A swift moment of power

Flash floods at Zone D, 25 Dec'15.

It was midday yesterday when the clouds deposited tons of water around the park. Within an hour of torrential rain the stream grew 20 times its size and created a scene of extraordinary beauty and power. The plains around the stream was for a moment of time a watery playground. I took time to wade in the swift current and took photographs for the record. This phenomena is prevalent in December when Bintulu is under the mercy of the monsoon rains. Once the rains stopped, the flash floods quickly subsided and by the next hour time it back to its normal self. Over the years I begin to admire this natural occurrence and treat it as nature's gift to the park.

Stream at Provinsi Carpentaria, Zone F
25 Dec'15

A rainy Sunday

It's raining at the park
Zone B

Bamboo orchid

It has been raining on and off yesterday, a Sunday (30/8/15).    Even though I normally work on Sunday, it was just good that I called yesterday a holiday due to the rains. My holiday is once a week, a Friday.  Life is too short to have too many free days off in a week.  Life in the park is always occupied everyday, if not to see the plants and wildlife, it is about getting yourself up and kicking everyday and the older you get, the greater the need to be alive.  And the rains, they make you feel  even more energetic.  To capture what happens when it rains and what is the view after the rains.  A Bamboo orchid ( Arundina graminifolia) caught my eyes as I moved about the park in the rain.  The one hour heavy rains brought in a brief flash floods, a subject I love to photograph.  The light conditions are also good for photography.  

Stream overflowing after the heavy rain
Zone F

Clear stream revival, sounds familiar?

Location : Provinsi Carpentaria

Does it sounds familiar?  Clear stream revival! This is the phenomena after every major flash floods that happen in the park.  Follow the stream and you will discover its beauty after it is washed off all the unnecessary debris and murky water that abounds by its sides under normal conditions.  After every torrential rains the stream gets spring cleaned.and refreshed with cleaner water. Because the standards of development at the park are high, the water quality is very good.  In fact, you can bath using the stream water.  The stream is a reflection of life.  The only constant in life is change.  There  are always changes in  contemporary life, the changes are increasing accelerated and becoming more complex.  As the stream flows downriver and into the open sea, it slows down.  It faces friction, conflicts as it lands itself in more level-playing field.  Competition hots up.  What are we to do with life?  Two things I learned today by watching the stream.  Firstly, it is to accept change as part of life and complexity a challenge as we advance in years.  Secondly, what is more important is to understand the direction of change.  By having a good grasp of where we are going we are every ready to face life's complexities and opportunities.  Precisely at this point of writing these words somehow pop out of the blues ...Opportunity awaits the prepared mind.

The meandering stream

View of middle section of the stream as it passes by the verandah or 'Abag' in local Bintulu Melanau terminology.
The broad leaves in the foreground belongs to the 'Jambu Bol' tree (Syzygium malaccense)

Since it is very dry season at the park right now I guess I'll take a moment to share on the status of the stream.  Yes, the water level is very low.  This situation enables me to carryout much clearing works on both sides of the stream.  The pictures in this posting show the middle section of the stream where it meanders and form somewhat like dragon back outline in the middle of the park.  On the sides of the stream the land is flat and its where many types of introduced tree species are planted.  These trees could be fruit trees, flowering trees or palms.  The planting idea is to allow for walks along the stream in shade as much as possible.

View of stream meandering
Foreground is the 'Pong-Pong' tree with its apple-like fruits which turn red when ripe.
This is an example of ornamental planting.
Location: Zone F

More ornamental and fruit tree planting along the stream...coconut palms, Carpentaria palms and flowering trees and tall fruit trees at right of picture (in the background)

In Plain Sight - Provinsi Carpentaria (Part 1)

View of Provinsi Carpentaria - looking north
Location : Zone F

The Kambatik parkland has many interesting  geograpahical features.   A stream runs through the park for approximately half a kilometer distance.  The highest point of the stream is at the eastern part of the park and is approximately 150 feet above sea level.  From there the stream meanders towards the lowest point of the park located to the west in a 60 feet gradual drop.  The stream is surrounded on all sides by hills, spurs, rolling slopes and valleys.  However at its immediate surrounds i.e. on the banks of the stream are to be found many low-lying or flat areas which in geographical term I call 'plain'.  In developing the park I was very concerned from the beginning about retaining the natural direction and  flow of the stream.  By doing so I hoped to have many fallback positions especially in combating torrential rain and flash floods that are a natural phenomena at the park, restricted to limited hours as a result of heavy downpour.  There are eight of these plain areas and are named according to the specific palm species that are prevalent in the landscape.  Starting from the source of the stream, the  plain areas are fondly referred to as Provinsi ( Malay for province); thus Provinsi Pinang, Provinsi Yellow Palm, Provinsi Manila, Provinsi Carpentaria, Provinsi Lakka, Provinsi Borneo (Buah Nyiur - origin of the word Borneo, pronounced in Malay), Provinsi Lady Palm and Provinsi Rattan.  In this post I show the Provinsi Carpentaria with its iconic Carpentaria Palm.

View of Provinsi Carpentaria, looking north
Location : Zone F

Carpentaria acuminata - Carpentaria palm
Location : Provinsi Carpentaria, Zone F

 The above picture shows a line of the Carpentaria palms planted nearby the stream. Below is a picture that shows the stream in dry weather, thus the water level is low.  Carpentaria palms originate from Australia and are native to the Carpentaria Bay there.

Provinsi Carpentaria, view looking south.

Plain areas are important landscape features because they afford our eyes rest when scanning the natural landscape of hills and valleys. They provide optimum flat areas for leisure and recreational activities.  Finally they are significant for wildlife as scavenging and foraging grounds for birds, butterflies and dragonflies.  Birds especially need its 'free' flight space to dash around the park quickly and without much obstruction.