xtremesport4u

Archive for the ‘potholing or cave exploration’ Category

Some time ago, we did an article on the Borneo Eco-Challenge adventure race. This was in the early days when we were just discovering adventure racing as an extreme sport. The Borneo eco-challenge was obviously a popular event as we have subsequently received many requests for further information.

This event has not had a recent re-run. However,  ESPN STAR Sport Event Management and associates have come up with a new event:  the Perak Amanjaya Eco Race 2009.

This is rather a last minute alert, but the whole race is a little bit last-minute anyway, which is why this year it is invitation only. However, the organisers intend this to be an annual event so bookmark it now for next year…

The race is due to begin on the 2nd December, completing by the 6th December, 2009 and promises to be an adventure race classic. It will include such disciplines as Trail Running, Kayaking, Mountain Biking, In-line Skating, Abseiling, Canyoning, Rapelling and Swimming… and the state government of Parak, Malaysia, will be hosting the event.

Location, location, location. Don’t we hear that so often? Well, this event is definitely in a beautiful location. It begins in the Royal Belum State Park (rainforest) which is the largest continuous forest complex in Peninsular Malaysia and which crosses into Southern Thailand. It is estimated to be as old as 130 million years, making it older than the jungle of the Amazon or Congo – sorry, I can never resist a little history! Needless to say, some areas of this magnificent forest are being plundered by loggers… when will we ever learn?

This region receives about 2,200 cm of rain per annum – so expect it to be wet! It also has its fair share of big cats, venomous snakes, elephant, Sumatran rhino’s plus a whole host of other bird and wildlife.

Banding Island as seen from Tower House

The race starts at Banding Bridge which is the gateway to Royal Belum Rainforest. A quick run across the bridge and then an abseil down to the lake sets the event off to an exciting start. You then swim to a pontoon, get a kayak and paddle across to the lake shore where you will have to carry your kayak along a jungle trail to the next stretch of water where you will kayak back to the island, leave the kayak and run back to the bridge. An in-line skate across the bridge will bring the first day to a close.

Day 2 starts at the foot hill of Taiping Hill where there will be a trail run to a waterfall. After canyoning down the waterfall competitors will run to Taiping Lake Garden (the first public garden established during the British rule in Malaysia), and in-line skate under the Golden Raintrees. From here there will be a mountain bike ride to the Kampung river mouth for another kayak to Kuala Sepetang and final run on the boardwalk to finish at the jetty of Kuala Sepetang.

Day 3 will be a rest day but also a transfer from Taiping to Pasir Salak where the race will continue.

Pasir Salak is the place where modern Malaysia took shape. It is where the independence movement against the British began and where the first British  resident of Perak, James W.W. Birch, was murdered on 2nd November, 1875. The rebellion of 1875 in Pasir Salak sowed the seeds of nationalism, which manifested itself in the form of opposition to colonialism, and to the formation of a Malayan Union, which ignited the flame of independence.

Today Pasir Salak is an historical site whose purpose is to remind the younger generation of the events there and the fight against colonialism in Perak, and also to remember the struggle and the sacrifice of the warriors to uphold the dignity of the race and country.

So, after yet another history lesson from me, I shall continue with the matter at hand – the eco-challenge adventure race:

Day 4 kicks off with a mountain bike ride up to the beautiful Ulu Geruntum, which is the raft starting point. From here you white water raft down to Kampung Jahang…

run to the cave entrance to start the caving section…

and finish with a run to the finish line at Kampung Tengah.

Day 5, the final day, starts at Pasir Salak with a mountain bike ride to Teluk Batik, kayak to Teluk Segadas at Pangkor Island, rapel down the rock, run to Teluk Dalam beach, swim in the sea in front of Teluk Dalam and finally finish at the beach of Teluk Dalam.

For 2009 this event is open to teams of 2 persons only – male, female or co-ed; only 20 teams are invited and again, for this year, it is an ‘invitation only’ event. Teams are coming from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Finland.

For those of you who would like to enter but wonder what on earth your better half (!) is going to do whilst you’re battling your way through the jungle (if your better half isn’t battling through it with you) … remember that glancing reference I made above to the type of fauna to be found in the Royal Belum National Park?  Well, I then came across this little list – and please bear in mind it is not a final list, of what sort of flora and fauna can be seen and enjoyed in the Royal Belum Rainforest:

247 species of birds
100 species of mammals
170 species of butterflies
251 species of moths
51 species of land snails
36 species of aquatic and semi aquatic bugs
25 species of cicadas
24 species of amphibians
21 species of lizards
23 species of snakes
23 speices of freshwater fish
7 species of freshwater and land turtles
62 species of moss
64 species of ferns
46 species of palms
30 species of gingers
3000 species of flower plants
3 species of freshwater decapod
44 species of wild fruit trees

Apart from that there is the Taiping Lake Garden which, at 222 acres, is the biggest urban parkland in Malaysia, designed and built about 130 years ago in the remains of an old tin mine. It has beautifully laid out ponds, lakes, and reputably, the best zoological gardens in the whole region. And then there’s the spectacular beach of Teluk Dalam and the beautiful island of Pangkor. Just a few of things one might see and do out there. No-one could possibly be bored…

An extreme sport that we do not often write about but none the less it is a sport that has many thousands of enthusiastic followers and it is indeed extreme when you consider that the world’s longest subterranean cave system took four years and over five hundred dives to piece together.

It was in March 2007 that a German and a British cave diving team made their dramatic announcement – read the story below and then watch the video from vsproduct of their daring adventure.

Robbie Schmittner from Germany and Steve Bogaert from Great Britain found flooded passageways connecting two previously known cave systems.

Bogaert said their dives proved a connection between the Nohoch Nah Chich caves and the Sac Actun system which altogether measure a length of 95 miles. The longest previously known submerged cave system is the 91 mile Ox Bel Ha system in the same area of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

There is concern that the inter-conectivity of the caves in this region makes them very vulnerable to a source of pollution which would spread rapidly throughout the system of caves. In the times of the Mayan Indians this underground fresh water system provided drinking water to the Mayans where the caves ceilings had collapsed so creating lakes or sink holes.

In some places the submerged caves are massive – big enough to fit a Boeing 747, in other places the team had to remove their scuba gear from their bodies to sqeeze through narrow passages.

As the short video below shows the pioneering spirit is alive and well but this is one extreme sport that we don’t think we will try!

Some people just can’t live without their adrenaline fix even when they go on holiday so I’ve put together ten vacations that could only be described as extreme!

1. Drag racing

Foot to the floor and before you can say ‘Jack Robinson’ you’ve crossed the finish line having attained a speed in excess of 300mph in a quarter mile! Doug Foley’s Drag Racing School offers several dates at Atco, New Jersey with options in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Or you could go for the Super Comp Dragster package, a two-day program that includes safety instruction and step-by-step familiarization with your car before you hit the track.

2. Gorilla safari

JK Safari run a 4-day safari to the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Africa which is the best place to see these gracious and gentle giants – estimated to have a worldwide population of no more than 700. You are also likely to visit the Karisoke Research station, the inspiration behind the film ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ and where Dian Fossey was murdered and is buried.

3. Heli-skiing
Why not try your hand, or should I say your skis, on the virgin slopes of Alaska’s Chugach Mountain. You have to have almost represented your country in the Olympics at skiing – only joking – but this is definitely not one for beginners, but it will give you a unique experience on the slopes and something you will be able to talk to the grandchildren about. Valdez Heli-Camps operates tours to the Chugach mountain range and offers acc4.

4. Mountain climbing
Stand on top of the world – yes I’m talking about conquering Everest, the world’s highest mountain and something that you will need to sign a disclaimer against as Everest still claims lives every year, but it can be done if you’re an accomplished climber, Adventure Consultants offers summit expeditions from Nepal with no guarantees of either making it to the summit or getting back – alive!

5. Sandboarding
Because its sand doesn’t mean its not extreme and this rush will take you to Cerro Blanco near the Andes mountain range in Peru to find the world’s tallest sand dune. Carving your way down the dunes will challenge even those dudes who think they have done it all on the colder and whiter mountains.Peru Adventure Tours runs this very alternative boarding trip.

6. Shark diving
Of course it cannot be guaranteed that the only shark you will see is the Blue shark and the Mako shark – I seem to recall that the Great White is sometimes seen in these waters, but if that’s your fix then Apex Shark Expeditions runs day trips into False Bay , near Cape Town, South Africa, between November and June. Its in these waters that I always wished for another set of eyes in the back of my head!

7. Space travel

The final frontier for the brave and super rich, already possible on a Russian rocket and as offered by Virginia-based Space Adventures for a cheek sucking $25 million or you can wait for the Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s suborbital space probe which will set you back a paltry $200,000 and which is due to blast off in 2009. My guess is that like computers the price will only come down.

8. Spelunking

This is your chance to meet an Orc, or if you’re really lucky Gandalf and/or Frodo, for in the Waitomo cave system in New Zealand you can rappel down the side of limestone cliffs, squeeze through damp crevices covered with luminescent glow worms, leap from a subterranean waterfall, and go “black-water rafting” in the underground rapids at Ruakuri Cave, where you may even find Gollum! The five-hour Black Abyss adventure is offered by The Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. and is the most challenging of the region’s guided tours.

9. Stunt vacations

Another extreme challenge is offered with this vacation package courtesy of Thrillseekers Unlimited, who in a five day course, called appropriately enough the ‘Stunt Experience’, will teach you under the instruction of SAG professionals all you need to know to enable you to be part of the action in burning building scenes, car chases and other stunts including a bungee jump from the AJ Hackett Tower on the Strip in Las Vegas.

10. Titanic dive

And finally for those fanatics of the movie Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet head for Newfoundlad where The Great Canadian Adventure Company will take you to a depth of 2.5 miles to see the final resting place of RMS Titanic, where the infamous vessel lies broken and twisted on the ocean floor. A surreal experience if ever there was one.

For sure they are extreme….. and they will get you away from the madding crowd – either because there are not that many people crazy enough to try these crazy vacations, or is it just that they are financially out of the reach of us mere mortals! If you are one of those crazy guys all I can do is to wish you luck and ask that you let all us mortals know of your adventure when you return. Enjoy!