It would seem I’m making a habit of signing up for things without really knowing what they entail. Yesterday I went on a new tour starting around the National Park which gave you the opportunity to see rescue animals and the Botanical Gardens. This was the only information I had but it sounded like an interesting day, and the tour was a lower price as the guide was using us as test subjects.

We were picked up from our hostel at 9am by our guide and a group of locals who were to taxi us around on their motorbikes for the day. We were told some great things about the continuing improvements and efforts in raising awareness for the animals with in the National Park and local area, and then headed to the Botanical Gardens for a walk.

This is where the day started to move away from the expected… Botanical Gardens to a westerner tends to mean a nicely kept garden, and so a walk around this would be a gentle stroll. Here however, it was an area of the jungle they were working in to sustain the variety of trees natural to the National Park. So after stopping at the top of a waterfall for a nice lunch of bread, salad and longan, my new favourite fruit, we set off on our not so gentle two hour jungle hike!

We edged our way across a large rocky area, trying not to fall on the slippy surface. It didn’t take me long to fail and fall to the floor, though I would like to pass some of the blame to the 1.5lt water bottle I was trying to carry at the same time.

Once past here we headed left into the jungle, straight up a steep, rocky, barely noticeable path. We had to climb over trees trunks, under branches, cling to what we hoped would be a stable rock. It’s safe to say we had a pretty good work out by the time we reached the top!

Over the next hour or so we trekked through the jungle with varying levels of difficulty. Along the way I managed to lose my foot down holes on three separate occasions, came out with a number of scratches and thorns stuck in me, but luckily managed to escape any mosquito bites!

While we were walking a storm began to break, huge raindrops finding their way through the tall bushy trees above. This was a welcome relief from the heat, though was perhaps a little more rain then necessary. It was an exhilarating experience, looking out at the other huge green mountains in the distance, seeing yourself nearly level with the top while hearing thunder rolling through the skies, yet still feeling protected by the jungle.

Near the top just as the rain started

As we finally reached the end of the trek, we rested beside a rocky stream and was told food was on the way. Sure enough, three locals appeared and set to work starting a fire to cook the meat. They also had a great selection of rice, vegetables, tofu and salad.

Dinner at the end of the trek

I was ready to curl up for a nap by the time we had finished but we had one more stop to make first. On the way back to the hostel we stopped at a 20 acre area fenced off for monkeys being rehabilitated. Here we were able to see some monkeys in their natural habitat, with the help of some binoculars.

Today we are in Danang where I hope to see the Marble Mountains. We travelled in style, in what feels like the first class area of the train, with spacious seats and a television. As we neared Danang we were met with an amazing silhouette of the city, viewed from across the sea, as the train made its way along a slow winding coastal track.