By: Gerald Khoo
February 19 2011. It was right after the Chinese New Year celebration that we decided to revisit our perfect getaway place, the Empangan Batu or Batu Dam. There were two groups. One group, comprised of kayakers and the other, comprised of hikers. We were to meet at the Riverstone Eco Resort at 8.30am for some briefing before setting out on our adventure.
From left: Keong, Ray, Gerald (that's me), Richard, Kenny and Stanley. Also, Jim and his son (not in pic) joined later.
As soon as our group photo was taken, the hiking group started hitting the trail with heavy gear on their backs and, Ray and me, the only two kayakers, drove another 100m to the launch site. Earlier during the briefing, we had agreed to rendezvous at Eagle’s Landing, our campsite location, at noon. It was only half past nine, so we had plenty of time…
At the launch site. See the rubbish...damn anglers!
Kayaks loaded and all set to go...
We decided we would stop at a few of the many coves and make a few quick casts before heading for Toman Bay. There were few surface activities, so we decided we should head direct to Toman Bay. As the name suggests, there are more tomans here then anywhereelse in the lake. But, because of fishing pressure, their numbers here are dwindling too. While there is no access for cars to this part of the lake, motorcycles can make their way here through the plantations.
As they say, time flies when you have fun…it was almost noon when we arrived at Toman Bay. We could see more activities… and quickly combed the area, hoping to land at least one toman for lunch. But luck was not with us, and by 12.30pm, we decided to paddle upstream of Sungai Pamah to the campsite. The hiking team was already there when we arrived at the campsite.
Ray stopping at one of the many coves for a quick cast.
Ray...all smiles when we finally arrived at the campsite. It was his first trip to this part of Batu Dam.
…to be continued.
