Southern Traverse
The Teams
Nicole Fairweather (Southern Traverse) / 12.11.2004
‘Bridgedale Socks’, captained by Murray Thomas, were winners of the 2003 Southern Traverse in Dunedin and are keen to defend their title. Thomas has competed in every Southern Traverse to date and his team of Sally Fahey, Bill Godsall and Tim Pearson are strong team in the NZ bush.
Team ’Kathmandu’ led by Duncan Hamilton, includes his brother Hamish Hamilton, George Christison (winner of the Coast to Coast ‘04, and 2nd in the recent Outdoor Quest Borneo) and Kate Callaghan. They are very experienced and racing on home ground so this could be their year.
’Swazi/TriplePeaks/Capriccio’ could be the dark horse of the race. Darryl Taylor and Bridget Robertshaw have just returned from the World Mountain Orienteering Biking Championship in Australia and are racing with Jason Hart and Peter O’Sullivan (ST ‘00, ‘01 and ‘03), so they have a huge amount of combined experience.
’Sierra International’ is also a national contender for the top placing. Christchurch based brothers Julian and Mark Minehan will be joined by Rachel Barton (who raced with them to 15th place in the Adventure Racing World Championships in Newfoundland) and Jim Cotter who has 10 Southern Traverses under his belt.
’Mainly Tramping’ from Wellington is led by Rob Harrow (with 7+ Southern Traverse events) and Jo Forbes (6 +Southern Traverse). Joined by Al Cross and Jerry Shepherd. This team has a strong focus on their racing this year.
The team with the highest average age is ‘House of Travel’. Ray Harrow 57, Jenny Harrow 56, Debbie Bunny 48 and Doug Walsh 48 have an average of 5 Southern Traverse events each, and see the event as a “unique way to see scenic NZ�.
SleepMonsters
