It's 06:50 dawn wow so soon in CAMP 1 that dam internal body clock keeps waking me up. time to cook boy get up get up get up you lazy dog keeps running through my mind. Rise and shine get breakfast ready, boil the billy, get the billy box out for those to helpless to help themselves. CHOPPER CHIONG whips the eggs to a frenzy. Breakfast is omollettes, cajun spice, onions and suasages I forget the baked beans. We have to be cooked, washed and ready to run by 8.30 to get to the briefing as there are 6 SS's to run today SS6-12. Don't look now but the neighbours are coming over for breakfast. Soon its all over and everything is cleaned away for DINNER. Briefing is held and wow all the SS's are layout and printed up for all to see. A ring road exists round the camp so no need to drive past HQ to get to every SS. The JCB driver (yes a JCB in the jungle) cleans up the mudholes at HQ. The draw is done 6 groups for 6 SS's and the starting order draw done also. We go to SS7 but no help needed so we watch SS7 and 8. SS7 looks simple how wrong could we be.
The kettle is boiled and onions prepared for OMELETTES with ONion or Pepper and cajun spice and Sausages and HOT TEA/COFFEE/Wahatever your poison is. WE have to be all cooked/eaten/packed ready by 8.30am so we can go to the 9.00am briefing.
Don't look know but the hillbillys from over the TASMAN are walking across the river and coming for breakfast. How can I tell its OZZIES? Easy - wearing flip flops, shorts and t-shirts with QLD on them hahaha. YEah yeah we feed them poor hungry competitors in truck 150 that they are.
They munch and leave.
Soon its briefing time (for SS's 7-12) 29 Vehicles are LEFT in the RFC competition from the 40+ starters (wow they are going to do 30SS's in the RFC this year - unbelievable number) and a JCB appears to flatten out the area around the HQ tent before we all descend for the briefing. THe teams are split into 6 groups and the order drawn done.
Everything is very professional the courses are layed out all course MAPS printed and laminated up in HQ.
SS7 looks easy however the first vehicle soon proves it to be wrong. According to the locals the BRIDGE is new and the SS is running over their normal way into CAMP and is never EASY requiring winching. Haha this will be fun. Soon SS7 lives up to what the locals stated CABLE SNAPPING, the JCB is very BUSY, Competitors STRAPS break when the JCB lifts them out like a baby with a TOY car. Between SS7 and SS8 (right next door) the JCB driver is flat out SS7/SS8/SS7.
MMM is claimed by SS7 with SNAPPED winch cable - followed by the Russians in the BIG Hilux it does not have a hope of winching out the winch is just not powerful enough. <Meantime 161 the mighty local BJ40 powered by a obviously tweaked 15B-T and 36" sneakers and VOLVO axles makes it all look easy. These giuys are good and with the demise of WONG's 15B-T powered BJ40 with twin GOD winches they are my pick to walk away with the top prize. The K1W1's follow the same fate in SS7 but they get further in the MUD than their trans tasman rival MMM.
The pictures story follows:
Watch out the neighbours are dropping in for breakfast.
Ah our SIngapore neighbours in the luxurious LR - note the hamock on each side of the LR, They had hot water and everything you could imagine in it awesome rig.
The SS Maps we well done.
Ah SS8 this is how its done with a GOD winch get wheel on side of BANK dial in 6000+ REVS and drop/slip the clutch and waahoo we are launched
This is the first team through SS7 its 161 the mighty TOYOTA BJ40 (am I biased nah I have 4 TOYOTA's and one ISUZU at home haha).
Then it winches the mud stopped it dead in its tracks. THe smoke well lets just say its overfueling a LOT.
Don't screw up especially in SS7 as that pesky JCB just cannot wait to extract you no matter how you try and hide.
Then the K1w1's have a go and it looks like they should have kept their wings.
Its all over as the Hydrualic WInch belts die and the JCB driver is smiling again.
Then its the Philippino's a winch and a splash and a winch and a dash and they are through
Then I hear my favourite 143 and a crowd favourite is in SS8 gotta see gotta see I dash over and here they are attaching the winch cable as they are stuck on a ROOT.
They winch up and up and over
No!
Oh rats we shall try and maybe will it move this time?
MIssion accomplished now we can check the underneath for MUD.
No we shall start it with the smoke puring out
DNF and the spectators down below try to right it. THey fail to the jeering crowd above (us haha). We succeed to right it then the pesky JCB has its fun.
Then 161 has a go man he makes look like a sunday drive. Hook up the winch waits for the cry "WINCH" prods the pedal a little the 4 cyl 15B-T roars like a CAT diesel and the rest of the truck follows effortlessly.
He even has time to get out of the truck and help his winchy out.
And take hand in signals
and back in the start box a few minutes later. The big diesel patiently purring away waiting for the next SS to hunt.
Last edited by geckoadventure on Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
MMM the OZtralians in SS7 lets see if that can get past the K1w1's mark?
The plasma rope snaps - DNF
And the JCB driver smiles again and so do the K1W1's bragging rights here but they both get 20 points for the DNF.
Man why did we have 60 meters of 10mm steel cable again it weighs more than me?
Not even the might XJ JEEP Pickup can conqouer SS8.
Then suddenly its all quiet and the SS"s are all done its happy hour and dinner tonite is entree lotsa beer chicken in sauce and vegtables and fragant jasmin rice - wow such nice food and then for some beer for desert or whisky and the night is once again filled with Wild Bills graphic replays of vehicles doing various SS's until very lat in the nite.
Lovin it Dave! Great commentary and shots. Keep it coming please and looking forward to more youtube stuff. A couple of your shots before and about the Kiwis have not come out, damn it.
Ha HA I used to take the RFC and Borneo Safari and TRanspen and camel trophy videos out of the 4x4 club library to watch.
There are real camel trohpy trucks here mmmmmmm.
THen with a lucky break at work I ended up here for REAL. Now Im here and just completed my 4th RFC and this one the easiest (no rain) and the best organised and best run and most SS's ever run.
It was just too easy I took 3 trucks in and brought 3 out intact with only a pair of new pads and a rotor being stuck in RED before we left for home. DEATHSTAR still after 3 RFC's has not one RFC dent in it but many others from other trips.
DEATHSTAR needs a new axle seal and thats it its ready to go out again.
THe GREEN truck well wait for more information.
Took a new pair of LEATHER winching gloves for the trip - they are still new.
Ha ha GREEN is available for HIRE for tourists for the RFC.
wait wait I still have 6 more days crappy pics and waffle to POST.
It's dawn once again at CAMP 1 that damn internal body clock wakes me up I wonder how I turn it off. Rise and shine its packup day 9.00am we are rolling outta here. Wild Bill is sleeping in we decide to prank him. Peter Taylor said he could hear him all nite bbbbbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa with his SS replays of engines and winches. We (well someone did) cable tie tightly his mozzie net to his bed. Gather up 6-10 cans and drop them quietly on top of the net. Then I am saked to YELL out BILL "NAKED THAI GIRLS" he sits bolt upright sending the cans flying with his head. We all think its hilarious he realises he cannot get out dam if he doesn't have a multi tool in his bed and soon extracts himself swearing to find out the cultprits and REVENGE. Haha who cares the joke is on him. We have a small probelm the blokes driving GREEN and RED did not refuel since leaving KL some 550K ago they do not have enough fuel to go out the long way offroad so we elect to backtrack. Breakfast is cooked the usual OMELLETE's with onions, CAJUN spice and sausages, baked beans and your liquid poison.
The camp is broken down and packed up. DEATHSTAR is repacked smarter this time all the MILITARY boxes down the middle heaviest n the bottom. 4 JERRY cans down one side snd the kitchen kit and the BEER and fridge on the right - wow it works. The little 3 man convoy heads out and around planning to meet the big convoy in KAHANG (50K k away) not that we know where it is - no GPS point nothing we will just follow our noses. Whats wrong with that 3 westerners in Malasyia loose and lost. The other way is a traffic jam the river crossing is a WINCH crossing. Our drive is uneventful except for the slippy sliddey muddy downhill.
Camp 1 PACKUP PICS.
Peter Arthur (GREEN) and yes the OZZIEs from CAR 150 MMM and Alex over for breakfast.
The pranked (Wild Bill)
Dawn creeping through the junglecanopy
HQ on the move
The DEATHSTAR packed and ready to move.
The top of the slippery slope DEATHSTAR starting its descents.
Near the bottom and still in control hahaha
Then it will not go where I want (damn not having lockers) but its ok I make it safely.
Soon we are out of the jungle but not before I take frightful smack in the face from a branch through the window which stuns me and I have to stop and recover. Soon we exit the jungle and turn left 13k to a service station and the boys are critical in the RED and GREEN trucks. LOoks like the DEATHSTAR might have to tow 2 trucks. Ah Fuel station. We gobble up $500rm of fuel all on my credit card. For MMM we obtain 80 liters of prime fuel and toss it into the back of the DEATHSTAR. It groans! Following our noses we turn a corner some 30k down the road and dammed if a pile of POLISman are not standing there pulling us over. WAIT they say convoy to town. Ah I like this VIP treatment (Very Important PEasant's) then we chat and wait. They are waiting for the main convoy to exit the jungle where we are to convoy into KAHANG. Soon 4x4's emerge from behind us and out the side road and the POLIS convoy up some 50 vehicles and escort us to town. Wow a POLIS chopper joins in man we must be VIPP's Very Important Peasant's or they just don't want us loose on their roads - I think the latter. Soon its KAHANG and the POLIS direct us to the SERVO's we are to top up at. We are full so elect to just buy WATER and 30 cans of COKE for diluting MMM's Chivas TEa. Wow food we elect to get CHinese food. THe russians also pile in. HIlarious KArel speaks Russian/Chezch but not mandarin so the menu is translated by CHOPPER CHONG to english then to Russian by Karel and back. The Russians tire of this game and look at CHONG'S table and point to the food they like the look off.
Soon lunch is over and the food all demolished over and I have 20 minutes to spare before the 3.30pm convoy departure to CAMP 2. I hunt down a hardwre store and find 4 parangs (machette to you foreigners) as they cannot be purchased in Kuala Lumpur anymore due to people cutting each other up.
Damn almost time I race back to the convoy I'm last and they will not let me wait. i'm in the convoy and Peter Schmid is back in RED with the Russians helping them buy shoes - dam how do you buy a 130kg 6'6" russian shoes in a country where size 10 is HUGE.
Off I go and more vehicles slip in behind. I eventually raise Peter on the radio and give him instructions - 5k out of town turn left and follow the DUST yes its still has not rained. WTF I hate dust im a windows down driver. Wow 25k of this crap bouncing along corrugated roads and through oil palm plantations. I slow down to allow Peter to catch me and we are suddenly at the end of the convoy. Yay a sudden left turn brings the relief of the jungle and the DEATHSTAR purrs along again happy. We cruise along and decide to take video/pics as we are in no rush. Then the Russians cruise past at a log bridge we follow. Suddenly traffic jam. MMM's on the radio when you cross the bridge avoid the mudhole the bridge is not nice. THanks we can tell by the traffic jam. Peter in GREEN also talks to us by radio.
Suddenly there is this in front of us and we are hauled over "CONVOY" we must wait. [img]http://www.junglegeckos.com/BLOG/20091208_IMG_01906.JPG[/img
The convoy escort into Kahang - motor bike - car and
Polis Chopper
The OIL PALM refinery Kahang to CAMP 2 road
RED and DEATHSTAR at the first log bridge. The first log bridge RED crossing after DEATHSTAR has done the weight test on it.
The RUSSIAN Hilux on the same bridge - Yup its as tall as it looks its a monster.
Another easy log bridge - tricky stuff in the rain - where is the rain by the way?
RED on UPHILL log bridge - I would luve this one in the rain - not!
Soon I decide to go see what wrong. Ah PAJERO stuck through the bridge that'l slow down progress. Its a mess people eveywhere and many languages. Despite having a YELLOW MArshal shirt on I watch then the Russians decide to help man the big guy so friggin strong he grabs the hi lift jack handle from a local who was litterally swinging on it with his full body and one handed jacks jacking the Pajero up. Done he then picks up the broken log and pulls it out the way. and then inserts a new log in lifting it up. MEantime we are all jack of this and decide BYPASS and the bank tot eh side looks sexy. We fill it in with branches and the Sri Lankans are first up and over 1,2,3 of them. THen a local in a LC II who has to winch and then its Peter in RED. RED soars up the bank to the shock of the locals who expected it to winch. They have no idea whats under the bonnet of RED. Then the DEATHSTAR and I finally drop into 4WD and LO. I have to winch I'm too heavy the 8274 makes easy work of the small climb. By now the Pajero is cleared but no one is trusting the log bridge as the logs are not chained.
Sril Lankan LR climbing the bank beside the stuck Pajero.
Well darkness now descends its been 4 hours since we left KAHANG wow fun fun fun.
Soon its just me and Peter alone again cruizzing along the nite pierced by the sounds of a pair of purring 13B-T diesels (RED with its unique funny injector pink pink pink) with beady beams of light piercing the darkness from the front of the mechanikal monsters. Then TAILLIGHTS - GRIDLOCK! yeah yeah yeah a LC II with no front DIFF and no winch cannot climb a simple muddy climb after acrossing a trickle of water. THe HILUX pulling it obviously has no power (3L donk I think) to pull the enormous weight of the LC II which appears to be a spare parts truck for C113. IN the darkness and torch light I watch the chaos and listen to the cantonese banter. Once free we follow - WTF its not even difficult.
How far to camp no idea im enjoying the drive. Log bridge after log bridge (later count reveals 24-27 crossed into CAMP 2). Some easy some well don't make a mistake. With Log bridges never never be complacent. THen its jam again dam it its not the LC II again. muddy crossing with logs on one lane and then stright onto a log bridge and it cannot line up in 2WD. We get the hilux to come back and slowly pull it onto the bridge and pull it across - it takes ages. THere is a POLIS truck (Land Rover what else) next its battery (one battery only) goes flat I have to tow strt it int he dark I give the thing in the short space I have a violent tug it starts. Once across its PEter in RED then me in DEATHSTAR. Then we are alone the guys in front depart suddenly. We decide DEATHSTAR should lead. Wow fun time a triple log bringe crossing overr a swamp and a creek tricky crap. We meet Cars Bike TRuck editor coming out in his LR. He's busted a longshaft in his Rangey up the track. We soon find it sitting alone and scared in the jungle. DEATHSTAR purrs at it. We cruise along then turn the corner and wow a dark vehicle blocks the track. Dam the POLIS they have dropped through a log bridge. THe LC II team have left them behind. WHat else to do. Cannot JACK it up the logs are too small and they have no side steps or rear/front jacking points. Hell we elect to DRAG it back to terra firma as I have nothing to close the bridge up except a drag chain. I get it about 1 meter with DEATHSTAR then its rerally jammed. OK RED help. Two double line pulls and it moves then we have company behind the Philippines and the Sri Lankans we don't need help as we land the LR back on solid ground.
What the hell uphill or downhill depends which way you are driving log bridges. Downhill log bridges slippery slopes onto bridges this is awesome. In the rain this track would be cool. In the dry with 80+ vehicles theres bound to be mishaps.
Soon we are cruising again but once again another gridlock. I like this one a mudhole and yet the POLIS and the LC II are stuck.
I send RED off first as I know I will need to winch. RED makes us all look stupid it cruises the mud did it get past idle I think not. DEATHSTAR is next and I make the hard part and a big hole gets me as I am travelling way too slow and YUP! WINCH! Then I am anchor for the the SRI LANKANS 5+ trucks all hang onto the DEATHSTAR it hardly moves as they all winch off it. THis is fun. Moving off as DEATHSTAR is too popular an anchor. Not for long TRaffic JAM soon again uphill cannot tell how bad all can see is 3 sets of BRAKE LITES - LR, LC II and Hilux all stopped takes ages to clear. Wow must be bad so I get the video out and drive and record - DON'T DO THIS ITS DANGEROUS HAHAH LIKE I CARE. Soon its narrow winding track with precarious drops eitheer side into the pitch black. The log bridges come and go some easy some really not easy. No pissing around log bridges they are
We are back in radio with PEter (GREEN) so we cannot be far from camp he is over 2 hours ahead of us. Soon we find the camp. Dam wrong one (HQ camp) the one our guys are at is the competitor camp some 4k further in turned around in the river we are mobile again and the track gets narrower and then 3 log bridges in a row one a classic 45deg turned drop onto a steeply angled log bridge man this will be a pain it it rains (speaking of rain where is it) soon across a small lanslide and crest a hilltop on a road of pushed down ferns. My downfall on the descent I slide the DEATHSTAR off the track into the ditch and im stuck no moving the beast. Winching me out backwards pulls RED towards giving the DEATHSTAR a kiss to Peter anchors RED at the front we fill in the ditch with FERNS and then WINCH DEATHSTAR out slowly sideways. Recovered we are off 200 meters later we dsecend to CAMP. I look at the clock 11:59PM. Cool camp is up and so is my bed well done GREEN Pete. BEER and cold baked beans and tuna for dinner. WE find out Wild Bill and Ah Ho were in the first 5 cars and arrived camp about 8pm. Peter in GReen about 9.30pm and us well. WHat took you so long hahaha. WE had fun did you see ... get stuck. Na NA Nah wow you had a boring trip then! The banter continues. THen we find out KARELS JEEP is sick. Soon exhaustion catches upo with me and I have no idea how I got to my bed.
Then the reason for the tailback in the jungle the PAJERO with narrow tires slips through the bridge which was not chained together
Outta my way the big RUSSIAN takes over as we were interrupting his vodka drinking time hahah
Meanwhile we find a bypass and the SRI LANKANS show the way in the "STOCK" Landrovers "STOCK" yeah right.
THen the LCII gets stuck at a easy creek crossing no front axle and NO WINCH - carefully hidden by the fact ir had a 1" ROPE wrapped when the winch wasn't. Oh yeah no tow points either making recover always SLOW.
Not to be outdone the POLIS LR also get stuck.
This is the triple log bridge over the swamp just before the POLIS and the crew in front depart leaving us alone in the dark. One slip here ind its a very long recovery.
Peter crossing the triple log bridge with Yamin from CBT magazine waiting for us to pass so he can go fix his stricken Rangie.
Then the LCII is stuck on the logs leading to the tricky muddy log bridge as once again no front axles no drive no steer no grip so they towed it across.
Then the best parking of the nite - POLIS ROADBLOCK literally. No support for themm just us. No alternative but to PULL them backwards.
A support Pajero on the POLIS bridge note the drag marks on the log from the POLIS LR recovery. Dont screw up now there is a huge number of camera's and video's pointed your way hahaah - PRESSURE.
200 meters from camp I slide DEATHSTAR into the ditch sliding it on the ferns. Recovery takes us over 20 minutes
11:59pm Wow it took us over 7 hours to travel 20k in the jungle and over 8.5 hours from Kahang to CAMP 2. We made it. Can we do it again with some rain this time.
More video clips of the nite travel to be posted tonite.
Last edited by geckoadventure on Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
next installment of the next 2 days of the RFC2009 is tonite.
HAppy new year to you all. SOrry we had a little trip during the weeek so I have not been around. SImple trip big problem when the rear diff let go hahaha with not one tooth on the crown or the pinion left intact. Pics and story later.
The busted DIFF on the little red rig removing the driveshaft but the horrible noises continued. Then we continued hooning in front wheel drive only
Advice. Do not run for 2-3 years on a modified LCII running 21psi boost in 2wd in the jungle and expect it to survive hahaa. This was after a 10k fast run chasing the angry hornet 7m Powered LC II along a dirt track sliding (with logging lori's on the track too) and having fun in 2WD HI my my my arne't I a stupid junglebunny.
Dawn or just before. The sound of COMP trucks being prepared for battle wakens up. I prepare the poison and breakfast the usual same stuff and our OZZIE friends drop in for a quick snack before heading off to the briefing. Exhausted we do not attend and go down later. After breakfast its tools out and FIX XJ Cherokee JEEP time. I'm just watching as I do not own a JEEP so "I do not understand". First the story of what happened. On the way in Karels XJ JEEP (2.5 liter under powered PETROL donk) the front locker appears to have punched 2 holes in the DIFF. THe next question is did they leave it engaged and drove a long way on it?. The front universal JOINT also snapped and needs to be removed along with the driveshaft and repaired. KAREL asks me if I want some SPAM for a snack. Wah you have PORK/HAM in the jungle I ask! Yes why not? FMD,#$#$$#$%%$% Crikey you do not bring animals from the jungle back in to eat them its a Chinese superstition thing and it will bring bad luck. The chinese guys are like me BAD KARMA man thats why your JEEP broke. KAREL does not believe it. I do I have seen it happen worse before. We leave them to the JEEP repairs. It's 4k back to the competition area. We go (GREEN Peter) and I and we PURR down in the DEATHSTAR and we assigned to SS16 but not before I see MMM in action winching on SS14. I get to SS16 and wow I have a customer immediately out friend 143 he is up to the top of his 36" sneakers bueried in the silt in the river. THe PTO Marshal's truck cannot move it. WOW they are Marshal's in BROWN shirts I do not believe this no wonder they are having a hard time with crowd control. To the DEATHSTAR its no issue double line pull on the 8274 and out it pops after a very long hard PULL. To much GAS and not enough slow driving got 143 a DNF in a really driveable SS. Such is the problem with a 1JZ powered TOY.
THe SS (SS16) is easy? Dash down the stoney river bank. Cross the water and up the nice 1.5m slope miss the little tree, round the big tree and into the river cross it for 30 meters up the bank on the other side and hug the bank back into the water (miss the 2 meter hole only 1.25 car widths out) and return the same way you came. SOme truck elect to run 60+ meters of cable out from the 2nd bank crossing back to the first and winch in for 60 meters. Haha the easiest SS's generate the most fun. One of the Philippines wagons hilarious he has a loud hailer no two way with his guy the winch wench runs out and he just rattles over the hailer a 2-3 minute tirade in Tagalo at the winchy we are all in fits he is unrelenting in his tirade of instructions. I have never seen anything like this before. After several cars I elect to take video from the opposite bank wow the first car 122 is fast up and down. The return he is real slow then hits the bank in front of me and gases it 3 times and wow I have a rollover all on video.
After a couple of seconds we realise its RESCUE time and I have to drop the camera and put it back on its sneakers 7minutes after the U tyurn its back on its sneakers and I tow it out of the combat zone and return.
The fastest buggy makes a mess deciding instead to winch into the same tree 4 times (video supplied) its 2.0 SR20 NISSAN engine screaming.
Soon is the Thai/USA truck (139) and I am just watching when I sense Rods going to roll as he hits the little tree kicking the back over the bank up comes the camera no focus nothing I just snap off shots (6.5 a second). Rod and Aun come down hard 1.5 meters into the water. Instant DNF as far as we Marshals are concerned. Rods worried as Aun was removing his belt when they rolled as Aun was about to jump out (The pics later confirm Aun was beltless). AUn is OK with a cut hand and the DNF - water has been ingested in the diesel. DEATHSTAR is busy again and soon rights the stricken HILUX. Later inspection reveals the radiator/cab moved as all the hoses are tight. I tow them out of the SS and return as we are retuning they tell me another is stuck.its Rods support truck (140) and its up to the windows in water. A front pull with the 8274 fails. We elect to pull it out backwards wow the DEATHSTAR still cannot move it even with a double line pull and the amount of water in the HILUX is not helping. Bill appears with the 7m Monster and we twin double line pull the Hilux backwards.
After 45+ minutes the HILUX is finally extracted and we exit the SS towing Rods seconds truck out he is shocked to see the state of it and he has his ORange HILUX up and running. That was the last truck on the SS our day is done so what elese to do . Remove the YELLOW marshall shirt grab a tinnie and jump into the DEEP now clean river outside HQ and relate the chaos. SS14 1 rollover and 2 vehicles drowned. SS16 2 rollovers and 2 other recoveries - wow a good day. Soon its time to head the 4k back to our camp.
Just before camp at the landslide is the sight of Karel's XJ JEEP parked up with a danger triangle just before it. I guess the JEEP could not climb anymore in 2WD. At camp I find nothing has changed nothing is unpacked and no dinner preparations in place . We decide to have Sphagetti Bolonaise with pasta and tuna patties. However the recipee for the patties is over with Peter and he is in the Russian camp. I wander over - bad news a vodka shot is plopped in front of me! In Russina tradition DRINK! Dam I have a shot and quietly ask for the receippe before I escape. Peters is not coming back he speaks a little Russian and I guess he will be very drunk when he escapes the Russian hospitality.
At camp C122 is moving out the mekanik has come back and packed everything up and they are going down to the SS16 area to finish work on 122 they have changed the oiul 5 tiems already and still its a coffee colour.
The potatoes are cooked, the onions chopped, the bolonaise sauce and the penne prepared. Well it was delicious and yes we never saw Peter until after midnite and we also feed truck 150 those Ozzies again and gave them one of their bottles of wine also stored in the DEATHSTARs fridge? Is there anything this truck cannot do? Desert was delicious - cold Carlsberg Cans and plenty of them as the days events are replayed into the night. Meanwhile Karel Snr and Junior sleep crying over the lost and lonely JEEP parked down the track. The only problem we have is GREENs battery's have gone flat the fridge has destroyed it.
Team Sri Lanka Mekaniks working at an improvised VICE and hack sawing something up. Note the multi tasking and the toothbrush in the mouth at the same time.
Dawn outside our camp at CAMP 2 looking up the valley into the bright sun - damn where is that rain? This is the rainforest no the sunforest. The mekanik for 122 is pulling out the winch cable (more later on this vehicle).
Damn now the broken one is removed we have to reel in 60 meters of new cable.
Our little jungle hilton at CAMP 2.
A pensive 122 Mekanik little did he know what was going to happen later.
Never work on a JEEP in the jungle a lot of people want to watch. Gee what happened Karel?
Ah Ho showing Karel what he should remove. Undo this bolt and the whole thing will disolve so leave that bolt alone.
Ah Ho handing JEEP tools to Karel
The broken JEEP universal joint.
An interesting visitor
Damn this one wants to know what time SS16 starts.
Then its the action this is a scene from SS13 with the Russian Hilux in action.
Then its MMM in car 150 note the ROCKS he is pushing in the NISSAN DOZER.
And after pushing the rocks all over the SS what better to do on the exit than a underbelly wash and wash the crowd also.
Then a quick pic at SS15 before I get assigned to SS16. Note ALEX the winch wench running away from the NIssan up the hill.
SS16 after I removed MR Entertainment car 143 from the SS and the next car was 111 the mighty modified Diahatsu or is it s ZOOK I cann't tell they look the same.
Then on the return the winch wench plays it safe and runs the cable out for 50 meters then they winch.
OK WINCH common make it snappy ive run my guts out and im still smiling!
And up the bank collect the winch and back to the start.
Ah yes the Philippines the winchy runs
With a verbal tirade of instructions see the driver on the loud hailer rattling out instructions.
Up the bank
Then we find the snapped PTO Shaft
Water entry shot
MAx in 135 got very close to us.
So does this dude in a buggy hey we're marshals man not orange cones.
Then does some bank excavation work somthing SIMEX XTs can excell at.
Then I sensed danger as 139 drove up the bank and as he started to roll I clicked and got this set without focusing the camera I literally shot as I turned the camera. I did not miss one shot I was so happy.
In this shot you can see AUN leaning forward as his harness had been unclipped he was a very lucky winch wench.
If you unload the pics and play them through a good viewer its almost video.
. We decide to have Sphagetti Bolonaise with pasta and tuna patties. However the recipee for the patties is over with Peter and he is in the Russian camp. I wander over - bad news a vodka shot is plopped in front of me! In Russina tradition DRINK! Dam I have a shot and quietly ask for the receippe before I escape. Peters is not coming back he speaks a little Russian and I guess he will be very drunk when he escapes the Russian hospitality.
