Love the morning Sun rays when we were Hiking Gunung Belumut! It was also how my heart was fluttering at the thought of another hike. Gunung Belumut is our first 1000m mountain 🙂
Before this, our highest peak is Gunung Panti.
The numbers for Belumut.
4hours up, 3hours down.
15km to and fro, with the peak at 1100m.
To make it more challenging, rain fell 3 times!
We left home at 0445 and reach our breakfast venue at Kluang Rail coffee (GPS 2.033543, 103.317584). It is a real train station famous for coffee and toast (Opens at 0700).
Nasi lemak (and Mee siam) only cost RM0.90 sen each! And there is only chili and white rice but the chili is solid! We suspect train passengers will buy these fantastic food for their meals.
A half an hour drive away, we reach the base of Gunung Belumut (GPS 02.06715 103.52507).
From a distance, we can see Kluang is surrounded by mountains. Mist constantly floats down to cover the road, heightening our anticipation.
Make shift carpark among the palm oil plantation.
Hiking can be a good analogy for Parenting, or rather what I wish my kids to learn through Life.
Hiking can be dangerous, a single trip, slip or twist could mean fractures, sprains or even death. Like any sports, we need to exercise caution, take care of each other, anticipate dangers and be alert.
We need courage to step out of our comfort zone, and that’s when we learn more about ourselves.
I always tell them. Death comes to everyone and there is nothing to fear (or feel morbid). If our time is up, even crossing the road can be dangerous.
Life is really short (how many 20 years do we have), and our human body is so fragile. I only hope we will have minimum regrets at the very end 🙂
The “Before” photo, all eager to hike Gunung Belumut.
Starting bridge and pond, make us wish to dip inside the cooling water.
From the beginning, a lot of fallen trucks lay in our path and we need to go under or over. Taller guys will need to constantly bend down under the trunks, I lost count of how many times my backpack stuck the ‘tree trunk belly’.
The map call Gunung Belumut a “recreational” forest, but we were sweating buckets and we had to climb on all fours at times.
It is always refreshing to reach the next “flat” ground.
Catch up with our breathe and water parade in preparation for the next slope.
Besides the hike, we need to enjoy the surroundings too. Termites trail, and a huge leaf (to wrap Nasi Lemak haha)
Pear-shape tree, ferns and mushrooms. The root on the right looks like a hammock.
Checkpoint 1 (around 3.3km mark). It was uphill up 60 degree gradient for the next 600m!
Kids helping each other over the obstacles, or finding an easier path to climb. Sometimes, I purposely keep quiet and let them figure out the next step or ‘rope’.
Kids are always tougher than we give them credit for 🙂
Sense of achievement? Perhaps, but they do treasure the companionship and jokes along the way.
Checkpoint 2 (around 4.6km), some weird rock formation here. Looks like a walled fortress or a stage 🙂
(Checkpoint 1 to 2 is only 1.3km, but steep terrain means we need 50 minutes to reach CP2)
Face towel was useful to stop the perspiration and block some rain too.
Our guide say this was the 80 degrees wall, we had to climb up by navigating in a zigzag manner, left to right to left again. Make use of the roots.
It lead us to a rock face, and we need to skirt behind and up.
The rain started falling after checkpoint 2, and we were caught in 3 downpours! Besides the slippery and muddy slope, our pants and underwear were all soaked.
Checkpoint 3 is around 5.6km mark, I did not see the sign or landmark.
Hike higher, and you will see moss-covered branches and rocks. I was looking forward to some moss carpet, common in higher altitude.
A fake summit (around 8km mark), the real summit is 20 minutes more to the left 🙂
Finally the summit. But Gunung Belumut summit view is actually not spectacular and it was crowded.
We completed the hike in 4 hours plus. I was so excited that I forgot to sing Boon Kang a Birthday song haha. I had plan this hike as an advance Birthday gift for him 🙂 (We did sing a short rendition on the way down, see video below)
We u-turn to have our mini lunch at the barren “fake” summit.
Our hiking brunch and lunch include :
– x4 1.5l water
– x3 100plus
– x6 banana
– x4 bread, baked beans and tuna (do not bring pork up hills and mountain in case we offend some spirits)
– x6 butter biscuits
– x4 sandwich
It was a heavy load to bear for up to 5 hours! We start our descend at around 2pm.
There are a lot of “drains” to wade across. They become mini waterfalls when the rain fell. As we climb lower, it became darker and we were glad to exit at around 1730.
Although we were slightly behind time, it was crucial that we be extra vigilant and watch our steps. Kept reminding the kids that we might get careless when we are tired, and a slip would only make the situation worse.
Hiking is a good way to bond and see the kids’ characters. We must help each other, motivate and encourage the weaker ones.
I would rotate the “leaders” so that everyone has a chance to lead and identify the markers ahead.
Kids would volunteer to share the load around so that no one is overly stretched. Hiking is a team effort and we need to reach the summit together.
Most importantly, always remember to have Fun!
We hope Mommy and princess can join us soon 🙂
Video (link) : Photos cannot capture the kids’ persistence to conquer Hiking Gunung Belumut
Proceeded to checkin at our hotel for the night at Rail Hotel (GPS 2.023473, 103.311938 ). I was worried that legs will be too numbed to drive back to Singapore :p
King sized bed for RM150, including breakfast voucher of RM24. Recharge before driving home the next day. I knock off at 10pm while the kids were still playing games.
From the map below, Gunung Belumut is between UK Farm and Koref.
Do your staircase training before attempting Gunung Belumut, my calves are still straining after two days.
If you are first time hiking, go for the 500m (or below) Johor mountains first (Panti, Arong, Pulai, Lambak). All are within 2 to 2.5 hours rive from Singapore, and a good start for children. In Singapore, Bukit Timah Hill (163m) and MacRitchie Tree Top walk would be a nice warm up. (Panti is 3 times harder than Bukit Timah, and I felt Belumut is easily 2 to 3 times harder than Panti)
Our hike was made possible with Facebook group “Freewill Hikers“. Guides and permit are needed for hiking Gunung Belumut (For our group of 45, we need to pay RM 40 per head).
We first hike up Gunung Panti (500m) with Free Hikers too, do join their group for future events.
More hiking photos uploaded on our Fanpage album.
Read all our hiking stories here.
ps.. Follow our Instagram tag #SengkangBabiesJohor for more JB adventures
The kids are well trained by you!
I guess you won’t have to worry when is time for them to serve the country!
Army is different story haha, not only fitness but also freedom :p
Wow Andy! Your adventures (hiking/cycling) with your family never fail to impress me. I hope to do this with my family with my kid is older.
Sports is always good to continue engaging the children, as parents try to keep “communications channel” open haha 🙂
What a nice bonding session you had with the boys!!! Congrats on this milestone!
Ai Sakura recently posted…Hisashi’s Summer 2016 Visit
Just hope they do not find my constant nagging irritating wahaha:)
I love how you get your boys involved in such a back to nature activity. Excellent for bonding!! And good job to the boy for persevering! More height scaling for the family I guess?!
The summits can only get higher, I intend to bring them Mount K (4000m) in the future 🙂
Wah your boys are definitely ready for army! They have a tough daddy here!
Geat job daddy and the boys and making to the summit.
Interesting exploration along the way. Next stop, Gunung Ledang!
Lup Wai recently posted…National Day Parade Preview 2016 @ The Sportshub
You too Lup Wai, keep engaging the kids in outdoor activities 🙂
Mount Ophir is definitely in our radar, I am looking forward to one day when I can hike and camp overnight in the woods/hills 🙂
So nice!! Sweat it out and you get sense of achievement when you reach the top. Being close to the nature is another plus.
Shub recently posted…Outdoor Play – 5 ways to Make Kids Play Outdoors
Always refreshing to pull the kids out the the urban jungle 🙂
Wow, not exit to do hiking. I did once and give up. Your boys are really well trained. They will do well in army in future!
Evangeline Yang recently posted…I Have A Dream
Given a choice, they would prefer ClashOfTitans rather than hiking haha.
I need to nudge (and push) them along :p
Andy, I love reading about your family adventures, especially the recent series on hiking! Keep on going!
Yes to more active sports lifestyle, Safra got lobang must invite ok haha 🙂
Sports is always one way to connect/bond with the kiddos, train kids to be resilient too.
You guys are so inspiring Andy….1000m!!! OMG. I walk 20 mins to see glacier already like….wanna DIE. 1000m. Hats Off! Keep those adventures coming!
David recently posted…Long Chim By David Thompson …complete with Kids’ Menu
Start small knoll, the kids will inspire and motivate us to climb higher, further.
Personally, if I wish to keep fit, Hiking is definitely less strenuous and “boring” then running 🙂
Hello Andy, came across your post while reading up on Gunung Belumut. Impressed with the boys energy though, for completing the hike to summit. I am planning for a climb in 2017. Would you be able to share the local guide contact with me via email address. Thank You.
Hi Shahul,
someone book the permit on our behalf.
I would recommend you to pop by Facebook group “Freewill Hikers“ for the “guide/permit” updates
cheers,
andy
Hi bro came across your family pics at mount belumut , though of going this coming Aug , driving up with family , can we get the local guide there ? Is it a must ? Would able to share thanks
Hi hi, we went with a group, and we had to pay for guides. Without permit and guide, you might be forced to u-turn.
More importantly, I am assuming you and family have some Gunung experience?
The weather was highly unpredictable during our hike, kept raining and the ground was slipper and many roots exposed.
Thank Bro. Do I have to pre-book or can I find guide there
hi hi, we went with a group, who organised the logistics and guide for us. Permit and Guide are compulsory.
Thank you bro
Hi bro!!
I was google to find abt Gunung in Msia and I stumbled across your blog, since then I love reading your blog on your mountain trekking. Salute you for bringing your kids along. They are strong kids. Impressive. Ive been bringing my kids too for trekking but only in Bukit TImah and some parts of SG, like Labrador Park, MOunt Faber, Hot Park and Sentosa. They are just starting to love the trekking activities. As for me, I started my mountain climb only Last year in Aug. That was in 2017 and my First mountain to climb was Rinjani. I dunno how I did it. I did not have any experience at all (ZERO) lol. My friend, made an arrangement for me and I climbed alone with Two Local Porters and a Local Guide. It was a great experience. I didnt even think of anything (abt how difficult it was, how dangerous or etc.) My thinking was just to enjoy the scenery and the nature. After the RINJANI climb, I got addicted and In Jan’18, I followed a group trekkers. That was my first climb followed a group. We went to Gunung Lambak…THen in Feb’18 I went to Mount Kerinci in Padang, March’18 I went to Mount Ophir, in Apr’18 I went To Broga Hill.,, and in May’18 I brought my Girlfriend to climb Mount RInjani (As she requested me to bring her, since I had an experience climb that Mountain Before and was doing SOLO Climb). We had a great time together and Summited together. It seemed every month I had at Least one mountain to climb…LOL
Planning to climb Mount Belumut in future and thats where I found your blog was very interesting to read and you shared lots of information with details and picture/video. Thank you Bro for sharing it. Keep up the good bonding/trekking with your kids.
Hi Tina,
you conquers are much more exciting, hope to bring my kids on more hiking trips.
Try Pelepah Waterfalls (near Water Tinggi), water-hiking was refreshing and we were always wet 🙂
cheers to more Gunungs adventures!
Andy
Excellent blog !! We’ve climbed Gunung Lambak, Johor (500m) with our two boys last year, and then they led their friends and cousins again this year. Great activity for young boys, away from assessment books, phones and computers. 🙂
Video of our boys’ first climb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjyz7ARGIck
I always tell my friends Hiking cannot Youturn haha. Build kids independence, resilience and sense of adventure.
Glad you enjoy hiking too, the sense of achievement at the summit is always WoW! Try Pelepah waterrfall next time with guide. The water-route super refreshing but can be dangerous during raining spells. Happy 2019!
Hello Andy, I came across your post while reading up on Gunung Belumut as I’ve just signed up with SG Trek to participate in an upcoming hike to Belumut. It kind of slipped my mind that there will be leeches in a tropical forests and as I do not really have professional hiking wear, would you be able to share with me how was the leech situation really like there? I read some forums that there’s really a lot of leeches in Belumut but I saw that your kids were wearing shorts and it rained!(heard that there’s more leeches when it’s wet) hope you can advise!
Hi Jas, we did not encounter leeches at Belumut.
(you may read my Taman Negara post for leeches)
1) We were told by someone that shorts/bermudas allow us to spot the leeches before they climb higher.
(I know some pants socks have anti-leech features, but leech can also drop onto our torso shoulders)
2) I will spray concentrated salt water(use those Daiso 50ml small bottles) at the leech and they will dislodge.
What I am trying to say is with your best efforts, the leeches might still latch on (!)
They can sense heat very well.
Good luck.
cheers, andy
Hi,
Can I crop your CP1 picture. I didn’t manage to capture it during last week hike. But I have CP4.
Hi Joo Siang, this photo on Facebook ok? If resolution fail, I can send you the original photo.
https://www.facebook.com/SengkangBabiesBlog/photos/a.1361184317232042/1361185237231950/?type=3&theater
cheers,
andy