Journey to upper Kapuas basin (Indonesian Borneo)

[kuching]

Finally I reached the upper part of Kapuas river basin, west of Danau Sentarum last Sunday.

It was a short trip as I go there to "survey" the road to Danau Sentarum. I'm planning to explore this largest lake of Borneo in the near future.




The children playing in the river called Batang Ai, which is the main tributary of Batang Lupar. In the ancient time, upper part of Kapuas river was draining into Lupar river. After the Kapuas mountains were formed, it's draining into lower Kapuas. (refer to The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2005, Supplement no.13, page 140)






The border line.




We're almost lost in the huge oil palm plantation near the border. Luckily a lorry driver showed us the way to Kallimantan. He told us a lot of men in Sarawak are visiting the border towns to look for cheap prostitute.





Malaysian car without plate number in a town of Indonesian Borneo. According to local newspaper (of Sarawak), the stolen car from Sarawak is always deliver & sold to people at the border towns in remote area of Kalimantan.

[kuching]

We hired a local driver to explore around the area with his 4WD. we parked our 4WD at the border line. (Got a lot of people in the shops to "look after" your car, no need to worry that your car will "deliver" to Indonesia for selling without your consent) The road in this area is really worst.....feel like sitting on the roller coaster!






First location we visited is a blackwater stream. Most of the fishes in the stream are different from Sarawak one. It's really amazing....just less than 3 km away (from Sarawak), I could see a lot of fishes can not be found in Sarawak.





The border:

[hwchoy]

First location we visited is a blackwater stream. Most of the fishes in the stream are different from Sarawak one. It's really amazing....just less than 3 km away (from Sarawak), I could see a lot of fishes can not be found in Sarawak.

see? there's a very good reason why the border is there in the first place

[MrTree]

Fish pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kuching]

The most exciting thing when I looked down at that blackwater stream is that the flying fox looks different from Sarawak one. And also, the halfbeak here is DAMN BEAUTIFUL!!! It has the red coloured lateral line but the 2 half beak below (probably Hemirhamphodon phaiosoma) found dead (killed by the heat) on the way back; the colour is gone:





Rasbora kalbarensis found abundantly here!!!





Then, a Dayak (educated in Sarawak before) who can speak very fluent English told us that he know where can find Ikan Plasek ("fghting fish" in Dayak). At first, I couldn't understand why he brought us to an open space of the hill paddy field to look for fish:





Oh my goodness!!! I was shocked that he caught 3 adult fighting fish in a ditch at the hill paddy field......this is the habitat I never seen before. In Borneo, hill paddy field is very common.

[kuching]

Betta pinguis ??? (caught by that English speaking Dayak)









Close - up:








One of them died of heat (our 4WD AC is out of order):

[valice]

The betta is so beautiful... Long finnages... Gosh...

[hwchoy]

next time bring ice box.

[kuching]

next time bring ice box.

I never expected to collect fish there as my main "mission" is to find the road to Danau Sentarum.....it was out of my planning. But adventure is like that....u don't know what u will find next or what will happen (especially in the remote area). It is really exciting & dangerous too.

[kuching]

According to our Dayak friend, this fighting fish can be found in this water hole near the paddy field:




Limnophila sp. found in the blackwater stream:





As our Indonesian driver doesn't know where to look for the right place to look for fish, we didn't go to a lot of places except this river showing below. The water is turbid & water level is high as it was raining yesterday :





The fish i found in this river is this Homaloptera sp. The rivers here are mostly turbid as the soil washed to the river after the rainfall. Deforestation is very serious here.

[kuching]

There are ridges / hills separating Malaysian Borneo and Indonesian Borneo at the border. After crossing the hill back to Sarawak, we stopped at a slow flowing, turbid stream/ditch in an oil palm plantation (Sarawak side):






When i caught Betta taeniata, I was really SHOCKED !!!! I couldn't believe I caught taeniata inside the oil palm plantation!!! In the slow flowing + turbid stream !!! Water ph is around 6.8.





Collecting Betta in the ditch inside the old oil palm plantation:




I think this halfbeak is H. kuekenthali, the most common halfbeak in Sarawak. The water is flowing west.....so most likely it's flowing to Batang Ai of Malaysian Borneo:

[kuching]

On the way back, took some shots of Batang Ai. The hairgrasses growing on the dry river bank:




Blyxa sp. (submerged):




That's all. I got fever after coming back. Something wrong with my body system. Anyway, I'm feeling better now. Hope to visit every corner of Borneo in the future.

[XnSdVd]

The hairgrass is just bloody amazing!

[MrTree]

that's a longish B.taeniata..hmm more pics pls.

The other betta..don't look like B.pinguis too..I think nope.

[kuching]

that's a longish B.taeniata..hmm more pics pls.

The other betta..don't look like B.pinguis too..I think nope.

Will take more shots after introducing them into my tank. Now, still under "quarantine" stage.

[eddyq]

Hi kuching,

Thanks for all the pictures and the travel report in Borneo. Hope you are better now? Are all your trips for self (adventure) or study purpose.

[kuching]

Hi kuching,

Thanks for all the pictures and the travel report in Borneo. Hope you are better now? Are all your trips for self (adventure) or study purpose.

Hobby only.

Now I can hop around like a tree frog in the jungle.

[XnSdVd]

Lol, if only we had the time to indulge ourselves like that =) Malaysian life is the life for me! lol =)

[kuching]

Took some shots yesterday & today after introduced the fish into the tank:

Betta taeniata from Sarawak - Kalimantan Barat border:




Betta sp. - male from upper Kapuas (Western part)

[kuching]

Close up of the head (male)




Interesting marking (male)




Female:





Betta dimidiata in my fish tank. This is NOT the wild caught one, but this species can be found in Danau Sentarum. This Beutiful Betta will be my next target if I go to Danau Sentarum next time: