The Hindu Business Line : Hail the jungle cowboys

Glutinous mud, swift flowing, silt-laden rivers, landslides, deep ravines and blood-sucking parasites were all part of the recently held Malaysian Rainforest Challenge, which pitted guts and gumption against the laws of the jungle.

From the chilly Baltic Sea in the northern hemisphere to the windy Tierra del Fuego in the southern hemisphere, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Yellow Sea in the East and from the Bay of Bengal to The Tasman Sea, a strong gust of tropical wind is sweeping across the lands of 36 nations, igniting the passion for adventure.

This has all to do with the most internationally represented 4x4 off road event in the world, the Malaysian Rainforest Challenge. It's a gathering of lunatic off-roaders, who though they may be from different parts of the world speak the same language, the language of adventure. So, naturally, interaction started not with the colour of skin or culture, but with the gears they drove on! When these adventurers come to this tropical jungle, they know what to expect from it, the weather, the environment and they come fully prepared. Overcoming glutinous mud, swift flowing, silt-laden rivers, landslides, deep ravines and blood sucking insects were part and parcel of living out the 10 days of "torture".

The brief layout of their commotion on their super modified four-wheel-drive vehicle (estimated cost $40,000), engine varied from 2,000cc to 5,000cc with 16-inch off-road tyres, six tons electric or mechanical winch, with metal wire or plasma rope fitted in the front and back, all essential in such off road events. Not to forget the air lockers, deferential locks and, of course, the recovery gears that help you manoeuvre around obstacles.

There were Special Stages (SS) to run, which varied from 200 metres to a kilometre. The obstacles or hurdles could be anything. It could be neck deep water, a 70-degree hill climb, big boulders, a deep gully filled with muddy water, navigating through logged bridges and the like. A specific duration of 15 to 20 minutes was allotted to each SS for a 200-metre stage. The rules were simple, the fastest participant would get the maximum points and those unable to finish within the stipulated time got DNF (Did Not Finish). Prologue Special Stages were the deciding factor of the starting order for rest of the SS. To reach the SS, every body had to go through the transport stage. These transport stages passed through dense forest, plantation of palm oil trees, rivers and makeshift log bridges, and appeared tougher than the SS, but no points were awarded for that. Some of the bridges on the obstacle course were broken and required repair, and each team set to work on them with their state-of-the-art engineering skills. Logs from the trees felled were tied firmly together and laid out across the gully. Under no circumstances did anybody ask for help and all along it was guts and gumption that led the teams.

The entire event was a cooperation of like-minded people, the biggest international team building exercise of the 4x4 kind. The camaraderie was as thick as the tropical humidity. Some times, nature would toughen up the challenge with spells of torrential rain.

It was midnight when we reached our campsite, and the heavens were pouring. Setting up camp under these conditions was a challenge in itself. Our tents were nothing more than a tarpaulin, tied up from one vehicle to the other and open on all sides. The deluge drenched everything inside the tent and even the sleeping bags which were initially dry were now soggy and wet.

The heavy rains continued for the next three days flooding the river that we were supposed to cross and completely washing away the log bridges built by the Recee team.

Given the present situation, the teams were left with no other alternative but to retrace their steps. As the last traces of sunlight faded from the sky, the jungle was plunged into darkness. It was then time for some recreation around the campsite to gather one's strength to "fight for another day".

Camping in the mud and slush was like being in a war zone with battle wary men and machines, where even walking (sliding actually) around the campsite was an almost insurmountable task.

Thanks to the rains we had luxury of 24 hours of running (muddy) water, which we used as best we could.

Suddenly someone was struck by the wild idea to build a raft and take the vehicles across the flooded river. But from an earlier experience when we were almost lost in the strong currents, we decided against that. Finding no other alternative to cross the river, with blank faces, we backtracked another 100 km.

But things were not as gloomy as they seemed. Nights as well as days were exciting and packed with fun. The best part was when the food was being cooked and later everyone shared in the feast that was served. Campsites were generally leach infected. And in the dark these parasites feasted on exposed muddy legs.

Before the final descent to the beach, as is the tradition of the Rainforest Challenge, the daredevils bore deeper into the jungle into what is called the Twilight Zone. This is the toughest and most brutal part of the event.

Only three cars with two marshal cars of 16 people from Portugal, Spain, Britain, Australia, France and Malaysia participated. It took them 36 hours of non-stop off-roading to cross seven km in the jungle.

Even on the night of the prize distribution ceremony they were still ploughing their way through the jungle. They finally emerged out of the Twilight Zone and each of them had interesting stories to tell — tales about huge black scorpions, big leaches, a monkey attack and other stories.

Eventually, they were hailed the real heroes of Rainforest Challenge, the jungle cowboys.

"Human emotions are dramatically played out in the Rainforest Challenge as they battle the odds. In the process, they get to find out who they are, and what they are capable of. Everyone coming into the event will have that kind of triumphant feeling at the end of it. The lessons learnt here will last a lifetime," remarked Luis J A Wee, the event Director and founder.

Picture by the author

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