Caving in SE Asia

4 December 2012

Merapoh 2012 Nov, Pt 4, Bukit Katak

My second caving trip to Merapoh this November 2012.On the first afternoon, 30 Nov, we looked at Bukit Katak. This is the 'Y' shaped hill.

The first cave was Gua Salji Runtuh. It was named from the white calcite formations -

Next cave was Gua Dua H. Very few of the Merapoh caves have graffiti, but this one did -

The third cave was quite small, Gua Kaki Basah. After that was Gua Dinosaur -

Small passages and a crawl led to a passage with yellow pebbles (Habli took the next 2 photos)

We walked on round and came to Gua Bilah. This was the best find of the day.

To finish off the day we went to Gua Katak, which we had explored and was surveyed in September. However on this visit we found an extensive upper level which had been missed on the survey trip. There were some large passages and lots of nice formations, but we also had to squeeze through a hole to get to a nice grotto.

A plant struggling to survive in total darkness

And a terrapin in the lower level

See 2nd day, Part 5.
© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission

6 November 2012

Merapoh 2012 Nov, Pt 3, Gua Panjang etc

Day 3, we found an excellent cave in the morning, Gua Tahi Bintang at Gua/Bukit Panjang.

The day started well as we stopped to ask a couple collecting rubber and they pointed at the hill directly where we were standing. And when I saw the registration plate of the man's bike, I knew
it was a good omen.

The cave is very interesting geologically. Layered rocks at the entrance -

The first large chamber had a slope of 'diamonds'. The predominant colour was red.

There were some nice stals. The walls were an amazing mix of coloured layers.

We went down to the next chamber, the floor was slippery mud and we were all slipping and sliding. Habli took these 2 photos -

This passage ended in a muddy lake.
The meteor shower -

Fungus

Is this a snake track? -

This ceiling is so red

Sticky silk threads of fungus gnat larvae -

Cave fauna - bats, whip spider, cricket

At the side of one passage was a porcupine toilet. They are neat, using the same place as their toilet -

As we were looking at it, one porcupine ran past. It is Brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus macrourus).

Further along we realised its mate was hiding -

Outside is a short separate part of the cave.

There were long insect (wasp?) nests attached to stalactites and straws, the brown colour -

Porcupine foot prints -

After lunch we climbed a steep hill but found no cave, only a large 'amphitheatre'.

The others climbed another hill but found nothing.

We then went to a small hill just south of Jinjang Pelamin. There were several passages short cutting through the corners of the hill and one that went through, Gua Lorong Pusing. This was only the second cave we'd seen with graffiti.