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Outta the red dot
,
Rovers
.
By Zεηιτħ
And wad a trip it was! Touched down in SG at 0040 hours, and did the usual stuff like clearing Customs and going to the nearby DFS to shop for some liquor. Couldn't get much liquor due to the limit per person, so it was just a bottle of Absolut and 3 bottles of Hoegaarden for me. And I also did another thing, which was to check my results online, (I had left before the release of the results) and it wasn't too impressive. Oh wells. But the fun and enjoyment on the trip certainly masked the sadness on checking the results, and I kinda drifted into the happy mood of overseas trekking and shopping!
Gunung Rinjani is the third highest mountain in Indonesia, and it's famed for its great beauty and eerie isolation. At 3726m, it is higher than that of Java's Gunung Semaru, but considerably lower than Sabah's Mount Kinabalu. It is an active volcano in Indonesia's famed Ring of Fire, and is the 2nd highest volcano in Indonesia, with the most recent eruption being in 1st October 2004. The pristine green Segara Anak Lake is part of the 6km by 8.5km oval-shaped caldera, with a baby volcano near the lake, called Gunung Bahru. The highlands are forest clad and mostly underdeveloped, and the lowlands are cultivated, with rice, bananas, coffee, cotton as the major crops grown in the area as we passed by. Located on the island of Lombok, near Bali, it can be scaled from 2 starting points: Sembalun and Senaru.
Essentially, it was a 8d 7n trip, with a 4d 3n trek up and down Rinjani. After a nice farewell from parents, friends, girlfriends etc, the 13 of us took the Jetstar flight to Bali, and upon arrival at Bali we were greeted by Ridwan, John's contact in Bali. Took a ride over to the ferry terminal for sea transfer to Lombok island, and it was a 2hr bus ride, plus a 4hr boat ride. Being one of the last few to board the ferry (which could contain those huge lorries!!), we couldn't find a decent place to sleep, and had to settle for the upper deck, which seemed a little wet. Some tired souls just decided to lay their rain covers on the floor to catch some shuteye, whilst the rest of us played cards, or chit-chatted till arrival at Lombok. Then, it was another overland transfer via bus/car to John's Adventures at Senaru, about 3hrs long. Along the way, we managed to get more decent sleep, and were greeted with a wonderful sunrise along the way!
What a great start to the trip, especially with those reports of people dying up at Rinjani 2.5 months ago, and the recent strong waves hitting the shores of Bali. But all seemed to be fine, and we arrived at John's Adventures on a bright, sunny morning with clear skies.
Our trekking guides
Great weather to start the day
We were greeted with a warm welcome by John, and breakfast was served almost immediately after we checked into our rooms. After which, we were given a brief overview of our 4d 3n trek.
Big Breakfast at Senaru!
Banana Pancakes!
Map of the Senaru area
Long trek indeed, and it was there at John's Adventures that we were told that it was a freakin' Grade 4 Mountain which we are scaling! (For reference purposes, John said that Grade 1 = Mt Kinabalu, and after scaling Rinjani we can head over to Kilimanjaro anytime soon o.O)
Anyway, we didn't let that take the shine off our intended relaxing day, which included a morning rest (or siesta), and then moving on to the waterfalls thereafter.
Think this is a hibiscus?
Guess who?
3 now!
For the waterfall trip photos, I'll post them soon, once I get my hands on them. (Edit: I got them! As below!)Went to 2 waterfalls, and each is even better than the ones we've ever gone. Super fast waters, cold waters, simply amazing! I was left thinking whether they are really even better than those of Stong and Ophir.
A reminder of the Ophir steps?
Taking a quick dip in the smaller one! (look out for the rainbow on the left!)
Reminder of the Chu-Chu Trek
The initial view...WOW...
The larger waterfall
Day 3 of the trip to Rinjani was the start of our trek. After an amazing day spent at the waterfalls, and resting in a nice comfortable hostel (quite good, IMO), we started to pack all our stuff and loaded them up the lorry. The porters and guides followed for the journey to the other side of Rinjani, to start the climb. It was a recommended route by John, which seemed easier and was exactly opposite to the one which Huiqin had done earlier.
Loading up!
In the little tu-tu truck
Brokeback truck?
Our porters on the lorry
Our truck nearly got stuck scaling this steep incline. We were left wondering how the heck the lorry passed this obstacle! Half-clutch all the way!
View of another nearby (smaller) mountain
The common transport there apart from mopeds and scooters
How the volcano was formed
Whilst waiting at the park office to get clearance to scale the volcano...
Rice fields?
The low-lands are fully vegetated!
Going up somemore...
Clearing what seems to be a man-made dam.
That's Rinjani on the left!
Clearing the ridge
Walking past the ridge with the sun setting
Another view of Rinjani
Brr...it's cold! Hazel, Lin Yen, Meixia
Ming Keong, Nic, Hwi Bee, Me
Andreas, Bill, Andy, Noel
And a fire's that's burning strong~
Dinner time!
So we managed to hit an altitude of about 2,000m+ for our base camp, which meant that we had trekked up 8 hours and conquered about 1,800 plus metres in HEIGHT! Wow. Weather was cold up there, as Andreas' watch had indicated. With strong winds and mist blowing up the slopes, it was a rather cold night. But the tents, sleeping bags and sleeping mats were super comfortable! Mans...it made me dun wish to wake up at 2am for the summit ascent (about 1,000m more to go!)
So we woke up at 2am, groggy and sleepy, and went out for a simple breakfast prepared by the porters and guides. Refreshed, we got ready for the summit climb, which could take anywhere between 3 to 5 hours. It was challenging (Grade IV mountain lehs!) and we started off brightly, with many quick 'steps' and sand along the way. As we moved further up, the slopes on the left and right of us seemed steep, but with no sun and only our torches, we could barely see what's way beyond the darkness. In the end, we followed the person in front, moving upwards, slowly and surely.
As the sky around us brightened up, we realised that the summit, which had seen so near, was truly far off. Even the guide's claim of "15 minutes more!" did not seem possible (more like a formality to give everyone a boost in confidence). As you move higher the air gets thinner, and it gets colder and you start to slide on the volcanic soil. This was the hardest part, where you took 1 step and you slid about half a step back. Another problem which was posed to us was the super steep slope, roughly 45 to 60 degrees in angle. Coupled with the loose volcanic soil/ash, it was a hard climb.
Perhaps that's the meaning of a Grade IV mountain. Where you feel like giving up just 50m from the summit.
As we slowly made our way up, the faster ones surged ahead, whilst the slower ones carried on the tough walk up. It's a pity that we all missed the sunrise, but once you got up on the summit, the feeling was simply memorable.
Sunlight breaking through the horizon
At a rest point on the way up
The tough slope!
Mars
Lin Yen taking a breather (and enjoying the scenery)
The guide giving a hand (literally)
The baby volcano - Gunung Bahru, and the Segara Anak Lake
And...the tough way down...
Me and the lake behind me
After making to the top, the descent was much faster, though more dangerous. We wondered how we could have gotten up in the dark with such steep slopes on both sides. In fact, we had walked on something which resembled a ridge. The way down was down either by careful movement, or sliding down the loose rocks.
Once back at the campsite, we had our breakfast, and saw some wild monkeys, and even a dog, which prowled the area. We had our rest, then our lunch, and packed our stuff to move to the Lake campsite. It was another long walk, which took us downhill first, then it was relatively flat all the way to the campsite. By the time we reached there, the porters, in their slippers, had already set up the tents, started a fire and prepared cooking! Gosh...we were THAT slow la. Perhaps, the secret lay in their slippers...
Wild Monkeys!
The guide said these are edelweiss!
Crossing the wooden bridge
The valley beckons on the other side
Another bridge crossing
Clearing the path in front...a long walk ahead!
After settling down at the Segara Anak Lake campsite, we rested and discussed whether we wanted to go for the baby volcano (which the guide said was much more difficult than scaling Rinjani, though shorter), or go for the hot springs and maybe do caving nearby. In the end, only 4 of us decided to be more adventurous and attempt to scale Gunung Bahru (or 'die' doing so??? lol).
We set off early in the morning, after a delicious breakfast of pancakes. Moving along the shores of the lake, we saw the many fishermen awake and casting their lines. The route to the baby volcano required us to go along the entire shore of the lake before reaching the other side. The route was tough, challenging and dangerous. Thorned plants were everywhere, and there were thorns on the branches, leaves and even the undersides of the leaves! Sheesh. All 4 of us got pricked and the pain would not subside. As we moved on, we became more wary of these plants, and warnings came fast and furious.
Also, we were forced to walk across places which had almost no path, and we had to rely on our hand grips and climb across the wall, unless you decided to drop into the water.
After about 2 hours of trekking, we came to a stop as the guide could not find a suitable way to continue on. The water level had risen, and there was no way we could cross the water body with no foot or hand-holds. Thus, we rested and made the decision to turn back. Quite a pity, IMO.
We reached back at the campsite earlier than the other group which had gone caving, and as we rested, we realised that the idyllic scenery was way nicer this way. A magnificent view of the baby volcano, and of people fishing and relaxing. This is the life!
In the afternoon, we went over to the hot springs nearby, and it was fantastic! There was also a waterfall next to the hot springs, and it was dubbed as the 'cold bath'. With wind/mist blowing at us whilst we relaxed in the springs, it was fantastic to find warmth in such an area!
The F4!
Early morning fishing
This is how they keep fishes alive after capturing them!
Gunung Bahru - up close and personal
Resting
Dark clouds over the Lake
The waterfall leading to the hot springs below (top left)
Steaming...
Bought from the fishermen neaby
Fresh-water fish, anyone?
The wonderful life
Hot springs!!!
Cold cold night...
A good night's rest, and a great dinner with a nice warm campfire, it was certainly a great way to end off the last night at Rinjani. The next day, we started off with a long trek up (who said we're definitely going down when we're supposed to trek down a mountain?) to the rim, reached the crater rim itself, and moved all the way down, from a patch of fine sand pathways to a more forested area, then to a rainforest-like view around us. And finally, we could call an end to the trek on reaching the Senaru Trek Office.
R O V E R S
Rinjani and Gunung Bahru
The climb up
A bin in the middle of nowhere
Wild monkey sighted at the crater rim
Segara Anak Lake (courtesy of Andreas)
Me and Rinjani =)
A sign in the middle of nowhere
After reaching back to the Pondok Indah Hotel and washing up, we were treated to dinner and then it was a long journey back to Bali. On the ferry, we were unfortunate (or fortunate??) to have a crazed person who spouted nonsense, had split personalities, spat on his father and sister, and was so alive throughout the midnight ferry that some of us could not sleep. Gosh, it's a wonder why the crew members did not restrain him early enough to prevent any problems from arising.
Aside from the constant fracas and yelling the guy was dealing to everyone, and the disturbing of female members on the boat, the ferry ride was quite interesting. It's like a tragedy unfolding before your eyes, and though you cannot understand what the hell that guy was saying and shouting, you feel that the person was downright crazy.
After reaching the shore with little incidents, we got on the bus back to Kuta, where we checked into the hotel and had breakfast at the nearby streets. Ridwan also introduced to us his friend, who runs a spa, and the prices offered to us were very attractive. Of course, we also got pretty good prices for the white-water rafting.
Had fun for the 2 days in Bali, with the shopping experience, money changing run-ins, and the cool night-life! Though the night time reminded me of the Bali bombings just 3 or 4 years ago, I'm glad it was safe when I went over there.
It's a pity, that we had to leave on the 1st Jun...would love to spend more time in the area and resting there, enjoying the nice Kuta beach, reveling in the nightlife there.
My Pizza experience, part 1
Nic and his tattoo
Dinner!
Whitewater Rafting!!!
Our rafting van!
My pizza experience, part 2 (this is much better!!! 18,000 rp only!)
Kuta Beach
Sunset at Kuta
This is where u go to get your fix of Krispy Kremes ;)
This trip...full of fun, enjoyment and makes you wonder in awe and amazement at the sight of the mountain...doubt my words can fully describe the feelings and company I got there, but as a saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words". So if you like the pictures, go there to really feel the experience!
Rinjani Rox! =D
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