We all walked into the forest. The large trees very soon started to become dense, the understory was thick and the guides were very helpful with reminders of the layout of the forest.
"Be careful with the footpath, there is a good path which we are following which is relatively clear, but remember that the forest floor is full of small insects. The ants are large and will bite, so will the spiders and other insects." Our guide, Marizan, kept us informed as we all walked along. "Remember that each rainforest tree here in Sabah is host to approximately 1000 bugs" she went on to explain the differences between the stork-eyed fly and the lantern fly and continued her explanations with the details of the whip scorpion informing us that we could find out lots of information if we went onto the web site www.mysabah.com when we got back to the hotel.
We all looked on in awe, it truely was spectacular, although most of us were more afraid of coming face to face with a large spider or other type of insect that we were more familiar with.
Gerald, from one of the other groups piped up, "When are we going to see the rafflesia?"
We had all been told that this very rare plant had been seen by one of the guides on their last outing and we were all looking forward to seeing this very rare and beautiful plant. It was supposed to be one of the most beautiful and exotic plants in Sabah. Apparently it started as a white bulb then opened out with beautiful deep coloured leaves.
"Yes" answered Marizan, "We will see the plant but it is further up and you must all be very careful when we get there, the plant must not be disturbed because it is extremely rare."
We all continued on, looking at the marvelous sights, the large butterflies, and mosquitoes that managed to bite us even though we were covered head to toe in mosi repellent!
It was magnificent, we all marvelled at the wonderful plants and general exotic feeling of being out in the middle of this wonderful paradise.
After we had been walking about two hours Marizan called out for us all to stop and take a rest. It was a lovely clearing by an enormous old tree with thick roots sprouting out above the ground. The trees were thick and tall with the branches reaching up high. We all gratefully sank to the floor and had long drinks from our water bottles.
This was truly going to be a fabulous adventure.
YOU ARE READING
The River
Short StoryThey had been told to stay together. The rainforest could be dangerous. But a surprise fall, badly sprained ankle and an empty water bottle left Hazel with no alternative than to walk alone towards the river and help. or did it!
