Mysterious Ways, Part 4: Naribunji

The following is Part 4 of a 6-part series about my trip to the islands of Ulleung-Do (울릉도) and Dok-Do (독도) from 20(Fri)-22(Sun) August 2010. In this installment, I review our campsite at Naribunji (나리분지) on Ulleung-Do. Please see related posts (Part 1: Ulleung-Do Awaits; Part 2: Dok-Do Is Our Land--Don't Fuck With It; Part 3: Sundown; Part 5: Over the Mountain and Through the Fields; Part 6: Why) for additional photos and comments.

Things to Do: situated at the base of Ulleung-Do's central peak, Seong-In-Bong (성인봉), the trail entrance leading to the top of the mountain is within 20-min walking distance.

Seong-In-Bong to the right, Naribunji to the left

Getting There: upon arrival at the port of Dong-Do (동도) via boat from the mainland, the only practical means of access are by taxi or car rental (about 40-min drive time), both of which are available at the dock; although the island isn't that big, most destinations require taking a circuitous route along the coastal roads.

From left (circled in purple): Naribunji (top center), Dodong Port (bottom right);

Type of Site: public recreational park.

Grounds: grassy with shade coverage under trees in select areas; a handful of scattered decks.

Environment: rural.

Predators: a variety of insects but nothing predatory, not even flies.

Capacity: depending on the method of camping, the site is either spacious (enough for at least 200 solo campers) or moderate (enough for maybe 30 families of 4 in car camping mode); from what I saw this weekend (a church retreat of 20 adults and children, a few teams of locals on daytrips, a single group of car campers, and us), and based on common sense, I can't imagine that it would ever fill to capacity.

Fees: free, no reservations or advance notice required.

Restrooms: separate mens' and womens' facilities with squatter toilets; no toilet paper provided; clean but not immaculate.

Showers: 3 stalls, 1 for men and 2 for women; ice-cold water.

Water: small 8-tap sink for general washing and cooking purposes (a bigger, newer structure with additional taps was onsite, as shown in top photo, but, for unknown reasons, didn't have running water).

Supplies: restaurant within 5-min walk sells cold beverages and alcohol and cigarettes.

Electricity: single outlet in the otherwise nonfunctioning sink structure.

Communications: moderate signals for mobile phones and 3G network; no wi-fi signal detected.

Staff: none.

Contact Information: none.

While Ulleung-Do offers several options for accommodations (hundreds of home stays (minbak) and dozens of small hotels, as well as a few fancier resorts), this is obviously the way to go if you have camping gear and a means of getting to the site. On any extended trip lasting 2 days or more, you'll probably need to rent a car or make some kind of arrangement with a taxi service anyway (buses do run through the island but sporadically and in limited range), so you may as well save some money by camping. It's central location is also convenient if hiking and trekking are part of your itinerary.

Eyeing visitors getting off the boat at Dodong,

a woman offers homestay (minbak),

the cheapest though probably least predictable type of accommodation

TO BE CONTINUED...