In the beginning of our trip to Kuching, I was given a catalogue of frogs by Angela to study. Frog race was one of the activities that we were scheduled to cover. Although I heard of media delegation that took part in the International Borneo Frog Race 2014 last April, I had zero understanding of what it is all about. Contradictory to my initial perception of having your frog pet race against other frogs and the fastest frog get crowned, it is actually a race where humans compete to photograph as much frogs given a period of time.
Having been living in residential area, my experience with frogs was only limited to my boarding school years (my school was in the middle of palm oil plantation and further up from paddy fields) when at nights we could hear the the frogs croak and call especially after rain. If I got lucky, the next morning I would be “graced” with a slimy presence inside my shoes. Despite all that, I am never fond of frogs. Even when I go hiking and climbing, I hardly noticed frogs along the jungle trail.
Our Frog Adventures
I had a mishmash feeling the night we drove under the starry skies to Kubah National Park. At the entrance of Kubah National Park, we were greeted by Dominic and Tiffany who would guide us through our frog adventures. We decided to go up by car and spend more time looking for frogs than climbing the hill, which was a great idea as the route uphill was steep.
Torch lights ready. Let’s meet the frogs of Kubah National Park, Sarawak.
A tips from Dominic, hold your torch at your centre temple to level it with your eyes and start looking for a pair of shining eyes. I did as told, but my eyesight was probably not meant for spotting frogs. Most of the time, it was dew.
Introducing you, the main star of our frog adventures… Mr. Dominic. He has that commercial physical appearance to a tv drama star. Frog Scene Investigation.
The first person who caught the frog was Angela. She caught the frog by hands. A true Ibanese woman!
These are the frogs of Kubah National Park, Sarawak!
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We found a stream full of spotted stream frogs. It was as if they were having a party in frog paradise. We were the monsters who intruded their territory, who crashed their Sunday night party. Imagine standing in the middle of the stream surrounded by frogs.
The hunt for the Borneon Horned Toad.
We encountered a species which was not familiar to Dominic. Instantaneously, we became frogologists.
No, I didn’t find the frog prince. And no, I didn’t kiss any. Frogs are beautiful creatures. Frog race is not bad as I had imagined. I would like to do it again and recommend frog race to family and friends.
About Kubah National Park, Sarawak
Kubah National Park is the most visible and accessible of Sarawak’s National Parks as it is located 22km from Kuching, the main city in Sarawak. The Park covers an area of 2,230 hectares and comprises the heavily forested slopes and ridges of the Serapi range. It is most famous of its palm. Kubah is the richest palm habitat for its size anywhere in the world. There are many hiking trails to choose from in Kubah National Park. The most favourite trail is the Waterfall Trail which takes up to 1 1/2 hours before reaching waterfall that drops from 10m high.
Although public transportation is scarce, there are many travel agencies in Kuching running guided tours to Kubah National Park. When you visit Kubah National Park, don’t miss the chance of meeting the frogs of Kubah National Park. Recently, Marc Anderson’s two-minute recording of frogs singing at Kubah National Park has been adjudged “the Most Beautiful Sound in the World“. So, go listen to them live in Kubah National Park.
This trip was made possible by Sarawak Tourism Board from 9th-11th June 2014.
2 Comments
wow… sound so much fun, rugi didn’t join you all that night 🙂
You are so near. Anytime can go Kubah. 😉