3/4th October 2009 - with the credit crunch biting hard the team had decided to give the event a break for a year, but 1 week before the event a call comes from the organisers, "we have a damsel in distress, help!" Angi, the Special Events Manager from Temple Street Hospital had been looking forward to the event all year but now she had no driver. So Liam dusted down "Shrek" the Discovery, checked the oil levels (yes they were low as usual) and had a wee look in the fancy dress shop to see what he could come up with!

Crocodile Downpatrick
(sorry, it was the best i could do at short notice)

 

 

at least we hadn't been nobbled the night before like our fellow competitors

 

 

Robert & Jonathan (aka Jobert) give the early morning briefing
(so early mcdonalds was still closed)

 

 

Pamela & David try to figure out who took their ladder

 

 

1st stage was an excellent off road course round a nearby quarry
oh no i thought, i'm going to break shrek on the first day,
and we had taken 2 wrong turns already!

 

spot the "deliberate" mistake :-)

 

 

will it still be shiny at the end of the day?

 

 

 

 

 

oops, Shane and Denise drop anchor

 

 

while we steam ahead

 

 

we were doing well so stopped for some tea
(remember the tortoise and the hare!)

 

 

a windy thingy

 

 

eh, i think i'm gonna get wet

 

 

Simon Collins in the very nice 110 checks out a possible clue

 

 

back at the campsite at midnight for some dinner

 

 

and what a dinner, venison steaks supplied and cooked
by Kevin & Maggie Stone

 

 

mmm, munch, crunch, mmmmm, chomp

 

 

mick hides in case anyone sees him in the silly hat

 

 

everyone else laughs at the silly hat

 

 

dawn breaks and the battery is flat again

 

 

 

breakfast was delicious but not so keen on the spiders down this way !!

 

 

 

Shane and Denise, stuck (together) again

 

 

 

 

 

 

another stop to take in the view

 

 

 

a few vehicles have bunched up, something must be wrong down there

 

 

 

it was Jason, his 90 had overheated, but everyone lends a hand to get him going again

 

 

 

we found a secret irish nuclear rocket facility :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pit stops

 

 

 

must be serious, they're using a hammer and chisel !!

 

 

 

i just couldn't resist this one

 

 

 

looking for those far away clues,
no need, Vince and Dave didn't put the letters out this year

 

 

 

Margaret busy as ever keeping the scores

 

another mountain top checkpoint

 

and finally back to the Slieve Russell Hotel which was as wonderful as always

 

for a fine meal and some prizegiving

 

one of those 4am moments

 

 

 

next morning we rise to find our door handles a little slippery

someone seems a bit smokey though

 

 

 

it was only the old zebra

 

the usual mornings shenanigans, a game of hide the jeep

 

 

Jonathan forgets he could have used the zoom lens

 

 

 

david gets fanned down

 

 

 

we won the Night Navigation prize, but we had a little help
(also came 3rd overall and got the highest score on day 2)

 

Mark & Brian win the Spirit of the Event award
(no they didn't drink the most rum, that was Jeff)

 

 

 

roll on 2010