HAVING spent the last four days in campsites near villages, we were hoping that Day 5 would be the day we got to see some mud and face some obstacles.
After all, this is what the Borneo Safari is all about - working hard to overcome hardship and challenges.
Waking up at the Tomodu Paradise Campsite on the opposite side of Sungai Wariu where we camped on the first night, we had our breakfast while waiting for news from Expedition Leader Anthony Wong.
Our team leader, Alvin Leong, attended a meeting at base camp to get more information while the rest broke camp.
Meanwhile, we learnt that Tag On E had decided to backtrack out of the hardcore sector and retreat to the campsite we were at and try to enter it again later.
At this point, we got the call to get ready to roll out to the Kampung Tengkurus Community Hall, where a medical camp had been set up for the villagers. We proceeded to the location and got into position behind the Scout Team led by Lee Yun Sung @ Santung.
We drove to the trail head, an old abandoned track not far from the special stage (SS) site. In order for the vehicles to drive through, it first needed to be cleared of overgrowth and fallen trees.
Watching the Scouts at work was an eye-opening experience as over the years with Borneo Safari, I had never been close enough in the convoy to watch them in action.
I had a newfound respect for the team and the hard work and effort the members put in.
The parang-wielding crew cleared as much of the path as they could while two chainsaws followed to clear larger stumps and deadwood.
Santung's winch was used to haul out whatever was in the way that posed a danger to the convoy behind.
Some of the Media Team co-drivers and cameramen joined the frontline with the scouts, helping to clear the path forwards.
Needless to say, we moved very little that day and by sunset, we were clearing an area along the track to set up the campsite.
For our first night in the jungle, we prepared a special meal of steak, corn, penne pasta and vegetables. We even laid out the table and plated the meal, fine-dining style, for Thai journalist Charnchai Petchin, who was grinning ear to ear while wearing a bow tie we brought along for him. I am sure that he won't be forgetting his "extreme fine dining experience" anytime soon.
We were exhausted by the end of Day 5 and the team decided to rest early. But without a river or water source nearby, we washed up with whatever water we could spare or dry cleaned ourselves.
It rained overnight but we woke to the sound of birds chirping as the sun peeked through the clouds, with AkiNabalu watching over us.
The kitchen crew got to work preparing Day 6's breakfast and lunch of burritos, with other team members taking on the job of toasting the tortilla wraps. Seeing that we would be on the track and unlikely to be able to have a proper lunch, everyone also had self-heating packs of Kembara Meal MRE that were part of the emergency rations.
Breaking camp and making sure we left no trace of our presence aside from the clearing, we proceeded along the track and soon caught up with the Scouts who were back to clearing the way for the vehicles behind them.
By 2pm, we exited the abandoned track and were out in a vast open prairie-like space that was part of the Armed Forces training ground. We lined our nine cars up for photographs while waiting for the 16 vehicles from the Scouts to drive through the next lot of obstacles ahead.
It was a bit more than an hour later that media and liaison manager Alvin Leong's Ninja made their way up and down the slippery series of slopes, which were our first serious obstacles of the day. Everyone was slipping and sliding, some winched themselves up the final slope, while others were released downhill bungee jump-style by the car behind.
Everyone thankfully cleared this obstacle without much drama, including our Japanese media members Yoshifumi Takemura and Kazuki Ogura in their Suzuki Jimny.
The next set of obstacles involved a river crossing and a few V-gullies followed by a sharp bend and a seemingly endless steep uphill climb. Our team took some time to clear these obstacles and it was dark by the time all nine cars reached the top of the hill.
As we were the first team to reach the top of the hill and just before sunset, we managed to take in the magnificent sight of AkiNabalu and the clouds below us.
Once we regrouped, we had to make a decision as to whether to push on at night till we got to the river or if we were to camp at the top of the hill. Unanimously, we decided to head to the bank of Sungai Sorob, where we set up camp under some magnificent rainforest trees.
Dinner was Korean Army Stew Noodles, just what we needed to warm ourselves up with before heading down to the river for a much-needed bath. Most of us had retired for the night when Tag On A caught up with us at around 1.30am. They were pushing on to the campsite at Piasau through the night.
We didn't have far to drive on Day 7. Therefore, we gave our cars a little wash in the river before heading towards Rosok.
The track was muddy but that gave us an excuse to drive to another river for yet another car wash. We then drove on public roads to Kota Belud for lunch before setting up our final night camp at Tegudon.
On Day 8, some of the cars headed out to catch the final SS. We arrived in Kota Kinabalu after lunch, with closing dinner at the Hakka Hall in Tanjung Lipat.
Special Awards given out this year included the "Borneo Safari Best Team Award" for Tag On C, "The JungleMan Award" for Scout Shafie Dakim, "Vehicle of the Year Award" for Baharom Sogon and the "Fred Leong Challenge Trophy for Journalism" for Charnchai Petchin.
The top 10 competitors received prizes in cash and kind totalling RM250,000.
Car 149, with Wong Su Bin and Rudia Yansyah finished at the top and took home RM87,184.60 worth of prizes.
Car 133 with Roland Liew andSajeymee Janish came in second place, merely a point behind the champions. They received RM55,849.80 worth of prizes.
Car 166 with Lee Thou Loi andHellary Soubin in third spot walked away with prizes worth RM38,366.40.
"Borneo Safari 2022 has reignited the spirit of off-roading in the Land Below The Wind. We look forward to seeing everyone again at the 31st Borneo Safari next year," said Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association president and Borneo Safari event director Faez Nordin.