.

Then we spied a few flowers closer to us, almost at ground level. This orange blossom belongs to the Saraca, which is a common riverine tree. Although the individual flowers are nothing special to look at, together they provide a bright orange canopy, and their scent is very nice.

Impressive monolith

I was keeping an eye out for leeches, as this was ideal territory for them. Luckily they didn’t seem very abundant. This suggested there weren’t many mammals around in this area, and indeed we saw none, not even monkeys.

We came to a dilapidated wooden shelter later. I wondered who had had to carry all the materials up here to build the shelter, which had fallen apart through neglect.

Nearby was a huge granite boulder. This isolated monolith was about 8m high and 15m long. It was a very impressive sight.



The writer's friend Mick gets dirty scrabbling up and down some muddy slopes.

Mysterious creature?

After a while the trail began to descend. We soon reached the river, and I could see we were above the start of the cave. We decided to continue upstream for a short while, just to explore. We stepped into the clear water and paddled upriver. In this way we got rid of the few leeches that had attached themselves to our feet. Birds were singing on either side of us, and the sun shone brightly though the thick foliage of the tall trees.

We came across another cluster of Saraca trees with the same sweet scent. There were fallen logs covered with bracket fungi. At one point we saw an animal’s footprint in the mud, and were very puzzled as we only saw one print. What mysterious creature had left it?

Frogs plopping

The shady spot under the Saraca trees would have been an ideal place for a picnic, but we had nothing with us. So it was time to turn round, and go and investigate the cave at the huge boulders situated in the riverbed. Arrows painted on the rocks marked the way through, although in fact there was only one route here.

This section of cave was a mere 15m long, and had natural light filtering through. Mick, my friend, however decided he would go around the outside and meet me at the other end.

I soon popped out of the first section of cave and plodded downstream to the next set of boulders. Here the cave was a bit narrower and I was glad to have my torch.

A rope showed the way through, and I found the first section had quite deep water. The rush of water between the boulders and the plop of frogs as they jumped into the water when I disturbed them was quite atmospheric.

In the next part, I decided the water was possibly too deep to keep my daypack dry, so I hauled myself up and over some huge boulders and carefully inched my way across the top and down the other side.

Somehow I managed to slip the last few feet and landed in deep water. Luckily I managed to keep my camera dry.

It was fun negotiating this natural obstacle course. It was as if some giant long ago had been playing marbles with these huge stones, and had lost interest and left them scattered in the river bed.

I went through the final section of cave, and found Mick waiting for me on the other side. He had managed to get rather dirty, scrabbling up and down some muddy slopes. We had both had fun.

As suspected, Batu Maloi wasn’t a cave in the true sense of the word, but it was an interesting place and worthy of a visit.

Gold mine in Negeri Sembilan - Brunei Times

This article was published in The Brunei Times.
© Liz Price  .  No reproduction without permission

For more photos see gold mine .

Looking for gold and finding bat poo

Seeking adventure: The writer at the entrance to the cave.Picture: The Brunei Times

Liz Price
TAMPIN, WEST MALAYSIA

Sunday, June 8, 2008

WHEN I heard there was an old abandoned gold mine in Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia, I wanted to take a look as I have an interest in caves and mines. I knew there would be no gold lying around for the taking, but I was curious to see the site.

According to a newspaper report, the locals want to turn this mine into a tourist attraction and they claimed the tunnels extend 80 kilometres. I knew this was not possible but could find very little information about the place except that it was worked many years ago. I didn't even know if the tunnels are still accessible. We drove to Tampin which is south of Kuala Lumpur and then headed to Air Kuning as I knew the mine should be in that area. Of course there was no sign of it so we asked some locals and luckily found someone who knew the mine. When I mentioned I was a writer for a newspaper, he seemed pleased and immediately called a friend and asked him to lead us to the mine. Halim and his two sons took us to a rubber plantation, and having parked the cars, we set off on foot, soon being attacked by mosquitoes. After just a few minutes walk we arrived at the entrance to one of the tunnels. We all went into the entrance chamber and could immediately hear the sound of hundreds of bats. It was also apparent we would need shoes and torches, so we went back to the car to get prepared, saying goodbye to Halim who didn't want to join us, even though he had never been in the mine before.

Back inside we realised we had a choice of two passages. Both were wet with dubious looking muddy water so we chose one and plunged in. Luckily the water was initially only ankle depth. The Bomba or fire department had been here recently for a tour, and had left plastic tape marking a route through the tunnels, and closing off some passages. So we followed their path. As we ploughed through the water we stirred up a foul smell which reminded me of human sewage and was unlike anything I'd ever smelt before in a mine. I hoped it was just natural impurities in the water.

The tunnels are now home to hundreds of bats and they were flying all around us, disturbed by our presence. As the tunnels are not much larger then ourselves, a few of the bats collided with us in their attempts to pass us. Since there was a network of passages the bats were soon able to get out of our way. The bats are harmless and there was no need for us to be frightened of them.

The rock seemed quite soft and there was little sign of how the miners dug out the passages. Halim had told us the mine closed down by the Second World War and had been worked by the British. The tunnels were of uniform size. In a few places there were shafts leading down to lower levels, and some going up to daylight. After walking around for a short time we came back to the entrance chamber, having done a circular trip. So we decided to go back in and this time check out some of the passages taped off by the Bomba. This was actually far more pleasant as the water was cleaner and less muddy and that awful smell disappeared. I reckon it was due to having dozens of feet passing through recently which had stirred up the mud and sediments, including the bat poo in the water!

As we walked through I wondered what life was like for the miners who worked here. As none of the passages seemed far from an entrance or an open shaft, the air was fresh. I'd heard that the miners transported the ore out by rail, but now there is no sign of any rail tracks. When we emerged out from the mine our shoes were plastered in mud so we went down to the nearby stream to wash. Then we climbed the hill above the mine and found lots of shafts had been dug. Some were just trial holes, whereas others led down into the mine below, and we could see bats flying underneath our feet.

It had been an interesting visit, to see the old workings of this historical site. It is good to know that bats have taken up residence, as bats are important to humans, as they control the insect population and help to pollinate fruits and other crops. Despite the mud, it had been a fun day.

The Brunei Times

---

Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/travel/2008/06/08/looking_for_gold_and_finding_bat_poo

Gold mine near Gemas

LOOKING FOR GOLD AND FINDING BAT POO !!

I heard about the existence of an old gold mine in Negeri Sembilan but could find very little information about it, although it has been mentioned in the New Straits Times 2007 as it seems the local villagers want to turn it into a tourist attraction.

I was unable to find any accurate history about the mine. The NST says it was worked in the 19th and 20th century and has a series of tunnels which stretch 80km. This of course I didn't believe. Talking to the man who led us to the tunnels, he said the workings closed before the Japanese arrived in the Second World War.

Anyway I wanted to take a look so made a suggestion to Jan that we do a day trip there and he readily agreed.

The day started too early for me when a rooster started crowing at about 6.30am so I was up to see the sunrise. Even though I live in a suburb near to KL it's rural enough to have chickens and roosters!

We drove to Tampin where we stopped for brunch and also visited the Gurdwara Sahib Sikh temple.

 I knew the mine was somewhere near Kampung Air Kuning Selatan, which is in the direction of Gemas, so we headed there. We got sidetracked when we stopped to take photos of a Chinese cemetery and the Kuil Sri Maha Mariamman Indian temple.

 what fruit is this?

In the village we found someone who knew about the mine and he arranged for a friend to lead us there, so we had some chicken rice whilst waiting.

The NST report suggested that the mine tunnels may no longer be accessible due to cave-ins, so I was very happy when we reached the entrance and found we could go in. First sight of th entrance with rubbish left by the Bomba -

From the entrance chamber we had a choice of 2 routes, both of which were wet with some dubious looking water. Jan took the plunge and stepped in and I quickly followed. I hate that first moment of having to get my shoes wet. The water was initially ankle deep but I didn't like the smell we stirred up, which reminded me of human sewage. I couldn't believe it was sewage, but it definitely wasn't pleasant.

Jan goes in led by the bats

 

The Malaysian Bomba (Fire Dept) had been here recently and had taped off a route through the tunnels. Unfortunately they had also left boxes of rubbish outside the cave and up on the hill. It was mostly water bottles and polystyrene containers. If they had bothered to collect their rubbish in boxes, why on earth couldn't they also remove the boxes, rather than leave them for the animals to scatter.

The passages were full of bats, which were flying all around us, and several of them gently collided with us. However as most of the passages led on, most of the bats were able to fly ahead of us. Incidentally the bats are harmless and there is no need to worry about them or to disturb them.

cockroaches

The water was slightly deeper in places. We went past some shafts both down and up.

shafts down

The tunnels were a uniform size and there was little sign of how they had been dug out by hand, but the rock seemed quite soft.

 low flying bats

The tunnel came back to the entrance chamber, so we decided to go in for another round, this time exploring some passages taped off by the Bomba. Here the water had no smell so I guess the bad smell in the other passages was due to the mud being churned up by previous visitors.

 cleaner water

 coming up a climb

yet more bats

Having explored the tunnels, we washed out feet in the stream outside, then we climbed up the hill where we saw many shafts which had been dug. Some were just trial shafts, but others connected to the mine below.

It was an interesting visit, and now I am curious to know the history of the place and to know if there are similiar tunnels in the area.

You can see Jan's photos

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission