So fun and MacQueen was a great guide! Took us on the Semadang river and to a few cool spots along... read more
So fun and MacQueen was a great guide! Took us on the Semadang river and to a few cool spots along... read more
David and his team are professional. They take time to brief you about the safety, all the material... read more
Read some raving reviews about Semadang Kayaking while researching for best activities in Kuching. Finally decided on Semadang Kayaking as I was extremely impressed by the fact that Nat Geo has actually selected this young company to help with their documentary filming.
Mackenzie and Luke came to our hotel to pick my family up punctually. After about an hour of car ride (part of it was scenic), we arrived at where the kayaks and bamboo rafts were stored and were warmly welcomed by Edward and MacQuin.
After some preparations and helpful briefings, we were on our way bamboo rafting!
It helped that my grown up kids had some prior boating experiences. It took me a little while to get used to it but before long, we were having a fabulous time rafting and enjoying the serenity, charm and beauty of the surroundings! There was no rush, no time limit... Just enjoy... After about two kilometres, we stopped over at a mini waterfall which was absolutely lovely and refreshing!
MacQuin, Mackenzie and Luke made the time spent at the waterfall extremely fun! They could even "control" the amount of water "falling" by moving some rocks around!! Amazing!! It was great that they were passionate about what they were doing! All of us had such a marvellous time at the waterfall!
Thereafter we changed to our individual kayaks while the three guys took over the bamboo rafts. They brought us to our next station where a wonderful and sumptuous meal was served. Later we found out that it was a family business and the boys' Mom, Sandra, was the one who whipped up the warm, lovely and yummy traditional meal! There was so much of love, joy and happiness felt when spending time with this lovely family eating and chatting!!
After the yummy lunch, we spent some time at their indigenous village. Mackenzie, a knowledgeable guy, shared quite a lot of the villages' history with us. We are grateful to him.
After the lunch, we carried on with more scenic and serene journey on our kayaks. The macho guys carried on to share interesting stories about their culture with us. They also pointed out different awesome sites to us which we would have otherwise missed out. We were pleasantly surprised by the CD (where all the pictures taken throughout the trip were stored) was being presented to us at the tea session after we have washed up.
The whole trip was indeed most memorable and enjoyable.
Thank you very much for making the bamboo rafting and kayaking adventure such a wonderful and marvellous experience, dear Edward, Sandra, MacQuin, Mackenzie and Luke!!
Thank you for putting in so much effort to ensure that we were well taken care of, our safety was your tip top priority while ensuring we had an awesome time!!
Your passion, care, genuine spirit and generosity is very much appreciated!
Do not leave Kuching without meeting this wonderful family and enjoying yourselves bamboo rafting and kayaking!!
PS. Helpful tips:
Bring along a set of change.
Proper pair of rubber footwear for watersports would be very helpful as the rocks are very slippery and it can be challenging.
We had a great time taking the Bamboo Rafting + Kayaking combo.
The best part about this entire experience was the great service & warmth provided by the guides (Mackenzie, Macquin & Luke). They were extremely friendly and knowledgable, and really made the effort to take care of us guests.
It was a scenic trip with several photo opportunities along the way. Although we didn't manage to catch much wildlife, we did see many interesting plants and natural formations.
Equipment was well maintained! Lifejackets looked extremely clean (unlike the mouldy ones often found in other water-sport locations) which was great.
The lunch provided was really nice. Cooked freshly, it had great flavour, and was also served in a very clean area!
Water was provided for the entire journey.
The photos taken along the journey (by the guides) were given to us in a complimentary CD - an unexpected surprise!
Thank you Edward & family for the great time :)
We booked a daylong tour visting the Orang Utan conversation center, rainforest kayaking and at least take a step into an original malaysian longhouse. Everything was great, from the pickup at the hotel in Kuching, Transfers (the droped us at the Airport in the afternoon, many thnaks), the activities, Food and the guide McKenzie. Thank you guys for this day and all the best for you.
Peter
We did the kayak, plus orang hutan sanctuary visit combo.
This is a day-long kayak trip on the Semadang River, about 30-45 minutes from Kuching, plus a visit to the Semonggoh Wildlife Centre.
We were picked up from accommodation and stopped at the wildlife centre first.
Visitors here need to be very clear that the orangs are wild, and you might not get a sighting. We were very lucky As we saw an adult and a young one.
From there, I have no idea how long the drive to the kayaks was. We enjoyed the drive up, looking at the sights, chatting with the guides.
It was a fun and easy paddle downstream on this gentle river. We enjoyed the amazingly beautiful jungle. It was so cool to be in the plants and landscape.
While it’s not a hard paddle, it’s quite fun negotiating the bends and curves of the river, and the rocks, other obstacles within it and gentle rapids. However, I was distracted by the scenery and got our kayak stuck a couple of times.
There were 3 stops, to visit a waterfall, for a great lunch and for a swim in the river.
The only disappointment was that we didn’t see much wildlife, birds or fish.
Our guides were amazing. Authentic, genuine, fun, informative, helpful and accommodating. The whole thing was really well organised. They provided water, a dry bag and of course lunch. It included use of all the gear. And they took photos, which they put on a disk for each guest. And the ride to and from the accommodation was really helpful.
You can bring your own camera if you can keep it dry. You should have some footwear, as the walk to the waterfall might be a bit uncomfortable otherwise. Sunblock and a cap/hat are essential.
It’s a relaxing paddle through a really beautiful part of the world. It needs to be at this pace so that you can enjoy it. The kids had fun being in the water, regardless of the pace. Our amazing hosts helped to make this a great outing.
A really enjoyable and well run activity. Run by family and friends who are locals to the area, they provide a top quality service.
The scenery on this trip is spectacular, moving along the river at a decent pace surrounded by beautiful views of the rainforest. We stopped at a waterfall, where the tour guides got some pics on their camera which they later gave us for free on cd after the trip, after the waterfall we continued on to a small village along the river for lunch. Generally the food on a trip like this is very basic and not much effort goes in to it, but that's not the case here. The food was delicious(sedap in malay) and with plenty of choice.
Credit to Mackenzie and the rest the team for a great day out!
The trip was very well organised from start to finish, Mackenzie was very helpful and informative about the surrounding area and jungle. Stopped of at a waterfall for pictures and later on for a swim in the river. Lunch was chicken cooked in bamboo and Midi (local fern) and rice and cakes and fruit for dessert.
A nice touch is the CD with photographs of your trip that even includes a map of the trip.
Fantastic way to view the heart of the rain forest not to be missed.
G Tyler