The Bull of Africa
The Bull of Africa lies down to rest
René Taljaard; Photo: Wouter Kingma / 16.08.2008
All the teams were back at the Balugha Inn headquarters by lunchtime – the place was buzzing with excitement as the competitors shared their stories and packed their things. Even the athletes who hadn’t slept yet said that it was a great experience they will never forget.
“This is the biggest race we’ve ever organised and it was a lot of hard work, but the feeling we get from the teams is that they loved the race; they especially enjoyed the diversity of it�, said co-organiser of the race, Sonja Otto, “That is our reward and what makes all the hard work worth it.�
She continued to say, “We had a fantastic management and logistics crew working with us and they made this race a success – without them, none of it would have been possible.�
On the topic of location, co-organiser, Hano Otto, added (with a hearty laugh): “The teams were so taken by the hospitality of the Eastern Cape’s people and the nice transition areas, that some of them stayed there a little longer than they should have.�
When asked if they would do it again, Sonja responded: “Of course! This is what we do and what we’re good at. The Bull of Africa adventure race will be held in Kwa-Zulu Natal next year – we’re expecting as many as 70 teams to enter and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.�
The Bull of Africa prize giving ceremony was held at the Inkwenkwezi Game Reserve this evening. A cheque of R100 000 was handed over to SA team USN, the winners of this year’s Bull of Africa, and monetary prizes were awarded to the top seven official teams that finished the race. The celebration also featured a photographic slide show by Wouter Kingma, a video presentation by Andrew King and a hearty South African feast that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
A number of athletes took the opportunity to say a few words when they went forward to receive their Bull of Africa trophies:
Tatum Prins, the female member of South African team McCain Adventure Addicts – that was moved down from second place to the bottom of the list of official finishers when it was discovered that they inadvertently skipped a checkpoint along the way – had this to say: “Sonja and Hano organised a brilliant race. What happened to us was unfortunate, but rules are rules. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my team – we raced our hearts out and it was awesome.�
“We would like to thank USN for a great race,� said Mats Andersson from Bjurfors Adventure Racing, the team that finished second, “And thanks to the organisers for a true adventure race – it wasn’t all about muscle, you needed a brain as well.�
“I’m sure many people had life changing experiences during this race,� said USN’s Martin Dreyer, “The people we’ve spoken to also absolutely loved it – all that can be said for those who didn’t is: Africa isn’t for sissies.�
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