Team Macpac Girls on Top - Godzone Adventure Race 2013 - Race report
513 kms 118 hours 11,000+ metres elevation
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| Very relaxed pre race |
2013 saw the creation of a new team for Macpac Girls on Top with Jill Westenra and Isak Meyer agreeing to come on board with us for both the Godzone in Queenstown and the XPD in Adeliade in September. Our approach to the Godzone was to use it as a team bonding exercise, to see how we went as a four and to identify areas to work on prior to the XPD. We could tell from day one that this team had potential and we were excited to see what we could deliver. Pre race preparation went fairly smoothly with all four of us being reasonably experienced and relatively easy going. Before we knew it we were on the bus heading out toward the startline.
We were pretty excited to find out we were heading to Mount Cook and were blown away by the potential of the course when we got the maps on the bus at Omarama. Once at Mt Cook we split into twos with Anne and Isak plotting our route on the maps and Jill and I setting up tents for the night and sorting gear for the start. This time is extremely important for the navigators as it is at this point that they mark up the maps and make decisions about route choices in the race. Jill and I helped out as much as we could with cover sealing the maps and although we had a shaky start we had nailed a pretty smooth technique by the last of the maps. Once all the serious stuff was done, we ate dinner outside checking out the spectacular views and enjoying each other's company. It is unusual to have downtime like this prior to race start for most events and we took full advantage of it. Just on dark we chatted to a few other teams, had a hot chocolate and then bailed into our tents for our last decent sleep for five or so days.
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| Hot chocolates under a clear sky then 1 sleep to go! |
We all slept reasonably well so didn't struggle too much when the alarm went off at 5.00 am. Before we knew it we were grouped outside the Hermitage Hotel and the countdown was on. The hooter sounded and we were off - all the talking, all the thinking, all the preparation, all the planning, and all the waiting was over. We set off at a trot to get a reasonable place in the group heading up Governors Bush trail - wow talk about a hard slog and a lot of heavy breathing - we struggled a bit as we headed up a steep face to CP1 on a Col, but held our place in the group as it was pretty much wall to wall teams. We then headed west up a ridge towards CP2. At one point we stopped for the loo and were passed by 5 or 6 teams! We pushed on up the ridge and scurried across a few soft snow patches until we were instructed to put on our crampons to get across and up an icier looking slope. Not long after this we were very surprised to round a corner to see all the teams that had passed us and more, lined up and stationary on the ice waiting patiently. Wow what a sight! We spent the next hour and a half or so queued up waiting to get up onto the Annette Plateau. Due to safety reasons only one person was allowed on a piece of rocky roped section at a time. It was slightly frustrating to be queuing up so early in the race but also a good chance to get our breath, enjoy the views and the sunshine and chat with some of the other teams.
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| Ridge climb from CP1 |
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| The rocky roped section |
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| Check out the view we had of Mt Cook |
Finally, after what seemed hours we got our turn and headed up the roped section on to the plateaux - we couldn't have asked for better weather, we were all in good spirits and we were surrounded by the most stunning peaks and valleys in New Zealand. I thought to myself wow it doesnt get any better than this. After heading across the plateaux and running down a couple of ice slopes and onto the scree slopes below we ditched our ice axes and crampons and set about getting down the mountain as fast as we could. We were mindful that we had to be off the Tasman River by 8.30pm and were determined not to get forced to sleep on the side of the river so early on in the race. So we were all head down and bums up - we managed to haul in four or five of the teams that had passed us during our loo stop including our good friends from Team Bridgedale Socks and apart from my boots falling apart and needing a quick strapping tape repair along the Wakefield track we made steady progress through to TA 1.
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| Happy to be in TA1 |
On arrivng at TA1 we decided to pump our boats up before carrying them to Tasman Lake just incase they had a leak and we needed to swap them. Some teams carried the boats folded and then pumped them up at the water. In retrospect this may have been easier as carrying pumped up boats is not too much fun. Isak managed to carry one boat on his own - what a legend! After loading the boats we set off across the lake, past a few ice bergs ... Yes I said ice bergs! It was an incredible sight and not one you really expect to encounter here in NZ - we felt like we were explorers in Antarctica. We also paddle passed some tourists floating around looking at the ice bergs, I'm not sure who was more surprised at seeing each other us or them. After negotiating our way through the ice bergs we were off down the Tasman River. What an absolute blast! The first few kilometres were awesome with some good-sized waves to punch through. Jill was in charge in my boat and Isak skilfully steered Anne and himself through the rapids. It was a laugh a minute and I spent a good part of the paddle sitting in the bottom of the boat giggling like crazy and holding on for dear life. We were well paced with this configuration which meant neither boat got too frustrated or cold waiting for the other. The views back to Mount Cook and surrounding peaks were mindblowing - I had to keep pinching myself as we were having far too much fun for it to be part of a race. We were more than relieved to pass the dark zone cut off point on the river and were now able to relax a bit. Although we enjoyed the paddle we were pretty happy to be spat out onto Lake Pukaki as we knew then that we were making progress towards the next TA. Travel on the lake was slow going but it was glassy calm and we had a reasonable rhythm going on. Darkness fell just before TA and we were blown away but the night sky and stars. WOW!
Our plan was to transition quickly and keep a good pace on the ride through the night. Unfortunately Isak managed to strip the thread on his seat post clamp when putting his bike together and struggled to find a solution that would allow him to ride his bike. Eventually, after trying all sorts of options he chose to harden up and ride with a swiveling seat! Luckily, he was able to at least clamp his carrier on to his seat post which helped keep his seat at the right height. Not ideal but it meant we could still move forward. Out on the bikes into stage 2 of the race we rode at a steady speed trying to ride single file and to be as efficient as possible. This stage was 140km and started with us riding a section of the Alps to Ocean cycle way. It was awesome riding and Anne and I were loving our new 29ers - thanks to Chris from CYCO for convincing us to make the switch. What a buzz as we hurtled through the night. We had one hiccup at the first CP of this leg where our cycle computers were all reading differently and we stopped too early to find a checkpoint - note to team - make sure your odometers are synced and calibrated correctly prior to the start! After stuffing around with the CP and finally locating it we made pretty solid progress but at one point decided to pull over to the side for a cosy 15 minute powernap in a warm forested part of the track. Some of us slept and some of us didn't. Yes, let's just say there was snoring!! After the power nap we were up and at it again. Before we knew it we were flying downhill and the sun was starting to come up. Sunrise is always my favourite part of the day as you know you have another 13 hours or so of daylight up your sleeve. We stopped briefly to take off our jackets and warmer clothing and watched as our friends from Kauri Coasters caught us up and hurtled passed us. From memory we then passed them again further along the road just before we came across an area called the Clay Cliffs where our next CP was - a stunning landscape. We struggled a bit to find the checkpoint here and the Kauri Coasters passed us yet again, which was a bit frustrating - but we finally managed to get it sorted before heading off to the next Transition area. Things were starting to heat up by now and we were happy to head under the shady trees at the transition area.
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| Clay Cliffs |
The next leg was the mega trek and it promised to be a tough navigational challenge so we decided to take our time in this transition and make sure we were well fed and well watered before heading out. The Dingle Burn hike was the best part of 60km and the fastest time was estimated to be 20 hours and we expected to be out there for 34 or so hours so we made sure we had plenty of supplies. After leaving TA3 we slowly but steadily climbed our way up towards Birch Hill. We were happy to be doing this leg in the daytime as as we headed around Birch Hill we found all our skills of rock climbing and scree slope crossing come into play. It was a real buzz - at times my knees were knocking together as I questioned whether we would make it through or be bluffed out and have to turn back and try another route choice. Some of the scree slopes and rocky ridges were pretty out there. However, we worked well as a team and stayed close together taking turns scouting for the route. We had a little celebration once we got across the gnarliest sections and were on more stable ground. As we descended off the tops we were buzzed by the media helicopter - it was pretty cool to see it hovering just above the ridge and rising steeply from the valley below. We used the remaining daylight to identify the route we would take after the next CP - someone in the team named a pair of hills we had to head over to get to the desired ridge, "the Boobs" - no guesses for who that might have been! By nightfall we had descended into the Dingle Burn and made our way along the track which took us to CP11 at Bush Hut. We had been pushing quite hard until now and decided to take a 1 hour sleep on the comfy bunk beds before we started the next big climb over the Boobs to the Timaru River and then up to CP12. Unfortunately, a number of other teams were hot on our heels and our sleep was full of interuptions and voices of teams coming into the CP one after the other. After 45 minutes I had had enough and woke everyone up to get going.
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| Rocky slopes around Birch Hill |
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| See 'The Boobs'? |
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| Helicopter overhead |
Promptly after leaving the hut we went into a mega climb up and over one of the now famous Boob Hills. It was extremely frustrating as parts of our route was blocked by dense patches of sappling trees - luckily Isak has a big frame so he crashed his way though and we all scurried behind in his wake. Finally, we broke through into freer terrain and headed up over a "nipple" before hitting the ridge we were after. Once again we were travelling in the pitch black and had to keep our wits about us on the tops and on the descent into the valley below. At one point we dropped into a gully full of Spaniard grass and bog - not neighborly - not happy. Finally we found the valley we were after and made our way along a four wheel drive track. Just prior to sunrise we found Timaru Hut - this time there were no other teams in sight - so we stole another hour or so of shut eye in peace and quiet - Ahhh bliss! We weren't done yet though and still had a fair slog to get to CP 12 at Stody's Hut - the poor guy at the CP must have got a hell of a fright as Jill arrived with a tampon hanging out of her nose - it was bleeding and that was all we had to deal to it. We had a bit of a giggle, a chat and a quick breather at the CP before pushing on. We were eager to get this trek done and dusted and the day was truely beginning to heat up now. The trek out to TA4 was a very tedious slog over Little Breast Hill (that's its real name) through to Lindus. We entertained ourselves with jokes, talking to the sheep and by going cross-country rather than following the road. Once again we were playing leap frog with a couple of teams so this kept the urgency alive and so did the sandflies. At one point we stopped and were attacked by an angry mob that managed to fly into my mouth - no more stops guys!
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| Charming Jill!! |
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| Almost ready to head out on Stage 5 |
Just on sunset we hobbled into the TA - once again we faffed a bit here but still managed to get out on the bike without too many problems. We headed out of TA glad to be off the feet - we were soon riding our bikes up up and up over a 1000m hill. After a solid descent we found ourselves on an embankment on a river valley looking up at the CP on the other side of the valley. In the middle of the night and in a slightly sleep deprived state we struggled to get to CP13 which was only 100 metres or so from where we were. The problem was the CP was halfway up a very steep 100m climb with the track we needed to get onto at the top of the climb. So as not to waste time lugging our bikes down the embankment, through the bush and across the river only to find the climb may not be an option, Isak headed across the river to scout around. He kept reporting back that he couldn't find a way through because of thick bush. I was very aware that we didn't want to waste too much more time faffing around trying to find a route up. So a call was made to pull the pin on this route choice and head back over the 1000m hill we had come down to try another route choice. Bummer! In retrospect perhaps
we should have tried harder - Doh! By giving up on this route choice we managed to waste 5 hours and lose a good number of positions - not happy!! We actually found out at the end of the race that it wasn't a bad route choice in daylight. Finally, we got to CP13 via the other route choice and although I was happy that we were now back on track, I spent the next few hours pissed off with myself about the previous call that I had instigated. Once again we found ourselves bike pushing up, up and up. We took another 10 minute power nap just on dawn to try and ease the pain of this leg as it was a long and hard one for us. Once we were on the move again the sight of the top (still a long way away) and the sunrise made me very happy. An hour or so later the view from the top of Grandview Mountain of Lake Hawea in the valley below made me even happier. The long descent into Lake Hawea was out of this world. We stumbled a bit trying to find the next CP and were passed by a team of young ones (Team 11) looking all awake and on to it. We then enjoyed some fast riding on the Hawea River trails into the Albert Town tavern on the banks of the Clutha River.
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| That happy view!! |
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| Flying off Grandview Mountain |
Once again we were mindful of dark zones and keen to avoid being on the Clutha in the dark. After another average transition we headed off down the river in the hot sun onto the 90 km paddle stage. What an awesome paddle it was. Anne had worked particularly hard navigating the last two mega legs and found the warmth of the sun and the lull of the kayak too much to bear - she spent a good part of the Clutha River fighting away the sleepmonster with songs, stories and the occassional shut eye on the go. Isak entertained himself, Jill and I by finding the biggest water, Jill and I opted to take the 'nana' routes and simply entertained ourselves with finding all sorts of creatures in the rock formations - we also had to take a double look when we saw a naked man watering his garden - at first we thought we were hallicunating, but he was for real and even gave us a friendly wave. What a classic! Just near the end of the Clutha river I struggled to stay awake and had a big battle with the sleep monsters, luckily Jill kept us going in the right direction and some people had come out to cheer us on which gave me the focus I needed and I snapped out of sleepiness - it was awesome to see some good friends from Alexandra come out to wave and toot to us as paddled passed. Lake Dunstan was flat arse calm and Isak navigated us expertly up to the next CP and back to the TA. We made good time here and noticed a few teams had pulled over to the side of the Lake and put up tents. We guessed they had either succummed to the dreaded sleepmonsters or the cold as the transition was only eight or so kilometres away.
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| Anne engulfed by sleepmonsters on the Clutha |
On arriving at TA we were more than ready for a good feed. Much to our delight we were served hot soup, lasagne and a bread roll. What an absolute treat that was - just too good to be true. It was so nice to eat hot food I'm sure it didn't even touch the sides as we scoffed it down with massive smiles on our faces. A huge thanks to the volunteers and race organisers for this nice touch. We then took no time in putting up our tent and jumping in for some well deserved shuteye. Well three of us jumped in the tiny tent, Jill the smartest of the team, took her bedroll and went to sleep under the veranda of the hall. It was a bit of a squeeze even without Jill and the last thing I remember before falling asleep was having Isak's ponytail in my mouth!!! We had planned to sleep for a two hours and were aiming to wake up at 2.30am. Mmmmm...at 4.00am Jill turns up at the door of the tent asking if the plans had changed!! Oops! We had slept in because I didn't hear my alarm! We quickly got up, packed the tent up, had some more food and headed out on the next trek and the second to last leg of the race. This was a 35km leg with extremely challenging navigation so none of us were too stressed about having slept a bit longer. We hit the road running and travelled with purpose up onto the Pisa range. It was cool and calm, and a beautfiul time of the day to be climbing and we could see a number of other teams in the distance. At one point around 5.00am we passed a farm house and a voice yelled out "Are you Macpac Girls on Top?" How awesome was that? It was good to know people were following the race so closely. He also told us to head up to the deer fence on the right which made Anne happy as it reconfirmed the route she and Isak had planned. This brief encounter added to our good spirits and it was good to know we were all feeling reasonably refreshed and that Anne was wide awake and hot on the maps and we were also passing teams left right and centre. The navigation was really challenging up on the tops, to me every hill and ridge looked the same and there didn't seem to be any real features to navigate off. Luckily, Anne could make sense of it all and although she spent alot of time deep in concentration, she knew where she was at all times and we ticked off the CPs one after the other. The rest of us scouted for features and tried to be useful. I spent most of this leg talking to the moss and entertaining Jill with my idiotic ideas and thoughts. At one point on this leg we were sitting down scanning the view and working out where to go next when a balaclava clad cameraman came out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of us. I thought he was an SAS soldier or something and was pointing a gun at the team. Luckily, it was just his camera. After a solid day of trekking we dropped into the Roaring Meg valley and then made the climb up to the Snow Farm and the final transition of the race. Yay!
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| Tors on the Pisa Range |
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| A hidden CP on the Pisa Range |
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| Out on the Pisa Range - Stage 7 |
We arrived at the TA just on dusk and were soon joined by Team Orion who we knew would be hot on our heels after crossing paths with them near CP 20. We were pretty excited to be heading off on the last leg of the race but knew it wasn't going to be easy and could potentially take us another 12 hours. We had a bit of time pressure on us though - we had to try to get to the Canyon Swing site by 5am to ensure we could do the alternate abseil activity and not have to set up camp for 2 and a half hours to wait for the Swing to open. We actually had 10 hours to get there so we'd have to push hard
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| On to the final stage - Woohoooo!!! |
and make no mistakes. The route up to the Crown Range saddle took forever and we found ourselves pushing our bikes once again. It was on one of these uphill pushes that Orion pushed past us and left us in their dust. After a CP and a lot of awesome downhill we finally made it to down to the Crown Range and zoomed at high speed down the sealed road - what a hoot -it was magic! It is amazing how fast you can travel (or think you are travelling) when sleep deprived!! After a bit of a battle with me trying to navigate for the team without the map, and trying to convince Anne which way to go, we found ourselves at the Canyon Swing site. It was now 4.00am morning - we were stoked that we had made it in plenty of time for the Abseil. No more tenting for us on this race! We all completed the abseil but Jill struggled a bit as she is such a lightweight that she basically had to pull herself down the rope and her prusik kept jamming. On leaving the abseil with only 20 minutes left in the race I somehow managed to fall off my bike going uphill on a lovely smooth gravel road and damaged my calf. My team was in front of me and oblivious to the fact I was now lying flat on my back with my bike on top of me so I promptly brushed myself off and continued up the road to where they were waiting. All we had to do now was coast into Queenstown to the finshline. What a feeling! What a great race! What an awesome team and a result we can be proud of. I am excited about the potential of this team and hope that we can stay together through some races in 2013 to the Godzone 2014.
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| Sooooooo happy to be home! |
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| Thanks to the Macpac Crew for welcoming us at 5am!! |
A massive thanks to the Team at Macpac for all their support and gear for the team. We couldn't do it without your support. Thanks also to Chris at CYCO in Auckland, Bruce at Gloworm lights, the team at Allsports and Gu Energy, Grant MacDonald from Absolute Wilderness Foods and of course the Godzone team for making it all happen and for resurrecting adventure racing in NZ. Thanks also to Zoe, Craig and Lachie for their hospitality and putting up with all our gear all over their lounge and garage.
Bring on the XPD Adelaide ......
we should have tried harder - Doh! By giving up on this route choice we managed to waste 5 hours and lose a good number of positions - not happy!! We actually found out at the end of the race that it wasn't a bad route choice in daylight. Finally, we got to CP13 via the other route choice and although I was happy that we were now back on track, I spent the next few hours pissed off with myself about the previous call that I had instigated. Once again we found ourselves bike pushing up, up and up. We took another 10 minute power nap just on dawn to try and ease the pain of this leg as it was a long and hard one for us. Once we were on the move again the sight of the top (still a long way away) and the sunrise made me very happy. An hour or so later the view from the top of Grandview Mountain of Lake Hawea in the valley below made me even happier. The long descent into Lake Hawea was out of this world. We stumbled a bit trying to find the next CP and were passed by a team of young ones (Team 11) looking all awake and on to it. We then enjoyed some fast riding on the Hawea River trails into the Albert Town tavern on the banks of the Clutha River. 
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