On the Tube

Stefan (left) films the map reading session at the start of the trip

For the duration of our Tour de Mereuch Bike Tour in Mondulkiri last week, much of the event was under the watchful eye of National Geographic journalist and film camerman, Stefan Lovgren. Swedish by birth, he now lives in the States and travels the globe on Nat Geo assignments. He was in Cambodia to cover the Srepok Wilderness exploratory bike tour and is also seeking out a story about sting-rays in the Mekong River as I type. Everywhere we turned throughout the tour, there was Stefan with his camera and his mike, and he expects a 3 to 6 minute segment to be the finished product on one of Nat Geo's weekly adventure travel programmes. He also took part in the cycling and probably regrets not taking his camera on Day 2 when the group got lost in the forest, just for the dramatic element that brought to the tour. Stefan also runs a new website that brings scientific stories into the public domain, its called ScienceCitizen and can be accessed here. Joining him on the tour was Phnom Penh Post's Brendan Brady, so watch out for a story in that bi-weekly newspaper sometime soon. Incidentally, the PPP has a new online edition and website here.

Stefan on location, along the Srepok River

Besides the superhuman effort required for the cycling element of the tour, seeing wildlife was also high on the agenda as WWF and the Srepok Wilderness Project is busting its balls to establish an environment where the wildlife can recover and grow again after years of hunting, poaching and neglect in the region. Hunter turned gamekeeper, one of the top Park Rangers admitted to have killed no less than 10 tigers during his days as a poacher, but now its his job to protect the wildlife such as tigers, leopards, other cats, large cattle and rare birdlife. Early in the morning and around dusk are the best times to view the animals and birds and that's when I saw quite a few muntjac bounding across the forest floor, as well as Eld's deer, three different types of eagle, some squirrels and colourful parrots. Some of the group also saw gaur and banteng, two species of large wild cattle. No-one claimed to have seen any tigers, leopards, wild elephants or bears - we'll search for those on the next trip.

This was definitely an exploratory trip, and the area is some way off being ready to receive visitors. There is a clear opportunity for a range of tourism options in and around the Srepok River, from kayaking to cycling to bird-watching to safari tours to fishing, and so on, though WWF are not in the tourism business and will need a partner(s) to make it happen, successfully. Their plans for an upmarket ecolodge are still on the drawing board at the moment, and without the backing of other partners, that's where they will stay. However, they are optimistic and have an area to promote that is untouched and pristine enough to attract tourists looking for a different alternative to temples and beaches. The Srepok Wilderness area is definitely that. Incidentally, immediately following our trip, the American Ambassador to Cambodia was due to spend two nights in Mereuch to assess the progress being made by WWF. I hope he left his bike at home! Link: WWF