summer trip 3/3 of 1

The 3^rd trip was a highlight of the summer trip as we would be travelling deep in to the central mountain area for a camping trip. The camp site, Wu Ling farm, is manned by the retired veteran organization. It is located at the mid of central east south route. The mountain route was intended to connect the east coast and west coast of the island. The route was famous for its beautiful scenery at the east part and there is a hot spring area along the west part. Part of the route has collapsed during the 921 earth quake in 1999. An attempt to rebuild the road was initiated and the route was currently accessible to the local resident and engineering team.

Wu Ling Farm was situated at the middle of the central east west route. After the route collapsed, reaching the Wu Ling Farm from the southern part of the island was a torment. The usual 250km route had become 370km….There are 2 suggested route, one is to drive across the highest road of the island and the other is drive to the north via the north south highway and enter the mountain side via east coast. The 1^st route is 370 km (180km highway, 190km mountain drive), the 2^nd route is 360 km highway, 90km mountain drive). The travelling time is similar – 7 hrs non-stop drive.

I had opted to try both, the 1^st route to reach the destination and the 2^nd route for return.

There were so many things to worry about – the road condition, the weather….

Finally the day had come…however I was exhausted before the start of journey as I had worked a 5 consecutive day shifts. At the end of D5, I was worn off. After I woke up at 6am and loaded Fefe with all the gear, I had to stop for a nap before the journey start. The journey started at 8:30am, 1.5 hours later then the expected time.

We had a smooth drive and reached QingChin at 11:15am. We grabbed some snack at the 7-11 and proceeded with the hike to the highest point of He Huan Mountain. It was rainy and foggy. Fefe choke a little ( the service prior to the drive made the engine run smoother..) after 2500m. It is the karma of turbine power vehicle, especially diesel when cruising up the mountain area. However I did not encountered overheating of the gearbox.  

We passed through the highest point with ease despite the foggy and rainy condition. The track down the hill was better and we reached Li Shan at 1:40pm. We had patronized a local restaurant and continued our journey at 2:30pm.

The last 30km was better and we started erecting our camp at 4pm.

I enjoyed viewing the documentary of Perilous Journey and other live driving documentary which feature driving down the most dangerous route across the world… I had asked myself, do I have the guts to do it ? Well, it would require a reliable vehicle (preferably the Defender) and highly concentrated mind and good driving skill…. Well, I had lost the fantasy years ago when I found that I was slowly being swallowed by the monster of aging. I felt extremely tired after 4 hours of driving , a short nap would be needed most of the time. I had doubt that I could performed any long hour drive.

I considered this drive down the curvy road as one of the perilous roads that I had ever driven. The last one I did was the way up to the Cameron highland telekom tower. Even now, I can still feel the thrill of passing through the narrow passages and negotiating the hairpin corners during the drive.   

The completion of this journey made me more confident of future long hour drive and I am planning for a drive from Kuching to Sri Aman next year…..