All participating staff went for a jungle tracking to the nearby waterfall which was a pleasant experience for the participants as they enjoy the waterfall with a beautiful landscape, decorated with shrubs all around.
After a memorable trip to Sultan Idris Shah Forestry Education Centre back in April, the TREX Adventure Club committee planned another trip to Lanchang Pahang where all participating staff got an opportunity to be close to nature. The committee chose the Institute of Biodiversity (IBD) & National Elephant Conversation Centre as the destinations for the trip from 5th to 6th August 2016.
The event started with a briefing by a representative from Institute of Biodiversity (IBD) which is under the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) Peninsular Malaysia. It aims to develop research on the nation’s biodiversity resources. The area is under the purview of the IBD to preserve it as the second largest persevered land in peninsular Malaysia.
After a short briefing, participants continued with a thrilling night walk activity. In the beginning of the activity there was a small worry because it was an active season for the wildlife which roams in the forest, however, the walk proceeded on the main road instead. The night was filled with cold air and each of participants was left alone and spaced 100 metres apart. The sound of crickets, birds and wildlife made the environment felt so peaceful and natural.
The second day started with a morning exercise to stretch all the muscles and get participants ready for the day’s activities. It was followed with a jungle tracking to the nearby waterfall which was restricted to just the staff, researchers and guests which mean the public has no direct access to it. It was a pleasant experience for the participants as they were permitted to enjoy the waterfall with a beautiful landscape, decorated with shrubs all around.
Participants also had a chance to visit a museum at the institute where they kept samples of the wildlife for research purposes. Participants got to see life-sized replicas of Malayan Tiger, snakes and many more. The IBD representative showed us some of the wildlife videos and spotted Malayan Tigers that live in the National Park, Pahang.
The next pit-stop was the National Conservation Centre. The session started with a video presentation of the local elephant herd and how their team relocate the elephants that were trapped in the middle of the oil palm plantation. The video featured, Amanda (a baby elephant) which was transferred from the oil palm plantation to Taman Negara. The crowd was huge and participants were ushered to a simple elephants show where elephants were taught to greet people and dance. Before the show ended, visitors were able to feed the elephants with watermelon. The kids were also excited to see the elephants bathing in the nearby river.
The team then returned back on 6th August and many shared that they had a memorable experience. They just couldn’t wait for the next TREX trip!