Kayaking… Years back, friends kept asking me to go with them but I rejected them every single time. Now… I have no choice but to participate in it. After dating the Orangutan at Semenggoh, we went to Kampung Bengoh at Padawan area for river kayaking.
We started the journey at Kampung Bengoh. Briefing was done to make sure we know the basics, what we should do and not do. It’s a 11km journey which took about 4-5 hours to complete with pit stops of course.
Getting ready to start…
It was a really hot day. Good thing there’s rain the day before so the river flowed better and didn’t need much energy. Well… Still requires energy, just not as hard, we just let the river did the job while enjoying the work of mother’s nature. There’s some small rapids too.
Our first pit stop was a mini waterfall (Aruang Pi’ at Trusan Mini Waterfall). Need a great deal of balancing for me to walk in as I’m very bad in balancing. What’s more, I was just wearing flip flops which is not recommended. It’s better to wear aqua shoes or water shoes. The rocks are slippery. It was great to dip into the water after kayaking under the hot sun.
After that, we continued on to Kampung Danu for lunch and rest. You can go around the kampung to experience the surrounding before continuing with the journey.
Along the river, the view changed from greens to lots of limestone formation along the way. It’s so pretty! Just too bad, I don’t have the photos. All the photos in this post are not taken by me. You can google it by keying in “Semadang kayak”.
We had a final stop at a sandy bank (I think it’s called Sibudak) for a rest and swim if you like before continuing the journey to the pit stop at Kampung Semadang.
It was a really good experience and eye opener even for a local like me. I did suffer bites from sand flies because we stopped too long at the riverbank for vine climbing activity. I would suggest not to stop here unless you would like to climb the vine. Was tanned by the sun too which is unavoidable but it’s nothing major.
Did suffer from shoulder and arm soreness that evening. However, after taking paracetamol, I woke up feeling no pain or soreness the next morning. I’m quite surprised since I’m not a person who do outdoor activities or even exercise. Hence, I guess anyone with no serious illness can do it without much problem. You’ll be taken care by experienced guides too. The river is quite safe, it’s not too deep and you have life jacket also. Great for beginners too.
Last but not least, be sure to apply sunscreen and insect repellent. Cap is very important. Wear something light with long sleeves to cover your arm if can. If you have swim tights would be great too. Sunglasses isn’t recommended unless you can secure it well enough from falling off. Don’t forget about towel and dry clothes for change after kayaking.
Will I go again? Depending on my mood hahaha… I’m not an outdoor person, that explains why. Still I would recommend it to anyone who are interested to try. It’s a good one.