An Accidental 4X4 Drive

Monggis to Marap Parap (Sabah)

We were on a mission to scout a mountain biking route for an event to be held later in the year. So with bikes in the back of Bluie - my 2.8 Toyota Hilux accompanied by a new Hilux Vigo we ventured on a trail that was said to be quite extreme (for mountain bikes).

There were the seven of us. In Bluie was Mel, Eunice and I (driver).. no, I would not have anyone else driving this fantastic trail and then in Vigo was Ritchie at the controls, with June riding shotgun and David and Yamin riding in the back with their mountain bikes in a covered cab.

We drove out of Sabah Tea plantation where we spent the night on to Poring and followed the Sorensin Sub-station sign. Soon the road was uncovered with loose rocks  and then it got worse as waves were found at the bottom of climbs. These waves are from the wheel spins of two wheel drive vehicles and did we met a few trucks and Kanchils.

To prevent wheel spins and bouncing like crazy, I engaged 4 WD high early in the trail. The  route really started at Monggis at a river crossing. Sabah's natural landscape has mountains and fast flowing but shallow rivers. This was time for Ritchie to put the pedal down to get maximum splash to 'clean' the under carriage. I followed but somewhat tamer and slower.

I give this trail the 5 star rating because it does not have the typical yellow sticky mud. For a change it offered rocks, hard packed clay-ish and laterite but with deep ruts and also broken bridges. We had a series of water crossings and on all of these, one need to be careful and to take a good line as there were lots of big watermelon size pebbles. Slow and steady was the order of the day. In many places I got going in 4WD low.

Going wheeling in Sabah is so different compared to the Sarawkian terrain. There's always the reason to stop for a chat and take in the view. The highlands are being high enough for one to look over the diverse and scenic terrain and get 'lost' in it.

But at the turn of the key, on has to concentrate on getting the right line. The right line and elbow grease are very much need at the 'bridge' crossings. This trail was an old timber road and the bridges has collapsed. The only people who frequent this trail (about once a month) are hunters. Everyone has to add new and strong pieces of timber to strengthen the bridges before crossing.

Village engineers (meaning all of us) have their own estimate of how much timber suffice the vehicle's weight. Both Hiluxes are about 1.6 tonnes and so we slapped on the timber.

Then it was time to cross the bridges and the first car will always take the leap of faith. Ritchie being the local and having been on this trail before was always the first to show the way. Without dramas, we crossed all the 3 bridges.

Macaranga is a soft wood that grow very quickly and can be easily chopped and shaped. But it is a soft wood and so a fair number is need. David being a local from the area (4 mountain peaks away) took out his machete and showed us how it is done right.

This trail is pretty technical in many parts and getting a wheel wrong can result in a major problem. On a drop, Ritchie turned his wheel wrong only to find that the left rear wheel tipped. David and Yamin came out to counter balance the vehicle, only to have Eunice and I shouting and stopping them. We told Ritchie to reverse and surely enough the car came back down to its four wheels.

We got to another broken bridge and Ritchie's team was about to fall a few more macarangas to build the bridge. I estimated that this was not necessary and informed Ritchie about the all important 'line'. It took a few minutes to convince him and finally he attempted the 'line' .... only to drop into the wash off drop.

Without a winch, I turned Bluie around and hook a tow strap to my tow hook. On the Vigo there was no rear hook and we had to attach the strap to the rear shackles. There was no way that I could pull this Vigo uphill in a slow and steady move, so I gassed the pedal a little more than usual and gave it a mild snatch. Surely enough the Vigo got out.  

We continued on out till we hit the palm oil plantation and got our mountain bikes out. We took a few photos and then rode the red laterite trail out to Marap Parap without any further dramas. It was a 5 hour trek but a super nice one. The GPS route is now is my vault.

Bluie, my 2.8D Hilux, has 1.5" lift, and little modification	Hilux Vigo again, no modification at all- stock standard	comeing through on these bridges, one needs a good navigator
end point we finally ended the trail at Keranaan, a scenic clean village in the mountains	never say die these Series II Land Rovers are all over this rugged contry, this is just one of the many	water crossing this scene is very typical in Sabah, but do not let the water level fool you as it can quicky rise in a tropical storm
somewhat technical the big melon size pebbles in the river bed makes this crossing technical