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D.  Hiking the Headhunters Trail to Iban Longhouse

The Headhunters’ Trail is an excellent route to leave the Gunung Mulu National Park. The jungle hiking together with a longboat ride down the Terikan River will take us to an Iban longhouse at Kuala Medalam for an overnight stay. From here a longboat ride will take us to Kuala Medamit and then an overland transfer by van to Limbang Airport for departure to Miri and home.

The Trail was used a century ago by local tribesmen moving from one river valley to another on headhunting raids. The Kayan headhunting parties would paddled up the Melinau River to the Melinau Gorge. They would then drag their canoes through 3km of forest until they reached the banks of the Terikan River, where they launched headhunting raids against the people of the Limbang area. Taking a head was a sign of manhood. It was then a popular practice for a young man to take a head so that a maiden would consider marrying him.  

After our dinner at the camp, the chief guide gave us a briefing on our next day’s itinerary. He specifically warned us that there would be leeches along the 11.3km trail and most trekkers would be attacked by at least two along the trail. He also mentioned the time taken by the longboat to reach the Iban Longhouse would depend on the water level in the river. We were told to wake up early the next morning and have breakfast at 5.30am as we would commence the hike by 6.00am.

We had no problem with leeches as we had leech socks to protect our legs from leech attack. Also I had no problem in getting up at 5.00 in the morning if I could retire early. But I thought my only problem was whether my leg muscles and joints would recover sufficiently to enable me to carry my near 10kg backpack and hike for more than 11km through the primary forest. So I casually asked the chief guide whether he could find a porter to carry my backpack. He later informed me that our guide, Martin, would carry my backpack for a sum of 150 Ringgit! Though expensive, I agreed to the charge as it would relieve me of my burden and allow me to enjoy the hike through the Headhunters’ Trail.

I retired early and was pleased that the room was half empty and the two men who snored loudly the night before had left. I moved my sleeping bag to a less congested area and was sound asleep probably before 10.00pm.

We were all awake by 5.00 the next morning and after a quick morning routine I started to pack before breakfast. At 5.30am, the breakfast was not ready and we were told that because the boat would only be at Kuala Terikan at about noon and therefore we could start our journey from the camp at 7.00am.

The Trail

Starting point at Camp 5

From Camp 5 the trail to Kuala Terikan is 11.3km long and a 4-5 hours walk through primary rainforest in an isolated area in Sarawak.

We left Camp 5 at 7.00am with the two French ladies leading the group and I was trailing behind with the guide, Martin. Because I was traveling light, I had a better opportunity to look around me and take some snaps of the environment.

The primary forest was almost pristine that could have existed in its original condition because it was relatively unaffected by human activities. The trees were huge and tall with a full ceiling of canopy. The ground was generally clear of heavy vegetation because the full canopy allowed very little sunlight to penetrate. To survive, the ground vegetation would cling to every surface and trees which were all draped with ferns and creepers.

The Trail was dry because there was no rain for a couple of weeks. It was also well constructed particularly in low and marshy areas which were either laid with stones and pebbles or covered with timber walkways. And that could be the main reason why no leeches attacked us. It was indeed a pleasant hike all the way.

Crossing the “Rope” bridge

Slightly more than half way along the trail we crossed a “rope” bridge, the first I had ever come across. At the end of this bridge there was a small timber rest house with a signboard written with the words “Lubang Cina”. I later learnt that there was a small nearby cave by the edge of the river where a group of Chinese slept in one night after harvesting swallow nests but subsequently perished as the water in the river rose overnight.

We reached Kuala Terikan, the end of the Headhunter Trail at about 11.00am. As expected no leeches were found in any one of us. From there we were transferred to a longboat which took us less than half an hour of ride to the Ranger Station at Kuala Mentawai, the other end of the Mulu National Park. We took our lunch at the pavilion near the Terikan River.

T

he Longboat to Iban Longhouse

From Kuala Mentawai to the longhouse at Kuala Memalam, we had to take a longboat ride down Terikan and Limbang rivers. The ride was thoroughly enjoyable to me. In some sections of the Terikan River, the water was so shallow that the longboat would get stuck in rapids and narrow channels with the full load (our three backpacks, three passengers, a boat man and his assistant). At the first stoppage in the narrow channel all, except me, got out of the boat to navigate it downstream through the shallow waterway. As the boat was sufficiently lightened even with me still on board, it would be able to float downstream withour the need to push it. I took the advantage of the situation to remain in the boat all the times when it got stuck in shallow water all along our journey down the Terikan River. However, I did not just remain in the boat and did nothing. There were leaks in the longboat and very often I had to use a scope to bail out the water. Once the boat suddenly sprang a big leak near me, and I gave notice to the boatman who stopped the boat and using a small wooden wedge he hammered it with a piece of rock to push the loose filling tightly into the leaking joint. He left the wedge with me and I had to use it off and on to do the necessary.

Finally we arrived at the Iban Longhouse in Kuala Memalam. It was an original timber building of more than a decade old and was built to accommodate 15 families. Some sections were dilapidated and unoccupied and a few renovated to become guest-houses. We stayed in one unit belonging to the Penghulu of the area Mr. Sigah. A group of over a dozen students from the UK were putting up in the adjacent unit which was also owned by Mr. Sigah who was also a boat man.

The Sigah family was quite exceptional amongst the Ibans. The wife was a good cook and she maintained the guest-houses clean and tidy. They had four children; three were graduates from the local universities. One son was a Paralympic swimmer who would be taking part in the 5th Asian Para Games (KL’09).

The long inner corridor	Sit on the floor in the corridor for dinner

The main section of this longhouse was built in stilts and made up of a long outside and an inside corridors. Each unit had its own and separate living room, and the kitchen. The washrooms and toilets were on the ground floor located at the back of the building. There were two bed rooms located at the attic above the inner corridor.

After dinner we had a bottle of Tapiah (rice wine) and the three of us slept in the living room on the floor with mattresses, pillows and blankets provided by Mrs. Sigah. The two French ladies were in one of the bedrooms in the attic

We left the Longhouse early the next morning in a longboat with Mr. Sigah as the boatman. The journey by the Limbang River to Nanga Medamat was pleasant without the need to get off the boat to navigate the boat in shallow water.  From there we were picked up and traveled in a van to Limbang.

                                         Sunrise photo taken along Limbang River

 We arrived at Limbang before 10.00am and our flight to Miri was in the late afternoon whereas the two French ladies would depart for Miri at 11.20am. We took our chances to go to Limbang Airport together with the ladies to see if we could depart in the morning as there was nothing to do in Limbang. We got our flight changed but had to pay over 70 Ringgit each.

By noon we reached Miri Airport. Our flight to KLIA was booked for the next day though there was a connecting flight to KL in the afternoon. We could change our flight but had to purchase new air tickets which were expensive. So we decided to have an overnight stay in Miri.

It was a good decision because we enjoyed some of the good and sumptuous sea foods in Miri.

We were very grateful to Vincent, Kenny’s brother-in-law in Miri, for his time and effort to be with us when we were in Miri. He picked us up from the airport and sent us to the hotel in Miri when we arrived and from the hotel to the airport for our departure. He also brought us to a couple of restaurants in town to enjoy our meals. Thanks a lot, Vincent!

Hazy Miri

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