More Wonderful Waterfalls

3rd November 2010

Waterfall #5 – Tad Katamok

A long way down a dirt track, in the middle of nowhere, across a gaping valley we caught sight of an immense waterfall, pouring hundreds of feet over a cliff face. This morning we woke up in Attaupeu, stuffed the few things we had brought with us back into our backpacks and hopped on the scooter. We started back, north, up the tarmac road, battling against a fierce headwind that had picked up. After about 50km we came to a section of road lined with a few stalls and a dusty track leading off to the left. A faded sign pointed to Paksong and we took it. As soon as we turned off we thankfully found shelter from the wind.

We didn't see a soul for a couple of hours. Sections of the dirt road were cracked and lumpy, but since the track was empty Aaron could swing from side to side across the road to avoid the worst obstacles. We passed a couple of teenage boys on scooters going in the opposite direction. They smiled and waved at us, surprised to see white faces out on that road. The rusty coloured earth was hard, so even though the road was winding it was easier to navigate than the dirt track we took on the last loop. We saw a few older men walking along the side of the road, they looked like they were on a hunting trip, since one carried a rifle slung over his shoulder. We smiled politely, but didn't stop. The road climbed slowly into the mountains we had skirted around the last couple of days. I was gazing around at the beautiful peaks and valleys, when I gasped and told Aaron to stop. “There it is, across the valley!” I exclaimed! It was on the opposite side of the road from the map, but I was sure it was Tad Katamok. We hiked down a track leading off the side of the road to try and get a closer view. It led us to the very top of our most beautiful and tallest waterfall yet!

Waterfall #6 – Alone Waterfall

"What are those strange contraptions covering it?” I asked Aaron when we reached the waterfall. About half an hour down the track from Tad Katamok we found a sign which read “Welcome to alone waterfall -> 700m”. This waterfall wasn't mentioned on our map, but seeing as we were on a waterfall tour we couldn't pass up this opportunity. We parked the bike behind some bushes and headed off down the trail. When we got to the river we could hardy see the waterfall because it was cluttered with odd looking wooden channels. We noticed that the strange cord that had been hanging above some of the track we had just walked down was attached to these gadgets. Aaron realised that they were electric generators. Suddenly they did not appear so ugly anymore, in fact I though it was remarkable how resourceful and environmental the locals were.

Waterfall #7 – Tad Yaung

I stared up at the water free-falling from a great height, descending into a stream surrounded by a mossy green basin, where the mist conjured up a picturesque rainbow. I couldn't believe my eyes. “Could this be the prettiest waterfall yet?” I thought. We were now about 135km from from our starting town, Attaupea. We reached Paksong in the early afternoon and being back on the fast tarmac road we decided to push on a bit further. Tad Yaung was a short distance from the main road down an incredibly bumpy dirt track. I couldn't believe that it was a developed park and somehow minibuses made it down that road! Being in a populated area made the waterfall less romantic, but it was great to be able to hike down to the bottom of the falls and gaze up in awe. This perspective surpassed in beauty all we had seen so far. Aaron and I found some hiking trails around the coffee plantation behind the falls, where we whiled away the rest of the daylight hours. Just before sunset we retreated up the road to Sihom Sabaidy guesthouse. Tomorrow will be our grand finale of the waterfall extravaganza.

 

 

By Jean