Mt Kinabalu and Poring Springs- Malaysia-April 2009

Tom and the Peak of Mt Kinabalu

While we at Kota Kinabalu we joined a local tour group for a big day out to Mt Kinabalu and Poring Hot Springs.

On our visit to Mt Kinabalu we were lucky enough to see the top of the mountain as the clouds cleared just as we were at a photo stop. Mt Kinabalu is the highest peak between the Himalayas and those in Papua New Guinea .The walk to the top takes 2 days with an overnight stop.

As it's 4101 metres high we chose not to do the climb at this time! It is supposed to be one of the easiest climbs in the world so maybe next time!

We also had a tour around the National Park area and our guide showed us many of the unusual plants including a Petroleum Seed which actually burns for a while after lighting it!

Playing Around with a Petroleum Seed.

We visited Poring Hot Springs which were established by the Japanese during WW II and are a bit jaded now. However, there were a few tourists brave enough to "take the waters." They certainly didn't look clean enough for us and besides it was pouring (excuse the pun) hence the umbrella!

Fran at Poring Springs

Brave Fran and Tom on the Canopy Walk.

The highlight of this area was the Jungle Canopy Walkway where a series or rope walkways are suspended in the trees 50 metres above the rainforest floor. They are very springy as you walk along and are certainly not for the fainthearted.

Tom and I were very BRAVE! Actually I thought it was a real buzz. The hard part about it was the hundreds of extremely slippery steps up to the start point!

It was a very long day out but certainly well worth it. There are lots of walking trails in the Park and also accomodation which would make for an enjoyable holiday.