In The Media

ADVENTURES ON A RIVER by Cherilyn Phin

It never occurred to me that I could ever try kayaking one day. To be honest, the thought of kayaking, or any water sport, never crossed my mind. I figured with my lack of skill – or rather, a non-existent one – in the swimming department, kayaking would be out of the question.

But that was before I met one man named Francis Ho who told me otherwise.

Francis is a kayak enthusiast. He is so passionate about the sport that he began offering kayaking trips down the rivers of Kuching in hopes to popularise it. I was introduced to him through a friend who wanted to give kayaking a try. So when the invitation came to join in this adventure, I immediately said yes.

One week down the line, on a sunny Sunday morning, I found myself in Francis’ SUV with three vibrant coloured tandem kayaks strapped onto the roof and heading out of Kuching city. During the road trip, Francis said we will be kayaking down the Sungai Sarawak Kanan, the “beginner’s route” which is less scary for novices and non-swimmers like me.

Our starting point was at Krokong, which the three-hour journey will eventually end at the Wind Cave in Bau. Once the equipment were unloaded and carried to the edge of the river, and our life jackets strapped snugly on our bodies, Francis gave some safety tips and instructions on paddling technique.

I must admit I didn’t worry much about possibilities of falling overboard the kayak. Francis gave plenty of assurances (a huge hint that he is serious about safety) and, he said, I’ll be wearing a life jacket. Besides, sharing the kayak with Francis, the expert, was a plus.

My only worry was the safety of my non-waterproof camera (There was no way for me to experience this trip without snapping some shots for memories). Francis mentioned he will lend me a dry box, a bright yellow lunchbox-looking waterproof canister, for my camera. It will be safe - as long as nothing happens when I take it out to photograph things.

Leaving the bustling city for a relaxing trip on a river was a total change of scenery: the concrete jungle is replaced by the lush greenery of the tropical jungle; hot tarmac roads replaced by the cooling tranquil waters of the river. What a brilliant way to spend the weekend! Nothing beats going back to nature.

As soon as we paddled down river, I was already at awe by the beauty of nature, its stillness and serenity. The river itself was rather shallow and winding; not challenging for hardcore kayak enthusiasts but it was good enough for me.

It took me awhile to get the paddling technique right. Well, almost. Paddling on still waters was quite a workout for me. But it was fun, nevertheless.

Francis and I took turns to paddle, though sometimes in sync. Certain times, Francis will steer and tackle strong currents and difficult obstacles especially avoiding fallen and submerged trees or paddling through water so shallow that the pebbles on the river bed grazed the bottom of the kayak.

Paddling is just half the fun. Floating on the river alone was a wonderful experience on its own. Everything was so serene and beautiful: the towering shady trees, the dragonflies flying just above the water surface, the cool breeze and the breathtaking rock formations along the river bank. Like a work of art, these massive formations were sculpted by nature for centuries, leaving odd curves and shapes that lined and overhangs the banks.

The natural vegetation of trees, creepers and such on both sides of the river were a sight to behold. Towering and shady with roots intertwined, some trees grew literally sideways on the river banks.

Midway, our group took a short break to stretch our legs on one pebbled embankment. It’s a good time to relax, have some snacks while soaking in the serene surroundings. We headed back to the waters again after the fifteen-minute breather.

Getting flipped overboard is common when kayaking. Honestly, I preferred to stay as dry as possible throughout this journey, my first kayaking experience. But as Francis puts it, you can expect the unexpected on a kayaking trip. And our kayak did tip over almost towards the end of our journey.

Both Francis and I were caught by surprise. We floated quietly at first before we were suddenly thrown off our kayak when a submerged log, Francis suspected, tipped us over.

I remembered the safety instructions earlier about not panicking if we flipped overboard. So I let my life jacket float me back up the surface. Francis helped me up as well and made sure I was fine. Good thing I was very calm about it and, most importantly, my camera - all locked tight inside the dry box - did not get wet at all.

We continued our journey once more, paddling our way through the winding river. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing except for one part where our kayak snagged onto another submerged log. It was tough overcoming that obstacle. I was already preparing myself for another unplanned dip underwater. Fortunately, Francis managed to get our kayak through without incident.

The natural beauty continues to amaze me as we float along. Francis was right: looking at photos he had taken of this place (as seen on his website at www.kuchingkayak.com) doesn’t prepare you for the real thing. There were just too many beautiful things to photograph. The opportunity was endless. Francis, who had kayak here numerous times, said that with each trip there are always something new to photograph. He never gets bored of it. With that in mind, I can’t wait to go kayaking again!

As we came upon the end of our journey at Wind Cave, I felt kind of sad at how fast the trip ended despite the fact that we had spent three hours on the river that morning. It felt as if time had slowed down during that period and I thought the trip was strangely short.

I absolutely enjoyed the whole experience. Whether I can swim or not was not a big issue here since I felt safe and comfortable throughout the trip. Perhaps, one day, when I had learnt to swim, I can handle more challenging and exciting routes. In the meantime, I would love to do this again, even if it’s going down the same river.

Besides, I think I did miss out a few photo opportunities on that trip. I believe there’s a need to return to that river again.

*Ahem* I made the news again!

The last time was in January, 16 2006 feature in the OUTLOOK of the now sadly defunct Sarawak Tribune.

This time in a very well written feature article, “Adventures in a Kayak”, by Georgette Tan in POSTmag of The Borneo Post (The Largest English Daily in Borneo), Saturday, April 22, 2006.

I had scanned the article but since it may still be a little hard to read; the entire text of the article is reproduced below. Thanks again Georgette for bringing the awareness of the joys of kayaking in Kuching to the public. I am very much obliged and I feel very gratified that this article came out as it is about time that the general public is being made aware that kayaking trips is available in Kuching; and we have world class rivers and dolomite hills right here that we can rightly be proud of that we can see for ourselves and to ’show off’ to our visitors!

Book your next adventure with me soon!

Georgette Tan goes down a river in a watercraft slightly wider than her backside and lives to tell the tale.

Francis Ho loves kayaking. This is evident by how the number of kayaks on his private jetty seems to outnumber combined total of humans and dogs in his household. This also accounts for that little jetty. Anytime the water bug bites, he can easily pop a kayak into the river behind his house and go for a quick paddle.

Kayaking was never in my list of things to do before I die, but Francis is contagious. I’ve not known him for very long but I suddenly found myself thinking, “Hmm, this could be my type of weekend fun.” One day, an email with his name landed in my box…

On that particular Sunday, Francis took me and some friends on a kayak trip that will serve as an introduction to the sport. The calm water of Sungai Sarawak Kanan is not too scary for complete novices, and yet by the simple nature of… well, nature, it still created a couple of surprises for the veterans.

Our river route starts at Krokong, but we made a quick stop at the Wind Caves at Bau so Francis could survey the waters. It passed the visual test, and we continued the journey up to Krokong, leaving one of the cars behind so we have a way of collecting the other at the end of our river trip.

Brightly-coloured tandem kayaks were unloaded and carried to the river’s edge. Lifejackets were pulled on and adjusted. Keys, phones and wallets were secured in a dry bag. Francis gave us a crash course in paddling and what to do in case we fall overboard. Without further ado, we were off.

The complete novices were paired with veterans, so it was all a matter of learning how to paddle correctly, finding your rhythm and not knocking paddles with your partner too often. It’s rather like swimming freestyle; when you find your rhythm, you can make good speed without getting tired too easily. You can also start paying more attention to the scenery.

I first “met” Francis when I stumbled into his blog http://fh2o.blogspot.com. Some exchange of comments led to a meeting, which then led to an invitation that now finds me sitting in a blue kayak with Francis’s extremely capable assistant. Azmi is a state representative in the sport. With him onboard, I didn’t as much as get my hat wet.

Francis himself discovered kayaking almost by accident. Upon settling down in Kuching with his family after living and working abroad, he set out to find something to do with his free time. What originally piqued his interest was fishing from a kayak, but the fishing part was soon forgotten.

Recently, Francis decided to test the waters and see if people are interested in going on organised kayaking tours. “I put an ad in your paper.” he told me. “I was surprised at the number of people who called, but they were even more surprised that there is such a thing in Kuching.”

As we drifted on the easy waters of Bau, Francis pointed out the sights. “You’ve seen photos of these in my blog, yet nothing prepared you for this, right?”

Too right.

The river is banked by massive stones in some places, eroded by centuries of water to form rocky overhangs and crude sculptures of animals emerging from under the jungle. The stone banks are especially prominent in the many curves and bends of the river. In some places, it looked like a dead end until you are actually in the curve. Talk about not knowing what’s around the river bend.

And then, there were the trees. Massive trees by the bank - some with buttress roots exposed, some perched on rocky shelves, others literally growing sideways as they struggled to reach the sunlight. One could only cross their fingers and hope the precariously leaning monsters will let you pass without collecting a toll.

Trees on the banks also mean branches and trunks in the river itself. They accumulate at various intervals, keeping things interesting. Together with varying water levels and some slight currents, it created an obstacle course that changes at nature’s whim.

At one point, a tree had fallen across the river and the only passage was a gap between the water and the tree trunk. When Azmi first told me we were going under, I thought he was kidding.

Peggy and Michael were the first to take a spill at the one and only bend that could be labelled treacherous.

“We were actually under the kayak.” Peggy reported when the two climbed out, wet but otherwise unruffled.

Cool heads are important when faced with the unpredictable, as Azmi reminded me when we first pushed off at Krokong. “Whatever happens, don’t panic.” he said. Not panicking could mean the difference between life and death. This is also a good thing to remember in day-to-day life.

Going through currents only required some steering, which I left to the professional. The still waters needed more work. Sometimes you can see pebbles lining the bed of the river. Sometimes it’s deeper, murkier water where you might glimpse the form of a submerged tree. Sometimes, a drowned tree will gently claw the bottom of your boat as you pass.

There were a couple of times when we had to get out of the boat to haul it off whatever it got stuck on - water too shallow to paddle in or half-submerged trees lying in our way.

We took a break at one of the pebble beaches at the riverbank. Francis offered bananas, nature’s energy bar, which has many wonderful qualities like a biodegradable packaging.

“When you’re done, you can just throw it away.” He flicked the skin into the gurgling waters.

Peggy piped up. “If I throw this in there, will my kayak slip on it and flip over later?”

We pushed off and the river took us to an “island” in the middle of the river. The narrow passage on the right was a mini whitewater course.

We went the tamer left route and waited for the other two to catch up. As Francis and Andrea approached the island, their kayak overturned so abruptly you could almost believe that banana peels were involved.

“I didn’t even have time to close my eyes!” Andrea described later. “One moment, I was paddling away. The next moment, I was seeing things underwater.”

As we got nearer to the Wind Caves, the mountain range loomed over the jungle to our right. We also started seeing man-made structures like tiny staircases cut into the bank and a pipe siphoning water to a nearby house.

Where there is a river near enough to civilisation, there will be some amounts of garbage. There were plastic bag shreds caught on branches seven or eight feet above us, prompting me to ask Azmi how they got up there.

“Water can get that high after it rains.” he answered.

Yikes.

The Krokong-Wind Cave route is about three hours long, but time stood still as we followed the river. Kingfishers and herons flap away ahead of us, waterskeeters shot out of our way and the trees amused themselves by spitting flower buds or tiny fruits into our kayaks. For a few hours, it was nothing but (wo)man and nature.

We heard them before we saw them - picnickers playing in the water at the Wind Cave. Our journey that day was over, but I suspect this won’t be the last time I sit in a kayak. After all, I haven’t been baptised with a flipover.

More information on kayaking adventures is available at www.kuchingkayak.com