The World Adventure Racing Championships (XPD Australia)
The Course is Revealed
Rob Howard / 31.10.2011
So, where are they going, and what are they doing?
The race starts and finishes in Burnie and is a 733km circuit with 52 checkpoints which have to visited in order. There are no short course options or orienteering sections, and no tactical choices to miss any checkpoints – the penalties for doing so will ensure there is no advantage.
The race starts with a short paddle eastwards along the coastline then runs southwards through a series of recreation and conservation areas to the East coast town at Strahan, which is the mid-camp with a mandatory 6 hour stop over. The camp is not quite at half way, and up that point the stages are ‘relatively’ short and varied.
The first kayak is 17km along the coast to the town of Penguin, followed by a 20km trek across the Dial Range with a fun clay pigeon shooting challenge where one of the team has 5 shots and needs one hit to avoid an instant 10 minute penalty. The trek is also an introduction to the Tasmanian bush as some checkpoints have been placed off the trail, and the planners are confident teams will be very surprised at how long it takes to get to these!
The next 20km ride across Gunns Plain includes a caving section, partly in a show cave, but with some cp’s in the closed areas of the cave system where teams will be wriggling and wading and anyone afraid of confined spaces ... is going to be very afraid. (This is a time out with all teams having an hour.) Next up is a 50km ride, followed by a 60km trek which takes teams to the highest point on the race on Black Bluff where teams cross some alpine plains then drop down to a road crossing and make their way to a waterfall abseil and canyoning section at Reynolds Falls. To get out from here teams will have to swim/trek and follow a river bed. This is one of the most remote sections of the course, with exposure at height and some difficult navigation on the Black Bluff section and the most inaccessible terrain around the falls and canyon.
This brings teams to Lake Macintosh where they have an 8km raft/paddle with all of the team and their kit in one inflatable (two person) kayak. This is the only way teams can possible get out of the position they are now in! The raft is followed by a 20km paddle in the plastic kayaks, which includes a 1.5km portage onto Lake Rosbery. The checkpoint at the end of this stage will have fires lit to help warm up teams which will surely be cold after the wet trek and raft.
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