Phase 2 – the story so far…

We hope you’ve all been enjoying the photos on the last blog posting (below). We hope to have some more pics for you soon. Meanwhile, the participants have been in their new Alpha groups for over a week now (which incidentally means the expedition is halfway through, already!) Here’s a quick round-up of what everyone’s been up to so far in Phase 2:

Alpha 1 down at Tampasak have been making a few improvements to their campsite and have built what they assure us is a luxury long drop. (Field Base can’t wait to check that out when we visit on the Loop!) The group has been settling nicely into village life, playing football with the local children, going along to church on Sunday morning, and continuing their cooking and Malay lessons. Alpha 1 are making progress fitting the floor of the new Kindergarten they are building in the village, and have also visited the nearby palm oil plantations.

Project Manager Betty collecting oil palm kernels.

After the recent heavy rains across Sabah, Alpha 2 in Batu Puteh have been keeping a close eye on the Kinabatangan River. When the rising water eventually got a bit too close to their camp site at the weekend, they decided to pack up and de-camp to higher ground in the village. So, until the river levels drop, Alpha 2 are now safely installed in the goat shed (minus the goats). It might be a little bit smelly, but it’s actually a lot more luxurious than the description suggests and in many ways it’s an upgrade on the Alpha 2 camp site as it boasts four walls, a floor and a roof! Despite the rain, Alpha 2 are keeping busy laying pathways at the Eco Lodge, as well as learning traditional dancing, music, cooking and the ancient Malaysian martial art of Silat, with the local community.

Alpha 2 Project Managers Jon, Nic and Penny gave Field Base visitors Ed and Dad a guided tour of their luxury goat shed.

Alpha 3 have also been suffering from river-related problems. In fact, they win the Phase 2 prize for the longest journey to reach their camp site. After an un-scheduled overnight stop in everyone’s favourite place, Telupid, they eventually managed to make it as far as the very smart Imbak Canyon Rangers' Camp (pictured here and built by previous Raleigh expeditions). However, the group's attempts to reach the Raleigh campsite were then thwarted because the river was too high to cross. They finally made it to their campsite on Monday this week but it’s continued to rain hard ever since, hampering their efforts to get stuck into work on the suspension bridge.

Imbak Canyon Rangers' Camp

However, rain has eased in the last couple of days and Alpha 3 have been busy moving lots of sand and gravel, to begin mixing the cement for the bridge foundations. They also held a Gangsta Rap party last night to mark the halfway point in the expedition - we're looking forward to seeing the photos from that...

Alpha 4 down in Danum Valley have maintained their Kings and Queens of Fancy Dress reputation by throwing an '80s party to launch Phase 2. They’ve also trekked to Tembling waterfalls, cleared trails, made sushi (we’re very impressed!), collected wild ferns to eat for their dinner, and continuing their attempts (so far in vain) to stop the resident bearded pig raiding their camp kitchen. Remaining on a wildlife theme, lucky Alpha 4 reported yesterday that they'd spent an hour watching orang-utans in the trees around their campsite.

The Alpha 4 Bearded Pig, nicknamed Ed (confusingly, as she's a sow with piglets...)

Down in Long Pa Sia, Alpha 5 have been enjoying their trekking, which (touch wood) has been unusually rain-free so far - so much so that Field Base has had to check that Alpha 5 are actually still in Borneo, after they reported that the overnight weather had been "dry and cold". Today they are trekking to spectacular Maga Falls, before a final four days back towards Long Pa Sia and the return to KK, from where they'll head over to Mamutik Island for a week's diving.

Beautiful Maga Falls, near Long Pa Sia in south-western Sabah

Finally, over on Mamutik, Alpha 6 have been enjoying some welcome sunshine. As well as gaining their PADI scuba qualifications, they have been planting coral and assisting with a seabed clean-up. They also managed to squeeze in some time to lounge around on the beach, go snorkelling and play volleyball. This week the group left their paradise beach for the depths of the jungle, and headed down to Long Pa Sia to begin their 12-day trek. So far, that's been going really well and the sun has been shining on Alpha 6...

Mamutik Island at sunset

The Loop vehicle - manned by Bob, Gill and Larissa - will be heading out from Field Base this weekend, calling at Alphas 1-4, so we hope to bring you more news and photos when they're back next week. Please keep your comments coming in the meantime - anything received before Saturday will be printed out and sent round with the Loop. The Alpha groups love hearing from you!