3D/2N Nature Exploration at Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut) with PEKA & WSFFM

Hello readers ..

I am back with Cuti-Cuti Malaysia Entry. I know most of Dari Jari-Jari Halusku readers love my travel entry most, compared to other kind of entry.

Sharing is caring .. so this entry is for you, lovely readers.

I am a nature lover. Listening to the sound of nature, be in the nature is the best therapy in life. I supported PEKA's vision for years before I officially joined PEKA as one of their Exco members early this year. PEKA or Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam or in English "Organisation for The Protection of Natural Heritage Malaysia" was established in 2010 by its founder Puan Sri To' Puan Datuk Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil who is an avid nature lover with a vision to save the oldest rainforest with all its biodiversity from extinction. 

Orang kata, Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta. Bila dah duduk dalam PEKA, barulah Misz-ella tau yang perjuangan Puan Sri Sabrina dan PEKA tidak lah mudah dan segala-galanya hanya boleh dilakukan atas nama cinta. Banyak pengorbanan baik dari segi masa, tenaga, wang ringgit yang perlu dilakukan kerana perjuangan cintakan alam kurniaan Allah SWT kepada kita ini.

Apart of being PEKA's President, Puan Sri Sabrina is also a President of Women's Sport & Fitness Foundation Malaysia (WSFFM).

Recently both organisation, PEKA and WSFFM organised a Team Building program for its Exco in the wettest part of the country, Bukit Larut or formerly known as Bukit Maxwell.

Our 282km journey from Klang Valley started at 6:30 am and we reached Bukit Larut foothill at 10:00 am.

 Parked our car

And get ready for 10 kilometres journey to the top of Bukit Larut using the Land Rovers provided. Private vehicle are not allowed to access the road without permit.

The access road to Bukit Larut is very steep and narrow. Get ready for an adrenalin rush as the ride up and down is quite exciting - just like riding a roller coaster. Masa naik excited gila .. masa turun senyap sorang-sorang menahan mual rasa nak muntah ..*hehe*

Arrived and were welcomed by a cool weather - fresh zero pollution air, quiet, natural surrounding. If you are a  'pampered in luxurious surroundings' tourist, Bukit Larut is not for you. Unlike most developed resorts in Malaysia, Bukit Larut, the oldest hill resort in our country remains its untouched beauty ~ raw, wild and 'virgin'. 

Visitors who came to Bukit Larut are mostly nature lovers, birdwatchers and hikers ~ embellished with flowers, birds and tree ferns .. the main reason why our President chosed Bukit Larut as our team building location ~ ways far from our normal routine and our hustle bustle city life. We are going to explore the nature here!

And the exploration started with 'look see look see' and off course .. capturing best moment together *wefie lah, kan*

Enjoying Jeruk Madu Pak Ali with Puan Yati, Admin PEKA Malaysia and Azrizal Secretary General of WSFFM infront of the Land Rover station - kat tempat sejuk macam ni, makan apa pun berselera .. Thank You to Zabidi from PEKA Penang who brought this jeruk over .. rebut-rebut kita makan, kan.

Due to the limited internet access, we have to keep moving around to get an internet coverage. For a blogger like me .. update is a MUST!! For Yati and Azrizal .. their work never ends .. walau di mana mereka berada, kerja tetap tak lupa and this spot is the best spot for 012, 016, 019 coverage .. but be careful!! we are at the wettest part of Malaysia .. leeches are everywhere .. menunggu mangsa yang leka

Bukit Larut may not have the fine luxury like other resort hill in our country but that's what attracts nature lover like us. Romantic in its own way,everything here is still old and natural .. from the land rover adventure ride, to the limited facilities .. our trip to Bukit Larut which initiated by our President is a peaceful mountain retreat where nature is the attraction.

Taiping town from the altitude of 1036 above sea level .. I love Taiping. I have so many memories in this second largest town of Perak. My first brother live in this beautiful peaceful town since 15 years ago. Taiping is known with its beautiful nature and heritage and the name was formed by two Chinese characters - Tai & Ping (Great peace).

Bungalow Angkasa was our home during the trip. Built in 1906, this big bungalow has 4 big bedrooms and can accommodate up to 20 persons. This 111 years bungalow are still in good condition but we seriously think the bungalow need refurbishment. Anyway this was the place where we spent our quality times together for 3D/2N in Bukit Larut.

While the men stayed in Beringin Bungalow.

And tadaaaa .. Hello from the top! We climbed the rock to get the best spot for this pose!This is the result lah when mom said jom panjat and anak kata lets do it *haha*

As I said earlier the only activity you can do here is NATURE! Unlike any other hill resort in Malaysia, there is no community here, no night clubs or bar, no shop, mosque, clinic but there is one small little Cafe with colonial architecture.

Some of the flowers found at Bukit Larut 

Beautiful in their own ways ~ the best sentences to describe both the cafe and our President, Puan Sri Sabrina.

The cafe interior ..

One of the picturesque spot for photograph ..

After lunch, we planted pokok gaharu or Aquilaria malaccensis, a species of plant which is the major source of Agarwood, used for perfume and incense. Lead by our President, Puan Sri Sabrina more than 10 gaharu trees were planted in Bukit Larut during our visit. 

Bazlinda, Secretary General of PEKA Malaysia

Betrina and Kee of WSFFM

This is inline with PEKA's mission - to keep the earth green by planting more trees via our various main activities. In case if you do not know, PEKA planted trees every month throughout Peninsular Malaysia via it's Tree For A Tree program and our yearly Save Our Rainforest Race.

The fun and adventure of our day did not stop when our President decided to go for an evening walk. Walking together in a cool breezy weather while filling our lungs with a fresh oxygen *lovely*

After the dinner, we had a casual fun get-together session organised by TeamTac who joined our trip. Shawn, Rem and Yasser created a fun games where myself, Rizal, Sheeda and Puan Sri Sabrina were in a group. I lose the game and our President was the first winner .. It was fun!

Day 1 in Bukit Larut was well spent .. Day 2 was more adventurous. We started our day with hiking ~ one of our President's hobby. Everywhere she go, exploring a new jungle is a MUST! Do not forget your stretching guys or you might hurt your muscle. Immediately after the stretching and 'bacaan doa' we started the hike.

We have to walk 2.5km (all the way up hills) before we reach the entrance of  Gunung Hijau (Green Mountain).

19 of us in a group, walked and enjoyed the cold breezy weather. Everyone were excited, energized and fresh since it was still early morning but wait .. where is our President? Well .. she was among the front liners who lead the hiking ..

And she waited for us at the entrance of Gunung Hijau

As soon as everyone arrived .. we started to hike the mountain

The hiked was not easy as we have to hiked almost 5 hills with the elevation of 70 degrees. Up down the hills, guided by Encik Wan Shahrul of Persatuan Pendaki Negeri Perak and his team.

Three key personnel of Team Tac, Shawn, Rem and Yasir who also our Outdoor event organiser joined the hiking. 

OK dah letih .. Break 5 minutes please .. As this hike will take about 4 to 5 hours to complete the whole trail, we were reminded earlier by Puan Yati, to bring our raincoat, tit bits, additional cloth, proper hiking attire which includes a suitable hiking shoe, drink, medicine (if necessary) and a good stamina is a MUST! Be alert with your surroundings. Our hiked was extra fun when everyone were facing their own battle against the leeches!! Leeches are everywhere in this jungle but what I liked more about this group is .. the teamwork spirit are very high .. we helped and supported each other *love*

Some of the floras and faunas of Gunung Hijau spotted by Haikal's camera

And finally, we reached the summit of Gunung Hijau after putting a lot of hard work. Not only the trail was adventurous but the fight against the leeches was Urgghhhh .. *quite stressful *hehe* Gunung Hijau which is located in Banjaran Bintang is a home for leeches and other wildlife. Get a proper guidance and advise  before you hike this trail. The youngest in this group is Aiman who is also the Exco for WSFFM and the oldest is Encik Halim of PEKA Perak who is 73 years old. Regardless our age, if we practiced healthy lifestyle from the beginning, nothing is impossible. 

This reminded me on our President's advise - Exercise should be part of our lifestyle, more than just a hobby ~ "Health is Wealth" "Be A Sport Life Gets Better"

Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina then later decided to replace this damaged signboard to a new one. If you happen to hike this mountain in the future, please send us your picture with the new signboard donated by PEKA Malaysia to PEKA Malaysia's FB. Apart from we want to contribute to Gunung Hijau, the new signboard will mark our memory of hiking this Mountain together with our two big family (PEKA & WSFFM). A big Thank You to our Madam President for bringing us together here. 

The 64 years old Daniel Wong, PEKA's Exco, Betrina, Bazlinda, Rizal, Secretary General of WSFFM and me at the peak of Gunung Hijau. We made it. Yeay!

Teh O panas di puncak Gunung Hijau ~ cool, right!

Bazlinda, PEKA's Secretary General with her plastic bag

After a short break, we left Gunung Hijau. Everyone were given a garbage plastic. We picked all rubbish that we met along the way. We love the nature and we keep it clean.

Day 1 was sweet. Day 2 ended perfectly with more healthy activities and we left Bukit Larut on early morning of Day 3 with sweet memories. Thank You our Madam President, Puan Sri Sabrina for the lovely moment. We had fun!!