Enter the Highlander

AS THE Charlie's (my car) engine fired up, it joined a chorus of 18 other Nissan Zs, on a Friday morning on December 9. It was 7am and we would be making our way to the Ferry Terminal in Serasa for what would be the first official Z drive organised by Boustead Sdn Bhd, the Nissan dealership in Brunei Darussalam, and the Brunei Z Owner's Club.

Z Cars Nationwide

Earlier that morning the gloomy weather couldn't dampen the excitement, as Z owners across the country participating on the journey to Kota Kinabalu (KK) had departed from their homes some as far as KB, with representatives from Tutong, and even a member that works in Temburong, joining up with the cars from the Brunei-Muara district. This wasn't just a Z car event, this was very much a "BRUNEI" Z car event, and this was the first time cars of this sort had ever journeyed in unison to drive up Borneo's highest mountain.

As the roar of V6 engines broke the silence on their way to the Serasa Terminal, my older brother, who was my navigator and co-pilot, asked whether I knew what to expect. In all honesty, the answer was no.

Ferry to Labuan

Despite being a seasoned Z owner, I had never even been to Labuan our first stop on the way to Sabah let alone seen how sports cars were being be loaded onto the Shuttle Hope, the Ferry transporting us to the island of Labuan.

After getting our documents in order and proceeding to the loading area, I could then see why this hadn't been done in an official manner by any organisation in Brunei. Sports cars, Super Cars, Hyper Cars, they'd never come by this way because of the difficulty in getting up the ferry ramp.

4WD vehicles wouldn't take this route either, they would just rumble through Limbang, Temburong and Lawas on their way to Kota Kinabalu, the roads there are some of the nastiest on that side of the Brunei river.

Since the tides were kind to us, the Charlie didn't have very much difficulty, thanks to the directional guidance of spotters (three on each side) who were present to ensure that the front, middle and rear sections of the car wouldn't be damaged on the way up or down.

Other vehicles followed suit, with cars that were lower thanks to the varying bumper styles and side-skirts (Nissan's Nismo tuning arm came up with three different styles of aerodynamic works for the car). At times we have to pull out planks and pieces of ropes as well as coordination of the most minute details to ensure that no damage would take place.

Land or Sea?

After arriving in Labuan, we were greeted by other Z owners, who brought us to see some of the sights on the island. The journey seemed slow compared to the last time when I had taken the land route, but quite smoothly considering the extra challenges that needed to be overcome.

When driving the land route there were queues at each of the border checkpoints that needed to be negotiated, on busy days some of these queues can take up to three hours. If well prepared it should not take as long, and even less if you were to travel on motorcycle.

It takes anywhere between an hour and a half to two hours to get to Labuan on the ferry, depending on the weather, and loading and unloading a further 30 minutes to an hour depending again on the conditions.

A change in plans

As fate would have it, arrangements to leave at 1.30pm had been nixed and our group would only be departing for Menumbok, Sabah, in the evening at 7.30pm. The arrival time was estimated at 9.30pm and a further three-hour drive would see us arrive at Kingston Hotel in KK Times Square at 12.30am.

Mother nature had other ideas and made sure that the estimated time of arrival was so far off that it became a gruelling test of concentration for the entire group.

For those that are keen to emulate such a trip, be advised that the ferry ramps and their inclines are slave to the tides. If the tide is low it is easier to load and unload your sports vehicles; however if the tide is high, which was the case at 7.30pm in Labuan, it becomes a test of will and determination. Some vehicles took five minutes to load, others took the best part of 20 minutes.

It didn't help that the ferry had arrived late from Menumbok to begin with, making things extremely tricky for spotters ably led by Dini, Sarul and Dillah, car drivers and ferry operators alike.

Unloading in Menumbok

Touching down in Menumbok at close to 10.50pm, the tide had risen even further and we only managed to clear the ferry terminal at close to midnight.

Up to that point the drivers had only sat through a test of patience and faith, putting their trust on their peers outside directing them on and off the ferries.

For many drivers this was relatively unknown territory, and while the organiser's cars had gone on ahead to make sure that no one would get lost, there were several who rarely ventured above 60km/h despite road-signs indicating a 90km/h limit.

The dark road to KK

Without any street light the route at night can be treacherous. Car no. 6, piloted by Khairul, who happened to glance back at us while going through the initial part of the journey from the ferry, saw sparks fly as the undulating roads scraped against a part of the Charlie's under-chassis cross-member.

This was the catch-22 that we faced. Drive slow and you could fall asleep, drive too fast and the road could easily catch a driver unawares and test their ability to keep the car under control.

Thankfully it wasn't much longer before we saw the lead car, flagging us down and making sure we went down the right road. By then the phone signals were back up and full strength, allowing my brother and I to make sure we were on the right route with our rudimentary GPS.

One hour on and we had met up with several cars from our group that had managed to ease ahead and decided to stop for us. By then the road conditions had improved greatly, the speeds were closer to the limit and we had reached the city lights.

It would be 3am by the time we had gotten into our rooms, and it was only a few hours later that we would be up again, driving the mountain road up Kota Kinabalu.

Those of you that had been following the progress of this Z drive prior to it taking place would have read about the preparations taking place before hand.

As our cars made their way up to the last refuelling point before our 90km ascent, two cars had stayed behind, their drivers joining other vehicles that had not brought along passengers.

Of the two vehicles, one did not have the time to put on new tyres, while the other had noticed some irregularities with engine temperature and played it safe by leaving the car to showcase itself at Kingston hotel. Meanwhile an orange Nismo 350Z joined our group, a member that had travelled a day earlier to KK.

His journey had been a stark contrast to our journey in the evening, courtesy of being able to leave at 1.30pm and arriving when the tides were low. His car merely rolled off the ferry to Menumbok, no need for planks or spotters, and this would be the ideal for any sports car owner making their way for the mountains in Sabah.

As it turned out the Orange Nismo Z, along with the twin 350Z of Dini and Sarul, two of the three main spotters directing the ferry logistics would be in front of the Charlie on the ascent.

Mountain driving equals fun

It was the most enjoyable ride I've had in a car in a very long time. There wasn't any nonsense driving, any illegal speeding, nor was there racing of any sorts, just up hill driving, testing the abilities of our cars.

The VQ engine in the Zs are perfect for the drive up, strong acceleration in gear meant that steeper up hill sections were tackled with eagerness, torque available low down, saw many zip out of sweeping corners, tight corners and the Brembo brakes meant that any down hill sections were dealt with relative ease.

While all this was happening I had almost forgotten about the beautiful scenery, the humid equatorial weather changes with subtlety, the air was tinged with a coolness as you drive higher and get closer to the peak.

While the greenery never really leaves your side, the reality is that one of Borneo's most picturesque sights becomes apparent as the looming mountaintop comes into your view as you drive over a particular crest in the road.

Weather, now on our side

Its picturesque peaks are usually covered by clouds, but we were very lucky on the day that there was many a moment that we could see it uncovered.

A break at Nabalu just before we made it to Ranau offered us a chance to take more photos, the group then made their way for Lunch at Kinabalu park.

This part of the drive underlined the importance of setting up the car's suspension.

Making sure that the camber and alignment are sorted to ensure that the vehicles track accordingly, the driving experience I was left with was just pure unadulterated fun.

Lining up the Z to take the corners, there's no hint of judder, shake, the brakes working in unison with the gears, I even managed to get my heel and toe-ing right as we made short work of the last few sections before Kinabalu park.

Stunning vistas

This is where I really put on the tourist cap, it has almost been 20 years since I last came up this way, and the views are even more stunning than I remembered. The details of the mountain are even clearer, with the craggy outcrops nearer to the summit carrying a hint of menace.

There was one final stop in Kundasang, where we could see terraced hillsides, where Sabah tea is grown and one last final opportunity for photos with Mount Kinabalu. The journey down hill was amusing to say the least, with the Murano supposedly leading the way back disappearing off as the Zs negotiated one broken up piece of road.

Chasing down hill

Despite our best efforts, a mix of not knowing the roads and unrelenting traffic meant it was not reeled in by the Charlie, but Gboi, piloting his black 350Z.

Despite overtaking us on the way down, he kindly waited for the Charlie before leading us back to the hotel, unlike the Murano who had probably decided enough of the hills, a café latte in the city would be more timely.

All in all it was an unforgettable adventure, for all involved. The mountain drive adventure is what we all came for.

Each time the cars would round a corner, there would be a crescendo of engine revs bouncing off the mountains, the smiles on the faces of locals seeing us drive through, children hopping about in excitement, even a newly wedded couple stopped in front of our cars to take photos.

A journey worth all sacrifice

This is what the Z Drive Highlander was all about, and although the journey to KK took 20 hours, it's OK that there were some bumps and scrapes along the way, the memories and experience made the sweat and tears all worth it. The Brunei Times