After the dramatic evacuation of participants of the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) 2007 from 8 to 12 December, the big worry was how to get 88 vehicles left behind out to tarmac road again. The entire route from Campsite 2, Ebay/Miak river to Kg Miak and out to Laloh resembles “World War III” battle ground filled with stranded vehicles scattered in small groups along three different locations. It was literally a No Man’s Land.

At the time of evacuation when the waters were fast and furious, some were completely cut off from both sides of the track by flood waters, some were stuck right at mud-pools; some were stuck on muddy hill slopes while others were stuck between ruts. The lucky ones were parked on high ground at the village itself (Kg Miak).

The first week of post RFC was spent accessing the whole situation by the scout team. Carrying parts and supplies they were sent in by boats; however they had to trek on foot on the entire length of the route. However, the rains kept coming down in heavy showers. The flood situation also worsened during that time with more flooding in Kelantan and other parts of Malaysia. And worse, even the trunk roads were cut off by the floods and landslides. It was a time of gloom. There was little that could be done then except to do simple repairs, salvage whatever was possible and waited for better weather conditions.

The isolation was complete, no way in or out except by boat along the swollen Lebir river. Large tracks out from Kg Miak were devastated and flooded by the water. The interior to Campsite 2 was even worse. Under continuing rain, it was impossible to even send in the machinery in to clear the obstacles. They would practically sink into the water and quagmire instead of doing rescue work.

By the end of the second week, the rain stopped and the ground conditions improved; but it was still not good enough to mount a major operation. The receding waters have left behind a near total devastation of the tracks, like gapping holes 5 meters deep, soggy grounds, broken log bridges and mud pools that can sink a 2-ton vehicle easily. And where once there were once bridges, the areas had been turned into almost 90 degrees U shaped gullies filled with glutinous mud.

However, that did not deter some of the local competitor teams to try their luck. As events unfold, it turned out to be the greatest 4x4 battle of post-event RFC 2007! “Never in my 6 years participation in the event have I seen and gone through such awesome obstacles!” exclaimed Tan Eng Joo (Team 117) the two-time RFC champion. “Even better than the Twilight Zone,” he added. Well, the competitors did not complete the TZ this year, so in a way, these teams had more than their fair share of extreme adventure.

There were 6 major obstacles hindering the exit from Kg Miak to tarmac road at Laloh. “Each obstacle is like an SS in itself, with some harder than the rest which require 6 co-drivers and a DNF time of 3 hours!” he added.

The battle to get out began at 5pm on 21 December. But first, they had to walk on foot for nearly 3 hours to reach Kg Miak to collect their rigs, which are all in good condition (Team numbers 109, 117, 122, 136, 116 and 133). The first two obstacles after leaving Kg Miak took them 6 solid hours of extreme winching (with cables snapping) and driving into two U shaped gullies with deep mud pool as sticky as glue at the bottom.

To try this, you got to have guts and complete self-confidence. The vehicle must first dive down the almost perpendicular 12 feet slope, struggled in the mud and winched up the other steep slope once again. It took them a good part of the entire night to complete the 2 obstacles. By 1am, they took their deserved rest. The following morning at 6.30am, without breakfast, they pushed forward repeating the process all over again. After more punishing hours of grit and grunt, they finally reached a log bridge crossing at Sg Depak, a 40-foot bridge with a drop of 25 feet into the 15 feet deep water (enough to sink a 4x4). After this crossing, the way was clear to Laloh (which they reached by 3pm). For the 6 vehicles (and 12 persons) that tackled them, it was one incredible night and day (12 hours of battle).

Following their exploits, a second group of local competitor cars (Team numbers 110, 102, 103, 113 and 123) tried and succeeded too with a time of 14 hours. By 23 December, the escape story of the competitors spread like wildfire – and prompted others to try but to no avail (only pain, no gain); some had to merely look at the obstacles and gave up at once. It was meant only for the very well prepared cars and in good conditions.

Then by 24 December, with more improvements in the weather and further drop in the water level, a bulldozer was dispatched to clear the route to the village. It took a good two days to complete the entrance to Kg Miak. This second major operation was mounted simultaneously from Kg Miak to Laloh and from the village to Campsite 2. It was the “great escape” all over again, but this time, with drier conditions and with assistance of machinery as well as manpower from the scouts, event HQ, media officers and competitor teams, the way out became a reality. They were out, at last, just before the closing hours of 31 December, 2007. Thus ended the longest, wettest and toughest RFC ever in its 10th year history – a month to complete!

This post RFC action again highlights how unforgiving the monsoon rain can be, and how it can transform a supposedly easy track into a nightmare of extreme proportions. Only for those fully prepared in mind, body and machine and who understands the hard fact that Mother Nature rules supreme.