Southern Traverse
Water, Wine and Wilderness
Rob / 16.11.2002
The biggest town in the area is Blenheim, where the races starts. Set on the wide open plains of the Wairau River it’s more market town than metropolis, there are only 41,000 people living in the whole of the Marlborough region. It’s surrounded by the vineyards the region is famous for and also by the hills which rise up in all directions. Nearby they are rolling, rounded slopes cleared of all vegetation, but further afield there are more rugged hills, rocky ridgelines flanked by dense bush.
After heavy rain storms on Saturday most of these are now covered in snow, a reminder to the teams of how changeable conditions can be. Last week it was 27C in Blenheim and all visiting teams have been warned about the power of the sun (and the biting sandflies), but they could just as easily suffer from hypothermia if caught by storms in the mountains. (Generally the climate is one of the best in New Zealand, with 2500 hours of sunshine a year and winter temperatures only dropping to 12C. )
The Sounds in the north of the region are a protected maritime park and the whole race is being strictly monitored by conservation authorities, who’ve laid down strict environmental guidelines for everyone involved. It’s a remote region with many inaccessible inlets and islands, home to dolphins, whales and seals which the teams will surely see. There are thousands of species of birds too, but fortunately nothing particularly harmful – apart from those sandflies.
The Richmond Range which the teams enter towards the end of the course is the highest in the area, rising to 1756m on Mount Richmond, which the teams pass over. The area is complex range of ridges, visited by very few and with some deep and almost inaccessible valleys.
By the time the teams finish they will have explored all that the landscape of Marlborough has to offer, and they’ll be ready to enjoy those fine wines and it’s gourmet cuisine.
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