Selai Endau-Rompin (Johor National Park)

It was one of the outdoor Sunday services organized by the church. The destination was the Johor National Park of Selai Endau-Rompin. The journey there alone itself was an exposure to me. After cruising on the smooth tar roads for about one-and-a-half hours, we reached Benut. Before entering the park, we and our vehicle had to endure the rough roads along the logging sites. The road is bumpy, narrow and its surface is concave. On top of all, the most terrifying part was to cross path with countless huge fully loaded logging trucks. That was when my driving skills are tested to the maximum.

My ordeal finally came to an end when we reach the ranger post of Kemidak. This is the administration office, where we made head counts, and made final preparations before we enter the forest reserve. Sedan cars have to be left here because they are not suitable for the journey ahead – the off-roads.

After loading our things into the lorry, brought along by one of the church members, in a big group of about 50 person, we made our way into the forest by a lorry, two 4WD’s and a Kancil.
Just as expected the off-road path is a real test for even expert drivers. One would need years of experience to judge the correct line to take, pick the right gear and press on the accelerator just so. Any folly and you’d either get horribly bogged down, or forced to reverse out of the predicament and try again, and again. Riding on the opened back of a truck, we have to avoid tree branches through the bouncy ride. But it was really thrilling. When the truck is not powerful enough to conquer steep slopes or had sunk into the soft mud, the 4WD’s are used to aid the truck by pulling it, providing additional force that the truck engine lacks.
After bouncing for an hour, we reached our camp-site.
Lubuk Merekek. The rental fee for the camp-site is RM30 per person, free for children below 7 (excluding food and transport).

The view itself is simply refreshing.
Facilities provided are guard post, a dining and cooking area, and toilets.











And of course, there are rules.

First things first as we reach the camp site. For the men, setting up the tents and shelter is their responsibility. As for the women, they quickly whipped up some food for lunch at the cooking area.
After a while, a temporary community was setup. We even utilize the lorry by making it into the largest tent.

The younger ones jump into the river once they have the chance. The water current of the river is very strong, creating a natural water-massage. But if you don’t grab unto something or anchor you feet steadily, you might get drifted away. Having enough of splashing at the river, we made our way to the Lubuk Tapah base camp, which is 500 meters away, by foot. The path there is just like the path we came in by the lorry; muddy, slippery, wet and dirty after the rain. Even on our own foot, some got slipped and fell into the mud. But still, whether you fell on your own or see our companions slipped like a dumber, it was fun. One more thing to mention, the jungle paths are infested with leeches. Watch out for them, they might suck up to you without you realizing it.
Lubuk Tapah is located by the river just like Lubuk Merekek. However, as the base camp, it has to be more facilitated than the camp site. Here, arboretum, better toilets chalets, dining area and a rudimentary dry laboratory are available. But the best part is the activity area; where there’s a hanging bridge across the river and a fish feeding jetty. Rafts and boats are also available for rental. (Sorry, due to wet and muddy conditions, bringing my camera phone with me will obstruct me from having fun….so …..No photos taken here).
Night at in a jungle is pitching black if you don’t bring any source of light with you. Over night, we set up a camp fire and involve every one in the crowd in some activities we planned before hand. Our camp there ended very quickly after a Sunday morning praise and worship and sermon by the pastor. Camps and everything we brought along were packed. And we leave the camp site in high spirits.
For more information about the park, log on to http://www.johorparks.com/