“This year's Twilight Zone is undoubtedly something to be remembered for a long time – it’s live or die by your winch power," said Peter Taylor, a veteran Chief Marshal of Rainforest Challenge (RFC). "The entire stretch of 80kms is one hell of a place; where the transport stage can be harder than a Special Stage. The hills are so steep and slippery and the terrain is so demanding. Even though I have been through this route 4 times in the past, so much has changed, it is now totally alien country to me, so extremely tough", he concluded. (The last time for everyone was back in 2000).

Thus, this year's edition of the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) will be something of a legend in the making. The topography, ground conditions, heavy downpours, mechanical breakdowns and breakages in differentials, CV joints, half shafts, winch motors and cables have made this year's adventure the toughest ever. There are so many side stories to tell of camaraderie, bravery, continuous driving and unending winching for 21 hours in the Predator and Terminator of the Twilight Zone. Now, they will appreciate what the scout team went through during the recee even more. "Well, we promised them one heck of a journey – to hell and back, and they have it," smiled Rate @ Atek of RFC X-Men (Chief Scout/Course Design).

The most surprising teams came from Mexico and Philippines, both are first timers to the event but both passed the extreme test with flying colours. The Mexicans were the only team that uses the electrical winch for both front and back, and yet they are one of the fastest up Terminator Hill. In fact, they were among the only six teams who made it to the top. They are fourth overall winner and are only 10 points difference from the third placed Malaysian winner from Perak. "We try to conserve our vehicle as much as possible and use thinking power to tackle the most difficult Special Stages," explained Juan Carlos and Mario. The Philippines team of Hilario/Sergio aided by Dennis Javier, meanwhile, not only handled their vehicle with skills and mechanical knowledge but they are also helpful to everyone. They won the prestigious Team Spirit Award and came in 5th position overall.

There is also a special bond of fraternity among the competitors group this year. All teams from different cultures and backgrounds are united in their struggle through the Twilight Zone as well as in all their transport stages. "We have great fun building log bridges together and getting each other out of difficulty - if there's any problem, we shall fix it," said the ever smiling duo of Rinse and Simon from Holland, who came with their amphibious looking Pinzgauer. They are first time entrants. They also bagged the International Log Bridge Building Award. "I have never seen such bonding among the competitor teams since I came into the RFC four years ago, this is definitely a plus for the event," remarked Thomas Foo (Tango), the competition manager.

The scout and marshal teams of the X-Men and the marshals from Tango handled their assignment superbly even though some of them are "new blood." This year's Prologue Special Stages are the best ever. For the first time, it was held over two days. "It took a lot of effort and time to design them to meet the standards of SS that today's off-roaders demand," said Martin Lewis (Course Designer) who laboured hard with Atek at Awana Kijal at least a full week before the event. Heavy rains came during that time which caused havoc in their preparations; the saving grace was a lull in the rainstorms just two days prior to 26th November.

“We came fully prepared by Jungletime UK and when the rains hit us on D-Day – boy, it was sheer pleasure and a great honour to have gone through the Twilight Zone,” said Andrew Chaplin and Shaun Harris on behalf of the British contingent.

The Danish duo of Max Skjold and son Jacob, “We had the time of our lives working together with the others in times of trouble; it’s the essence of the event.” Dave Tully, representing the Singapore Land Rovers group added, “The weather, the uncertainty, the route and the adventure gives the RFC a real unmatched dramatic feeling.”

In spite of being out of bounds along some of the route, the press members too had their own “press challenge” during the transport stage. “Next year, I would like to be embedded with the scouts/competition marshals and be at the frontlines, never mind about hardship, I am ready,” said Mircea Dumitrache from Romania. “ We can still share our photos from the other side with the others to get a complete picture of the event,” added Vivek Sharma, from India. These best sum up the sentiments from the press camp.

As for the two Chinese teams who drove more than 12,000kms to be with the event, it was “one experience never to be forgotten,” said Rhino Ruhong Zhou. “The number of times we stopped, the number of times we got help from Thais, Malaysians and the Terengganu Govt and finally, the jungle – is simply beyond any words but Thank You!” added Jun Yang.

The state government of Terengganu also put up a worthy effort befitting the event's international status. “We are really pleased to see their total support from many angles, including from the opening to closing as well as the contingencies they have prepared for the event,” remarked Elizabeth Lewis on behalf of the foreign contingent.

For those who have lived through this year's edition of RFC, it’s one of life's great experiences.