We left the relative calm of the Rajang and Lassa River deltas and did an overnight passage to Miri with the swell on the South China Sea giving us another exciting entry into the marina. With no time to waste we flew on a Twin Otter to Bario in the Kelabit Highlands 
close to the border with Kalimantan and the headwaters of the Baram River, staying in longhouses, bathing in the Baram River, walking in the jungle, playing host to leeches, and being made extremely welcome by the local people. Our 'guide', Reddish, was fantastic, taking us to places we would probably not have seen without him.
close to the border with Kalimantan and the headwaters of the Baram River, staying in longhouses, bathing in the Baram River, walking in the jungle, playing host to leeches, and being made extremely welcome by the local people. Our 'guide', Reddish, was fantastic, taking us to places we would probably not have seen without him.The longhouse at Pa Dalih
The walk in the jungle was theoretically done to see some birds - well, we heard several and saw three hornbills fly over the treetops. On the return walk, a 'shortcut', we clambered and climbed for about two hours behind Joseph who with his large parang slashed a new trail, now the Pamela Trail, up a steep ridge to the top, now Chris Peak, down the
steep ridge, through some heavy undergrowth, across a creek over a fallen tree, now Jon Bridge, and finally (much to my surprise) back to our starting point. Lunch was enjoyed by the cool waters of the creek - leftover fried rice from breakfast eaten off a Kelabit plate. A large leaf is wrapped around the rice which when unfolded forms a plate. Great idea - no washing up and it is biodegradable!!
steep ridge, through some heavy undergrowth, across a creek over a fallen tree, now Jon Bridge, and finally (much to my surprise) back to our starting point. Lunch was enjoyed by the cool waters of the creek - leftover fried rice from breakfast eaten off a Kelabit plate. A large leaf is wrapped around the rice which when unfolded forms a plate. Great idea - no washing up and it is biodegradable!!Trailblazer Joseph ahead of us in the jungle
Back at the ranch (Tweed), we made arrangements to visit the Niah Caves the next day (our time in Miri was running out). Six of us set off by mini van to travel the 100+ km to walk a comfortable 4.5 km over a new boardwalk into the Great Cave, through the totally dark Moon Cave and on to the Painted Cave. The Great Cave is home to thousands of swiflets and bats - the swiftlets produce birds nests which are collected from high up on the cave ceiling by local collectors using bamboo poles and hardwood ladders in what is considered a very dangerous occupation. The bats on the other hand produce guano which is collected in bags and sold as fertiliser.
We arrived at the Painted Cave about lunch time. We saw the strip of red hematite paintings depicting human figures, animals and death ships, and then the burial site with a human skeleton and several death ships or boat-shaped coffins. The site was discovered about 1957 and one skull has been estimated to be 40,000 years old. We sat and ate our picnic lunch in the quiet of the cave before once more returning along the boardwalk and home.
