I always thought all kids love monkeys, I did when I was a kid ... had several as pets. Different with little Vanessa, she's just petrified. Perhaps she's was overwhelmed by their numbers at the park.
Eight of us including 4 little children (eldest 10, youngest 4 years old) checked-in to MNS managed Kuala Selangor Nature Park for an overnight stay to check out the monkeys, egrets and possibly fireflies and owls.
After the 'townies' overcame their initial shock of the spartan condition of our 7 single bed room, we headed to town for lunch at Kuala Selangor's best lunch place as far as I'm concerned. There's about 40 ala-carte dishes to choose from for your lunch including obscure items such as kerabu paku, keli gulai masak lemak to sotong sumbat kukus. Seven plateful of rice filled to the rim with delectable local delights and individual drinks totalled a princely sum of $38, tough to beat if you are outside of Kuala Selangor.
After lunch we took a romp on the Majlis Perbandaran Kuala Selangor train ride up Bukit Melawati and looped back to KSNP for a well-deserved afternoon seista.
All were fresh-eyed at the start of our late afternoon walk around the park. The littlest one was excited and scared at the same time at the prospect of meeting up with real live famous monkeys of KSNP. The furry creatures were out in full force as they always do ... from flabby macho males to the tiniest little runt. The kids had a blast viewing them up close, little Vanessa decided right there and then that she didn't like monkeys.
The kids made all the way up the viewing tower (2nd) and round the loop of the mangrove boardwalk. If it weren't for Grandpa and Grandma, they would've gone further, excited by the encounters with waving fiddler crabs, mud-crabs, buggy-eyed mudskippers, wood-peckers (they've all this while were only familiar with Woody Woodpecker) and other birds. Both Alyssa and Vanessa were conversant enough to point to and call out Brahminy Kite by the time we ended the trail.
Silver leaf monkey.
The girls at Bukit Melawati, it was almost 2pm by the time we reached the top so please excuse the squinting.
Grandma and little Vanessa negotiating the trails at KSNP, the canopy around the trail has grown rather nicely to provide a cool shade to visitors. Extensive maintenance work are carried out on a regular basis especially to tame the growth of shrubs along the walking path.
The girls at bird tower No. 2, Alyssa, Vanessa and Aisya.
Our nitewalk wasn't too popular, we didn't spot any owls but managed to pick out several firefly larvae and two adult rover fireflies for show and tell the next day. The kids and both grandparents stayed in.
It's limitless to what young children can absorb about fascinating nature around them, if only we adults were interested enough to guide them through the mysteries of life at our own doorsteps. Deny them this simple opportunity for bonding, they'd happily resort to computer games other less fulfilling indoor pursuits.
Young Alyssa was persistent about why a firefly only lives for a few days even after Aisya's repeated attempt to explain to her that the larvae actually lives longer and is a major component of a fireflies' life. Ali, eldest in the group, proudly showed the earthworm that going to be the foodsource for our captured larvae. Both Ali and Aisya pretty much remembered in whole what Uncle Musa told them about fireflies many moons back.
"Uncle Nazeri, Uncle Nazeri! Brahminy Kite!", hollered little Vanessa as we ushered grandpa and grandma into the car on our way home the next day.
And for birding parents, you never need an excuse to do KSNP:
Grey Heron by the main lake.
Brahminy Kite by the main lake.
Black-crown Night Heron by the rookery, inner lake.
Purple Heron, by the rookery, inner lake.
Grey Heron, by the rookery, inner lake. Birders contemplating a trip to photograph the egrets and herons of Everglades ala Arthur Morris can flock over to KSNP to make the same genre of bird images at a fraction of the cost.
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