. the DEATHSTAR is also off the road while I change it from company to Private REGO - no easy feat in Malaysia for a two door vehicle.This is a trip report for a recce we are doing for a long trip - dangerous yes especially the first 200k - the trip is over 400k and im doing it solo on water. THis is the second recce and we still have to recce the stages 120-400 but thats the easiest part.
The second trip recce started on the Saturday morning (May 1st) Kantha drives me to Gopeng 175k from home and I do the riverboarding guiding with the customers for a couple of runs down the river. Then its food and cleanup the kit and time for home.
THen Kantha drives US back to Kuala Lumpur I sleep (I normally will not sleep unless I trust the driver and Kantha is good and smooth) the whole way in fact he drives so smooth I even miss the horrific rain until he wakes me for an accident to view. 7pm we arrive home and repack the GREEN wagon tossing out the riverboarding kit and in with camping kit for a nite and day and change the sneakers in GREEN from 29" to 35" Silverstone XT's.
10pm we pick up PETER 30k from my home and its dinner time then its Peters turn to drive and KK gets a rest, im in the back navigating and checking the GPS pointsto our saftey notes not one GPS point can be missing else it could cause issues should an emergency arise. It dawns on us over dinner we are probably going to drive all nite and day it could be a crazy trip. We head to Taman Negara (National Park) some 275k and another 70 further to the put in point. By 4am we are at the bottom edge of Taman Negara and we decide we need to sleep pick a spot anywhere off the track and flat.
Soon we come to CAMP NUSA go look on google earth for (GPS N04 23' 51.1", E102 25' 49.2") our goal was Kg Mat Daling (N04 27' 30.0" E102 39' 21.0"). We decide pitch camp have a few beers and sleep for a while and carry on the final recce.
by 4.30am camp is setup beds in the open no tarp just rough it. 3 beers each and sleep time by 5.30am im in bed the other 2 stay up and go to sleep they informed me at 6.00am.
Thee Taman Negara track is a dusty dirt road full of LORRI Hantu's or San Tai WOngs (Ghost TRuck - i.e. not registered) hauling LOgs 26 tonnes+ ata time full and flying along empty you get the pictyure dangerous and they have right of way and they cannot stop fast and won't for a little Landcruiser ii.
The picture of our camp site on the side on the side track.
Kantha Oh No Dave left the gas cookers on the pool table at home never mind have another beer.
Then I awake suddenly was it the noise of the truck going past spraying us with dust or was it me sweating as the sun is all over my body and im a reptile hahaha.
S ANyway im wet with sweat fromt he hot burning sun wait a minute its only 9am. Breakfast soon we realise I have not packed the cookers and so we back track 500 meters to Camp NUsa and have breakfast so much for roughing it. Tee view is spectacular ferry boats on the river etc. and the ferry boats shooting the rapids fully loaded with people.
Soon time to move - butterlfy's on a mineral salt lick.
Bugger more Lorry Hantu's (ghost trucks).
Bukit Awan (or Awan Hill) some 381 meters above the river Tembeling where I will be iin the coming trip and the boys driving support. The river is way below .
3,00pm we are still trying to find Mat Daling so many side tracks etc we stumble onto this wooden and steel bridge for LORRI hantus further in wihch are CLEAR felling the jungle
the view and the river is wonderful. This is looking north.
This is looking south in the middle of the river is a waterbuffalo herd.
THen GREEN crosses the bridge yeah its kinda long.
THen I spy a herd of wild buffalo crossing the river in the south.
By 3pm we are lost and the loggers give us one clue maybe you need to turn right further back just befor ethe bridge as they have no idea where Kg Mat Daling is either.
A signpost - still not pointing us to anywahere
Soon the GOS shows us getttiong closer to Kg Mat Daling 8k away but for kilometers never closer.
Then suddenly we are in Kg Bantal and they tell us Kg Mat Daling is 10 minutes down the road joy oh bliss as the GPS winds down the meters to Kg Mat Daling. Its 4:15pm when we arrive in Kg Mat Daling and time for a feed.
Then I spy this hibrid anyone want to comment - JEEP and Landcruiser ???
A long boat for ferrying people up and down the river.
A panaoramic view of the river and my laucning point for trhe upcoming trip yup im taking a kayak (my 14 foot sit on top fishing Kayak - totally unsuited but I love this kayak its quite fast (6k an hour on flat water) and hard to tip over) from here to Pekan some 403 kilometers away to the the South China SEa solo in what we hope is a 4 day trip.
Soon its time for home - straight down they tell us is a quick way out.
5 hours later we exit the jungle- yeah short cut right we encounter many LORRI HANTU's and pass many logging KOngsi's (temporary Logging villages). As it turns out we have now completed the infamous mat daling loop.
Anyway it 10.15pm Sunday nite and time for supper in Jerantut and still 250k from home and 11.00pm feed and refreshed its time to head for home. Now Kantha is driving and we head back all the information we need is now in my notebook and on 3 GPS's and the two support staff know the saftey RV points there is only 4 on 90k and 2 of those are in the first 12k and the last beiong what we hope is me at Camp for the first nite.
3.00am we arrive home and then Peter takes GREEN with him to fix the 8+ items which need urgent attention for the trip on the 7th May to the same place. A noise starts just before home we cannot find it.
The weekend ends with just over 1,000k done in the GREEN handbag wagon.
In the morning PETER starts green and heads to the workshop - 300 meters from home he finds the NOISE the RADIATOR FAN breaks off and smashes into the radiator all the bolts have broken off.
I spend the next 2-3 days typing up the trip report and making sure GPS's etc are correct - PETER checks everything.
Maps are printed and laminated with the GPS points on them saftey points. We all know the meeting places nite and day.
The workshop fixes GREEN in the arvo and delivers it to my house on THURSDAY nite 2 days later L( . I pack the KAYAKS and all the kit into it and still im waiting for RED to be registered.
GREEN is ready for friday morning and Peter and Robert offer to drive it to the put in point and I follow in the Hilux with Kantha that nite. since RED is still down.
They never make it GREEN spits the radiator cap only on large hills and they have to come home - weekend ruined
225k from home. They crawl home 3.00am they arrive we go have a coffee to comiserate.2 months of planning is tossed out the window because they did not change the thermostat or put coolant in the radiator or do a pressure test or check the new FAN it did not have enough viscous coupling fluid in it
I'm so sad not for me for my friends who helped me.
I will be back when I have a spare weekend (now 26-31 May) and a few days.
I have 2 more trips such as this planned however recces need to be done one is extreme no rescue for 65k on a riverboard on a undocumented white water river and the other another 300+k trip . Friends are already offering to help recce both these and be support crew.
