RAINFOREST & MANGROVES

sea urchins

PART ONE: RAINFOREST & MANGROVES

Mum and I took a 20 min boat ride to Gaya Island and begun our first WHOLE day in Borneo. I thought the boat ride was going to be calm, going at a steady pace but I stood corrected. We flew over the waves (and YES I said flew) it was like turbulence all over again and sure enough Mum was NOT enjoying it! I must admit, the boat ride was as good as a roller coaster at a theme park!

As the boat moored to the jetty,  my eyes were immediately drawn to the water. You see, this was my first time EVER seeing crystal clear water. 

There were all types of vibrant and amazing species of fish in the water . . . and best of all blue STARFISH! I couldn’t wait to go snorkeling, but first, the 2km jungle trek. It was easy to see the different rainforest levels from the boat. The emergents were like prima donnas showing off, the canopy layers and the under story and we trudged through the forest floor. 

As we climbed the steep clayey path Mum pointed out that the roots were mainly on the surface of the forest floor. You all know I’ve done my research on rainforests so I knew they were on top because the soils beneath the floor is infertile so there’s no point for a tree to plunge its roots deep for nutrients and support. Instead the tree roots create a maze just beneath the surface to gobble up the rich humus layered soil. I’ve seen plant adaptions in the Cambodian jungle and I saw more today, like the spiky plants, and of course the climbing lianas searching for sunlight. 

Our guide, “Don”, explained the different types of wood located in the rain forest and how they are used. There is a type of fern has wood that’s used to make the walls of some houses, and when people didn’t have iron nails they used thin lianas, which they dried to use as a strong rope.

We also spied a chameleon which took a while to convince Mum that the twig 20 meters away was a lizard! She had to get her telephoto camera and click the tree and THEN she believed me! (I think she might need stronger glasses! .. or perhaps listen to me!). 

We then  approached the mangroves. I was given a small geography lesson by Mum. I now understand how important the mangroves are, especially as they are important breeding grounds to many species of fish. 

Mum explained that some people don’t realise how important they are and see the mangroves as a waste of space. Botony Bay had a perimeter of mangroves but they built Sydney International Airport there - and destroyed the mangrove ecosystem. The trees that grow in the mangroves have adapted to sea water, by developing a “filter” which clears the salt from the water (all trees need fresh water to live). 

Mangrove tree pods have an amazing adaptation - the pods are not evenly weighted, the end with the roots is heavier. So if the pod falls during high tide, it will slowly rotate and the heaviest part sinks into mud and plants itself there. Lesson in adaptions done. 

I also saw the consequence of people not considering the environment when the high tide dumps rubbish in the mangroves. I've got more to say about mass tourism in my next post! 

We left Gaya island to head for a picnic lunch and snorkeling ... but when we got there .. Mum refused to stay .. I'll tell you more in the next post - yep, mass tourism issue again.