Day 27+ - 27 December 2007
The final recovery. I get a phone call 26th December 2007. Give us a lift back to Laloh to collect 3 vehicles at Kg Miak as the track is now open. 7.00am 27th The rescue commences we drive back to Laloh (I have my kids with me from Oz so they tag along for the adventure). The day starts badly when YELLOW overheats at bottom of Genting Highlands and I burn my hand badly when the radiator explodes. We buy ICE
and I wear a glove for the rest of the trip with ICE in it and a local chemist visit to kill the pain. OOPS! Arriving at Laloh at 3pm its been along day. We meet Marcus (to rescue Sri Lankan Car) and Max to rescue the Ozzie Toyota and I have Jason to rescue the Ozzie Nissan.
After much stuffing around we get the green light to proceed in by this time its after 7pm and its dark in minutes. I ask only 12k to the Kg right so a few minutes drive? "No" replies Max its 32k and it takes over 2 hours and there is a couple of washed out bridges - GREAT single vehicle and no help if we get into trouble. Signs of the rain are everywhere raging rivers, muddy banks where the bulldozer has made a new track for us. Soon we have a double crossing single log for each wheel with YELLOW on at least a 10degree angle. We inch across the double crossing then its the remains of a huge bridge every cross member ripped of by the raging flood leaving 4 logs each about 400cm wide. Funny I get a 3 man guiding team in usual competition driver carelessness the flood water rages below us you can still hear its anger. We soon come across a Pajero or what's left of it. Abandoned when it stalled in the rising river it was left and was completely submerged. The dozer pulled it out of the way and its totally stuffed mud completely covers the interior and engine bay - total write off. Soon we pass the Ozzie trucks and we drop Jason and Max of to
check them out. An ants nest has made its home in the Nissan poor Jason. Max and myself head into Kg Miak to find the Sri Lanka Landrover on the way in we see vehicles in various states rollover damage panels smashed - interiors covered in mud - interiors turned inside out its like a war zone. We chat with the X-
men guarding the vehicles then its time to roll. The big log bring on the return is fun 3 drivers in unfamiliar vehicles have a tough time especially the Nissan which cannot idle due to a ECU problem. The Nissan falls into a hole and its up to its axle Jason eventually reverses out he cannot do anything else someone has whacked all the plasma winch rope YELLOW is the only one with a functional winch.
Soon its the double log bridge and a few v-gullies and we are out at just after 11.30pm.
Now we have a problem 3 vehicles and 2 drivers as Max and Marcus have their own vehicles. We elect my son to drive the Landrover and Peter gets the Landcruiser (it has almost no brakes as the mud as worn out a set of discs and pads). We are driving to KL 60k south however we have a problem the Landrover has overheated - we cool it down and start again but only get 30K when it does it again. This time its terminal and we discover via torchlight there is a switch for the radiator fan but no warning light that it's off. However there us a warning light for the inter cooler fan not working! The Landrover has blown a head gasket. We elect top tow it the remaining 20K to Gua Musang. However we have to wait longer as Marcus pulls a rear shock mount off. Finally 5.00am we arrive Gua Musang with the sick vehicles - the Toyota is all over the road and is now considered undriveable. The LR is undriveable and the Nissan cannot idle. On the phone and over the next 4 hours rescue is called in. Someone manages to get a tow truck $2500 for the 4 vehicles - Marcus's Jeep, Sri Lanka LR, Ozzie Nissan, Ozzie Toyota. Max and Marcus will drive the Jeep and we can go when the tow truck turns up. 11.00amn we leave Gua Musang and will follow the progress of Max and Marcus via phone. We cruise into KL early evening but not before Max and Marcus have their own dramas with the Jeep dying and they have to unload the Nissan and use that. Mission accomplished and the 3 sick vehicles are dropped at Jason's workshop for the cleanup to commence.
RFC 2008 I have already volunteered my services and both RED and YELLOW again
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