The Trans Borneo: Land Below The Wind 4x4 expedition that was held in Sabah on Dec 12-19 is aimed at jumpstarting the state's tourism industry following the lifting of travel restrictions.
The timing was perfect. I had previously planned to ship my trusty 4x4 over to Kota Kinabalu from the peninsula for some upgrades and building work, and my car builder also informed me that this would be the perfect platform to test the vehicle and see if I was comfortable with the initial upgrades.
The expedition was divided into the Touring Class that went mainly on tarmac, visiting tourist attractions in the state, and the Hardcore Class that required heavily modified 4x4s to track through the jungles of the Ulu Tongod Forest Reserve.
Each group comprised 15 vehicles and 45 participants each.
Flagged off by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor from the Kinabalu Tower PPNS in Kota Kinabalu, both groups spent the first leg of the journey together meandering through the very steep and winding roads of Kokol Hills, Kiulu and Bundu Tuhan towards Kinabalu Park.
After lunch, the two groups split up and went their separate ways.
As the only female driver among the 15 vehicles in the Hardcore Class, led by expedition leader Yap Nan Thien, as well as the least experienced on a hardcore track, I had asked to be assigned to the back of the convoy.
I was placed along with deputy expedition leader Ade White, chief medic Dr C.K. Liew and sweeper Ade Black of Tough Diesel, who incidentally was building up my 15-year-old Nissan Patrol GU.
After refuelling in Ranau, our 15 vehicles were divided into four smaller groups and headed for our first campsite at the decommissioned Copper Mine in Mamut. Special permits were required for access to the area.
The climb up the hills to the lake and campsite took us into and above the clouds. The temperature dropped significantly at sunset and we had to wrap ourselves up well for the night.
I found myself wide awake just after 3am. Getting out of bed, I was mesmerised by the sight of the stars above. Our whole team was awake by 5am, waiting for sunrise while warming ourselves with coffee.
Soon after breaking camp, and while the others were still packing up, our group of four cars headed down the hill to take some photos with the mighty AkiNabalu as our backdrop.
We regrouped at the entrance to the Hardcore Track, where we deflated our tyres and locked our hubs in preparation to face the challenges of the rough terrains ahead.
A month prior to this, a team of four cars had set out to scout for the long abandoned and overgrown logging tracks that we would be driving on. They built and mended 12 log bridges over the span of four days, flattened some of the overgrown, Tiger Leech-infested "lalang" and identified possible campsites, water sources and dangers.
Being the novice among the seasoned and experienced drivers, I was a little apprehensive yet very much excited. My Nissan Patrol had just been given a suspension upgrade and some tweaks were made to its settings. It felt like an amazing new drive and I could not wait to test it out on this track.
It was (and is still an ongoing project) being given a makeover from its previous overland setup. The new build is based on the concept of creating a Hardcore Tourer to suit my driving style, needs and personality.
My co-driver/navigator for this trip was 21-year-old Celcsius "Boy" Lasius, who works with Tough Diesel under Black.
Having Boy on board allowed me to take my mind off the usual multiple checks of the vehicle that are required at the start of every day and, where possible, after every obstacle. This helped me to just focus on driving.
All the built-up anticipation was soon deflated as we had barely covered any distance on Day 2 when the event director's car suffered a broken CV joint. While waiting for it to be fixed, the other drivers decided to clear a flat area close to the river to set up camp for the night.
Before noon on Day 3, our half of the convoy was back on the move. The first half had gone ahead the previous day and we were expected to catch up with them before the end of the day. This was the day the fun began.
We drove for what seemed like hours through thick undergrowth, dodging low hanging branches, going in and out of deep V-gullies and over some steep inclines, and crossing multiple bridges, some of which needed to be rebuilt after giving way under the weight of the many three-tonne vehicles.
Other bridges had to be adjusted to accommodate the width of the wider axles of the heavier trucks at the back of the convoy.
I have never crossed as many bridges in a trip as I did this time, or any as narrow as these, for that matter. The main thing was that my car felt and sounded amazing and this gave me a sound sense of confidence. I was happy to be driving it.
To digress, I had earlier attended an Off-road Training Course at M4TREC (Malaysia 4WD Training Experience Centre) in Semenyih to refresh my basic knowledge of 4x4 driving after signing up for this Trans Borneo event.
I had picked up many undesirable driving habits over the years and relearning how to do things the right way proved to be one of the best decisions I made.
I realised that driving over an obstacle was simple if you had an experienced and skilled spotter whom you could trust 100 per cent.
Not something that comes naturally if you are a control freak like me. From the cockpit, you could not see anything below you and in fact, you could look at nothing but your spotter's hand signals.
My spotters, Black and Yap, left me without a doubt that they would guide me across all the obstacles safely. And even when one of my rear tyres ended up wrongly aligned on a slippery narrow log bridge, Black came as close as he could up to my window and said, "Just stay calm and remain where you are. And if your tyre slips, please don't hit the accelerator."
He then had my car hooked up by winch to the vehicles in front and behind me so that I could inch my way forward on the bridge.
My tyres did slip before reaching the end of the bridge, but knowing what was happening and having faith in my spotter and teammates enabled me to stay calm and even smile through it all.
Our winches were used to pull ourselves and each other's vehicles up the steeper inclines and everyone worked hard to help the drivers clear the many obstacles we faced along the track in true lighthearted Sabahan fashion.
As the saying goes, "Kalau Semua, Semua La Bah" or "we are all in this together".
Alison Sandra Murugesu is just a bike riding, truck driving mum who is trying to find a balance between earning a living and living a life.
