Kargu Dam is a place of which I did not know of it’s existence until one expatriate colleague told me about it. It’s pretty easy to find, just go down labi road and you’ll see a sign labelled “Empangan Kargu”. Empangan means Dam in Malay and it’s pretty self explanatory really. Once you go into the road you’ll start to notice that the trees are different, that’s because you’re actually passing a forest reserve! I’m not a biologist or even an environmentalist but I do appreciate seeing a greater biodiversity in this area. Perhaps if I slow down and did not carve the road with my bike, I may be able to spot a few rare species (other than the usual monitor lizard and monkeys).
Now you might ask a few questions like; “why does this guy likes to go to strange places?”. Well, one reason is that I am a geologist and I love to be outdoor and another reason is that I actually like to be alone without my phone. Being alone with no distraction allows me to be really alone with my thoughts and ponder upon philosophical thoughts although the way how I see things are not as whimsical as Richard Feynman sees it but I do like to keep my thoughts lighthearted. The thought of “what-if” always pops into my mind but I kept saying to myself that this road the the road that I chose and there’s no turning back but I can change the direction of where my life is going and I am in control of that (unlike the road to Kargu Dam which is one way and is a dead end).
That’s the Dam! Now once I reached here my geologist mind kicks in; I wonder where does this water comes from because it cannot be just surface runoffs as the area is quite large. There must be an elevated water table and hence the accumulation of water. Of course the answer, like every geological answer is very complicated and I probably need an electromagnetic resistivity survey but let’s not go there. So I then decided to explore the area more and guess what I saw…
The fencing stops! It’s worrying on how someone can just casually go into the dam and possibly pollute or even contaminate the water. I wonder if I can raise this issue to someone. But I was a good citizen and only left footprints, a very distinct footprint that is. Turned back and suddenly I saw this small outcrop! Didn’t get up close and personal but from a distance I’d say this could be either a lower shoreface(?) I really have to get up close and personal to tell you the answer but hey I’d say with confidence that this outcrop is around 12-9 million years old given if my memory of the old reports are correct!
Okay time to ride back, there’s no signal at this place and while I love to spend more time here but I was getting thirsty and I don’t want to be dehydrated while riding! I did stopped by one side of the road simply because I saw this sweet sign with old graphics on it. The sign is in Malay but I’m too lazy to translate and decipher it but in a nutshell they were planting Drybalanops tree in 1998 at the forest reserve which kinda doesn’t make it a forest reserve anymore? Whatever, I’m just a sucker for old maps really.
Honestly this was one of my easy adventures, nothing like my old field work and excursions which made me literally lost 3kg in a few days (I do miss the challenge) but hey, gotta take it easy for now. And here’s ol reliable!
Until then,
Exploration Cycles 