Expedition to collect ants at the Mount Mulu (by Dirk Mezger): Part 1


After just one month of busy preparations in Germany I departed on 10th March 2019 to Borneo. It was a long journey from Frankfurt to Kuching with stops in Doha (Katar) and Kuala Lumpur (West Malaysia). In the evening of the 11th March, I finally reached Kuching, the State capital of Sarawak. This city with a current population of more than half a million people is situated along the banks of the Sarawak river and has a history dating back into the 19th century with many beautiful historic buildings being found in the city center.

The next morning I went to the Forestry Department to pick up the research permit. After that, I was busy organizing all types of equipment I will need for the ant collecting expedition like canvas bags for the transport of soil, a lamp for the nights in the forest camps or some small shovels to collect the soil. Therefore, I was running through shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets until Thursday evening.

On Friday morning (15th March), I was almost done with organizing the material and there were left a few hours to kill, so I decided to visit Santubong National Park to get a very first glimpse into the splendid nature of Borneo. This is one of the few areas in Borneo where the tropical forest reaches the shores of the South China Sea. It was so great to be in the rainforest again!


 Doha, Qatar
Doha, Qatar
 Welcome to Kuching
dorsal
Welcome to Kuching
Kuching
Kuching
New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building
Sarawak State Assembly
Golden Bridge
Golden Bridge
ANeT meeting 2009
Square Tower
ANeT meeting 2009
Kuching mosques
ANeT meeting 2009
Astana
ANeT meeting 2009
Damai Beach
ANeT meeting 2009
Dragonfly
ANeT meeting 2009
Santubong National Park
ANeT meeting 2009
Green Crested Lizard
ANeT meeting 2009
Park entrance
ANeT meeting 2009
Tiger beetle
ANeT meeting 2009
Rainforest creek


Copyright 2019 Dirk Mezger and Martin Pfeiffer