Getting To Taman Negara Is Half The Fun – Part 1

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Tara

Most people approach the birder’s paradise of Taman Negara from either Kuala Lumpur or the Cameron Highlands by one of the shuttle services. The Cameron Highlands – Taman Negara shuttle is run through Cameron Secrets and will pick you up at your accommodation early in the morning. Either way, you will have a two-part journey – the road trip to Kuala Tembelling and a boat ride to Kuala Tahan just opposite the park entrance.

PART 1 – MINIBUS TO KUALA TEMBELLING

Heading out of Tanah Rata, there is some beautiful mountain scenery to enjoy.

Sadly there is also a lot of habitat destruction. I’m not sure what they are building here but it sure is ugly!

Once out of the mountains, there are some small villages and markets. The driver will make a comfort stop enroute where you can use the facilities and buy snacks.

Lizards have the right of way!

Just in case anyone is planning to rent a car, here are the signs to look out for.

After ~ 3 hours or so, you will arrive at Kuala Tembelling. This river port is where the boats take you to Kuala Tahan through the Taman Negara National Park.

This was our minibus.

Upon arrival you need to check in with the boat counter and pay for your admission tickets to Taman Negara which is across the street.

The Taman Negara ticket office also has tourist information and some nice photos of birds.

Bring your entry ticket back to the restaurant building and get your boat ticket (which is included in the shuttle fee), then relax, have lunch and look around the area. If you don’t have accommodation already booked (we were pre-booked at Mutiara Taman Negara), then they can book something for you.

The food is cheap. Just a warning, there are no toilets on the 2.5 hour boat ride so consider your drinking accordingly!

Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna)

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Tara

The Streaked Spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. These photos were taken in Tan’s Camellia Garden, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

They have a very large range throughout South-east Asia so you have a good chance to spot one. The blue dot marks the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia where I saw the bird above.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

VIDEO

Very nice close-up of a bird eating although I can’t tell if he’s eating spiders.

IHG’s Boring Summer Pointbreak List

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Tara

This is one of the worst lists I have seen. Absolutely NOTHING is jumping out at me as a good deal even at 5000 points per night. Just in case anyone has travel planned to one of these destinations, please check out the summer IHG Pointbreaks List which is valid until 31 October.

For Aussies, there is ONE Oceania property – HOLIDAY INN WARWICK FARM which is in the greater Sydney area but inconvenient unless you have a car.

Afternoon Birding – Tan’s Camellia Garden, Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Tara

After settling in to Gerard’s Place, I asked Jay the owner who is also a keen birder to recommend a place for me to spend an afternoon birding. She recommended Tan’s Camellia Garden which is off the main road just near the road leading up to Gerard’s Place. Entrance is free and it’s a nice, quiet place to enjoy the beautiful flowers and look for some typical highland bird species.

The first bird we saw upon entering was a Streaked Spiderhunter. I took this as a good omen – gotta love any bird who helps rid the world of spiders! I’m fond of Serpent Eagles for the same reason! Go birds!

Jay left to go about her errands and I wandered around. There were some stunning flowers and butterflies so I tried some macro photography, not that I am any good at it!

I think this is a female Black-throated Sunbird.

Random birds as I walked through the garden.

If you are walking from town, look for these two strange “Christmas trees”, the entrance to Tan’s is next door.

Lodge Review: Gerard’s Place, Tanah Rata – Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Tara

I must have some kind of radar. For our one night in Tanah Rata, after going through all the choices on Hotels.com (I was working towards a free night) and reading some reviews on Trip Advisor, I chose Gerard’s Place based on the value it represented and the views in the photos that looked “birdy”. I had yet to learn that the warm, friendly and cheerful owner – Jay was also a birder!

As you enter, there is a map of the surrounding area with places to go hiking marked out.

The gardens surrounding the property are very birdy as I suspected.

Here’s a Verditer Flycatcher on the roof of a neighbor’s apartment.

The entrance to Gerard’s Place actually says “Carnation” on the front with a smaller Gerard’s Place sign below. This is why I suggest going to Father’s Guesthouse when you first arrive and letting Jay pick you up as it could be confusing when you don’t know your way around town. It’s on top of a hill and a 10 ringgit taxi ride if you are down town for dinner and need a ride back.

The guesthouse has several rooms, some with private bath and some with shared bath. We had a shared bathroom (G1) since it was only 1 night, otherwise I’d go for the ensuite.

The common room opens onto a patio with a nice view of the garden so you can sit here and watch birds. There is free wifi only accessible in the common room. We left very early on the Taman Negara shuttle, but Jay left some toast, butter, jam and coffee for our breakfast.

Beautiful flowers in the garden.

I highly recommend Gerard’s Place especially for birders. Jay will happily point out the best spots and even drop you there if she is heading into town. She is in the local bird club and has a nice book about the local birds you can buy to help you identify what you saw and keep as a souvenir. If you are headed to Taman Negara, ask Jay to book you on the shuttle, it will pick you up at the front door early in the morning.

Tanah Rata Village

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Tara

The town of Tanah Rata is so small you can easily walk anywhere you need to get to. We left the bus station and were pretty hungry so first order was to find food. It was around 2:30 so at that awkward time between normal lunch and dinner. The town is very attractive and has lots of tour operators.

These food stalls seem to be always open.

The hotel across the street also has a restaurant and a very pretty garden but the restaurant was closed.

So back to the stalls. I don’t remember what we ate but it was definitely cheap and cheerful!

Next step was to get to Father’s Guest House. We had actually booked at their sister property, Gerard’s Guest House but Gerard’s is more difficult to find the first time so the best idea is to go to Father’s and have them call Jay, the owner of Gerard’s to come and pick you up.

After birding in Tan’s Camellia Garden (separate post), I walked through the town again.

The most popular dish is “Steamboat” but I don’t eat seafood so I can’t really report on it.

Instead, I settled for afternoon tea (at 5:30pm) with scones, cream and jam – yummy! The cafe had free wifi so I caught up on emails. I got some takeaway chicken to bring back to Gerard’s as my husband didn’t come with me and preferred to relax a bit.

Bus From Taiping To Cameron Highlands

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Tara

After a successful birding trip to Taiping Lake Gardens, I was looking forward to our next main birding stop in Taman Negara but first we would spend a night in Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. This hill resort has completely different birds to the rainforests.

I had Sentosa Villa call the taxi driver from yesterday and he showed up in 10 minutes.

I sat in the front seat knowing that as we came down the hill we would pass the trees where we had seen the Long-tailed Parakeets the day before. I was not disappointed. One parakeet was sitting in the tree eating. The driver stopped while I jumped out and grabbed some photos. A 2nd bird flew by and this bird flew off with the other one. A nice but brief sighting!

We continued on to the bus station and bought tickets for the first leg of the trip to Ipoh. We didn’t have long to wait as a bus was already parked there and boarding. Fares were pretty cheap, less than $5 and this was a simple bus, not the deluxe bus we were in before.

Here’s a few shots out the window between Taiping and Ipoh. The bus only had a few passengers.

In Ipoh, we changed to a different bus for the longer trip to Tanah Rata, the main town in the Cameron Highlands.

Was this Kingfisher lost?

Now entering the Cameron Highlands.

Tanah Rata bus station – end of the road.

Aussies Can Earn Airline Points For Everyday Spend

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Tara

Maybe a few of you saw the Ben Schlappig interview on Sunrise over the last 2 days and are enviously sizing up the opportunities Americans have to earn easy airline miles and points. It’s true, Americans do have better credit card deals with lower (or waived) annual fees and easier-to-get cards while the Aussie cards do occasionally have good sign up bonuses but they are not easy to get. The real value for Americans over the past few years has been churning these cards – that is applying, getting the bonus, canceling the card, then doing it again in a few months although US banks have been recently cracking down on churners.

It’s not easy getting miles in the more lucrative USA programs such as AA and UA unless you are a business traveller with company paid travel that you can credit to these programs. Amex Membership Reward members can transfer MR points to SPG at a rate of 1000 MR = 500 SPG and certain cards have up to 3 points per $ based on categories so you may be able to get a reasonable amount of AA miles using the 20k SPG = 25k AA but unfortunately United’s ratio for SPG transfers is half of American’s so it’s not a good option.

So what CAN the average Aussie with a modest income and no employer-paid travel do? One of the easiest ways is to join Woolworth’s Everyday Rewards in any of their supermarkets for free and scan the card when you pay for your groceries. The 1 point per $ after $30 spend is nothing to get excited about but they do start sending you targeted promos by email. Last week, I had one where I got a 1000 bonus QF points if I spent $120 on groceries that week. This week I have an ever better promo – 5000 QF points if I make an online order for delivery of at least $50!

When shopping online with Woolworths you get the same great prices and specials as in store delivered right to your door. With this Member exclusive offer, if you order today, you’ll receive 5000 bonus points and free delivery. Simply select a delivery window between 23rd July and 2nd August and spend $50 or more on your first online shop.

T&Cs: This offer has been selected especially for you and can be redeemed once. Make sure you enter your Everyday Rewards card number when you register with Woolworths Online to qualify for your reward. The qualifying amount must be spent in one transaction and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. You’ll find your reward in your Everyday Rewards account up to 7 days after the offer end date.

Offer valid for orders delivered from 00:01 23rd July 2015 to 23:59 AEST 2nd August 2015 when you spend $50 or more. Minimum spend of $50 excludes any other coupons/discounts and delivery charges. $50 or more must be spent in a single transaction. Free delivery will apply automatically at the checkout. Orders must be placed by 15:00 AEST 1st August 2015. Offer valid only once per shopper during the offer period. Order cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Orders may be cancelled by us without notice to you if the above terms and conditions are not adhered to. Excludes Delivery Saver, flowers, liquor, tobacco items, gift cards and selected services. Offer can only be redeemed at Woolworths online. Available delivery times will vary between areas.

Now I usually prefer to do my own shopping and grab anything that’s been marked down but for this promo I will find some non-perishable staples to fill the order. Not gonna pass up 5000 free QF points!

I may even up the ante and order $100 of groceries as I have a $10 off $100 voucher from the petrol station! Yes, you can stack these kinds of promos and also earn credit card points when you pay so that would be a nice triple-dip!

Always check the Velocity and Qantas pages for deals on electricity, phone, utility, dining and shopping before you buy anything, you never know what you may find! Velocity has a good deal for car servicing as well!

While we don’t have the super deals Americans have, there are a few ways to get easy, free points if you stay alert and are willing to redirect your normal spend from one company to another!

Help Conservation By Joining Surveys For Regent Honeyeaters & Swift Parrots

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Tara

Next weekend – August 1 & 2, Birdlife Australia is conducting surveys to locate populations of Regent Honeyeaters and Swift Parrots. There are lots of potential survey locations on their website throughout Victoria, NSW, ACT and QLD (see the Excel spreadsheet towards the bottom – Suggested survey locations for Swift Parrot and Regent Honeyeater surveys). There are also forms to fill out after the survey and send to Birdlife.

For more information about the surveys see our webpage or contact Dean Ingwersen (Regent Honeyeaters), Mick Roderick (Swift Parrots in NSW, ACT and Qld) or Caroline Wilson (Swift Parrots in Victoria).

I will be out there surveying in Greater Brisbane, probably with my husband. We didn’t have any luck in May so really hopeful for this one! The weather reports for next week show another cold snap coming in so I hope the birds are enjoying our relatively warm winter in QLD by now!

These photos are from Wikipedia to show the birds we are looking for.

Regent Honeyeater

Swift Parrot

Earn 10,000 Bonus Velocity Points On Your July Service

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Tara

Update posted on 30 July in Brisbane:

Velocity website now shows end date of 31 July. There must have been a data entry error. I’m really glad I had my car serviced on Monday as my points have already posted – they have a posting date of the day after the service! I really hope Velocity and Midas do more of these promos!

Very lucrative bonus for having your car serviced! Please note that there is a discrepancy on the end date. Velocity website says 31 August, Midas website says 31 July. Either some data entry clerk goofed up or they extended it but I decided with so many points at risk not to take a chance and scheduled my car for a service in July. We’re doing a road trip in a couple months for birding Outback Queensland so we need the service anyways!

Earn 10,000 bonus Velocity Points on your July service

Kick start the New Financial Year with 10,000 bonus Velocity Points when you have your car serviced with Midas by 31 August 2015*. Plus, earn 3 Velocity Points per $1 spent on the service cost.

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

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