www.nst.com By Alias Mohamed When is there smoke without fire? Try Terengganu’s Smokey Rapids or Jeram Berasap in Kemaman.
Here, one hardly ever sees the sun, especially in the morning, as the whole valley will be misty and wet. It’s because of this “misty” condition that this place is named Jeram Berasap.
Perhaps it’s because of this that the place remains undeveloped. Even the road leading to it is muddy and can be dangerous if one is not careful.
Jeram Berasap is about 60km from Chukai. About 10km before you get there, the road passes through an oil palm estate. The difficult stretch is the last three kilometres, where the track gets narrower and is suitable only for motorcycles. It leads to the only village in that area, Kampung Padang Kubu.
If you persevere, the rewards are abundant. It’s like going into a wonderland of virgin green. Everything is so natural, cool and unspoilt.
When the mist clears, you’ll see the gurgling stream and the rapids spraying the waters, causing the air to become misty. On the far side, a waterfall thrashes down on the rocks below, before it joins up with the stream. On both sides of the river, there are small shrubs and open spaces that make ideal spots for campers to pitch their tents.
“This whole place (river) is teeming with fish, which include kelah, sebarau, baung, keli and puyu,” says Che Ghani Mohd Nor, a local tourist guide. He is the manager of CG Kembang Maju Enterprise, the only travel agency that organises picnic packages to Jeram Berasap.
“Not many people know about this place and those who do come are locals including youths and ‘reformed Mat Rempit’!” he says in jest.
Apart from fishing and camping, one can also go jungle trekking along hill slopes and look for wild herbs such as kacip fatimah, tongkat ali, serapat, misai kucing, gajah merawan and mas cotek.
Visitor Hamad Abdullah, 18, says he is very impressed with the beauty of the place. He hopes the State Government will take over and build basic facilities such as toilets and changing rooms.
“But one thing that the local council should do immediately is to improve the final stretch of road leading to this area,” he suggests.
Those interested in checking out Jeram Berasap can contact Che Ghani at 019-917 4012. |