Janet & Tonka on Another Whirlwind Adventure

This was probably one of the best Mac 4x4 challenge events I have taken part in. Not only because I had taken along a 23–year old navigator with an amazing sense of humour, who on more than a couple of occasions reduce me to tears…… of laughter, but the organisation and choice of routes for the event were beyond expectations.

With challenging routes taking us through the stunning scenery of Wales, including the Snowdonia National Park and the famous Sweet Lamb rally stage, it was a Mac 4x4 year to remember and not to be missed.

About The Mac 4x4

The Mac 4x4 is a challenge undertaken by 4x4 enthusiasts to raise funds for the charity, MacMillan Cancer Support. The event is a three–day competition in navigational, orienteering, observation and driving skills, with on and off road driving stages.

Each team consists of two people and it is a test of their endurance by day and night to navigate a course of up to 1,000 miles guided by a trail of clues.

The Mac 4x4 routes were compiled with the usual cunning tactics of the organiser Selwyn Kendrick and his amazing team to confuse and tax even the most seasoned Mac 4x4 campaigners.

Stages consisted of wonderful forest sections with great helpings of snow and lashings of mud along with (unusually!) glorious sunshine to keep our spirits up en route.

A New Navigator For 2010

As Graham, my usual navigator and co–driver, was unable to make the Mac 4x4 this year, a chat with founder member and great stalwart of the Central Off Road Club, Chris Straw, quickly resulted in his nephew being volunteered to take Graham’s place.

Jonathan and I had only met once before and only for 10–minutes at that. We had chatted about our Turbo Weasel (Turbo Diesel to normal people) Land Rover 90’s on a club event. So, in all fairness, my new navigator had no idea what he was about to let himself in for, and I am not talking about the Mac 4x4 itself.

Two brief conversations and a couple of PM’s and e–mails later, with me and even Graham trying to convince him that I am incapable of even finding my way out of car parks, we arranged to meet at Britpart in Craven Arms near Ludlow for the start of the 2010 Mac 4x4 sometime on the Friday morning.

On the Thursday night before the event I had planned to stay over at the local Travel Lodge so I could be refreshed for what lay ahead. So, with a last check–over and some minor repairs to the back axle(!), and a replacement wheel bearing, I thought I’d be ready for the off in the early afternoon.

Last Minute (Panic) Vehicle Repairs

It was a glorious day, but after driving a few miles my speedo stopped working… so it was about turn back to my brother’s garage, thinking it was something simple like a faulty connection. However, it was not that simple. My speedo cable had snapped and required replacing.

After many frantic phone calls, we finally located one at Guy Salmon of Stockport. A quick trip, a frantic repair, and I was finally underway, and thanks to my trusty Tomtom, I reached my hotel a little after 11.00pm.

Setting Off For The Meeting Point

The next morning, after a good night’s rest, and a quick breakfast, I was ready to get to the start point at Britpart for 10.00am. So, with post code duly entered into the satnav, I was off on my travels again.

Brimming with confidence, and enjoying the glorious sunshine, I was suddenly greeted with flashing headlights and smiles from a group of fellow Mac competitors coming towards me!

Now, I wasn’t so sure as I was going in the opposite direction. While I was stopped at a level crossing for a high speed train, I frantically checked the sat nav… Yes, I had done everything right, but why were 5–trucks going in the opposite direction?

Remembering what I always told my co–driver on events, i.e. rely on your own navigation, I continued on my way, but this time in a somewhat less confident mood. 3–miles later, I finally recognised where I was and pulled into the local petrol station to fill up. With great relief I arrived at Britpart with half an hour to spare.

Jonathan arrived shortly afterwards, so after signing on for the event, and Tonka (that’s my Land Rover) being duly scrutineered, we had plenty of time to load his gear before chatting to old and new friends.

This year we were told there was a height restriction en–route and our waffle board holders were too tall. In short order they were duly modified by a number of willing volunteers and a hacksaw. How Graham laughed when I told him about that afterwards! All set, we ventured into the local town for our last hot meal before the drivers’ briefing and start at 3.00 pm.

On the Start Line

On the Mac 4x4 start line, with seconds to go, Jonathan turned to me and asked how the PDA worked. I didn’t even know how to turn it on… I was in shock, I had no idea!

I had given him Graham’s instructions, but just presumed he didn’t read them because he knew how it worked… I thought anyone under the age of 30 was a computer techno wizard.

Fortunately, we were in luck as his cousin Ben, the youngest competitor on the event, was there taking photographs of us at the start. With a quick shout for help and within seconds Ben had us up and running, and we were away.

Graham’s always complaining that I don’t read instructions properly. 25–minutes into the event he was proved right again (dammit!).

We hadn’t realised that page–2 of the route book held a series of questions that we had to answer and we’d already missed a few. Turning back was not an option as we had over 70–vehicles following us with very few passing places. Therefore, we decided to press on.

As luck would have it, we met two walkers at a small road junction. We stopped, and on the off chance, asked them if they knew what time the post was collected on a Saturday and did they know the answers to any of the other questions?

Not surprisingly, they couldn’t help and so we gave up, leaving them bemused and both of us laughing our heads off as they tried to explain they didn’t have a clue what we were talking about.

Looking For Bridges

The rest of the run went smoothly, and as we collected the clues around the route, our confidence grew until we tried to find a particular railway bridge. Other Mac 4x4 competitors were coming and going from a variety of directions, so once again, we stopped and asked a person we thought could be a railway worker going home (well, he was wearing a bright orange jacket!)

Now surely he would be able to give us a clue as to where the nearest railways bridge in the area would be? His immediate reaction was to ask where we were going, to which I replied I didn’t know.

He then asked where we had come from. I gave the same reply. Looking totally confounded he finally told us to go in the direction another competitor had gone, as there were two railway bridges down that road. However, as my navigator was only looking for one bridge, we decided by a process of elimination to take the only road we had not already tried.

Less than 100–metres further on we found the railway bridge we were looking for. We set off once again and everything seemed to be going really well.

I Said I was Useless at Navigating

However, when asked to stop and being shown the map, Jonathan eventually realised that I was just agreeing with his suggestions and not, as he thought, confirming that his route he plotted was correct. It hadn’t taken long, but by now my new co–driver was finally realising that I was not joking about my inability to navigate.

After making it to the check point at least an hour late… yes, we hadn’t spotted we had a time limit, we were ready for the next section through Radnor Forest. This time we made sure we turned the paper over to ensure we didn’t miss any questions or instructions!

The Radnor Forest stage turned out to be a forest section in the pitch black dark with ice and snow underfoot. It was a very challenging and interesting route, avoiding deer wandering into our headlight beams and various other forms of wildlife while we hunted for the elusive code boards.

As we had lost time on the first section, we finished the Radnor Forest section and arrived at the check point just as the officials were packing up!

After a Quick Bite to Eat and a Refuel,
we Were Ready for the Next Section.

Leaving no stone (or should I say page!) unturned, we were off. This final section saw us progressing through Rhayadar and then along the mountain road via Cwmysthyth and Devil’s Bridge (and I am still kicking myself for not realising the answer to a question was the number on the old AA box by the Hafod Hotel).

It was then on to the overnight halt to camp on a football pitch in Aberystwyth, conveniently set next to a hotel which kindly allowed competitors to use their facilities before turning in.

It was at the hotel that I had the chance to have another good chat with Charlie Webster, marathon runner and TV presenter who was Russ Brown’s co–driver on the event.

She, Charlie, turned out to be quite an amazing young lady, who despite her celebrity status, refused the luxury of a hotel and opted to camp with us all… but in a 2–season sleeping bag on the first night. She really summed up the Spirit of the Mac event and it certainly was a great pleasure to have met her.

I Slept in Tonka that Night, and in the Morning,
Awoke to Find a Layer of Frost… on the Inside of the Vehicle. Brrr!

Reverse order was the name of the game on Saturday, so being number 4, we ended up at the back before we had even started! However, my navigator obviously relished a challenge and decided to start training me in the mysteries of navigation so I could at least be of some help.

The day’s adventure took us a short trip down the A44 before turning off toward The Sweet Lamb, a Mecca for all rally enthusiasts. This was indeed an adventure, and after hunting for various clues in the forest terrain, even I with my limited navigation experience I thought we were on track.

Then, nearing what we thought was the finish, I spotted a couple of sharpshooters with telescopic sights taking aim 200–yards in front of us. Realising we were not suppose to be there, I stood on the brakes.

Obviously we had gone a little off route, and on my advance, the shooters looked somewhat surprised before signalling us to proceed. We were actually less than 800–yards from the finish… but we were clearly on the wrong road in the incorrect direction.

We then realised we had been on a slightly different route for some time, but we had made it to the check point and so had a chance to catch up with our fellow Mac 4x4 competitors.

Another Forest Section

After a short break for lunch, we headed south of Hafren for another forest stage, this time taking us through amazing scenery with brilliant off road terrain.

Again, we thought we were on track, but after a couple of hours, we met another competitor coming in the opposite direction. After explaining they had been unable to make it up the muddy and sodden terrain, I made a decision to turn round and go back.

We were soon joined by two young enthusiastic Mac 4x4 competitors in a well kitted out Land Rover who reckoned we would be able to make it to the top if we followed them.

At this point I volunteered to wait for them at the bottom, in case they needed help, as it was starting to get dark and the terrain was getting more extreme. Then my navigator piped up and told me the route was actually a dead end.

Again, we were definitely not on the correct route. After our intrepid fellow competitors came back down the hill, finding the track led nowhere and there weren’t any clues, we made our way back onto the forest road together before going our separate ways.

After an early finish, it was back to Aberystwyth for a bite to eat, but not before going to the local hot wash to clean Tonka before the start of the night challenge at 8.00pm.

Night Time Section

I always love the night sections on the Mac 4x4, and this was one of the best. With the entrants being sent alternately in opposite directions around a forest route, it was not long before we encountered our fellow competitors coming towards us.

With a spectacular star lit sky above, we were on our way to success once gain looking for code boards en–route. Stopping on several occasions to investigate the wind farms up close and personal, and watch shooting stars, we pressed on along the most amazing snow bound forest roads, impassable for any vehicles other than a 4x4.

After we finished the stage, we made our way back to camp via Devil’s Bridge and passed that AA phone box again.

Waking up to the Sound of a V8 Warming up

On Sunday morning I awoke to the sound of a V8 engine warming up. Normally I would appreciate the rumble and growl, but not at 6.30am, with frost inside and outside the vehicle.

After several attempts, I managed to open the back of Tonka which, having been through a car wash the night before, had frozen around all the rear door seals, making exiting from the back a bit of a challenge.

With the primus stove failing miserably in the cold to boil the kettle, another competitor provided me with hot water for my morning coffee. No one told me there are different types of gas canisters for different weather conditions… even camping stoves are getting technical!

Anyway, the morning started with my navigator having much more confidence in my new found navigator skills, when he asked if I would like to plot the route.

Snowdonia National Park

With the sun shining and me stunned at Jonathan’s confidence in me, we were off looking for clues heading though Tal–y–bont, heading towards Machynlleth, the ancient capital of Wales. We then headed north towards one of the most challenging and spectacular sections of the event in the Snowdonia National Park.

Once at the check point, we were given a warning about driving conditions, so we knew this was going to be spectacular. We climbed to well over 2,000–feet, looking for clue boards as we drove through deep snow, giving us some amazing views and challenging driving conditions.

At one point we managed to get stuck, but with a marshal hanging on to the roll cage, and with a couple of forward⁄reverse rocking moves, we were on our way again, only to be asked by the photographer whether we saw the clue board!

Jonathan and I laughed… as if we had time to look for a board while trying to negotiate our way out of the deep snow filled rut. It was at this point that insanity set in and Jonathan introduced me to speaking backwards. I yas on erom… if you weren’t there, you would never understand.

As we descended into Penllyn Forest, once again we encountered more difficult driving conditions and magnificent scenery, all designed to distract us from finding those pesky clue boards.

The Best Chocolate Brownies I had Ever Tasted

Leaving the forest, we made our way to Bala, our next check point. Here we were given our final instructions, so after a lunch break and meeting one of our fellow competitors, who had been sponsored by Hummingbird bakery and were handing out the most gorgeous chocolate brownies I have ever tasted, we were on our way on the last stage.

However, we hadn’t realised that when we reached the Bala check point, our check in time was our start time for the next section. This section had an allocated time of an hour we had taken over 40–minutes for lunch, so we had less than 20–minutes to finish.

As this was an impossible task, we decided to press on, and for personal satisfaction, see if we could do it in the required time of an hour. We made it with 10–minutes to spare.

We guessed the last two clues, as the check point had been brought forward due to the large number of motorbikes out around Llangollen enjoying the sunshine. So, after clearing the Horse Shoe Pass, we made our way to the Daresbury Park Hotel, just outside Chester, for the prize presentation.

We Didn’t Win, but had a Fantastic Time

Needless to say we didn’t win the 2010 Mac 4x4, but we had plenty of smiles per mile and raised a lot of money for MacMillan Cancer Support. I have to thank Jonathan for not only stepping into the navigator role at short notice, but also for his incredible sense of humour. Certainly it was one of the most enjoyable and exciting Mac 4x4 challenges I have competed in.

I wish to also thank Ride Drive for sponsoring us, as the money donated nicely took us nicelt over our target. All the money the event raises is given the MacMillan Cancer Support, but there is still time make a donation if you wish. Just go to my Just Giving Page. It really is dead easy.