Being in Taiwan for a second year has opened up a lot of opportunities to engage with the people and culture here at a deeper level. Whether it’s going to concerts and performing arts events in the area or joining an all Chinese-speaking Taiwan tour down island – it’s sweet to see the second year taking us past simply being extended-stay tourists on the Island.
The most recent example of this comes in the form of our new favorite weekend activity – going on free guided nature walks with Taiwan’s Butterfly Conservation Society of Taiwan!
Joining the locals
Every Sunday at 8:30 am a dedicated group of butterfly enthusiasts meet at a predetermined MRT stop for a morning of butterfly (bug, bird, and plant) watching. Anyone is welcome to join. Although for all I know we may be the first ever non-Chinese speaking foreigners to show up!
We found out about their meet ups through flyers at the MRT stations. (Info can also be found on their website.) But of course, ALL of it was in Chinese. I picked one up and ask a friend to translate it a bit for me. But I probably never would have gotten up the courage to go had it not been for our Chinese speaking expat friend who suggested we go together. And that was all it took! The experience with her was so good, it bolstered my courage to try it without her the very next week.
The first impression
I was blown away by how much the guides know. And as usual here in Taiwan, I was touched by how much everyone went out of their way to welcome us and try to communicate with me despite the language barrier. I was also delighted to discover I could buy a pocket butterfly field guide (for just $50NT) and a Butterfly’s of Taiwan ID book for $300NT from them. It made the language barrier so much less difficult. Whenever a caterpillar, pupa or butterfly is discovered the guides just whip out their pocket guides to point out which species we’re seeing. And actually there’s no pressure to buy the materials, as everyone is happy to share theirs!
The meetup
That first hike took place starting at Dahu Station on the brown line. The group was easy to spot, with the leaders all wearing butterfly patched vests. At 8:30 the guides introduced themselves, gave a brief summary of the route were going to take (well, I think that’s what they were saying) and got us together for a quick group picture. Then we started off!
Bugs, butterflies, and more
Think those are caterpillars? Think again! Our guide says they turn into this shiny green guy.
I was delighted to find like-minded people who stop for every interesting bird call, bug and flower. And the guides know more than just butterflies. One guide told us the name of a bird by the sound of their call and pointed out mature ferns fuzzy with a thick layer of spores ready to release for dispersal. Oh and did you know that long feather Mohawk on many of waterfowl here, is a sign of sexual maturity?! ha! who knew?! The guide also found a stick bug that played dead in her hand til it finally gave up the act and started crawling up her finger.
The aptly named the yellow mouth lizard!
One very alive walking stick.
The hike
As we walked and stopped to admire every little natural treasure we could find along the way, we slowly moved around beautiful Dahu pond on a path I’d never noticed in the half dozen other times I’d been here before. We stopped at a quaint little Budhist temple where our guide pointed out some available restrooms and then headed up a new path departing from lake and ascending up into the hills. An hour or so later we emerged at a lovely overlook of the city. There our guides gave a final debrief after-which we were free to make our way back at our pace. From start to finish the walk took about 2 and half hours. And besides the part where I again almost died of heat exhaustion the trip was a delight. Once again, let me urge you to bring plenty of water on these Taiwan hikes!