Hiking to Sungai Sendat (20th January 2002)   (Jerry Low)

It was a fine Sunday morning when I woke up to getting ready for our first hiking trip for the year 2002. It was also to be my son’s first! Just 4 years old, I wondered if he could actually hike with the rest of us. Anyway, it was only a one hour hike, so I could still piggy-back him if necessary!

We gathered at the meeting point opposite the Batu Caves at 8.00 am. There were about 12 vehicles with 30 participants…quite a good number for a hike. There were also a couple of families with kids. I was pleasantly surprised that our group of intrepid hikers which began with about 7-8 members some 12 years ago have actually grown! Thus began our convoy to Sungai Sendat approximately 20 minutes away.

Sungai Sendat is located about 500m from Ulu Yam town, turning right at the T-junction just after the last bridge. From there, it’s a short drive through a new village before going onto a dirt track for about 10 minutes. We could have gone further, but were advised by some kind village folk that the road was not altogether suitable for cars. Negotiating with a villager who had a large space next to his house, we managed to fit all the vehicles comfortably.

The hike to the waterfall is about 40 minute’s easy walk through mostly secondary forest and orchards. A few of us chose to ride in with mountain bikes…cool! The trail is quite wide and could easily accommodate two vehicles side by side. The trail would have been messy if it had rained the night before! Anyway, we reached the waterfall about 10.30am and were surprised at how clear the water was and cold, despite being so close to residential estates. Most of our group had gone exploring to the higher levels of the waterfall. I could understand why. The area was very close to resembling a rubbish dump…litter was everywhere! It did not surprise us very much…since most of the sites we had been to were also desecrated with rubbish. I think it is a Malaysian ‘mentality’ to enjoy littering! Even if there were no rubbish dumps, people could still put their rubbish in a pile and burn or bury it…but no, they rather convenience themselves at the expense of nature. It is really sad, to say the least.

We were later joined by a group of about twenty mountain bikers who like us also decided that the rubbish was too much for them and decided to climb higher. They were members of the PCC or Pedalphiles Cycling Club out for their Sunday spin. They did not stay long, though whether turned off by the litter or by the fact that our people were all over the place, it was hard to tell!

We stayed for about 2 hours allowing ample time for swimming and…freezing before we regrouped for the hike back to our cars and LUNCH! Everything said, it was a nice change from our ‘metro’ lifestyle i.e. to enjoy nature and get some exercise at the same time. Also it was a perfect place to practice family togetherness!