[THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD]
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| A Tatai River Tour |
In a country best known for its temples,
Jane Dunford finds a floating ecolodge that's a gateway to a pristine
environment.
IT'S pitch black as I set off tentatively in my kayak,
the starless sky merging seamlessly into the inky river. The only sound
is of my paddle in the water and a faint chirping of cicadas. Suddenly
the darkness is broken - a tree decorated with a thousand fairy lights
is frantically flickering on the river bank.
''It's the firefly disco,'' says Chilly, my guide, pointing at the twinkling display.
I am, it's fair to say, in the middle of nowhere. This is
the Tatai River, east of Koh Kong, in the southern reaches of
Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains. Halfway between Bangkok and Phnom Penh,
this is a pristine area of rainforest and coastal mangroves that barely
features on the tourist trail.
What's more, I'm camping, though it's not exactly pop-up
tent and baked beans. I'm staying at the Four Rivers Floating Lodge,
which takes glamping to a whole new extreme.
The entire resort is waterborne - the brilliant idea of
its Romanian owner Valentin Pawlik. You get here by boat, arriving at
one of a series of floating wooden platforms. A central pontoon houses
the bar, restaurant and library. There are 12 huge and super-luxurious
South African-style safari tents (six more are planned), with private
decks and sunlounges, double-sinked en suites, flatscreen TVs and DVD
players that seem a tad incongruous in the heart of the jungle. But,
hey, this is wilderness in style.
It's all very eco-friendly too, largely solar-powered and
staffed mostly by locals - so you needn't have a guilty conscience.
Move it away and there'd be little sign that it had ever existed.
Leaving the fireflies to party, I paddle slowly back to
the lodge and feast on spicy shrimp and freshwater fish with coconut,
cooked in banana leaves, before heading for a blissful night's rest,
lulled to sleep by the gentle bobbing of water.
Most visitors to Cambodia flock to the revitalised
capital of Phnom Penh further east and to the temples around Siem Reap
in the north. This coastal region, part of the Koh Kong conservation
corridor, is home to some of the country's most impressive natural
sights. The long civil war kept developers and loggers at bay and the
potential for ecotourism is huge (though the threat of hydroelectric
power plants looms).
Four Rivers, with its gorgeous setting on a bend in the
river, is magical at all times of day - misty in the morning, glowing
at sunset and prettily lit up after dark - and is as tranquil a place as
you could wish for. I spend much of my time here kayaking through the
mangrove maze (spotting those fireflies and watching monkeys gather at
the water's edge at dusk), swimming in the river from steps outside my
tent (a pool is planned) and visiting waterfalls, where the pounding
torrent gives a great back massage.
There are excursions into the jungle, led by a former
poacher, to spot wildlife and visit villages and fruit plantations
(overnight camping is a new option).
As I'm here at the end of the rainy season, when leeches
and mud make trekking treacherous, we take a boat downstream instead.
Thick mangrove forests line the banks and dolphins can sometimes be
spied in the estuary opening on to the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Kong Island
appears on the horizon, an as-yet-undeveloped paradise with pristine
beaches and untouched rainforest.
We stop at Koh Sra Lau, an island with one tiny fishing
village, and wander around while women sit mending nets and offer us
fried fish with tamarind sauce and papaya.
There's no tourist fatigue here, just friendly welcomes. A
little boy grabs my hand and leads me to the village school, where
children proudly sweep the classroom before the teachers appear.
I'm keen to explore more, so the next day head to Chi
Phat village and a community-based project started by conservation
charity Wildlife Alliance, in the Southern Cardamoms protected forest.
The alliance aims to preserve the rainforest by helping
villagers earn a living from ecotourism, instead of illegal logging or
hunting endangered animals, and giving tourists a unique green
adventure. It's a winding bus journey down to the port town of Andoung
Tuek and a two-hour boat ride along Phipot River to the village. There
are several guesthouses but I choose a home stay on the outskirts of
town with Chou and her young family, who sit underneath a stilted wooden
house, a cow curled at their feet like a pet dog. A far cry from the
luxuries of Four Rivers it may be but it's clean, comfortable and a
great way to see everyday village life.
Chi Phat is all about outdoor adventure: you can trek or
cycle into jungle and mountains for days at a time, sleeping in hammocks
or rustic campsites, go birdwatching, take boat trips or check out the
nearby bat caves and an area dotted with mysterious, ancient burial
jars.
I sign up for a 28-kilometre mountain bike tour to O'Malu
waterfall. Crossing grassy plains and traditional farmland, we follow
Lucky - a 23-year-old from the village who's been trained in everything
from bike maintenance to wildlife spotting - up steep paths through the
tangled jungle, with gibbons calling high overhead.
It's a challenging ride in parts (yep, I end up on my bum
in a puddle at one point) but jumping into the cool pool at the base of
the waterfall is a great reward.
There's no one else around as we tuck into lunch, sitting
on rocks in the sunshine, surrounded by rainforest, the waterfall
roaring.
Marvellous though the sights of Angkor Wat and the buzz
of Phnom Penh are, I can't help thinking that it's Cambodia's more
remote natural attractions that offer the best adventure.
Trip notes
Getting there
Thai Airways flies daily from Sydney to
Bangkok, from $1005 return. 1300 651 960, thaiairways.com.au. Bangkok
Airways connects to Trat Airport in Thailand, +66 (0) 2265 5678,
bangkokair.com. The resort will pick up guests from Trat Airport. The
resort can also arrange transfers from the Thai border, from Phnom Penh,
Sihanoukville, Kep or Kampot. If coming by bus or private car, the
resort will pick up guests at the Tatai bridge stop.
Staying there
Four Rivers Floating Lodge has two scheduled transfers
daily and a boat-taxi service. Tent stays are from $US118 ($116) a
night, twin share in low season; $US139 a night in peak season. +855 (0)
2321 7374, ecolodges.asia.
More information
www.tourismcambodia.com, www.wildlifealliance.org
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