In the past 72 hours, the whole team of us P2P Greeniz have experienced and done stuff that most of Malaysian teenagers will probably never get to do in their lifetime. On Sunday, after arriving in Sandakan, we journeyed up the Kinabatangan for 3 hours to reach Sukau Rainforest Lodge. Along the way we got to see a whole herd of Borneo pygmy elephants feeding at the river bank, and they were barely 30 feet away from us. That truly was a privilege.
However, as we thrilled as we were, we soon found out that the main reason why we managed to catch sight of the elephants so easily and not scare them away with our presence was because their habitat in the jungle is diminishing and they do not have that much space left to roam. Dr Janine Liew (from UMS) and Mr Albert Teo (owner of Sukau Rainforest Lodge) then explained to us that the solution was by finding a balance between the man’s efforts for economic gain, the native’s way of life and the preservation of the environment.
Today is the third day of this program and realization has begun to sink in that this trip isn’t just about us getting an ‘experience of a lifetime’ to cherish and remember forever, but it’s about us experiencing how wildlife is, how it should remain and what we as youth, can do about it. So that is why we have got to ACT NOW!
– Mary Ruth –
(P2P Greeniz)
As the sun lazily crept into the distant mountain and the sky filled with a shining blanket of dreams and fantasy, we cruised down the tea-coloured river with constant curiosity and eagerly looking for crocodiles but as we continued our trek, we noticed the hidden beauty of the jungle.
As if it was toying with us, the jungle slyly shows us glimpses of their extraordinary inhabitants. Like a diamond in the rough, it is with great patience and perseverance that we waited eagerly for the small yet treasured glimpse of jungle jewels.
It has only been two days and we have only explored but the tip of the iceberg (or in this case, tip of sg. Kinabatangan). Look through the forest was the local advice. Don’t look for something you want to see, but look for something to see. The fresh air, the cool waters, but nothing beats the sounds of silence, broken only by the song of crickets, the rhythm of the passing elephants, the whisper of birds and occasional hoots of local P2P participants.
We have more to see, more to hear, we just need to keep all sense open as well as out mind.
– Patrick –
(P2P Greeniz)