Back home to the Green Stuff

A mini tour during November Half Term

Cat Tien national Park lies near the border with Cambodia, 150km or 4 hours by bus and taxi from Saigon. Its one of the last few havens for wildlife in this country where anything that moves is eaten. To get to it you have to cross a swollen brown river on a rickety old foot passenger ferry boat. After wondering around for 15 minutes on the far bank, with rucksak on my back, two big bottles of water and a huge bunch of bananas, I finally found the Park office. Tucked away, the small tin roofed hut, smelling distinctly of rotting fish, seemed empty and vitually derelict. However when I called out in my western Vietnamese a creaking and scratching noise eventually revealed a dishevelled, half awake Park Ranger - I had arrived during the mid afternoon siesta...It was about 3pm! He showed me to a damp stilted hut and asked for 25 dollars per night. The bed was without linen, the fan did not work and the floor was moving - the ants are everywhere - perfect. I threw the gear on the floor and crashed on the rock hard bed. The heat was overpowering and stiffling - it was trying to rain but couldn't. I love the jungle....

crossing to the Park

After about 20 winks, I decided to go for a wonder. I got a bottle of water and my camera and headed off to see what I could find.. Back at the Park HQ, my Vietnamese was so poor and the guy behind the counter so sleepy that all I got was a small scale map and a wave of the hand. I did gather there would be a fomral guided tour later and a jeep night safari, but it seemed a little too contrived for me.


I took a look at the map and got my general bearings, pocketed it and headed off down the single lane road to find a walking track into the jungle. After about a kilomtere I saw a tiny log bridge into the undergrowth but could not see an obvious path, but, that would do. I dived straight in and I felt at home at once. This jungle feels just like all the jungles I have been in, close, eerie, damp, green and I recognised many of the species from my deep ingresses into Malay and Thai jungles. So oddly, for the first time since coming to Vietnam 4 months ago, I felt comfortable and at home.




A very big tree!!! The butressess reach
the main trunk about 5m up.
If I stood in the crevice my head would
not reach the dappled sun in this photo

I walked through the undergrowth for a few hundred meters and came across a nice track and followed this South - I had my trusty Suunto watch with me - I had bought this watch for my 40th birthday and for the last 3 years it has got me out of a few pickles and saved my skin at least twice! Here it was my free guide. South led to the river as it meadered through the park. I knew the only road in the park followed the river so this would do the job nicely and as I was on a track - and all tracks lead to Rome so to speak - I would get there eventually. I passed some huge butrressed trees on the route; these adaptations have enabled trees to scale great heights with only a shallow rooting earth layer, in order that they can compete in the 40-60m high canopy. A neat trick of nature. I also came acorss many lizards, monkeys and termites, building there own air conditioned mounds...

termites making their air conditioning

After about 3 hours, getting very sweaty and finishing off nearly all of my water, I finally broke out of the bush. I almost fell into the road which, this far out, was actually just a dirt track now. This road led to a trail head for a walking track that finally came out at the central marshlands for which this park is reknown. The marshes are a twitchers paradise and supposedly hold many crocodiles and other large beasties...

A few minutes walk and a scramble down the rocky and prickly slope to the river, I found a welcome breeze and a lovely view over the now very lively river as it cascaded down over numerous rocky steps past the flat volcanic rock I was now standing on. A great place to rest. Shade, cool breeze and natural perfection.



Natural perfection



I got my soaking wet shirt off and thought it would be good to prove I was here so here is the proof! And show off my hairy chest of course. The monkeys just carried on laughing!

No I was not holding it in!