FAIRY CAVES a popular local landmark and tourism attraction near Bau town — faces an uncertain future.
BREATHTAKING: One of the many panoramic unique views to be found inside Fairy Cave.
Deteriorating facilities, poor maintenance and almost non-existent security measures are creating progressively unsafe conditions for visitors and contributing to problems of vandalism and litter on site.
Various stakeholders interviewed by thesundaypost attributed this situation to inadequate funding, lack of public awareness and cooperation towards environmental conservation and the ambiguous issue of who holds the responsibility to look after and administer the caves’ well-being.
Situated just under an hour’s drive from Kuching, Fairy Caves has been a staple destination of day trips, family outings and school excursions for decades, especially during weekends and school holidays.
However, despite its popularity, it has yet to be gazetted as a Nature Reserve. This is seen to be the main obstacle towards accessing the funds and resources necessary to develop and improve the site for tourism and conservation purposes.
thesundaypost ascertained that plans to gazette Fairy Caves as a Nature Reserve were initiated a number of years ago, but until today, the status of its application remains mired in a tricky limbo of bureaucracy, red tape and general inertia.
thesundaypost has also been given to understand that if appropriate measures with a view to long-term conservation are not carried out to arrest declining conditions and restore the caves to their natural state, the local community stands to lose an important historical, cultural and ecological landmark as well as a unique tourism attraction.
First person visit
Upon our arrival at Fairy Caves early one recent Saturday morning, the small carpark already held a small entourage of vehicles and visitors.
It was the start of the school holidays and there were at least a dozen visitors posing for group photos at the foot of an imposing concrete structure which houses the staircase leading to the cave entrance.
Next to the structure lies the old smaller and narrower staircase — now covered with decaying leaves and moss and lined with wooden stumps which once supported handrails.
There are no fences or barriers to stop the brave (or foolhardy) from using the old one but most visitors opt to use the newer staircase.
Faded brown paint on the wooden banisters, rusting metal fixtures and lichen and moss growth on the structure’s walls, pillars and tiles exposed to the elements suggested that it has been a long time since the building was last properly inspected and subjected to maintenance and repairs.
The roof of the building sported a number of gaping holes — probably caused by falling rocks, tree branches and other debris — with edges rusted from rain. The final staircase leading directly to the cave entrance was partly blocked by branches extending from trees surrounding the building.
Back at the carpark, visitors formed queues to use one of two toilets available — which, although working, were dirty and leaking. Limited washing facilities also meant that there were bottlenecks at times to wash mud and grime from feet and footwear.
On the ground floor of the staircase complex was a locked room appearing to serve as a site office or security kiosk but there were no signs of any authourised personnel throughout the two hours or so that thesundaypost was at Fairy Caves.
Safety concerns
Inside Fairy Caves, the immediate concern is the poor conditions of the narrow walkways. At certain places, natural forces have caused pathways to become uneven and stairs to crumble or crack.
Even more alarming are thin or missing handrails and guardrails, especially along the many steep staircases and sharp drops. Water drips constantly from the limestone ceiling, soaking concrete steps and pathways and making them slippery and dangerous to navigate. In some places, water drops have begun to erode the walkways.
Thesundaypost observed that a few visitors opted to miss out on the panoramic views in the main cavern as they were concerned over the safety of the pathways leading there.
As visitors can come and go at will, there is nothing to stop individuals from vandalising the cave walls or removing items from the cave as souvenirs, such as fossils. Visitors are free to go wherever they desire, including into the deeper and less secure parts of the caves to do whatever they want.
Ancestral and spirit worship inadvertently contribute to the problem of litter and vandalism as evidenced by talismans, used candles, remnants of burnt joss sticks and other offerings left behind by visitors, especially in the deeper regions of the caves and at the foot of certain pillars and boulders, some of which have also been reverently wrapped in white cloth.
Despite all these concerns, Fairy Caves is a popular destination for students, tourists, and outdoor and photography enthusiasts because of its imposing stalactite and stalagmite formations.
Photographer Mohamad Zaid Hamdan from Selangor noted that Fairy Caves’ unique formations and dramatic panoramic views inside as well as outside the caves make it an excellent location for photography aficionados.
Hamdan himself was at Fairy Caves for a photoshoot session with his brother Mohd Zubairi Hamdan and model Anisah Mohd Salleh.
“It’s a beautiful place but cleanliness could be better,” he added.
Also, in terms of safety, maybe the pathways could be improved as they get slippery when wet.
Vincent Uh, a company director and businessman from Kedah, felt that although there were many positive features about Fairy Caves, there were also many aspects which required attention.
“Some parts of the caves are very dark and there are no torchlights available. In places like Perlis, the caves have lights. It would also be better if there were food sellers around to sell refreshments.”
Uh was also concerned over safety, especially for visitors with young children or elderly persons.
“Nobody takes notice of who goes in and out. Anyone can go in and it’s nobody’s business. If something happens inside (the cave), nobody knows.”
The actual state of Fairy Caves is most telling when compared to Wind Caves located just a few kilometres away — the latter is a gazetted Nature Reserve while the former is not. The result is a study of contrasts.
Wind Caves
At Wind Caves, visitors are greeted by large and conspicuous information boards and notices at various intervals near visitor the rest areas and by Sungai Sarawak Kanan. Off-limit areas are securely cordoned off by fences and marked with warning signs.
There are ample benches and resting places for visitors to sit and hold picnics and BBQs, especially nearer to the river bank where visitors can choose to take a refreshing dip in the river’s cold waters. Near the river are also washrooms and changing rooms which are clean, dry and working.
A vendor nearby told thesundaypost the washrooms and changing rooms are maintained by a contractor.
Rubbish bins are placed prominently in areas frequented by visitors while small stalls selling a wide range of food, snacks, drinks and cold desserts line one side of the carpark.
At the entrance to Wind Caves, there is a visitor’s information and ticketing office manned by personnel. Visitors pay a small entry fee and are required to sign in a logbook. Torchlights were also available for rent for a nominal change.
thesundaypost observed that the office was equipped with basic first aid facilities such as a first aid box and stretchers.
There were signboards clearly marked with park opening hours, entry charges and rules as well as safety precautions. There were also notices explaining what facilities were available.
Inside Wind Caves, it was apparent that walkways were in much better conditions than those at Fairy Caves as they were wider and felt more secure underfoot.
Passage trails were clearly marked with warning signs to watch out for slippery conditions posted along the walkway at regular intervals. Properly maintained handrails and guard rails provided an extra layer of security for slippery conditions as well as to prevent visitors from straying off into other areas. Compared with Fairy Caves, Wind Caves appears a more family-safe and visitor-friendly option.
No jurisdiction
There is only so much that Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) — the state body overseeing the administration of Parks and Nature Reserves in Sarawak — can do to accord the same attention to Fairy Caves as it does to Wind Caves, according to a statement released by them.
In a reply emailed to thesundaypost, SFC stated it does not have full mandate over the site as its status is ‘Initially Gazette as Nature Reserve’, thus SFC does not have the legal backing to enforce rules and regulations to protect the site.
Zulkifli Baba, SFC’s head of Corporate Communications, said plans to fully gazette Fairy Caves as a Nature Reserve had been submitted for approval some years ago.
He explained it was difficult to estimate when the outcome would be known as the relevant decision-makers needed to gather and analyse feedback from all government agencies and stakeholders affected by the gazettement.
Funding to maintain national parks and Nature Reserves comes from the state government’s annual grant.
For major infrastructure development, funds are obtained from the Ministry of Tourism Sarawak (MOT).
In terms of budget allocation, priority is given to sites which are fully protected and with high visitor traffic such as Bako, Semengoh and Gunung Gading.
Zulkifli said although it was the state’s responsibility to take care of the Nature Reserves, they were constrained by the budget allocation.
He also explained revenue from visitor toll collection was rarely sufficient to cover expenses required to maintain the parks, even for parks with high visitor traffic like Semengoh.
However, Zulkifli acknowledged that Fairy Caves was an important part of their student outreach and public awareness programmes.
It would appear that Fairy Caves still has much inherent potential for development as a tourism destination.
However, it appears to be caught in the chicken-and-egg dilemma of whether to conserve and develop it first to attract tourists, or wait for tourist numbers to hit a certain quota before investing in conservation and development.