Monday, July 5, 2010

GUNUNG BUNGA BUAH DAYPACK JULY 2010

BUNGA BUAH MOUNTAIN, GENTING HIGHLANDS

Last weekend, The Underestimate team went for hiking at Gunung Bunga Buah. It is located at Genting Highlands, Pahang and is about 1430 meter or 4690 feet from sea level.

Ten of us from Melaka and 3 from KL joined in this daytrip hiking.From Melaka, we departed using three cars at around 9.00pm and we stopped at Serdang to watch World Cup match between Brazil and Holland. Unfortunately, Brazil lost 2-1 to the Dutch. Though we were very upset with the lost (except Nazir), this did not deter us from continuing our journey. We went straight to Genting Sempah R&R after the match to spend the rest of the night there before starting the hiking the next morning.


At Serdang, after watching Brazil lost to Holland
After Subuh prayer and breakfast the next morning, we headed straight to Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands to wait for three of our friends from Kuala Lumpur at the mamak restaurant next to Hotel Seri Malaysia.


At Genting Sempah R&R before heading to Genting Highlands

While waiting for the friends to come, some of us did some preparations for the hiking behind the Hotel Seri Malaysia. This is because the road leading to the vegetable farm where the hiking will start is just right behind Hotel Seri Malaysia.

The road behind Hotel Seri Malaysia Genting that will lead to the vegetable farm

We parked our car near to the vegetable farm. The hiking started at 9.30 am. None of our team had been there before. As usual, The Underestimate just relying on informations obtained from the website especially http://sarshiverson.blogspot.com for the route and directions. Fortunately, there was a group of KL hikers on that day that we could depend on to lead the way.

The following pictures describe the chronological events of the hiking.




The Underestimate...ready for action. Everybody looks excited

The vegetable farm as our starting point

The entry point to the tarred road leading to the abandoned quarry

Climbing up the slippery terrain for about 20-30 minutes before reaching the tarred road

After the steep climbing...you will see this tarred road. From this road, if you take right, you will end up at the strawberry farm. To go to Gunung Bunga Buah, take left.

Stretching a bit before continuing the hike

Along the way

At the end of the tarred road, you'll find this junction. Take left to go to the abandoned quarry.

Continue .... the quarry on your right side

After the quarry, the trek was a bit bushy...try to wear long pants and long sleeve shirt to avoid scratch
You could see the peak of Gunung Bunga Buah if the atmosphere is clear from this angle

Foggy morning at Genting Highlands
Stop for a while before entering the Pintu Rimba on your right

The gatekeeper at Pintu Rimba asking for"toll"

After the Pintu Rimba, the hiking involve a lot of climbing up and down

Taking rest...the muscle starts to ache now and the knee starts to shiver.

At about 1.00 pm, we reached the Rock Garden. The view here is magnificent with cool breezy air. If you have much time, do spend a lot of time here as there's not much to see at the peak. From here, it took about 45 minutes for us to get to the peak.
The view of Genting Higlands Resort from Rock Garden

About 1.45pm, we reached the peak group by group. There's abeirut here. It can only accommodate 20-30 people only at one time sitting like us

The Underestimate taking pictures before going down at 3.00pm

We touched down at the place where we parked our car at 7.00pm. In total, we took about 9 hours 30 minutes to complete the return journey. A bit tough especially for beginners. As a whole, I personally think that The Underestimate had underestimated the Gunung Bunga Buah once again. It looks easy but the time to complete the journey could be too much for the underestimates. However, at the end of the hiking, all of us were still positive and excited...only a little little sore on the muscles. I'm also happy that The Underestimate is getting more friends this time.
Gunung Bunga Buah is very interesting since:
1. The temperature is cool. You don't feel tired even after long hour hiking. You'll drink less water as well.
2. There are various types of terrain you'll find with different level of challenge.
3. The view is so beautiful especially with a little bit of fog in the morning. You can't miss the enchanting view of the Rock Garden.
My Advice:
1. A day trip hiking might be interesting but make sure you are fit enough.
2. Bring enough water and food if you plan for a day trip hiking.
3. Study a little bit about the trek before hiking to get general idea about the route. Once you have reached the tarred road, it'll be easy since you could follow the paper pieces left by hikers before if there is any.
See you in our next trip. Bye.