XPDC Rafflesia at Ulu Geroh, Gopeng - 31 Mac 2012

Last Saturday I went to Kg Ulu Geroh, Gopeng, Perak with Muhammad Maharoff to join my old buddy Mahathir Azahari .. aka Madard .. whom i've x met since 30 yrs ago .. we used to be in the same Study Group during college yrs at UPM way back in 1979 till early 80's .. ;)

This xpdc was organized by my buddy Madard in search of Rafflesia .. the world largest flower ! How to get there ? From KL we took the PLUS h/way towards Ipoh, exit at Gopeng Toll. 

Upon reaching the Gopeng Balai Bomba junction, turn right into housing area .. drive thru at 12 o'clock direction n follow the sign boards till u reach the Semai Orang Asli settlement at Kg Ulu Geroh (abt 6km from main road) .. U can park your vehicles here .. insyaAllah selamat .. ;)

Madard n me .. ;)

Group photo before the trekking begins .. there were 12 of us including 2 guides. This pic was taken in front of the Ulu Geroh Raflesia Conservation Center ..

Bersama trekker guides kita .. the Semai cousins Rina n Hissan (1st n 3rd from left) .. pakej kami rm22+22=44/pax (Rajah Brooke butterflies n Rafflesia). The Semais can speak BM fluently n majority has adopted Christianity as their religion .. Find out more abt this Semai ppl at http://www.e-semai.org/

 Our first stop was the Rajah Brooke's salt lick puddle .. in fact at the same location there is a small punca air panas (agak2 suam gitew) yg berbau sulfur .. ;)

 Species ni mmg canteq .. i really like GREEN color ! .. hehe ;)

Cuba try guess .. jari tu menunjuk kpd apa ?

Nampak x Astro Beyond dish ?

The Rafflesia flower .. tengah2 blooming .. Mmg rezki kami sbb rafflesia ni kembang hanya 1 kali setahun ..

Perghh .. tu diaaa .. Madard punya aksi amik pics Prof Mad lebih ganah drp tok guru silat .. (Perangai Madard mmg x brubah mcm dulu .. suka buat 'ghamai' .. heboh sana sini kasi havoc satu hutan .. hehe)

One for the album .. rare sight ! Just imagine, after 30 yrs of 'going separate ways' we finally met again at the hill top of Kg Ulu Geroh in an expedition to hunt for Rafflesia .. Takbiir ! Allah Maha Agung !

Madard n his favorite flower !

Doc Ijad (Shahrizad Yusof) .. pakar herba UPM ..

Bila join xpdc bersama profs pakar2 rafflesia ni mmg byk info esp pasal konservasi kita dpt .. Pic atas memaparkan aksi Prof Madard sedang menerangkan fungsi 'spores' yg terdpt pada batang lianas yg menjalar sampai ke tanah .. ;) I just found out that these pores r actually 'scar tissues' bekas tempat tumbuhnya bunga Rafflesia kat batang lianas tuh .. huhu ;)

Gelagat 3 Profs biology ... sedang melakukan adengan Raja Lawak ! Prof Ahmad Ismail/UPM (in green T-shirt) was really sporting .. ;)

Perkara biasa bila masuk hutan kena gigit pacat .. trip kali ni i dpt 5 liang 'love bites' dek pacat dara Kg Ulu Geroh .. hmmm ;)

Trek ke puncak bukit lokasi Rafflesia tu mmg mencanak .. non stop menaiiiik jer .. Boleh mengah klu kita x fit .. ;) But the trick is to 'kayuh pelan2' .. in no time u reached summit .. insyaAllah.

Mushrooms bersepah kat tepi kiri kanan trek ..

The overall trekking trail from the parking area to the Rafflesia spot uphill is abt 4 km (based on avg walking speed of 15min/km). The 1st half hr is just a 'simple' brisk walk passing thru abt 4 or 5 small river streams (best if u just wear kasut getah Adidas kampung or trekking sandals)

The other half hr to the summit is uphill climb .. up, up n up the 45 degrees slopes, non-stop till u reach the top. The locals installed ropes for those who need assistance .. ;) Worry not my friend .. kayuh jer pelan2 .. in no time u dah sampai summit .. insyaAllah. The key is to never give up !

Anugerah Allah ! air sungai yg jernih n sejuk .. mengalir dcelah2 batu ..
Allahu akbar !

Hibiscus rosa sinensis ..

Another gp photo after the xpdc .. alhamdulillah, everybody still in one piece !

As reward for mission accomplished, we drove up Cameron Highlands to have a cup of teh limau madu panas .. at Bharat Tea Plantation .. mmg worth it !