Expedition Africa

First Details of the Course

Rob Howard / 04.05.2013

With the distribution of the race books teams got a first look at the stages of the course, though they won’t get the first maps until tomorrow.  (The maps in this race are given out in stages.)  The race book does however list the maps they will get so they don’t have to do too much guessing.

So, here is what we know so far.

Leg 1.  The race will began with a big trekking stage – 76km and 4127m of elevation gain taking teams straight up onto the Drakensberg mountains. Checkpoints described as ‘ladder’ and ‘waterfall’ and the fact teams will be in the Royal National Park don’t make it too hard to guess exactly where they will be going.  The Amphitheatre and the World’s second highest waterfall are a good bet!

Leg 2.  A 34km cycle stage including a river crossing, with 3 checkpoints.

Leg 3.  A 75km kayak which includes several portages to traverse a dam and weir, and 4 checkpoints.  There is a dark zone for some rapids on this paddle, and for teams caught it will be a long stop as there are 12 hours of darkness here.  The race expect most teams to get through in the time window the river is open, but it is possible the leaders could arrive too early and slower teams might get an early rest.

Leg 4.  An 89km cycle stage with 9 checkpoints.  One checkpoint on this stage has just been removed to allow teams greater route choice.

Leg 5.  The second trek of the race – 56km with 3493m of ascent and descent, and including a canyon section with 5 abseils.

Leg 6.  The 3^rd and longest cycle stage, covering 163km on 6 different maps.

Leg 7.  A 24km kayak which can be undertaken at night.  (Looks like it is on a reservoir)

Leg 8.  The race finishes as it began, with a final trekking stage of 29km, finishing back at the Mont Aux Sources Hotel.

Teams will be given their stage one maps tomorrow (Sunday) at 15.30, when the master map for the race will be displayed.