Just as we were seriously contemplating retirement after the XPD World Champs in Tasmania a new race appeared on the circuit and it just happened to be on our back doorstep – how could we say no ... !! So we set about putting in an entry to the Godzone a Queenstown based adventure race and getting together a team. Our teammates of choice were Craig Stevens, the ultimate boy on the side, and Jo Forbes a long time Girls On Top favourite.
As with all adventure races the race location is kept secret until the night before the race. The Godzone was no different and we found ourselves being bussed out of Queenstown the day before race start with no idea where we were headed. After lunching in Te Anau it was pretty clear we were heading to Milford Sound and we were then told we would be stopping at 'the Divide' to pick up the race maps. We then travelled on to Milford Sound where we set up our bikes for the second leg of the race, set up tents for a bit of sleep that night and set about marking up the maps and course. We needn’t have bothered setting up the tent as by the time we finished marking the maps, eating dinner and sorting gear, getting to sleep was near impossible. We had to be up by 3am to get a ferry out to the startline at the head of the sounds for a 5am start so whatever sleep we grabbed was pretty fitful and sporadic. Not the best way to start a 5 day adventure race but all part of the deal.
Race start – Stage one – Milford Sound - Sea kayak – 15kms
We stumbled out of the tent bleary eyed the next morning at 3am in the pitch black and made our way to the ferry which was to take us to the start. We tried to steal a few extra minute’s kip on the ferry and snuggled up on the seats on the upper deck. We then had a rude awakening when the loud speaker informed us we were to get off the ferry and into a small boat that would ferry us onto the shore where our kayaks were waiting. It was dark, cold, windy and wet outside and not the most comfortable of conditions so reluctantly we made our way outside onto the small boat which ferried us ashore. Once ashore we located our boats, put our gear inside them, numbered them up and prepared ourselves for the start. As we sat there in the dark at the entrance to Milford Sound listening to the howling wind and waiting for the start gun, feelings of excitement, trepidation and a hope we would get through the course unscathed flowed through my body. I couldn’t wait to get the show on the road ..
At 6.30am the start gun went off. What a mess, it was pitch black there were boats everywhere, teams were yelling madly to their teammates, the swell was rolling and wash from the boats was bouncing people around like corks. Luckily we kept together as a team and avoided most of the carnage. Some unlucky teams ended up taking a swim !! Thank god it wasn’t us. We rounded the media vessel and then headed inland into the sound. What an amazing paddle it was. We had a howling tailwind and a following sea and found ourselves hurtling down the waves a high speed. Talk about an adrenaline rush. It was all made so much more spectacular by the waterfalls and steep rock sides of the sounds – we had to keep pinching ourselves to see if it was real and couldn’t contain our whoop whoops and yehaahs. To top it all off we were joined by a pod of Dolphins as we neared the end of the paddle. It hands down was the best paddle of my life.
Stage two – Mountain bike – Milford Road – 49kms
We got out of the boats buzzing and quickly got changed, threw some food down and jumped onto our bikes for the 900metre climb up to the Homer tunnel. I had been dreading this climb ever since the day before when we drove down it on the bus. In the end, although it was a bit of a workout, it wasn’t as bad as I had thought and we were well rewarded with spectacular scenery. Going through the Homer Tunnel was a real buzz and as it was something that I had been wanting to do since I was at University. Once out of the tunnel we were treated to a cold a misty decent to the Hollyford river before climbing over the divide and down into the Eglington river for the next transition. We were on the verge of freezing to death on the descent and wished we had put more clothes on but were all too stubborn to stop and pushed on screaming (to keep warm) and shivering into the next transition
Stage three – Eglington River - Canoe – 36kms
This transition was a bit chaotic for us as we struggled to warm up, pack our bikes up, change into our wetsuits, pack our food for the paddle, carry the boats 200m to the river bank and inflate them all while being hassled by bumble bees. Eventually we made it to the water with two fully inflated boats excited at the paddle ahead and happy to be off the legs. However, the river was pretty low, the boats paddled like bathtubs and instead of a canoe full of thrills and spills it became a paddle of constantly getting in and out of the boats waiting for the whoop whoop rapids that never came. Jo and I managed to keep ourselves entertained with stupid jokes and songs but the going was excruciatingly slow and it seemed like we were on the water for an eternity before we finally caught sight of the next transition. We have never been so keen to get out of boats and onto the next leg.
Stage 4: Dunston Range Trek – 54kms
Once again there we were changing clothes, stuffing food into our mouths and preparing for another leg. We passed through a gear check just after we had so carefully packed everything neatly into our packs and then set off out of the transition area. The start of the trek did our heads in, for the first three or so kilometres we were forced to bush bash through gorse, bush lawyer, and blackberry whilst stumbling through bogs but the frustrating thing was we were parallel to the main road that was clear of scrub and shouldered with grass but was out of bounds. Finally we entered a clear track and headed into the guts of the leg. It was one hell of a trek and on it we experienced everything from gale force winds to pouring rain, steep bluffs to open plains, dense bush to open pastures. The navigation was pretty intense and at one point we had to bed down in the bracken to wait for daylight so we could reconfirm our exact position and locate a saddle just above a CP. We weren’t the only team to do this as when daylight broke we spotted another team emerging from the foliage. From here we bushed bashed down to the CP and continued on our merry way. About 28 hours after starting this trek we stumbled out of the forest and into the next transition surrounded by a number of other teams such as the Moa Hunters, the Bivoauc colts and Team Mazda
Stage 5: Oreti Cromel - Mountain bike – 81kms
It was around midnight and freezing cold and we had been on the go for a wee while so we decided to get a well earned sleep at this transition. We set the alarm for 2 am and settled in to the tent ... before we knew it the alarm was beeping and we were thrust out into the below zero temperatures onto our bikes. It is times likes this when you question the sport – why would anyone in their right mind get out of a warm dry sleeping bag in the middle of the night to get on their bike and ride for 10- 15 hours in below zero temperatures? Anyway, we did it and headed off into the dark black freezing night – we spent the next five hours or more thrashing about in a frozen valley looking for tracks – we pushed our bikes, pulled our bikes, carried our bikes, crossed rivers, rode over riverbeds, stomped through bogs and generally floundered around in the freezing temperatures – at one point our feet were so cold we had to stop and reheat them – Anne who has sensitive feet was in tears so we ended up putting her feet on our stomachs to warm them up. That my dear friends is TEAM work. This bike leg seemed to take forever but finally we rolled into the next TA more than happy to be getting off the bikes.
Stage 6: Eyre Mountains - Trek – 48kms
After a thorough transition and a good feed we headed off into the second mega trek of the race determined to make good time and beat the looming cut offs. We seemed to have fallen behind the field a bit on the mountain bike leg and wanted to make up some places on the trek. Once again we found ourselves bush bashing and doing some pretty out there navigation with map and compass in the dark of night. On eventually arriving at Irving hut after some serious searching where we could smell the fire but couldn’t locate the hut we decide to get another 2 hours sleep in the warm and dry. Wow it was bliss to have a mattress and be warm – we were feeling pretty chuffed for having banked this solid sleep and continued on our merry way up and over the next pass. After a number of pretty significant passes and gnarly descents we finally fumbled our way into TA 6. It wasn’t our finest entrance into a TA as we struggled to find the track into it but boy were we happy to be there. Unfortunately, the trek took us longer than we had hoped and we missed the cut off by several hours so as a result were put on to a short course.
Stage 7: Thomson Mountains - Mountain bike
I always struggle in races to keep motivation once there has been a course change or you have missed a cut off as you always want to complete the course you signed up to do. This was no exception. A bit deflated we decided to have another couple of hours kip here before heading out on the bike for the shortened bike leg through to Glenorchy for the final paddle to Queenstown to the finish line. It was a stunning ride along the shores of Lake Whakitipu but the whole time I was consumed by a feeling of frustration at being short coursed. At one point along this ride we stopped for a five minute power nap much to the entertainment of a bloke on a bike who had been peddling with us for some time. He couldn’t believe it when we all dropped our bikes on the roadside, feel asleep for 5 minutes and then all stood up and rode off. All too soon we arrived at Glenorchy for the last transition before the finish. Once again we struggled to find momentum and faffed around with a relatively slow transition just on night fall.
Stage 8: Kayak – Lake Whakatipu - 48kms
Once on the water about half an hour into the paddle things came right for us and we relocated our focus and found our rhythm and paddled like demons to the couple of check points on the lake side and then to the finish line in Queenstown. What a great feeling it was when we arrived at the beach to a small group of supporters, friends and the Nothin butt shorts camera crew setting of flares for us. Unfortunately the beach was where all the festivities were but the finish line was still 300 meters or so away at the school. Reluctantly we left the party atmosphere on the beach and shuffled our way in bare feet and paddling outfits through town to the official finish line – what a feeling – we had done it – we had completed yet another expedition length adventure race and not let the course beat us.
Our overall position was 12th out of 31 starters. A massive thanks to Macpac who provide us with awesome support. A big thanks to Em for supplying us with Em’s Power Cookies and bars. Thanks to Zoe and Craig for the pre and post race beds, taxis, food, water, love and support. Also thanks to my teammates Jo, Anne and Craig.
As with all adventure races the race location is kept secret until the night before the race. The Godzone was no different and we found ourselves being bussed out of Queenstown the day before race start with no idea where we were headed. After lunching in Te Anau it was pretty clear we were heading to Milford Sound and we were then told we would be stopping at 'the Divide' to pick up the race maps. We then travelled on to Milford Sound where we set up our bikes for the second leg of the race, set up tents for a bit of sleep that night and set about marking up the maps and course. We needn’t have bothered setting up the tent as by the time we finished marking the maps, eating dinner and sorting gear, getting to sleep was near impossible. We had to be up by 3am to get a ferry out to the startline at the head of the sounds for a 5am start so whatever sleep we grabbed was pretty fitful and sporadic. Not the best way to start a 5 day adventure race but all part of the deal.
Race start – Stage one – Milford Sound - Sea kayak – 15kms
We stumbled out of the tent bleary eyed the next morning at 3am in the pitch black and made our way to the ferry which was to take us to the start. We tried to steal a few extra minute’s kip on the ferry and snuggled up on the seats on the upper deck. We then had a rude awakening when the loud speaker informed us we were to get off the ferry and into a small boat that would ferry us onto the shore where our kayaks were waiting. It was dark, cold, windy and wet outside and not the most comfortable of conditions so reluctantly we made our way outside onto the small boat which ferried us ashore. Once ashore we located our boats, put our gear inside them, numbered them up and prepared ourselves for the start. As we sat there in the dark at the entrance to Milford Sound listening to the howling wind and waiting for the start gun, feelings of excitement, trepidation and a hope we would get through the course unscathed flowed through my body. I couldn’t wait to get the show on the road ..
At 6.30am the start gun went off. What a mess, it was pitch black there were boats everywhere, teams were yelling madly to their teammates, the swell was rolling and wash from the boats was bouncing people around like corks. Luckily we kept together as a team and avoided most of the carnage. Some unlucky teams ended up taking a swim !! Thank god it wasn’t us. We rounded the media vessel and then headed inland into the sound. What an amazing paddle it was. We had a howling tailwind and a following sea and found ourselves hurtling down the waves a high speed. Talk about an adrenaline rush. It was all made so much more spectacular by the waterfalls and steep rock sides of the sounds – we had to keep pinching ourselves to see if it was real and couldn’t contain our whoop whoops and yehaahs. To top it all off we were joined by a pod of Dolphins as we neared the end of the paddle. It hands down was the best paddle of my life.
Stage two – Mountain bike – Milford Road – 49kms
We got out of the boats buzzing and quickly got changed, threw some food down and jumped onto our bikes for the 900metre climb up to the Homer tunnel. I had been dreading this climb ever since the day before when we drove down it on the bus. In the end, although it was a bit of a workout, it wasn’t as bad as I had thought and we were well rewarded with spectacular scenery. Going through the Homer Tunnel was a real buzz and as it was something that I had been wanting to do since I was at University. Once out of the tunnel we were treated to a cold a misty decent to the Hollyford river before climbing over the divide and down into the Eglington river for the next transition. We were on the verge of freezing to death on the descent and wished we had put more clothes on but were all too stubborn to stop and pushed on screaming (to keep warm) and shivering into the next transition
Stage three – Eglington River - Canoe – 36kms
This transition was a bit chaotic for us as we struggled to warm up, pack our bikes up, change into our wetsuits, pack our food for the paddle, carry the boats 200m to the river bank and inflate them all while being hassled by bumble bees. Eventually we made it to the water with two fully inflated boats excited at the paddle ahead and happy to be off the legs. However, the river was pretty low, the boats paddled like bathtubs and instead of a canoe full of thrills and spills it became a paddle of constantly getting in and out of the boats waiting for the whoop whoop rapids that never came. Jo and I managed to keep ourselves entertained with stupid jokes and songs but the going was excruciatingly slow and it seemed like we were on the water for an eternity before we finally caught sight of the next transition. We have never been so keen to get out of boats and onto the next leg.
Stage 4: Dunston Range Trek – 54kms
Once again there we were changing clothes, stuffing food into our mouths and preparing for another leg. We passed through a gear check just after we had so carefully packed everything neatly into our packs and then set off out of the transition area. The start of the trek did our heads in, for the first three or so kilometres we were forced to bush bash through gorse, bush lawyer, and blackberry whilst stumbling through bogs but the frustrating thing was we were parallel to the main road that was clear of scrub and shouldered with grass but was out of bounds. Finally we entered a clear track and headed into the guts of the leg. It was one hell of a trek and on it we experienced everything from gale force winds to pouring rain, steep bluffs to open plains, dense bush to open pastures. The navigation was pretty intense and at one point we had to bed down in the bracken to wait for daylight so we could reconfirm our exact position and locate a saddle just above a CP. We weren’t the only team to do this as when daylight broke we spotted another team emerging from the foliage. From here we bushed bashed down to the CP and continued on our merry way. About 28 hours after starting this trek we stumbled out of the forest and into the next transition surrounded by a number of other teams such as the Moa Hunters, the Bivoauc colts and Team Mazda
Stage 5: Oreti Cromel - Mountain bike – 81kms
It was around midnight and freezing cold and we had been on the go for a wee while so we decided to get a well earned sleep at this transition. We set the alarm for 2 am and settled in to the tent ... before we knew it the alarm was beeping and we were thrust out into the below zero temperatures onto our bikes. It is times likes this when you question the sport – why would anyone in their right mind get out of a warm dry sleeping bag in the middle of the night to get on their bike and ride for 10- 15 hours in below zero temperatures? Anyway, we did it and headed off into the dark black freezing night – we spent the next five hours or more thrashing about in a frozen valley looking for tracks – we pushed our bikes, pulled our bikes, carried our bikes, crossed rivers, rode over riverbeds, stomped through bogs and generally floundered around in the freezing temperatures – at one point our feet were so cold we had to stop and reheat them – Anne who has sensitive feet was in tears so we ended up putting her feet on our stomachs to warm them up. That my dear friends is TEAM work. This bike leg seemed to take forever but finally we rolled into the next TA more than happy to be getting off the bikes.
Stage 6: Eyre Mountains - Trek – 48kms
After a thorough transition and a good feed we headed off into the second mega trek of the race determined to make good time and beat the looming cut offs. We seemed to have fallen behind the field a bit on the mountain bike leg and wanted to make up some places on the trek. Once again we found ourselves bush bashing and doing some pretty out there navigation with map and compass in the dark of night. On eventually arriving at Irving hut after some serious searching where we could smell the fire but couldn’t locate the hut we decide to get another 2 hours sleep in the warm and dry. Wow it was bliss to have a mattress and be warm – we were feeling pretty chuffed for having banked this solid sleep and continued on our merry way up and over the next pass. After a number of pretty significant passes and gnarly descents we finally fumbled our way into TA 6. It wasn’t our finest entrance into a TA as we struggled to find the track into it but boy were we happy to be there. Unfortunately, the trek took us longer than we had hoped and we missed the cut off by several hours so as a result were put on to a short course.
Stage 7: Thomson Mountains - Mountain bike
I always struggle in races to keep motivation once there has been a course change or you have missed a cut off as you always want to complete the course you signed up to do. This was no exception. A bit deflated we decided to have another couple of hours kip here before heading out on the bike for the shortened bike leg through to Glenorchy for the final paddle to Queenstown to the finish line. It was a stunning ride along the shores of Lake Whakitipu but the whole time I was consumed by a feeling of frustration at being short coursed. At one point along this ride we stopped for a five minute power nap much to the entertainment of a bloke on a bike who had been peddling with us for some time. He couldn’t believe it when we all dropped our bikes on the roadside, feel asleep for 5 minutes and then all stood up and rode off. All too soon we arrived at Glenorchy for the last transition before the finish. Once again we struggled to find momentum and faffed around with a relatively slow transition just on night fall.
Stage 8: Kayak – Lake Whakatipu - 48kms
Once on the water about half an hour into the paddle things came right for us and we relocated our focus and found our rhythm and paddled like demons to the couple of check points on the lake side and then to the finish line in Queenstown. What a great feeling it was when we arrived at the beach to a small group of supporters, friends and the Nothin butt shorts camera crew setting of flares for us. Unfortunately the beach was where all the festivities were but the finish line was still 300 meters or so away at the school. Reluctantly we left the party atmosphere on the beach and shuffled our way in bare feet and paddling outfits through town to the official finish line – what a feeling – we had done it – we had completed yet another expedition length adventure race and not let the course beat us.
Our overall position was 12th out of 31 starters. A massive thanks to Macpac who provide us with awesome support. A big thanks to Em for supplying us with Em’s Power Cookies and bars. Thanks to Zoe and Craig for the pre and post race beds, taxis, food, water, love and support. Also thanks to my teammates Jo, Anne and Craig.
