Discovering Cameron Highlands

The view on the water bottle almost matches the on in the camera.

We needed to escape the city! After a month of work and getting through the challenges of each week it was time to escape. So on Monday morning we packed our suitcase, loaded our cameras into the car and left town.  This MAE weekend we had decided on getting out and exploring the Hill station of Cameron Highlands. It is about 3 hours drive away from KL and is very popular during weekends and public holidays. We felt we would have an advantage going there on a quiet Monday, Tuesday.

Tea plantation with jungle backdrop in the cooling highlands.

First thing to know about Cameron Highlands is that for just over half the drive it is on a narrow winding road that climbs into the hills. Actually it is like the a cross between the Kopu –Hikuai and the 309 on the Coromandel. As narrow as the 309 and as steep and winding but sealed like the Kopu Hikuai. Also because it is in Malaysia you could easily double the length of the climb. The drive is scenic for passengers with lots of different things to see. The Orang Asli (The true natives of the forests of Malaysia) have numerous stalls and simple homes on the side of the road. However the driver must keep alert for crazy drivers who think that the road is an expressway.

View from below the Cameron Valley Tea ,Tea-house. Spectacular!

Apparently the Highlands were developed during British colonial times as an escape from the humid tropical lowlands. Up in the hills the air is cooler and more pleasant. It was also discovered to be a good environment for growing tea, so there is a thriving tea industry taking place up in this area. We had pictured tea plantations growing on terraced hillsides with a backdrop of jungles.  But the picture we had of the tea bushes was a little different to how the real thing looked.

Market gardeners are abundant on the side of the road to BOH Tea..

For a start the rows seemed to run in a range of directions up and down and even across the hills. There were no visible terraces. The bushes all had flat tops. They looked like low hedges that had recently had the tops cut back, only the next hedge was less than 50 cm away. We took a diversion to the BOH Tea plantation, hoping to enjoy tea and scones at the Teashop and to find out more about tea. Sadly it is closed on Mondays. However the drive up the Boh valley was scenic and more than worth it. Next time we will head up there on a Tuesday. As we drove back down the valley to the main road we noticed that there is lots of interesting market garden activities taking place. These grow on terraced slopes and make use of every usable corner of land. Eventually we found the Cameron Valley Tea Shop, which overlooks Cameron valley tea plantation. The tea plantation grows right up to the base of the tea shop. It is worth a stop and serves a range of simple food. The views are worth stopping for.

The BOH Tea Lady!

Shrek takes a little tea stop.

From here we made our way to Strawberry Park Resort our hill top accommodation. It was a little out of town so it was said to be quiet. We rolled on up and were pleasantly surprised. This resort is surrounded by beautiful gardens, with a number of interesting flowers. Of course along with these were birds and insects. The rooms were large with an enormous bathroom. When we agreed to take the room, and they realised that we had a Malaysian work permit, we were offered a special local promotion. This made the room very reasonable.  Once booked in we took a wander around and enjoyed the opportunities to play with our cameras. We arrived back in time for dinner. I would have to say the Smokey Bear Restaurant option is worth trying. We had a great evening outside in the cool air enjoying smoked Salmon and Lamb.  With not too many people staying we had top quality service from the friendly staff.  I couldn't fault this as a place to relax and enjoy the cool of the Highlands.

The Hibiscus flowers on the road to Strawberry Park Resort.

Sun flowers that grow in the gardens of Strawberry Park.

Tuesday morning we decided that we should get in a decent walk in the Jungle. We made our way to the Gunung Berembum trails. It was an interesting walk, through a mixture of rain forest. It is interesting to note that the trails here are easy to follow, however they are not clearly marked and it is sometimes hard to tell which trail you are actually on. We did have a tourist map but that did not really give a clear indication. The outcome was we had an interesting 4 hours trek in some very interesting jungle. Mostly it was uphill until we turned around and headed back downhill.  

These fungi greww in a number of mossy corners along the jungle trails.

One of the many blooms of wild orchids along the trail.

Cicadas! These guys were very active and the noise from them was intense.

Notice the bright red eyes on this fly. 

Once down to the base of the hill we had an interesting walk back to the car. Cameron Highlands certainly had plenty to keep  us busy for a couple of days, and there is still quite a bit to see, so I think we will back to explore this area some more before we leave Malaysia.

We did see this sign on numerous occasions!

Our drive back down and back to KL was pleasant and passed reasonably quickly. This makes it an escape that is quite achievable from home for and overnight stay.