Last Sunday I climbed Bukit Kutu, a small mountain, 1050m high not far from Chilling waterfall and Fraser's Hill. The walk up to the summit took about 4 hours walking at a leisurely pace. The trail is popular but is still a good place to spot wildlife.
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| The abandoned settlement at the top of Bukit Kutu |
At the summit a chimney, fireplace and a well are all that remain of bungalows that were here before the second world war. The original track to the summit has long since disappeared into the jungle.
A number of bamboo orchids were growing in the vicinity. These seem to favour disturbed ground at altitude throughout the region.
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| Arundina graminifolia (Bamboo Orchid) |
Unfortunately it was rather cloudy when I reached the top and so the views were not as far ranging as they might have been.
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| View from the top of Bukit Kutu |
Not far from the summit this beautiful cymbidium orchid was growing by the side of the trail. This is a very widespread species that belongs to a genus that contains many popular hybrids that are grown as house plants the world over.
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| Cymbidium ensifolium |
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| Cymbidium ensifolium |
The wildlife highlight of the walk for me was finding a yellow-striped caecilian. On the way back I was caught in a thunderstorm and the torrential rain turned the trail into a small stream. The caecilian is a legless, burrowing worm like amphibian that must have been driven to the surface by the rain. Unfortunately by the time I got my camera out of my dry bag it had nearly gone and I only managed to get one blury shot before it escaped below the leaf litter at the side of the trail.
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| Ichthyophis sp. (Yellow-striped Caecilian) |
There were lots of butterflies along the trail despite the overcast and rainy weather. Here are a couple of them.
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| Malayan Tree Nymph (Idea hypermnestra) |
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| Papilio memnon male (Great Mormon) |
The river at the end of the trail provided a great spot for a dip in the refreshing cool water.
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| The River at the Trail Head |
The day before doing Bukit Kutu I spent some time at Fraser's Hill again. Here I found this beautiful carnivorous pitcher plant not far from Jeriau Waterfall.
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| Nepenthes sanguinea (Pitcher Plant) |
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| Nepenthes sanguinea |
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| Nepenthes sanguinea Looking in the Pitcher. |
Fraser's Hill never fails to yield a new wildlife experience. This moth at The Old Smokehouse was clearly mimicking a praying mantis.
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| Sacada sp. Mantis Mimic Moth |
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| Looking out from the road down from Fraser's Hill across Tree Ferns and unspoilt rain forest clad mountains, |
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| Henckelia (Didymocarpus) sps growing near the waterfall |
A rare mountain butterfly at Fraser's Hill
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| Appias cardenal (Malay Puffin) |
