Quest for Kerachut Beach
26th December 2005 … is the day to conquer the hike trail to the beach through the Pantai Acheh reserve forest in the north of Penang Island.
The hike started late morning, around 1000 hours … so the party of over 15 people started off from Teluk Bahang in a scorching morning heat …
Now, I was probably the weakest of the gang and I remember my last climb with relatives from mum’s side, I was always the last one … huffing & puffing way back & complaining, so this time, I started way front. The path was well covered & not hot, but as we ascended … the altitude started to toll on me … but I just told myself to continue & slowly left others behind. Now, the trick for me (as I found out during university) was to keep going & never stop … cause once I stopped, my tiredness would sink in … so while looking back & realizing others were far behind, I just went on (even though I didn’t know the way) & kept looking for the sign boards.
For companionship, I had my two young cousins (the youngest actually), ZW & ZS running behind me & keeping up with my pace. The track was quite interesting as I moved swiftly while looking out for ‘things’ from my path ahead & around … so it was not too long before I was rewarded with the finding of a leaf snake … and it was quite easy to spot it, being bright green basking in the limited sunbeam as if on the spotlight on a stage. Simply beautiful …
Arriving at the beach, it was even hotter than when I left Teluk Bahang … but to have the sea breeze from the choked up forest air was still a good refreshing change. So, we just took a spot while waiting for the rest to arrive, and it was almost an hour before everyone finally came.
Since I was not much of a beach person & didn’t want to get wet, I just relaxed in the shade & enjoying watching the rest splash around. It’s fun to see my younger cousins splash around & remind myself of how I used to be as a kid. It was then I realized that I was the oldest kid onthat block. Sigh.
And when we left … the trek back seemed shorter … even when I really dreaded it … & I thought I would not make it., but I made it back first, much ahead than the rest. I guess we all fear a lot, but when we put them to task … they reduce as we go along & sometimes, the fears are unfounded.
That wraps my quest & conquest of the Kerachut beach hike.
The hike started late morning, around 1000 hours … so the party of over 15 people started off from Teluk Bahang in a scorching morning heat … Now, I was probably the weakest of the gang and I remember my last climb with relatives from mum’s side, I was always the last one … huffing & puffing way back & complaining, so this time, I started way front. The path was well covered & not hot, but as we ascended … the altitude started to toll on me … but I just told myself to continue & slowly left others behind. Now, the trick for me (as I found out during university) was to keep going & never stop … cause once I stopped, my tiredness would sink in … so while looking back & realizing others were far behind, I just went on (even though I didn’t know the way) & kept looking for the sign boards.
For companionship, I had my two young cousins (the youngest actually), ZW & ZS running behind me & keeping up with my pace. The track was quite interesting as I moved swiftly while looking out for ‘things’ from my path ahead & around … so it was not too long before I was rewarded with the finding of a leaf snake … and it was quite easy to spot it, being bright green basking in the limited sunbeam as if on the spotlight on a stage. Simply beautiful … Arriving at the beach, it was even hotter than when I left Teluk Bahang … but to have the sea breeze from the choked up forest air was still a good refreshing change. So, we just took a spot while waiting for the rest to arrive, and it was almost an hour before everyone finally came.
Since I was not much of a beach person & didn’t want to get wet, I just relaxed in the shade & enjoying watching the rest splash around. It’s fun to see my younger cousins splash around & remind myself of how I used to be as a kid. It was then I realized that I was the oldest kid onthat block. Sigh.
And when we left … the trek back seemed shorter … even when I really dreaded it … & I thought I would not make it., but I made it back first, much ahead than the rest. I guess we all fear a lot, but when we put them to task … they reduce as we go along & sometimes, the fears are unfounded.
That wraps my quest & conquest of the Kerachut beach hike.
posted by Jay @ 10.1.06
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