Orion Health Godzone Adventure Race
ORION HEALTH GODZone Adventure Course
News Release / 08.04.2012
New Zealand's most iconic landmark, Milford Sound, Piopio Tahi, in the Fiordland national park has been announced as the official start location for the inaugural Orion Health GODZone Adventure race.
One hundred and twenty-four competitors, in teams of four, will be transported out into the Sound aboard a Real Journeys boat in the early hours tomorrow (Monday 7th April) in readiness for a kayak start to the six day expedition adventure race. Currently the competitors are on buses having just left Queenstown on route for Te Anau where the course will be revealed to them around 4pm this afternoon.
Integrating the 100% Pure New Zealand message into the course has been an important vision for the race designers and co directors Adam Fairmaid and Warren Bates.
“ There is a certain mystique around adventure racing in New Zealand which is to do with the wild and unpredictable nature of the terrain. We believe this course will showcase nature at its very best while being extremely challenging for the racers, says Adam Fairmaid.”
The adventure course is 522km in total comprising of 126km of trekking, 279km mountain biking and 117km of kayaking. Teams will travel day and night in a race to complete the course before the official cut off at 2pm in Queenstown on Saturday (14th April).
The first day of racing will see competitors kayak into Deepwater Basin at Milford Sound before transitioning onto mountain bikes for a 49km ride up and over the Homer Saddle, through the Homer Tunnel and down into the Upper Hollyford Valley to the Eglinton River. From there teams will white-water canoe down to Dunton Creek, near Te Anau Downs, where they will head onto the first trekking section of the race, a 54km trek over the Dunton Range and down into Mavora Lakes.
From there the course takes in the Oreti Valley, Eyre Mountains, Thomson Mountains to Glenorchy, Earnslaw Burn, Rees Valley and back across Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown.
Co director Warren Bates says the race is a massive logistics exercise and there has been considerable support with a pulling together of private landowners, DOC, agencies, Tourism New Zealand and local councils to allow access.
“ We are proud of what we have achieved and there is a great feeling amongst the racers, volunteers and crew all of whom are excited to see adventure racing return to New Zealand after a seven year hiatus. We are looking forward to a successful race and as many teams as possible completing the whole course.”
The Orion Health GODZone Adventure race website will go live at 4pm today (Sunday 8th April) with regular updates, images, race stories and rankings. Go to http://live.godzoneadventure.com/
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