XPD Australia
Slowly Down the Walsh River … Very Slowly
Rob Howard / 22.05.2010
The remote and inaccessible Walsh River has proved even more demanding than expected, with the fastest teams taking between 20 and 24 hours to ‘paddle’ the 60km route for stage. Most teams are currently on the river and the few who have not yet started the stage are facing a very, very long race if they are to reach the finish. Remember, there are no short cut options ... just 10 days to keep going towards the finish line.The Cairns XPS is proving to be one of the most physically and mentally demanding races in many a year, with a combination of tropical weather, severe terrain, some very nasty bio-hazards and a course which is steadily chipping away at the resolve of the teams. The ‘yellow submarine’ paddling, the difficulty of the orienteering, the stinging trees of the Misty Mountains, the wheelbarrow push with all the kit and the low waters of the Walsh have all presented their own unique challenges, going well beyond endurance and outdoor skills. It’s looking like a race where the deciding factor may be teamwork. Those teams who can support each other the best and find someone to lead and raise morale when needed will come out on top.
There is very little news coming out of remote Queensland right now, but we do know the fastest teams averaged around 3km per hour on the Walsh river stage. Blackheart.com.au went into the stage with a lead but Orion Adventure and Merrell/Akali caught them when they appeared to stop for several hours.
By the end of the stage Orion had retaken the lead, with 19 minutes on McCain Adventure Addicts (so far the fastest on the ‘paddle’ stage’), and 1 hour 24 minutes on Merrell/Akali. This team are showing some great resolve despite the set backs of a punctured boat on the first paddle and a nightmare, night time orienteering section. Blackheart have slipped to 4th and finished just 5 minutes ahead of City Bike Depot.
However, there is only 2 hours between these top five teams and that is very little in a race of this nature. A mistake can easily cost that, or a good navigational choice could win that amount of time. The leaders are now on Stage 8, the remote and trackless terrain of Chillagoe Station, 60km of trekking which many identified as the crux of the race when the course was revealed. Navigation and sleep strategy will now come to the fore and from the tracks it looks like Blackheart have set off on a different route to the other teams.
Whether the stage will split such a tightly bunched group of competitive teams remains to be seen.See All Event Posts
