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It did. Wednesday dawned bright and sunny. We were filled with new hope. Brian Wood from Travelbag, who had flown out to support us, asked if we would like to accompany him to Mount Kinabalu that morning. The SMART team (Special Malaysian Army Rescue Team) from Kuala Lumpur had arrived and the helicopters were made ready to fly. Ellie just had to be found today. We packed a bag and climbed into the car provided for us by the Deputy High Commissioner in KK.

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We arrived at Park Headquarters and discovered that we were unable to stay in Kinabalu Park, the accommodation being fully booked. We decided to join the rest of our group at Poring Hot Springs, as we had rooms waiting for us. After talking to the park warden who was co-coordinating the rescue and learning that they intended to send a helicopter up to look for her as soon as the fog cleared. We left by minibus for Poring. It was getting dark as we began the ninety-minute ride. We all sat silently, praying and weeping to ourselves. It was a very sombre journey after two weeks of camaraderie and fun.

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They decided to make their way down again and had travelled for about ten minutes when they met Bruce. Ellie was delighted that he had ‘made it’. ‘Oh Dad, you’ve made it, I’m so proud of you’, she said, hugging him. Bruce said that he would go up to the top and then come straight down. He feels now that he should have just walked down with the children, but knowing Ellie as we did, she would have insisted that he complete the climb. As the fog swirled across the mountain, the wind howled and the rain lashed against his face, Bruce decided not to hang about, but get back to the shelter of the trail as quickly as possible.

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We set off at 08.30 after a breakfast of rice and vegetables, carrying water bottles and snacks such as dried bananas to eat on the way. The younger members of our party rushed off determined to arrive at the rest house at Laban Rata in record time. They were less interested in comparing the changes in flora and fauna on the trail, than overtaking other walkers who had set off before us. At the Timpahon Gate, the entrance to Mount Kinabalu, is a board detailing the times taken by the fastest runners up to the summit and down again. Some have realised unbelievably short times, which spurred Ellie and Kit to climb even faster.

This is the true story of the tragedy in 2001, told by Ellie’s father from his email. It’s a long story. I have divided the story into 7 posts for easy reading. Take your time to read Mr. Bruce James 8000 words write up. Pray the Lord that her soul  will rest in peace.

Courtesy of Mr. Anthony Catherall, he emailed me more photos of Jambatan Tamparuli in May 1960, during the big flood tragedy that had claimed the lives of 2 brave British soldiers and a local woman.

Please read his entry here if you have not read it. Enjoy the photos!

The Landrover emerges from Tamparuli River, May 1960

The Scammel hauls out the Landrover

The extension where the stretcher lay can clearly be seen

The investigation begins

Tamparuli Bridge 1960

Tamparuli Bridge from Kota Kinabalu

The memorial plaque to two brave soldiers

By the way, the photos are copyrighted to Mr. Anthony Catherall. Thank you very much!

I didn’t know that my post about red coloured durian will be the most popular post of all time for Kinabalu Blog!

It started when I wrote about red coloured durian  couple of years ago, after a suggestion from one of my good friend, Cikgu Ismail from Kulai, Johor (an avid mountain climber).

Red coloured durian is actually a rarity, in which only few parts of the world have it. After publishing that post, I received 2 emails from two different place, asking me to send them the seeds…

Just don’t cry too much when you see this…

Born with no limbs, Nick Vujicic faces obstacles every day of his life. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

For all Kinabalu Blog readers, Happy Holiday! Hope that next year will be a great year for all of us!

Me, Nany, Mainie (wife), Fizi & Dany

I have never revealed how much I earned from donations to my main website, mount-kinabalu-borneo.com. It has been running for the past 2 years, when I received my first donation on September 16, 2006 from a visitor from Thailand, Kamolwan Chongsrichan.

Since then, the website has been self paid by the donation money, i.e. I don’t have to fork out my own money to pay for its hosting. The webhosting fee is RM254 per year with Exabytes.