Kubah Night Frogging Experience

Frogging, short for frog-watching, is a practical hobby focused on finding observing frogs in their natural settings. Malaysia’s forests host a great density frogs—from common forest dwellers to species with restricted ranges. Night strolls after rain near water bodies are ringing with a chorus of croaking. In Malaysia’s national parks, frogging is easy: you don’t need look hard or chase a sighting—you listen carefully to the sounds, have in hand a flashlight in lowlight, and let the forest reveal its residents. Eyeshine with a low-light torch makes it easy to spot frogs.

We had planned a morning trip as well as a guided night frogging tour at Kubah National Park. When we visited, the lodges at Kubah National Park were closed for renovation, so we could not stay over at the Park. Hence we made separate day and night trips to Kubah National Park from Kuching City.

Kubah National Park sits at the edge of Kuching. Hiking trails thread through dipterocarp forest, past fan palms and orchids, towards clear pools and cold waterfalls. By day, the light falls in clean panes through the canopy and bird calls ring from every direction. Streams along the road run tea-dark with leaf stain; the air smells of moss and ferns. At dusk, the forest switches on: cicadas rasp and the park’s famed chorus of frogs gathers ring from the forest grounds. From the visitor gate, we climbed up a long windy tarmac road flanked by tall trees and tons of pitcher plants cupped with rainwater. From a shaded bend in the trail, we had sighted flashes of the Prevost's Squirrel jumping from one tree to another and snacking on fruits.

I highly recommend a night frogging tour in Kubah National Park to those interested in night wildlife. Exploring Malaysia's forests at night is an unique experience for those who have never done it. Walking around the cool night in the dark surrounded by frog songs offer a unique perspective of the park. You'll see nocturnal wildlife, hear a soothing night time symphony of calls, and experience the park's transformation under the moonlight. Also, by participating in a guided tour, you're contributing to local conservation efforts as the fees support park management, local park guides and habitat preservation.

Night Frogging Tour at Kubah National Park

• A guide is required to visit the frog pond after evening and it is past the park opening hours.
• Frog pond boardwalk is covered with algae hence hiking boots with good traction absolutely necessary. The uphill road is slippery especially near the drains due to algae on the road, so wear shoes with good traction is essential and be careful of where u walk.
• With an experienced guide and good footwear, the tour is very safe. However, I would not recommend this tour to very young kids and elderly with mobility issues as the ground can be slippery and it is at night. Also, frogging requires one to be very quiet.
• Using Whatsapp, I booked the night frogging tour directly with a local guide, Danny, to avoid high tour agency commissions. Arranging a tour directly with a local guide, which included pickup from Kuching, was far far cheaper than booking night frogging tour package at Kubah National Park. Also, for a tour package, you might not know who the guide is before hand. I had read about people's trips with him online. Lucien (another guide) and Danny are well-known and experienced frogging guides in Kuching. Luckily, we had managed to get an appointment with Danny. He was impressively skilled at frog spotting, besides being friendly and experienced. It rained for part of our tour. The rain blurred his glasses but he still managed to spot an impressive number of frog species with a dim torch in the light rain. We had enjoyed ourselves and felt very safe during the tour.
• The frogs are rather cooperative and most types do not jump about at night. Bring some low-light torches. Too bright light intensities can scare the frogs.
• A frogging tour is likely to be more productive during the rainy season. (September-April)

Fortunately, our night frogging tour at Kubah National Park happened after a rainy night, hence frog activity was considerably high. And we managed to spot 18 different frog species and also a Cat's Eye Gecko.

The Borneon Horned Frog is uncommon but this guy has been sighted recently in this particular spot.

Besides frogs, we got to observe geckos and large bugs.