#Cambodia - Tractor rides and hiking to reach Oral Mountain’s peak

Though Oral Mountain is the hightest peak in Cambodia, even those without trekking experience won’t find reaching the summit hard. But the real obstacle to the summit is the tricky road journey before, with the use of a tractor almost essential.

Nearby Srae Ken village is home to about 300 Suoy Malou indigenous families. They use tractors as their daily transportation as their village does not have paved roads.

“When tourists reach the villages, we provide a tractor to take them anywhere, whether waterfalls or the peak of Oral Mountain. As you see, the road in the villages is quite hard for vehicles to drive on. Here, aside from bicycles and motorbikes, only tractors can transport materials, people and tourists,” said Theang Soth, one of a handful of local guides from Srae Ken Community, where tourists start their journey to the mountain.

It is 8km from Srae Ken village to a waterfall named Prek Snar at the mountain’s foot – a journey that takes more than two hours for tourists on a tractor driving down an unpaved road.

Soth, 47, a local guide for more than 17 years, told The Post: “One tractor can take seven to eight people, and normally we have one driver and one or two guides to help during the difficult journey. We charge $35 per guide for a day and tractor hire costs $50 per day.

“Some people come to visit a few places and then go back home – most of these people are from around Kampong Speu province. Others stay overnight, trekking from one waterfall to another on the same stream. A one day trek is not enough to explore all the waterfalls.”
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Muth Pech drove his tractor with a large family from Thpong district and carried a speaker on his shoulder playing loud music.

“We came for bathing and lunch together then we are going back home,” he said, as he took the family to Prek Snar waterfall, which has a slope resembling a water slide that plunges into a 1.2m pool.

Soth is also a good chef, and he prepares lunch in the jungle with basic equipment.
“Tourists order food with us, such as two chickens for six people, and we cook them in the forest with condiments, ingredients and rice. Normally we do chicken sour soup and grilled chicken that is enough for several people,” he said.

Soth takes his guests on a more than two-hour walk after they get off the tractor.

“From the lower stream, we visit Smounh cave where we have installed beds to relax. We also visit Bak Kanhchherl, Steung Kroul and Korki creeks, which all have cascades. If people want to see all the waterfalls, spending just one day is not enough,” he said. 
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For benefit of the whole Srae Ken Community, authorities and locals are working to build a pebble trail that will make access easier.

“We are very happy to see construction vehicles building a road in front of our homes. We’ve never seen such a nice roads in our villages,” said Chhem Chhim, Srae Ken Community chief, which was founded in 2004 in Oral district’s Trapang Chhou commune.

“When we have a new road, Srae Ken Community is going to welcome more visitors who wish to visit Oral Mountain and it will bring ecotourism jobs for our people.”

While guides cook for visitors, all expenses are the responsibility of tourists, including meat, vegetables, condiments and steamed rice.

Source - PhnomPenhPost 

Cambodia - Herd of Elephants rescued from muddy bomb crater

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Eleven wild elephants were rescued on Saturday in Mondulkiri’s Keo Seima protected area after becoming trapped in a former bomb crater without food for four days, though rangers will continue to monitor the herd to ensure it reaccepts one juvenile who was handled by humans during the rescue.

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Olly Griffin, a technical advisor with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), said the operation was a “big team effort” between civil society groups, government authorities and local villagers.

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“A large part of the credit goes to the local people from the area, who showed concern and compassion for the plight of the elephants,” Griffin said yesterday.

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The 3-metre-deep bomb crater had been repurposed as a water storage pond, and Griffin said the elephants may have been seeking water when they became trapped. 

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Keo Sopheak, director of the province’s environmental department, said the walls of the pit were too steep for the elephants to climb out of, and as the water began to dry, they became mired in the mud.

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“After we watered them, some villagers helped cut bamboo leaves for them to eat because they do not have food for four days. We dug out the sides of the pit and placed wood planks for them to walk on,” said Sopheak.

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WCS supplied equipment likes ropes and digging tools, which allowed 10 of the 11 elephants to successfully exit on their own.

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One young elephant, however, was too weak to leave unassisted. Griffin explained that as the sun began to set and the pit began to fill with rainwater, rescuers made the difficult decision to tie a rope to the young elephant and forcibly pull it out of the pit.

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“The mother may abandon the elephant,” Griffin said, noting that the herd may be spooked if the youngster smells like humans.

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“It ran off in the same direction as the rest of the herd … We will send some rangers to observe whether or not he is accepted.”

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Yan Socheat, one of village rescuers, said locals were aware that there were elephants in the area for about a week, but didn’t realise they were in trouble.

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Video footage shows rescuers pulling out the young elephant, who subsequently tramples one of his liberators as he flees. Socheat said the rescuer was stunned, but uninjured. 

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Additional reporting by Andrew Nachemson

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