Day 45 Langkawi Malaysia

Travelling through the straights of Malacca we reached our next stop, situated in the Andaman Sea and part of over 100 small islands that make up Malaysia, the city of Langkawi.

While the kids were sentenced to a parent free day in Kids Club Luke, Louise, Chris & Simone headed to the north of the island to an area known as “the hole in the wall”.

The coastline of this part of the island is made up of limestone outcrops and mountains and over millions of year’s erosion from the sea and natural water courses formed a small harbour that, from the sea, literally looks like a hole in a wall. Many yachts travelling the world anchor here for long periods to wait for good sailing conditions as parts of the inlet are totally protected from the sea.

As well as creating a harbour the eroded limestone has created many caves, some of which have collapsed to form lakes behind the steep cliffs. Some of the lakes are accessible by sea kayak and while Chris & Simone took a boat tour around the area Luke & Louise headed off in a small expedition of 6 kayaks and a local (German) guide.

We boarded a small motor boat and towed the kayaks out of the harbour and up the cost to a small beach where we would set off. It didn’t take long to come across our first cave entrance and with the tide not to high we were able to paddle easily through and navigate into the hidden lake beyond.

It was amazing to find, in such a remote place, the remnants of huge spotlights bolted to the cliff faces. Many years ago the local government had decided these lakes would be a great place for a light show and would attract heaps of tourists. After installing the lights they discovered it would cost a fortune to lay the electricity out this far into the wilderness so the idea was abandoned. As for all the tourists – the organizers hadn’t factored in the huge tides making the lakes accessible at certain times for short periods.

After making our way back down the coastline in very calm seas we paddled back into the harbour and up one of the many narrow mangrove creeks. These unusual mangrove areas have high limestone cliffs covered by thick rainforest o one side of a 2 meter wide creek and thick mangroves on the other. We had to be very careful while paddling through the mangroves not to go under any trees as they are riddled with venomous vipers. Louise’s nerves took a beating as Luke ‘accidentally’ steered the double kayak into the overhanging branches a couple of times.

After a solid 3 hour paddle we arrived at a pontoon restaurant where we could dry off and change before a fresh Malaysian seafood lunch was cooked and served to us. The lunch was fantastic and after a short motor boat trip we were back at the jetty to catch a bus back to the ship and meet the children for dinner.