Jungle trekking in Pulau Redang

The weather is perfect. The sun is shining brightly despite the predicted rainstorm The blue ocean is inviting. The sunlight is reflected on the surface as the sea wrinkles and crawls to the beach. That was my first impression when I arrived at Redang island last wednesday.

I’m sure everyone is familiar with Redang. It is an island in Terengganu famous for its beautiful beaches and rich marine life. Not many people know that actually Pulau Redang is also rich in both flora and fauna. Among the species that can be found are macaque monkeys, mousedeer, monitor lizard, snake, geckos, over 50 species of birds, 84 species of butterflies etc. If you are tired of snorkeling, you might consider spending 2 hours for jungle trekking.

The jungle trekking trail starts from the backyard of Coral Redang Resort and it leads to Berjaya resort. All you need to do is follow the orange TNB (Tenaga National Berhad) pipeline. Also, look out for ropes or tree trunks that are painted in red.

On the second day of my trip, we headed out after lunch. We were lucky because the trail is quite dry. We found a snake skeleton after a mere 5 min walk. As we proceed cautiously, I saw a Sang Kancil (mousedeer) running away from me after hearing my loud footsteps. The track gets more exciting as we crossed several rivers and climb up the hills. It took us awhile to figure out where is the trail when it’s impossible to walk next the orange pipe.

What amazes me the most is to find a few Monkey cups plants (Nepenthes sp. or pitcher plant). It got its name because monkeys are often spotted drinking water from the plant. These plants growing out from the vines can run several meters. To the Chinese, Monkey cups are signs of prosperity. The local Chinese saying is 朱笼进水十八十八 .When it’s pronounced in Cantonese, it means that if you collect 18 monkey cups, you’ll be rich when the water enters them (This is my translation version). Usually the first thing I'll do is to peek into the cup for any trapped insect and then pour the water out. Old habit hard to die. Monkey cups are rare these days SO PLEASE DO NOT DAMAGE the plant or remove the cup from the leaf!!!

When walking through the forest, always be alert of any surrounding sound. Try to look up the trees when you heard birds chirping. This is how I spotted two exotic bird species with long tails. Due to my "over-sensitiveness", I was surprised several times at the loud noises made by some tiny lizards.

After trekking for 50 mins, we stopped at the sight of monkeys fighting on the trees. We were so close to our destination because we can hear the sounds of waves crashing onto the shore! Yet, we have no choice but to head back to the resort for our 2.30 pm snorkeling trip.

I would say that this trail is a bit challenging because there’s a place that is very steep. You need to hold on to the ropes which had been tied to the trees to get down the hill. I have done even steeper trekking in Hulu Langat last year at NIGHT! If I were to rank this trail, I would give it a 7 in terms of challenge and 9 out of 10 in terms of biodiversity. One of the best adventures I had because there’s so much to see.

Note:
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit the turtle sanctuary in Redang because according to the resort staff, that place can only be reached by boat. The turtle volunteer program is offered every year. For more information, visit www.umt.edu.my/turtle.