Cat Tien Day 2

I ate breakfast at the canteen beside the campsite. I packed up my tent and hired a bicycle to ride further into the park and then hike to Crocodile lake. I would be camping out at the lake. It was a 10km ride along a terribly bumpy road to the start of the trail. I walked my bike 100m down the trail and parked it with some other bikes. The trail was fairly flat and easy walking. It felt great to be back in the forest again. There was no one else around. The sounds of the forest were shattered temporarily when a motorbike passed me on the trail carrying supplies to the lake. I knew then, the trail couldn't be that hard if a motorbike can do it. I saw mostly birds along the way but did spook a few animals that I couldn't see deeper in the bush. This area was volcanic a long time ago and there are many rocks all over the forest.
About one km before the lake the trail branches to the left to a huge mega tree. This tree is easily the biggest I've seen the whole trip. It has massive buttress roots and is about 3m in diameter, 3m above the ground! It was awesome! I took many photos and walked slowly around the monster. As I did I noticed a lizard on a tree. I wasn't sure but I thought it was a flying lizard. I took some photos and spooked it further up the tree and then it jumped! It glided gracefully to the base of another tree nearby. I was right, it was a flying lizard. Well, they don't actually fly but they glide with flaps of skin, like elongated ribs. I have seen 2 of these before in Borneo but both of these times, the guide pointed it out to me. This is the first time I spotted one on my own.
Out at the lake was a lazy scene. There were 2 shirtless rangers reading, so I took off my shirt. There were only men around and I didn't have to wear a shirt at all. The whole headquarters here is on stilts, though the water in the lake was very low. I walked down a raised walkway to the 2 nice bungalows. It was $40 to stay in one of these but they were both unoccupied so I set up my tent on the spacious veranda. I hoped no one would show up and make me move. I relaxed around camp for most of the afternoon. Later 2 young Germans arrived. We toured around the lake in a canoe at sunset. Even though the lake is called crocodile lake, I didn't see any crocodiles! Unlike most places, the crocodiles were always in the water here. They didn't come ashore to sun themselves as the do everywhere else. Was there even crocodiles here, I wondered? I saw a lot of ripples on the water, but that could have been fish making them.

After dinner I wanted to go for a night walk. The forest trail leading out to the lake I thought would be a good place to look for animals. I left at 7.30. Within 5 minutes I was seeing eyeshine in the forest. It was a small animal and I crept closer as quietly as I could to get a better look. I was able to see it and get a few photos. It was a mouse deer, one of the smallest deer in the world. Further down the trail I saw more eyeshine but very far from the trail. I tried walking deeper into the forest but it was too thick and I didn't want to scare whatever away. I think buy the way the animal reacted to me and when I heard it run away, it was a large deer. The eyes were spread very far apart, so I knew it was something big. There are supposed to be leopards and tigers here but they are rarely seen.
Just before I camp back to the lake after an hour walking, I scared a civet right behind the guards quarters. It ran up the tree and stayed there looking at me. I took some photos, it was a common palm civet. I wasn't surprised to see it near human habitation. Civets are a bit of a scavenger and it was probably attracted to the smell of cooking food. I've civets around other camps in the rainforest.

The sounds of the lake were really loud that night. Birds and other animals were calling loudly to each other. I heard something large walk right under me. I took out my camera and my light but by the time I looked it was already gone. I think it was a sambar deer.

The next morning I walked and and then cycled back to the main camp. I could have stayed longer but wanted to get moving north. I took a bus back to Dalat. I got my same room at Phoung Hanh.