Wandered up to Tong (Parkwood 4x4 in Yorkshire) today - 01/11/09 - to watch the last round 8 of the AWDC's (All Wheel Drive Club) Howling Wolf series, a challenge punch hunt type event for the biggest and best 4x4s in the UK. It just so happens my brother-in-law and sister-in-law (the wife's sister) live in Pudsey just a few miles from Tong, so we killed two birds with one stone, I dropped my wife and two daughters off with the sister-in-law to hit the shops, whilst my brother-in-law - who is a fantastic cook - prepared Sunday Lunch, a huge piece of beef that was cooked for a full 24 hours! Beautiful and succulent!

Anyway, your not bothered what I had for lunch! Show us the offroading pictures!!! ;)

Parked my GV up, and wandered into the woods, seeking to see "G187EEV" - Rob Butler's Samurai based truck, he needed a win today to take the series in his class...

Not to be disappointed, soon found him deep in the woods with his co-driver Andy, deep in the gloop, examining a winch rope that had just snapped, apparently for the second time that day!

Winch rope repaired and they're off again!

This is what a came to see, awesome truck in a big punch hunt type event, something I'm keen to try, but not at a national level like this! I hate to think just how much the air shocks cost!

Just up from the place the last photo was taken and they drop into a deep mud run, remember those tyres are 37"s for a scale reference! Andy grapples for the winch rope to pull them round...

Getting back to dry land is fun! LOL

Having got the punch on the tree in the very top right of the above photo, they're off again...

Errr, only the route goes up the side of the trench?!...

Out comes the winch again, and they ease it up off a handy tree...

Then the rope route takes them round the edge of that tree and close to the edge of the trench...

Tight squeeze!

Out with the winch just in case! ;)

Two or three punches got in this section and they're off to other areas of the site...

Bit of a walk to go find them again...

... but I find them again about to drop down into a big gulley, apparently there's a few punches down there, but no-ones attempted them... yet!

Through the stream and Andy heavesa fallen log out of the way...

Bit of a shaky picture, but the only one I got at this point...

Rob bellows to Andy - they've got radios but he seems to prefer to shout ;)

"Straight up the side of the valley" he says... where the f**ks he going I think to myself... but they had been down and walked it before I'd caught up on foot...

Ahhh, there's a punch on the tree to the right of this fallen tree's root ball...!

Andy has the winch rope on another handy tree, and Rob winches up...

A change of direction is needed, and I manage to catch Andy in full flight with the tree strop in hand...

Winching up and round the tree, you can just see the orange strap holding the punch, or TerraTag probably? (electronic punch)

They have to keep easing forward to get to the punch...

Rear wheel is now tucked up on the rootball, and front wheel is off the floor, the winch pulling them round closer to get the punch...

Closer...

And the rear wheel starts to slip off the root ball... Rob shouts to Andy, and he uses a strop to attach the truck at the top of the cage to the tree in case it rolls...

Beginning to ease it round...

And they're free off the root ball and ready to move on to the next punch...

The gulley floor is like a bog... I was sucked down in my rigger boots...!

And they're out... I presume? I spent a few hours wandering round watching the competitors, and then had to go for my Sunday Lunch...

... I take it you got out Rob?

I'll update later, with the results too...