Monkey Walk

While Australia has so much to see and do, my husband has been having a tough time at work and he just wanted to get away for a week's holiday to somewhere completely different.

We were both so busy that we couldn't take much time to research anywhere new to visit, so we decided to return to Malaysia, a place we had visited on our first ever trip together 7 years ago, where we knew we could have an interesting and relaxing time without too much research.

We had a week on Pulau Pinang (Penang Island) mostly staying in historic Georgetown, visiting a few sites and sampling lots and lots of local food, including possibly the best Wantan Mee in the world from a little street cart on Lebuh Chulia.

Despite longing for adventure, both of us were mostly too tired to get up early enough to achieve a great deal during most days, and it was a refreshing change for us to have a relaxing time rather than trying to cram in as much as possible. Me picking up an illness on the plane didn't help matters... but we couldn't return to the island without at least a small almost-adventure.

Having decamped to the cheapest hotel-with-swimming-pool we could find north of Georgetown, it was an easy bus ride to the Taman Negeri Pulau Pinang (Penang National Park) where we could enjoy a good walk with hopes of spotting wildlife. We started out at the entrance to the park, with its views over the small harbour.

The canopy walkway was closed when we were there so we couldn't do that. Instead, we opted to walk to Monkey Beach along the well marked and maintained trail. It wasn't particularly arduous as walks go, but to be honest I was mostly interested in looking for wildlife...

We experienced our first wildlife encounter almost immediately in the form of some dusky leaf monkeys. 

We didn't know at the time that these were called dusky leaf monkeys however, so we called them 'hello Dave monkeys'... 

"Hello Dave!"

The walk took us through beautiful forest around the edge of the coastline, so we were treated to spectacular beach views through breaks in the foliage, though it was disappointing to see so much litter everywhere (I was careful with my camera shots to eliminate as much litter as possible).

On one of the beaches we had an almost-wildlife encounter when I spotted tracks in the sand. The monitor lizard that left these tracks must have been impressively large!

We continued walking, following the trail. If you ever do this walk the trail is easy to find and follow, but don't be fooled by the distance markers - some of them are WAY out! Luckily the jungle scenery is beautiful. It is still tropical jungle, but subtly different from the jungle back in tropical north Queensland.

The jungle also provides very different wildlife encounters to those found in Australia, this time in the playful forms of some long-tailed macaques scampering around the branches above our heads. The small group contains lots of youngsters who are chasing and pranking each other, pulling tails and jumping out at each other. Wrestling and tumbling around. They are a delight to watch and we stop for a while. Photos are difficult due to the low light levels and the fast-moving monkeys, but I do my best to capture their antics.

We're very nearly at Monkey Beach itself now, and the weather really is very hot. We emerge from the jungle onto the sand, it is a pretty beach, with lovely colourful boats moored at the shore some distance away.

I find a bit more wildlife, this time it's a little hermit crab with a rather exotic shell. It is high up on the beach, so after photos I put it nearer the water in amongst some rocks so that it doesn't dry out, overheat or die prematurely. I've always liked hermit crabs :)

At the beach we are delighted to find a bit of a shack where people are selling canned drinks from containers of iced water, exactly what we need after walking in the heat with just tepid water to drink. We sit in the shade with our cool drinks, enjoying the scenery and watching the boats.

We are offered a boat ride back to the harbour at the entrance to the national park for just 40 ringgit (if you pre-arrange a boat ride back at the start of your walk, it costs around 200 ringgit!). We think about it for a bit, we fancy the walk back but it is really hot and the boat ride would be a novelty, so we decide to go for it. We spend the saved time relaxing at the beach, then enjoy the scenery on the ride back. I love the way the jungle appears to rise straight out of the sea.

Back at the harbour area, we see fish farms, rickety jetties, coloured fishing boats... it's all so different to home - both the UK and Australian versions. 

The smallest of adventures in a relaxing week :)

Opportunistic Adventures in Poland 2 - Morskie Oko

Having fallen in love with Zakopane, and loving the cosy, friendly Goodbye Lenin Hostel, when we get back from yesterday's walk Sarah and I book another 2 nights there so that we can spend the whole of the next day doing another walk. There are so many options, but after talking with the staff, who have all been out exploring regularly, we decide to go to Morskie Oko.

Sticking to the budget style of our trip, we decide to use the local buses to get there. There is a stop at the road near to the hostel, and we sort out packed lunches for ourselves then get up and out early in time for the first bus. We have quite a long wait though - bus schedules seem to be flexible here! Eventually the bus arrives though, and we jump in for the winding journey to the car park at the start of the Morskie Oko walk. On the way we see lots of small villages, if you were visiting here with a car I think there would be so many beautiful little off-the-beaten-track places to stay and explore.

Morskie Oko is a lake 8km away from the carpark along a tarmac road. You can travel there much of the way in a horse-drawn cart if you wish, but we wanted to save our money and walk the whole way.

This part of the walk itself is actually pretty boring as its on tarmac road, but the views make up for this fact, and when the avalanche risk is over and the trails reopen there are so many options for proper walking trails - I would love to come back here again for a walking holiday in this area.

The clear road very soon becomes a sometimes slippery, sometimes soggy, snow-covered road. This is more difficult, but much more interesting than just walking along a tarmac road, and the views continue to impress. It really is stunning scenery and we stop frequently to take it all in and revel in the fantastic luck we have had to actually be here.

Not quite my usual hiking gear!

When we arrive at the lake it is breathtaking. A basin surrounded by steep-sided jagged mountain peaks, the lake itself is frozen and covered with a layer of snow. It is spectacular. Although most of the surrounding trails are all closed because of the snow, we still think we have come at the best time to see it looking so pretty. There is even a cabin here where you can stay overnight.

We make our way down to the snow-covered lake shore. It is busy here, with many visitors enjoying the beauty of the place. We find a suitable rock to perch on so that we can keep out of the snow while we relax, and the strong hot sunshine feels just wonderful in the cool crisp air.

My Fly London boots did surprisingly well, and were super comfy. I would still choose a different outfit if I were to do this again though ;)

We eat our lunch, are awed by the views, and we also people watch - we talk about how great it is to see so many families introducing their kids to the outdoors, and we watch lots of groups trek across the frozen lake to get to a trail up the mountainside the other side of the lake. 

Trekkers out on the lake

As time passes and the lake basin warms up, the edges of the ice on the lake get softer. As we watch, we see various people trekking across, or just posing on the edge of the lake for photos, and falling through the ice! It's really funny for the posers close to shore, but we can't help feeling nervous for those trekking further out on the lake. Much as we are curious to see the views from the other side, and to see where the next trail leads, we have no intention of trying it with our inadequate gear. The usual path around the edge of the lake is too covered in snow, with - as we discovered firsthand - many places you call fall through the snow quite far as it actually resting on tree branches rather than the ground. 

We go back to just enjoying our gorgeous spot on the lake shore a little while longer.

The walk back is the same as the way in, though a lot wetter as the day's sun has been melting the snow. On the way back we even see red squirrels playing in the trees, scampering over the tree trunks and chasing each other in circles. So cute, but too tricky to get photos of them.

Sadly we have to leave Zakopane in the morning to go back to Warsaw for our flight home the following day, but we both wish we had more time to spend walking in the mountains. In fact, we have to leave the hostel at 4am in order to walk to the bus station for our 5am bus, but that's not quite the same thing is it? ;)

Opportunistic Adventures in Poland - day 1

My best friend back home, Sarah, has been a bit down lately for a few reasons. There wasn't much I could do from the other side of the world, so what I did do was suggest that we plan a holiday together. We have previously visited Romania together, and this time we picked Poland. Sarah organised the flights as they were much cheaper from the UK, and we thought of a few things to do. 

When we finally got together, we googled a few more things to do so that we could have a bit of a hit list - our idea was to have a list of things to do, but no firm itinerary so that we could be could flexible and spontaneous if the mood took us. Surfing the links, Sarah stumbled across some pictures of really pretty wooden cottages with intricately-carved decorations. They were gorgeous, and she was keen to add this place to the list. A quick check, and we saw that the village was Zakopane, in the Tatra Mountains, and we would easily be able to get there from Krakow which was the first destination on our hit list.

This was to be a cultural trip on a shoestring budget, and we did well packing our city clothes, warm coats and everything else we needed into our cabin baggage so that we wouldn't have to pay the extortionate checked baggage fees (£120 in total for both of us to check a bag - almost as much as the flights themselves!!). Packing small had the added advantage that it would be so much easier to move from place to place during our week in Poland. But it had the disadvantage that when we got to Zakopane, and totally fell in love with the place, we had only city clothes in which to explore the walking trails through the mountains. Still, what the hell - we had comfy boots for walking around sightseeing all day so we would probably be ok, and it was far too beautiful to miss out just because of wardrobe issues.

Not all of the trails were open yet as although the spring thaw had begun there was still plenty of snow, and the avalanche risk was high. Staying in the Goodbye Lenin Hostel, we were lucky to have a great cosy and homely atmosphere, plus some good tips for things to do from the friendly Workaway staff there. 

One gateway into the National Park is really near to hostel - down the long driveway and then across the road, really simple! 

Entering the National Park.

We had a simple trail map supplied by the hostel, along with plenty of tips for which walks were nice (basically all of them!) and we chose a shorter walk of a couple of hours, heading up one of the smaller mountains to take in the views and leaving us some free time in the afternoon.

This particular park had some small pools near the start of the trail that formed an amphibian reserve. The pools were still partially frozen, but were absolutely full of frogs mating and spawning. We had never seen anything like it, it was fascinating.

We carried on up the well-marked trail, which was still big enough for vehicles at this point.

The morning light filtering through the pine trees was very atmospheric,

but sadly huge scars from deforestation were obvious everywhere.

Carrying on, we soon came to the level where the snow was still sitting on the ground. The snow melt made a lot of the clear ground very wet too - I wished I had proper walking boots for grip and waterproof-ness, but my Fly London leather boots were at least really comfortable to walk in.

Despite the snow on the ground, the sun was warm and we didn't feel cold at all.

It was so peaceful and beautiful, and the trail retained its more natural feel while at the same time being really easy to follow, thanks to the coloured markings painted onto trees along the route.

Some bits of the trail were snowy and slippery, some were soggy and muddy, but some bits were completely dry, and very easy going after the snow and mud!

We eventually arrive at the rocky outcrop we had been aiming for, and the views are stunning. I can't capture the beauty with my camera, but it really is stunning. We sit for a while admiring the spread of snowy mountains before us, and I daydream endlessly about having time and money to return and explore properly, spending days exploring the mountains.

On the way back down we take a bit of a short cut off the track to avoid the worst of the mud and snow. This also allows us to see the lovely spring crocuses sprinkled over the hillsides. So pretty.

Back at the road, we decide to walk into Zakopane town in order to explore, see the wooden houses, buy some souvenirs and get some food, before returning to the hostel to plan tomorrow's adventure...