Gunung Arong (Y2016 Intro Trek)
BASIC INFORMATION
Trek: Y2016 Intro Trek
Date: 27 - 28 August 2016
Location: Gunung Arong, Johor, Malaysia
Elevation: 273m
Duration: 2D1N
Time taken to ascend: 1 hour
Time taken to descend: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner Friendly!
BRIEF ITINERARY
Day 1
Transport to base camp
Day trek up Gunung Arong
Day 2
Fun day at the beach
Transport back to SG
The first trek of the academic year, a really short introductory to trekking for our new members!
On the 27th to 28th of August, 14 of us (a really small and cozy number!) crossed the borders over to Malaysia. We were headed for Mersing, a popular fishing town, in Johor!
Getting past the early morning traffic rush and jam at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoint took awhile – our group had split into an MPV, that entered via the car lane, and a van, through the lorry/van lanes. Some of us took a nap while waiting, while the others in my van were debating over political issues (Yes, at around 8am in the morning! I was sleeping of course).
(Note: Remember to factor in traffic congestion at the borders when you leave on a Saturday morning!)
After the long wait…. the two groups reunited at a food court for breakfast!! Food always unites!! Filling ourselves up with teh (or teh halia, my preferred choice), fresh prata, and nasi lemak, we were ready for another 2.5h of van ride and the trek!! Interestingly though, the food court we went to had a ‘buffet-line’ style of ordering, similar to IKEA! I was so very confused while ordering, much to the amusement of the locals
Right before we started – all pumped up yeah!
Fast-forward about 3 hours and we reached our base camp – a chalet of sorts by the beach with an open area to pitch tents!
After preparing and doing some last minute packing or shuffling of items, we started the hike! It was not as visible as we would have like things to be due to the (unfortunate) haze, which only came that unlucky weekend…
Walking on paved road to the trailhead marker pass some plantations, we had to avoid stepping on the numerous animal excretion (read: sheep dung) littered along the path. I was amused at how all the recent treks I went on (Mt Siguniang in China, ABC in Nepal) were similar in this sense. Ah, nature and the outdoors. It took us about 15mins to reach the trailhead!
Gearing up for the short hike ahead! Gunung Arong about only 273m in height, while termed a ‘mountain’, should actually be classified as a ‘Hill’
At the top of the HILL!
The trek up took slightly over an hour, as we huffed and puffed up the mountain, or rather, hill. Apparently it hadn’t rain for a week or two over at Mersing. Instead of the usual muddy and grassy terrain I was familiar with for Malaysia treks, the ground was sandy. In fact, it was loose sand and we had to focus on not slipping on the sand!
Are we out of the woods yet?
Now, for the highlight of the short getaway: The Beach @ Gunung Arong
Have you been to a beach that seemed rather endless, unoccupied and unspoilt by human traffic, and clear waters? That was how the beach was – we were the only ones at the beach (for the most part) and it was great to have the beach all to ourselves!
I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking of the fun we had at the beach
We found a ‘natural’ breakwater to chill at. Also meant that there are photo opportunities!!! Look at that clear reflection!
So we decided to try to bury Nicholas in the sand. We were highly amused by how ‘short’ he was becoming!
And of course the last part of our itinerary for the day – FIELD COOKING DINNER!
We had a pretty sumptuous spread I would say, of instant noodles of varying flavours, omelets, brownies (!!), pork cubes, stir-fired luncheon meat! I had a pretty fun time just cooking and attempting to finish all the food that we had with everyone huddling around taking turns to be the MasterChef.
More intense lateral thinking games at night again before heading to rest! Look how we squeezed into one small chalet room (equivalent to a group study room size in SMU) to avoid the haze outside!
It was a great chill 2d1n getaway to Gunung Arong – complete with a good hike, the beach and the sea, good food and good company. Many thanks to the participants who joined us for the trip and hope to see you guys around in school and in more Trekking events
P/S if you guys ever head to Gunung Arong or Mersing, do give the seafood a try over there! We didn’t manage to feast on the seafood due to time and there is a small tinge of regret
Written by: See Ying Ling, Trek IC
