Cuc Phoung National Park Part III

There was an 8km loop trail near the cave of prehistoric man that I skipped on my ride up to Bong. I didn't want to miss this trail, which had a huge tree 3km into the trail, so today I rode to the trailhead. I rode slowly along the road hoping to see something on my way. I stopped when I saw some black shapes in the trees. I thought it was monkeys but it turned out to be 2 black giant squirrels. I have seen giant squirrels before but never the black one. These squirrels are true giants too. They are 1m from head to tail and weigh up to 1.5kg. They fled quickly into the forest though before I could get a photo.

I brought my bike a little bit into the forest and locked it to a tree. The trail began at km 11 between the 20km road connecting Bong and the visitor centre. This trail was tight and not very well maintained or used often. It wasn't for the average person but with my previous experiences of following hard to see trails, I didn't have a problem most of the time. Only when the trail climbed over very rocky sections was it more difficult to follow. I followed the trail for almost an hour before it began to climb up a huge limestone hill. Cuc Phoung encompasses 2 limestone mountain ranges and the terrain in the park is very hilly and rugged with trees and plants growing right out of the limestone without any visible soil around. The trail became more difficult to follow up the hill and after 5 minutes I wasn't sure I was going the right way, so I turned back. I always make sure I can see where I came from because I don't want to get lost out here.

Just before the trail climbed uphill, it branched off to the right, where I didn't notice before. I took this way and it led to the massive tree after one minute. This was a truly impressive giant with no fencing around it like some of the others. As I sat in the shade of this giant, a German couple and their guide arrived. They would be taking the same trail up the hill which I couldn't follow. They didn't mind if I followed behind them and I did. To my credit, I was following the right way until I turned around. The trail became increasingly difficult to see and follow though as we climbed higher. I could say this is one trail were a guide would be very helpful. After we came down the hill on the other side the trail followed level ground and was easier to see. The Germans sat down for lunch and I continued on alone.

I heard some sounds of crunching leaves and saw an animal hide in a limestone crevice just as I looked up to investigate. I hid behind a tree and listened more. There were still more animals out there. I finally spotted them. There were 4 crab eating mongooses. They were busy foraging on the ground to really notice me as I crept closer. I got a few photos. One by one though, they all noticed me and eventually ran away, but I didn't care at that point. I had seen them well and got photos. This was a new species for me and it was really special to see 4 of them together. I came out of the trail onto the road at km 6. My bike was parked at km 11. The day had turned into the nicest one yet. The sun was actually shining. It was so nice I just wanted to walk back to my bike. I got a few people stopping offering me rides but I refused. They kind of gave me a strange look because I was so far from anywhere. They didn't know I had a bike up the road.

I did another night walk but saw nothing. This park seems like it would take a while to unlock its animal secrets. I was satisfied with my time here though. A local guide told me I would see nothing at all so I was happy that I saw the black giant squirrels and the crab eating mongooses.

After 5 nights camping in the park, I was ready to go to my next destination. I had less than a week left now before I returned home and there was still one place I really wanted to see. That was the limestone peaks of Halong Bay,Cat Ba and the surrounding areas but I still had to get out of Cuc Phoung. I decided not to look for a vehicle to take back my large pack. I secured my small pack to it and rode the 20km back to the visitors centre. It was heavy and akward. I had to walk up some of the bigger hills but I arrived back at the visitors centre in just 55 minutes. I took a motorcycle taxi from here to Nho Quan. Then I took a bus from here to Haiphong about 4 hours away. I still had another boat ride to get to Cat Ba island but I had enough travelling for one day. I got a nice hotel and went out to eat. Haiphong has a strong cafe culture and many decent and cheap places to eat on the street. I had a cheap and delicious meal of rice, shrimp, meatballs and one of the coldest beers I've ever had. The weather had turned damp and cool again.