Andrew Gaskell – Two weeks lost in the Malaysian mountains

There’s always something to learn from every survival story, and normally the most important lessons repeat themselves. There are certain things you should and should not do and it’s very important to learn and remember these things if you’re going out into the wild. Doing the complete opposite on purpose is guaranteed to get you in trouble, and that’s exactly what Andrew Gaskell did on his spiritual trip to Malaysia.

This 25-year-old Australian from Tasmania decided that he wanted to go on a soul-searching trip to think about his life, so went on holiday on his own to Malaysia. He purposely avoided all of the tourist spots as he wanted his trip to be more “authentic”, and so visited the smaller villages and out-the-way areas.

In October 2016, Andrew was in the Gunung Mulu National Park, a massive and very remote area of the country that’s covered in forests and mountains. This region covers over 500 square kilometers and is very difficult to move through, with few settlements.

This kind of isolation was exactly what Andrew was hoping for, and so he set off into the thick forested mountains. At first, he began walking down the known paths and along the routes, tourists would take, but since he wanted to get away from the usual sights and other people, he began to walk down routes that had closed signs on and randomly walking down small paths that disappeared into the trees.

Getting lost is something that he did on purpose, and it’s pretty obvious that getting yourself lost in unfamiliar territory that’s nothing but thick jungle and steep slopes isn’t the smartest thing to do. Apart from intentionally getting lost he also completely ignored warnings from the park rangers and locals, as well as avoiding guides and checking in at a hiking lodge to schedule his return.

It goes without saying that he got lost pretty fast, and apart from not telling anyone he was there and walking down closed routes, he also didn’t pack anywhere near enough food and water for more than a single day.

The next few nights were spent sleeping under any cover he could find, fallen trees and any bush large enough to keep the weather off would be the best places he could find. After a few days, he came across a small cave and spent a few nights there, trying to work out what to do.

(The cave that Andrew slept in during his ordeal)

Meanwhile, his mother was getting worried that he hadn’t checked in with her for so long, and she eventually notified the authorities in Malaysia, saying her son had told her he was going to the Gunung Mulu National Park but she didn’t know where.

A search and rescue operation was quickly launched and various rescue groups dispatched teams to sweep the area. Since they didn’t know where to start looking it took a while to find him, and just under two weeks after he first set off, Andrew was found by one of the ground teams.

He was lying down at the bottom of a gently sloped valley and appeared to be in very bad shape. He was winched up to a helicopter that took him to the nearest hospital where the damage was assessed. In general, he wasn’t physically too bad, with a few strained muscles and cuts and bruises, but nothing was broken and no deep wounds.

(Photos from the spot he was found and helicopter winching)

The psychological damage done to him was quite severe, but he has since seemed to have made a full recovery. He later posted a message on Facebook about the ordeal, apologizing to the people he worried and to the rescuers who put so much effort into saving his life in a situation that could have been avoided, the message goes as follows:

Dear all,

I wish to deeply apologize for all the inconvenience and trouble that I have caused.

I did not have permission to be on that trail and should have registered for the Mount Mulu guide trip and had a guide to show me the way. Had I followed the correct park rules I would have avoided this incident completely.

In the future, I will always follow park rules and I hope others learn from my experience and also follow park rules.

I would like to thank Marudi police, Police Inspector Gabriel, Marudi Bomba, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Mulu National Park, Mr Hein and his team, the local communities at Mulu, Department of Foreign Affairs Australia, Honorary Australian Consul Kuching, Missing Persons Unit Australia, Police Media, the Malaysian community and all my family and friends back home.

I am deeply sorry for all the trouble I have caused and now need to rest and recover.

Sincerely

Andrew Gaskell