good motoring
The Rain Forest Challenge: Do you have it in you?
H. Kishie Singh

Those are the opening lines of the Hippopotamus song. By lunch time on day two of the Rain Forest Challenge (R.F.C.) you would wish that you were a Hippopotamus! You'd wish you could swim, wallow in mud, sleep standing up, not have to worry about snakes, scorpions and leeches..

You will be up to your armpits in mud and slush, fording rivers with water over the vehicle's bonnet. You'll learn the value of a snorkel. You will learn winching and that dangerous and demanding exercise of crossing log bridges.

With the constant torrential rain, the water cuts huge channels, too wide and too deep to drive through. The competitors have to cut trees, lay them across the channel and cross. It requires nerves of steel and that insatiable appetite to be a glutton for punishment.

The Rain Forest Challenge taxes both the vehicle and the participant

That describes to a small extent the Rain Forest Challenge as I experienced it in Malaysia some years ago. There are no hotels in the jungle so you have to carry your own camp cots, mosquito nets, cooking stuff and toilet paper. Don't forget bandages, medicines and water.

Finally, Indian off-roaders are to get a taste of Luis Wee's brain child, the R.F.C. one of the greatest motoring adventures in the world. Luis started this in 1997 and the muddy madness has spread across the world.

It has now come to India due to doggedness of Ashish Gupta, founder of Couger Motor Sport. He is a rallyist, raider and finally the R.F.C. last year. He was smitten by the muddy madness and so the first edition of The Force Gurkha R.F.C is being held in Goa from August 8-14. It flags off from Panjim and heads to South Goa, swings around and heads North and back to Panjim.

The route has been selected by David Metcalfe. He is affectionately called Mean Mister Metcalfe because of his sadistic streak in selecting a nearly impossible route. I know David well and his special ability.

The route will be back-breaking, bone- rattling and vehicle-busting. "After all, it's a challenge!", David will tell you.The distance to be covered in six days is 250 km or about 40 km a day. Sounds easy? Yes, But it won't be.

The shape of things to come is clear from the names of the four stages: The Prologue, the Predator, the Terminator and the Twilight Zone. So far there are 25 entries from India. Gerrari Offroaders from Chandigarh are fielding four teams. Leading the charge is Kabir Waraich, with co-driver Gagan Sachdeva, Kiran Bali and Gurmeet Virdi, Gursahib Singh and Padam Chauhan, Sachin Verma with Dushyant Khosla. The service team consists of Gurpal Singh and Tejinder.

Ramesh Ahuja from Pune, aged 59, grandfather of six children is also one of the entrants. So is Smitha Prasad known as Jeep Girl. Jeep Girl's husband known as Jeep Captain encouraged her to participate in the R.F.C. in a Gypsy which he has prepared himself.

Tang Eng Joo is coming from abroad. He is a R.F.C. Malaysia winner three times and R.F.C. China twice. Mervyn Lim R.F.C. Malaysia winner in 2011 will also be here.

What is so great about the R.F.C. It's the mud, it's therapeutic. It cools the blood. Happy Motoring!

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