Tempurung Cave by Premendran Pathmanathan

Calling Michael from MM Adventures to arrange for a trip to Tempurung Cave is an affair I will have to jot down in my notes as "Events not regretted". I contacted Michael for the first time in January this year (2001) for a caving trip in Batu Caves. I thought I would try out Caving. It was in Batu Caves that my interest in caving begun. It was also there that Michael mentioned about Tempurung Cave and how beautiful it is.

So after going through my calendar, the trip to Tempurung Cave was set on the 27^th of February 2001. This time I was better prepared. I brought spare clothes, batteries and water. I also made sure that my bag was water proof. To ensure that both my hands were free, I got a head lamp at a reasonable price. I manage to gather 4 other friends to tag along. Michael also advised us to bring simple pack lunches. So we got buns for our lunch.

The plan was to meet at Gopeng toll gate rest area between 9.00 to 9.30 am. I left about 7.45am and we were there by 9.15am. Since the group this time was big, Michael brought 3 experience guides to help him out. Since there were about 38 of us, we were broken up to 2 groups with 2 guides assigned to each group. Once the necessary forms were completed, we headed towards Gopeng for breakfast. For those who did not pack their lunch, this was their last chance. Gopeng town has a variety of food to choose from and you can be ensured of finding them with Michael around.

With our stomachs contended, we left to Tempurung Cave. Once we turned off from the main road, we had to travel for about 10 minutes on gravel road. It was an enjoyable 10 minutes ride as we admired the scenarios around us. We passed many naturally fresh water ponds. Upon reaching our destination, I was surprised at the sight. There were food stalls, proper car park and bathroom facilities for visitors. I was happy at the sight of the bathroom facilities. We did not waste time getting ready for the journey into the cave. Going with Michael, there are few rules that we had to adhere too. One of it is to make sure that you have a helmet on. For those who do not have one, like myself, not to worry as helmets will be provide by Michael. We also do not have to worry about any additional payments because all expenses like helmet, headlamp and gate fees are covered in Michael’s fees.

I had a problem setting up my head lamp to my helmet but luckily one of Michael’s guides assisted me. Once everyone is geared up, Michael briefed us on the "do’s" and "don’t" when doing caving. Michael takes his caving seriously so I suggest everyone listens to his briefing. He advised everyone to not touch anything unless told too. He also advised us not to remove anything from the caves. This I remember, were the two most important points Michael stressed on. With our minds well prepared for the caving expedition, we headed into the caves.

Michael made sure that at any point of time, he is in front of the group and his assistant is at the end of it. The beginning stage of Tempurung Cave is laid with walkways and stairs. The walkways were well lighted at this stage. As we made our way through the stairs, we were amazed by the sight. The cave cavity was enormous. Proper lighting was installed to enhance the sight. We could clearly see all the corners of the cavity. We then stopped at an observation area and Michael began explaining the formations. As I stood there listening to Michael, I was amazed at his enthusiasm in explaining the formations. I am sure he has done this a hundred times but he looks like he is still enjoying it. I guess that’s the difference when going with Michael, he actually takes his time to explain things to us. After explaining there will be a Q/A session. This went on for every observation point. Without this explanations, I would not have learnt more about stalagmites and stalactites and found out words like bath tubs, straws, shower head, curtain, and lots more. We also got an understanding on how this things were formed and how long it took to form.

The staircases went on for about half an hour when we stopped to tackle a climb. Everyone had to do it. Michael and his guides helped to ensure that everyone was able to climb a semi steep formation. Here we saw more bath tubs. I also manage to come across a few cave creatures like crickets and spiders. Pictures were allowed so we snapped away. After the climb, we continued walking along the staircases. Finally we reached the end of the staircases and this is when the fun began. We had to track along rocks and streams. Initially we were worried about getting our shoes wet but then we realized it’s a losing battle. So from jumping from rock to rock, we just strolled along the stream. After walking along streams, we reached our breakpoint about 3.00pm. It was a beautiful location. It was an opening to a jungle on the other side of Tempurung Cave. The stream was still running and the jungle was splendid. We took a break and had our pack lunch. During lunch, I noticed that there were quite a number of butterflies flying around. They were all in the same color, yellow. Then I noticed a big group of them on the ground behind some bushes. There were at least 50 of them. It was a beautiful sight. We also checked the waters for living creatures. We spotted some fishes but couldn’t identify them. We also spotted some baby prawns. We were surprised on how lively the streams were. We took a half an hour break. We packed out things and continued with our journey not realizing that this is where it gets more interesting.

We continued along the stream and came to a huge cave cavity. It was like half a football stadium. Michael then grouped us up and told all of us to switched off out torch lights. Darkness. That’s what it was. Total pitch darkness. How dark it was ?? Imagine by shutting your eyes. That’s how dark it was. First, I thought my eyes needed some getting use too but after 2 to 3 minutes, it was still pitch dark. I definitely do not want to get stuck in that cave without a torch.

We then continued our journey heading back. The route returning is different. We had to go through rougher terrain. We came to a slope which we all had to slide down. Michael eased the slide by dropping down a rope for us in case of emergency. After the slide we had to crawl into a small hole. Then from there onwards we walked through streams again. Then came the shocker of them all. As I reached like what looked like a dead end, I noticed a small opening at the bottom. The opening was about I feet in height. I looked at Michael and he just smiled and said ‘Yup, you have to go in there". The reason I stared at him was because even though the opening was big enough for me to crawl in, it was filled with about half a feet of water. Which means, we have only half a feet of space for our heads. So we packed up our stuff into water proof bags and went in. We were on our stomachs with just our heads above the water. The length of the crawl was about 15 feet. That was really fun. The water was ice cold. After that we had a lot of bending and crawling to do. For those who did not warm up before starting this trip, be prepared to meet Mr. Cramps and Ms. Muscle pulls. I should know. I got them both.

By the time we reached the end I was out of breath. This could be due to my not so physically fit body. Even the end was beautiful. It was a stream running on solid rock. We could sit on the rocks and the water will be flowing pass our bodies. I looked at my watch, it was 5.00pm. We were in the caves for more than 5 hours. What an experience. We were totally exhausted but it was all worth it.

Looking back at the trip, I really enjoyed the sights of the caves. Some of the sights were remarkably beautiful. For example the shower cap where water was dropping down from about 100 feet and there was this amazing sight of water flowing down rocks which looked like oil flowing down. The trip wouldn’t be as exciting as it was if not for Michael keeping us entertained at all times. Since he has many years of experience in caving, we were guided by the best. I am already started planning my next caving trip with Michael.

Written by Premendran Pathmanathan