Tag Archives: rfc

In The Rainforest, No One Can Hear You Scream

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You can go equipped with heavy-duty winches, knobby tyres and a 500 horsepower engine. The sneering rainforest takes no prisoners. It will swallow your shiny 4wd vehicle into a giant mudhole and spit it out as colourless vomit, if you are lucky.

Sometimes torrential rain, floods or mudslides sweep away the vehicle before one can even grab the camera bag. It has happened before and will happen again. This is the nature of the merciless monsoon and tropical terrain. And it is these risks and challenges that attract international participants from as far as Russia and the USA.

The torturous journey for men, women and vehicles in the annual Rainforest Challenge (RFC) makes tough but interesting photography subjects. I try to follow the gruelling expedition whenever schedule allows. Here’s looking forward to this year’s coverage with the new all-terrain Olympus OM-D 🙂

In The Rainforest, No One Can Hear You Scream

Twilight Zone

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A lone mollusc fisherman trawls the shore north of Cape Leman, Johor. This isolated and pristine beach is sandwiched by the South China Sea and the hostile rainforest.

I was photographing the annual Rainforest Challenge Expedition on a 4wd. Having missed the convoy earlier, I needed to drive another 12 kilometres on the deserted coast to get to the base camp nicknamed Twilight Zone.

Tyre tracks that can serve as additional breadcrumbs to the GPS were washed away or submerged quickly. The vehicle was caught between the rising ocean and the impenetrable mangrove forest. It was a race against tide and nightfall.

As it turned out, the journey was fairly easy compared to the many hardcore participants who came in via the hazardous swamps ahead. More on the next pic…

Cape Leman

Rainforest Challenge – RFC 2010: The Twilight Zone

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Page 1: All-Terrain | Page 2: South China Sea | Page 3: Twilight Zone | Page 4: Healing

After the Prologue Stage, I re-joined the RFC trail from Kluang in Johor. The road to the South China Sea took me through elephant country via Kahang. From Jemaluang, it was another long drive through the vast FELDA Tenggaroh settlements, before reaching the final stage of the RFC, in the area nicknamed the Twilight Zone. The participants camped at a very beautiful and remote beach north of Cape Leman… (see 22 pics over 4 pages)

Beautiful Malaysia

Beautiful Malaysia

Having missed the convoy, I was at first unsure if this lonesome path leads to the Twilight Zone. It turned out to be the most amazing journey, ever! Ended up driving on the longest deserted beach for twelve long kilometres, sandwiched by the fast rising tide of the South China Sea and impenetrable mangrove swamps.

Small Town Girl

Small Town Girl

Earlier, at the first stop after Kluang, little Kahang town is as small as it gets. As with every such town, there is a kopitiam tucked at a corner. Except now, it is called a cafe and the daughter is armed with pen and pad.

Apocalypse Not

Apocalypse Not

It is replanting time, and the landscape at the FELDA oil palm plantations appear surreal and eerie.

Lovers' Corner

Lovers’ Corner

I stumbled upon this shady corner where whispering couples shared fleeting, romantic moments. Maybe what the world needs is more love and less plantations…

Operasi Lalang

Operasi Lalang

After a long drive down a muddy road, I knew we were getting close to the sea when casuarina trees outnumbered the lalang grass.

Cool Sea

Cool Ocean

When we arrived at Base Camp 4, it was almost dark and already time to set up tents. The eastern horizon fades with a calming blueish green tint…

Tip: You can view larger versions of the images here, gallery-style. When the page finishes loading, click on any picture. Navigate via the arrows on each side of the frame.

All pictures captured with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 camera by TV Smith

Page 1: All-Terrain | Page 2: South China Sea | Page 3: Twilight Zone | Page 4: Healing

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