wildlife training center part 2

The power to the whole training center was provided by a generator located behind the resthouse (the unhaunted one). We took turn switching the generator on and off. The generator was switched on from 5:00AM to 8:00AM and 5:00 PM to 12:00 AM. Our faithful jeep was used to ferry 200 litre of diesel from Temerloh every week. Switching the generator on was no problem however, switching off at midnight can be an experience. Once the generator was switched off you can hear all the sound in the forest and sometimes no sound at all, giving you the eerie feeling that something was watching you closely and following your every foot step back to your house. Nevertheless, the forest was very alive at night after the generator was switched off. You can hear barking deer along the trail to the waterfall. On several occasions, I was lucky to get near a couple of sambar deers by the roadside (near Deerland) at night. They were blinded by the lights from the Jeep and you can touch them with your hands. Leaf monkeys were also plentiful but they started disappearing once the Orang Asli started passing the center. The river that forms the reserve boundary was full of fishes including the tiger fish? ( not sure the exact name but the body has several vertical black stripes over the yellow body). I tried to catch the fish for my aquarium on several occasions but were never successful as they were really wild and fast. The waterfall at that time was more than 1.5 meters deep at several spot. The pool bottom was full of dead leaves which provide habitat for the small shrimps. We usually have our weekend lunch at the waterfall. Our maggi normally has more shrimps than noodles. These shrimps are very sweet and tasty and can be eaten raw. Try this the next time you visit the waterfall at Bukit Rengit.
The first few months were spent planting grass (the whole complex was barren with no grass), planting trees, repainting the building as the color was not what the office wanted), conducting resource inventories around the center, constructing new trails and so forth. No training course was conducted as the access road was still very bad. Sometimes we went to the Kg. Sokmek to collect cow dung to fertilize our trees and grass. The dung were mixed with water in a large tank and the mixture was then used to water the plants and grass. Nobody complained and everyone seemed to enjoy doing all the work at the center. After more than 20 years later, the fruit of our labor can be witnessed at the center up the hill. Ficus trees growing, green lawn etc. Syukran I am still alive to see changes that the center from day one. The center holds many memories especially for the pioneer group.
The standard equipment in our jeep include a cangkul, spade, chainsaw, parang, wire, nails, and hammer. Without these you wont be able to cross all the obstacles along the way out or in. There should be at least two persons in the jeep everytime we use the road. Almost everyday there will be a tree obstructing the road. You have to clear the tree before continuing your way. It normally took a longer time if the chainsaw was too small for the tree. Driving along the logging road was a real challenge for us. I improved my 4WD driving skills while working at Bukit Rengit. The obstacles that we faced were real and we did not look for them. As far as possible we tried to avoid the obstacles. So whenever I see 4WD adventures going through the jungle and crossing obstacles I usually said to myself " if only you were in my shoes when I was at Bukit Rengit, I don't think you want to join any 4WD expeditions anymore. What you experienced is nothing compared to what we had to face everyday. So don't brag about your 4WD adventures. Personally, I feel that 4WD adventures should only be allowed in a special trail built for the purpose. Travelling in a large convoy along old logging road can cause damage to the regeneration plants which in turn provides food to wildlife. (to be continued...)

Sorry I have not been able to upload the photos yet. I hope to do it this weekend..