24 Hours of Southern Traverse
Young Team Shows Promise
Geoff Hunt / 17.11.2008
The 24 Hour race was held in challenging conditions and terrain at the Head of Lake Wakatipu, starting at midnight on Friday night at the Greenstone, with a 14km trek to Lake Rere and Mt Bastard.
Director Geoff Hunt says it was a great first leg. "All the competitors enjoyed the night time run in clear, calm conditions under a full moon. Two teams were out of the bush and on to the 10km paddle from Greenstone to Kinloch by 6.00am."
Following the paddle up the coastline of Lake Wakatipu in relatively smooth conditions, a 21km mountain bike stage took competitors from Kinloch to Paradise. The next stage, a 9km trek in Paradise Conservation Park alongside the Dart River, proved to be tough going.
"The leaders were slower than I anticipated and they all found this section a major navigational challenge. But they loved the different terrain and it was a place many people hadn't been before."
From this point the course headed back to the Dart River where competitors paddled across to gain access to an 11km trek on Sugarloaf. "It was incredibly windy by this time but the temperature remained in the 20's, "says Hunt, "so it wasn't unpleasant racing, just a bit tougher coping with the wind."
A final paddle followed the Dart River for 7kms to finish at Paradise with a 2km run to the finish line.
Aurum Survey represented by New Zealand orienteering representative Bruce McLeod and top multi-sporter Phil Wood, as predicted, took out the open section in 19 hours 42 minutes. "Their combined orienteering and multisport skills definitely made them the strongest team on paper and they lived up to expectations," says Hunt.
The One2onemultisport.co.nz team of Dougal Allan, Mike Walker, Mattie Graham and Emmah Ussher, who cut their teeth at the Classic Southern Traverse in Hanmer this year, finished second in the open section in 22 hours and 21 secs.
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