Nissan Frontiers In ‘The Great Escape’ – Rain Forest Challenge 2007
When Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) loaned four Nissan Frontiers to the organizer of the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) in November, these stock standard off-road vehicles were not expected to do demanding assignments except performing auxiliary services like ferrying supplies, guests and members of the media at the outer perimeter of the RFC route.
However, the monsoon storm which sent apocalyptic rain half way through the event changed everything. The supposedly easy tracks leading into the first campsite had turned into major battle zones filled with obstacles like swollen rivers, mud pools and deep gullies. The RFC by 7 Dec had turned into “The Great Escape” from the rain and floods.
When the rivers rose suddenly to bonnet level, when the mud turns slippery and glutinous, when every twists and turns along the route becomes treacherous, the Nissan Frontiers were able to take the punishment all in their stride, which says a lot already on their capabilities as off-road machines.
The RFC started off on 1 December with pomp and razzmatazz in the town of Jertih (Besut district), Terengganu with 350 participants in 120 super modified 4x4s from 35 countries. The first 4 days was the calm before the storm. Midway through the event, the gathering monsoon clouds turned into a raging tempest which lasted for 7 days and nights in a row, bringing heavy rain down on the participants. There was nowhere to hide. By 7 December, with flooding everywhere, cut off from the rest of the world, the order of the day was evacuation. All hardware had to be left behind as the stragglers struggled on foot to Lebir River to be evacuated by boats from Fire & Rescue Dept and Marine Police. It was like “World of the Worlds” with scenes of abandoned vehicles and retreating adventurers along the route from Campsite 2 to Kg Miak.
The rescue of the participants from Kg Miak to Laloh took place from 8 to 12 December. With everyone out of danger, it was time for Part Two – the recovery of the stranded vehicles which took place from 15 December 2007 and ending only on 5 January when the last of the 4x4s were taken out of the jungle. The Frontiers again were put to the task in these post-event activities of delivery supplies and bringing personnel to Kg Miak from Laloh, again under the still atrocious conditions.
All in all, it was truly an epic event never to be forgotten for a long time by off-road adventurers from Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North/South America. The exploits of RFC 2007 is now legendary, its tales told and retold across the continents by hardcore 4×4 enthusiasts. For surviving the greatest adventure of RFC in a decade it was a great honour indeed for all participants.
