A busy week in Imbak Canyon

As reported in the last blog post, industrious Alpha 3 down in Imbak Canyon have been flexing their muscles for the last week or so, getting stuck into some serious heavy lifting for the new suspension bridge. They haven't been too busy to give us an update on what they've been up to though, and so - in their own words - here's a news summary courtesy of Chrissie and Kate, the Alpha 3 'news hounds':

We had to shift the upright beams for the bridge up the hill to the trail. They're made of 'iron wood' from the Belian tree. It took 20 of us to complete the task as the beams were 13ft long and 2ft by 2ft in diameter.

We split into two groups on either side of the river to work on the bridge foundations. Group One were digging up the sand and gravel from the river and then winching it across. Group Two were then mixing the concrete to complete the foundations. It was hard work but they're finally done, - five weeks ahead of schedule!

Some of the group helped to clear away the landslide that has been blocking the road between Ranger Camp and the worksite for the last couple of months. Then we moved the timber to the worksite: 60 2x4 iron wood planks are pretty heavy. We also winched the metal suspension cable over the river. It is extremely long and heavy and we had to drag it out of the gorge, which took a lot of "One, two, three, PULL"s until it was long enough to secure to a tree to stop it falling back into the river.

Over the next few days the upright beams will be moved into place and cemented into the foundations. Meanwhile, we are feeling very settled and at home in Imbak, even producing home-baked treats from the camp kitchen, including chocolate-filled doughnuts and fresh bread. The group have also trekked to see more of the area, with a short walk from the camp to see an enormous Belian tree (estimated by the rangers to be over 1000 years old) and a longer trek up Repeater Hill to a spectacular viewpoint looking out across Imbak Canyon.

Before the end of the expedition the whole group is hoping to complete the Bucit Beruang trek, which will take us up to the summit of the North Ridge. From there, we will be able to see the mist coming up through the trees, the sunrise and the surrounding palm oil plantations, which once threatened the Imbak Canyon Reserve.