Kinetic Expedition Africa 2012

Pennypinchers Adventure racing Team on Expedition Africa 2012
Check out some pictures from Bruce Viaene and Kintetic on the link below
 (https://picasaweb.google.com/114421207657151811852/ExpeditionAfrica2012?auth )

“Expedition Africa 500km was one of those races that reinforced why we do this crazy sport. It was fun but hard, beautiful but harsh, long but feasible, remote but easily accessible, exhausting but exhilarating........It was just how an adventure race should be BEAUTIFUL.” Is what Netski had to say as we travelled back from Port Alfred on Sunday?

To write a report on a 500km race is really difficult , there is so much that one wants to share , so many “if only you were there “ moments and so many places where you wish the photographer or TV crew were there to catch a special moment. Add to this the fact that we had a race that had no drama no huge war stories to tell and very few war wounds that can be shown in public I will try to weave a tale of our amazing race around one of the most beautiful regions of our country.

As always half the battle of an Adventure Race is to arrive at the start of the race with four healthy, keen team members. We achieved this and felt really comfortable as this team had now been together since January 2011.We had also done quite a few races together as well as organised two trail runs and spent some happy times together with our families ( all important aspects of building a team). At this time we had also developed really good relationships with our sponsors (Pennypinchers and GU being firmly behind for the past couple of years).

Heidi's attention to detail!

We arrived at The Halyards Hotel in Port Alfred (the race HQ) and headed straight to the dinning room to enjoy the first of many meals there over the next couple of days. Once we had done that we were quickly able to make up our bike boxes and wrap them in the packing tape (from Pennypinchers of course) after that came a quick an easy registration and some photos in front of the Kinetic/AR world Series banner and then back to our room to sort out the last bits of gear and relax before the briefing at 19h00.

Pre leg 1 BRIEFING- I always feel that the race has started once you start the briefing and are given the maps. The briefing was short and to the point. Two important points were 1 If you go through gates into an area that is game fenced do not sleep there keep moving and 2 Do not climb over a game fence because you will be in Big Five territory!!(Some teams did see elephants and rhino and others heard lions roaring later in the race).

Stephan also basically OK ed the use of Google Earth prior to the race so straight after the briefing some teams scuttled off to laptops and tried to look for hidden paths and short cuts. We took our maps all rolled up and headed to the room for a cuppa and hit the sack. Garth and I would do the maps after a good nights sleep.

Team Kit check Sunday Morning

Pre leg 2 MAPS,KIT CHECK,BOXES,BIKES AND PADDLE BAG HAND OVER- Sunday morning saw Garth and I hit the maps ,joining them all together and then plotting our route which became very real as we joined the check points with different colour pens. Jeff and Netski packed the team food and the paddling stuff into their boxes and bags. Our slot for the kit check was 7h40 and we were ready to lay out the bare minimum of kit on the floor to be checked before finishing the maps and a massive buffet breakfast. By midday we were set and had a small lunch and handed in all our stuff. One then feels slightly naked with out the choice of putting more food or clothing into a box, or adding something to your bike. Everything you have forgotten will have to be carried by you for at least one leg if not more before you come to the correct place to use it.

 

Pack in the last of GU for 4 days

Leg 1 Orienteering Hike 17km- We started just after sunrise at the troposphere in Bathurst after a short taxi trip from Port Alfred. This high point had a view of 360 degrees and the whole area of the route would be visible from here. On the stone wall were the names of the original 1820 settlers who came to that area and the distances to their original farms. We would get a really good taste of the country side that these pioneers tried to conquer fresh out of England all those years ago. The blast of a vuvuzela broke the chill of the morning and all thirteen teams headed of at a fast pace despite all the lies about “taking it easy”. We tucked in behind what would be the race up front as Merrell and Red Ants blasted off. We were comfortable picking up the check points one after the other. We then went of the beaten track and soon realised we were on the wrong ridge line and with no choice we beat a new path to the Bathurst Dam coming out at the checkpoint but definitely not on the planned route! Back on track we moved in to shuffle mode to T1. My heart sank seeing only 3 team’s boats lying on the grass. Merrell had left 1hr 40 ago! With a bit of fire in the belly we hit the water determined to make up lost time. We paddled right through Castle Lite and Capestorm WACAD and down to Port Alfred

                                                                                  Back at the start line as tourists on Saturday after the race

Leg 2 Hike from Port Alfred to Kenton on Sea 25km

The sea was too rough to paddle to Kelly’s Beach so the boats were left at The Halyards and we ran the extra 4kms to the T2 and a welcome cheese, gerkin and salami sandwich. We pushed hard in the transition to try and break contact with Castle Lite which we did and then had a good hike through the sand dunes and coast to Kenton on Sea. On this leg we caught up with local heroes Husquavana and also Iala. The Russian girls kept overtaking us here and eventually we caught up with them at the swim across the Kariega River at sunset. T1 was at Homewards Restaurant on the beach and we were greeted for the second time and certainly not then last by the enthusiastic and helpful volunteer marshals from the ILALA Gap year group.

Leg 3 Paddle up the Kariega River.20km Warnings watch out for Elephants on the river banks. We hit the water as the moon rose above the dunes and started a long paddle on the full tide. I had paddled here before so knew the lines to stay n the deep water for most of the way. A couple of hours later we were directed to the bank by the marshals and immediately set off along the road to towards a check point on the Bushman’s river about 10kms away

Leg 4.Hike from the Kariega to the Bushman’s river.17km An electric wire cattle grid (actually designed to keep elephants in) shocked Jeff into reality sometime in the middle of the night. We hit the Bahamans River and followed our way around d towards the transition. Lights flashing in the sky drew us to the river and we saw Olympus putting their boats into the water. We assumed it was the transition and headed down to the water only to find a river bed with thigh deep mud. We headed across got covered in mud only to find that Olympus had portaged this muddy section. We then got into the map again and realised we were a couple of kms away from the transition and headed back upstream.

Leg 6 paddle Bushman’s river17 km .We crossed the river and got into our boats and paddle to the dam that kept the sea water out of the farmers irrigation and had a great portage dragging our boats with bungee cords and ski poles to the deep water of the Bushman’s river avoiding the muddy stretch encountered by most teams .The monotony of paddling at night makes it really hard to stay awake so there were numerous times when a dropped paddle banged against the canoe and woke the owner up. Sunrise saw us back at the sea at the Bushman’s River mouth hall. At last we would see our bikes

Leg 7 83 km bike- This bike leg would take us back up the Bathurst and towards Grahamstown. The ride climbed constantly and by lunch time we had reached Bloukrans Farm. Here we would leave our bikes for a rope section and short orienteering before getting on our bikes again for another 47 km.

Leg 8- Rope work and orienteering.3km  The old steel bridge at Bloukrans was the site of a tragic accident years ago when a train derailed and great grandfather of current owner Grant helped rescue many of the survivors from the wreckage. With a Tirolien tight rope traverse and an abseil under the belt we bashed our way up stream to a check point before taking the tiger line up  ravine to search for the final cp on this leg a beacon on top of the hill. With the beacon clipped we headed back down the hill and bumped into the chasing pack of the Russians, Castle Lite and Capestorm.

Leg 10 47km bike We jumped on our bikes and pushed on to make the most of the last bit of day light. We did realise that the orienteering in the dark would slow the other teams down so we made hay while the sun shone. We nailed the checkpoint in the quarry and carried on climbing towards Grahamstown. After by passing Grahamstown it was basically all downhill to the mid way stop at Glen Boyd Game lodge. Here beds, food and white rhino waited for us with the first two being the most important. Luckily only the huge piles of digested grass on the road told us of the presence of the rhino. What a place to stop, for the compulsory 5 hours. Lappies from the Cycle Asylum Shop was on hand to give our bikes a wash and lube while we, repacked bags, Garth sorted the maps for the next leg, and ate before stealing 3 hours of sleep.

Leg 11 Bike 123km- The alarm went off at 12:40am and we stumbled back towards our bikes and headed out into the darkness across the Fish River. We decide to not rush this leg as the navigation in the old Ciskei in the dark could be tricky. All went well and we all coped well up the climb from the valley back up onto the ridgeline as the sun rose. A regular pattern emerges as we traverse the Ciskei with flat roads along the ridges and then a steep and gnarly decent of the ridge across a river and then back up the other side to follow the ridge again. We stay on track despite some turnoffs that lured other teams down mountains and far of track. Towards the end of the leg we make a time consuming mistake when we look at what could be a short cut but soon realise that the road is over grown and we head back to the district road and see Capestorm come flying past us. They had ridden really well and hard and had made up an hour on us on the ride. We were careful not to get drawn into riding at their speed and carried on as usual but slightly disappointed to have lost such a big lead. About 8 km later we caught Capestorm sitting at a trading store drinking Coke looking slightly worse for wear after their big chase. Jeff and Garth went into the shop while I checked the map for the last bit of riding to Hamburg. The area was fairly featureless and with some soft sand and winding tracks we need to stay awake. Capestorm shot off again and we followed. Some sandy patches tested our sense of humour here as we headed towards the only feature in the area a hill where we would get the last check point of the day. We caught up with Capestorm again and with some friendly banter rode into Hamburg together very happy to remove our rear ends from our bikes.

Leg 11 –Paddle 20 km (two team members paddle 20km to collect 2 checkpoints while other two pack bikes away, do maps for the next 2 legs and rest).This leg needed careful strategy and not just doing the obvious one would think it obvious the Netski and I would paddle but for once she was actually feeling a bit tired and could have done with a rest. Jeff and I had paddled well on the previous paddle legs but Jeff needed to fix his seat post on his bike which was a tricky repair. Garth and I couldn’t paddle together because no one could do the maps and Jeff and Garth I the boat would have entertained the Hamburg locals more than I was prepared to put up with. So it was Jeannette and I who got into the Barges again sitting on the spare lifejackets to ease our slightly painful backsides for a paddle against the tide up and back the down the river. Hugging the lines away from the tide we opened up a gap on Capestorm and got back to the transition just before dark. A pair of Fish Eagles and a family of Red Billed teal did take the edge of a tough paddle of just under 4 hours.

Back at the transition Garth and Jeff had done all they could to get our stuff ready for the monster 58km hike leg that lay ahead.

Returning from the last paddle leg Lettuce and Bubbles dig deep

Leg 12- Hike Hamburg to Fish River Mouth 58km.This was going to be a killer leg. Garth took the map and was spot on with the first two checkpoints that got us back to the beach on the western side of Hamburg. With a slight lift in spirits we headed quickly down the beach in stealth mode (lights off) and missed the dry river mouth that would take us inland again. We over shot by quite a long way and by the time we were back on track again Capestorm were just in front of us. We hit the river with and over took them with the usual banter and continued up stream until we felt we were away from the coastal dunes and could head out of the river into the farm lands. This would be the last time we saw Capestorm until they crossed the finish line. The noise of frogs lead us straight to the next checkpoint and then with some good navigation from Garth we got back onto the beach and headed to Biga (we did have the hope of seeing Garths in-laws who live there) for a hot cuppa to keep us going along the moonlit beach. This was not to be as they had see Olympus and then went home just before we arrived. Once on the road out of Biga we decided to have the half hour sleep we had planned for some time that night. The air was warm and the navigation was going to get tricky again in about an hour’s time so we curled up under some thorn trees on some soft grass and slept well for 25 minutes. The alarm went off and we were soon on the way again. The next check points guided through some real Ciskei valleys and ridges and with a bit of bundu bashing we made it through without losing too much blood to the strangling Lantana weeds. Crossing the last river before heading up the hill to the beacon above the Mpekweni Hotel Netski donned the now famous shkrt (shirt/skirt) due some serious chafing issues. This was much to the boy’s relief as we were told to walk/run in front and we could at least set the pace for a change. The shkrt turned heads all the way to the Fish River Hotel some 25 km further away. After wolfing down the most expensive toasted sandwiches ever at Mpekweni we hit the beach and had a very fast leg on the low tide.

The now famous Pennypinchers shirkt

Leg 13 Cycle Fish river mouth to Port Alfred via,via,via,47 km

- There is never a straight flat route to the finish and although we treated to the final 5 km being down hill the rest of the ride seemed to be uphill. We passed pineapple fields and had detailed tips from pineapple farmer Garth along the way. Just as night fell we rode into the Halyards Hotel 83 hours after the start in 4 position less than an hour behind 3^rd placed Olympus.

We had an amazing race with no war stories other than those of the route and the race. Jeff had a great race and was back to his old self again while Garth and Bubbles were rock solid as usual. It has taken over a year of hard work to get this team to be able to race so easily together. We never moved as slow as the slowest person, we hardly wasted a minute in transitions and our basic navigation was good. Some of our decisions would have been better with more race experience but that will come.

I feel very proud of our team and know that we have got a great team and that showed in our result.

“Our team worked like a well oiled machine our transitions where fast, our speed was consistent, our mistakes where corrected quickly, our games to keep awake where fun but most importantly our laughter was genuine

5 things I would do again;

-Race with team Pennypinchers anytime

-Race any of Heidi and Stefan races

-Wear my homemade shirkt to avoid more chafing

- Have Lucozade in the boxes

- Laugh

5 things I wouldn't do again;

- Eat as many sweets

- Let the boys go to shop to buy drinks I ordered Mango juice and got Cream Soda??????

That's all I can up with in this column it was just one of those races with not much of negative things happening.

Thank you to Pennypinchers for they unselfish genuine support who make it possible for us to race.

To GU whose unbelievable generosity of products keeps us going on and on and on

To Earth Scout who helps us look good which is a big task?”Netski

 

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                   

Expedition Africa 2012

The count down clock on the website shows that there are 3 days 23 hours and 30 minutes left until the start of the 2nd edition of this race.

At this stage of the game it is all about the Team staying healthy and banking hours of sleep. Cyberspace is alive with requests for late replacements and one of the international teams have lost a member through injury at this late stage. South Africa's Merrel Adventure Addicts lost old hand Hano Smit to a broken collar bone and Cynosis lost Clint Macintosh to injury a couple of weeks ago also to injury.Team Kubusi lost one of the Williamson brothers to a sky diving injury so the old adage of " the  hardest thing in an adventure race is getting 4 members to the start line" is really being substantiated this year.

I have packed my race food and on the table it looks like a great pile of treats with trail mix (filled with cranberries and goi goi berries) , droewors, Future Life and the full range of GU Energy products (Gels, Brew,Recovery Brew Chomps and the new Electrolyte fizzy tabs). Packed into a couple of Ziploc bags it looks like what it is . A pile of food that I am going to force feed myself for 4 to 6 days.To my mother it doesn't look like enough but I know already it will be to much but I go on the shot gun approach and hope something will taste nice after two days of no sleep.

The compulsory Team kit of safety equipment is all sorted. Hopefully all that stays in its Ziploc after the compulsory kit check on Sunday. We really don't want to be trying to camp for too long under a shelter the size of a single bed covered in the irritating rustle of a space blanket or two.

The information that we have on the race is this
The total distance will be 500km, divided up as follows- 300km mountain biking,125 km on foot, 75km paddling. Also included is a 52 m high abseil and a Tyrolean Traverses ( a foofy slide type thing). The route starts with a series of hike paddle legs and it looks like it will be a full day before we see our bikes. With only 4 bike legs and the last leg being short it looks like we could be in for a couple of really long bike hauls. We will finish in Port Alfred but more than likely be bused to the start as all the teams will be in Port Alfred for the days leading up to the start.

The paddling legs will be on rivers as well as maybe one paddle on the sea. The sea paddle could be very interesting as the Fluid Kayaks that we paddle are not know for their wave riding abilities. Let's hope all the sharks that have been spotted here in Plett will stay here for a couple more weeks.

In terms of the country side we will cover my guess is that it will be all tough ranging from the massive sand dunes of Boknes to the spekboom of the Addo and Grahamstown area.The organiser has put some scouting pictures up and there are some great shots including some wild life so we could be going though some of the many private game farms in the area.Another plus is that next week is full moon so one gets to see more of the landscape at night and from a navigation point of view at least there is an horizon to work on.

All the rest will be revealed on Saturday night when we are given our maps and route books to study for 36 hours before we actually start at 7 on Monday morning.
Kinetic the organisers have imported great tracking devices so the race will be easy to follow live so go to the website and follow the links from Monday morning. If you are a face booker you can also see pictures on their face book page and maybe even send us a message out in the field.
http://www.facebook.com/Kineticgear and http://www.kineticgear.co.za/tabid/15885/Default.aspx

The Two Oceans Trail Run 22km

 

As a rube from the countryside, coming into the big city, the two oceans trail run to me was a slightly intimidating event. Having 800 entrants, it was the biggest trail run, I'd certainly participated in. And the hullabaloo started nearly the moment I arrived in the mother city, when I jumped the vipers pit (or perhaps the Labyrinth) of the Cape Town Convention Centre and queued for my race pack; the arena had been transfigured into a temple for running related kibble (items which in retrospect are indistinguishable from the contents of one's waste basket). Now don't get me wrong, as a runner who, to use that deeply irrational cliché, 'gives it his hundred and ten percent', I certainly salivate over high performance equipment and nutritional supplements (GU) and was persuaded to purchase some items which would protect me from Mr. Sun -namely the blurry cap and the snazzy blurry glasses seen in the blurry picture above- but I found it quite disturbing that the simplicity and almost universal accessibility of running was hijacked by hundreds of little widgets and doodahs, such as Magic Shoelaces, amulets and little running pouches which attach to your shoes - are not pockets good enough?! Wending my way out of this web, I left for my aunts house, getting ready for a rude start and looking forward to what should (and would prove to be) a good race.

 

The Race!

The start was a windy one, making it slightly chilly. As we had arrived punctually I had the luxury of exploring the historic buildings of UCT during my warm-up, as we waited for the five batches of 10km runners to leave the chutes. After that, grinning foolishly in the start shoot, I waited, along with approximately 800 other runners in the start shoot, as Trevor Ball  tried his very best to instill a little fear into our hearts - for the fun of it. It was not entirely unjustified however, as a brutally fast start leads us upwards towards Devils Peak. With a good understanding of a trail runner's not entirely correct psyche and a proficiency in crowd dynamics, the several first gruelling kilometers were on double track terrain, which naturally led to a lot of foolish and nonstrategic dicing upon my part, despite being insulated from the world by a pair of polarised lens. 

Eventually the path narrowed and then the fun began. As usual in these things, upon nearing the summit and usually the half way point, one usually talks about the view, which is always inevitably magnificent and profound, offering a truth or another. Instead I'll talk about Mr. Green, so called because of the shirt he was wearing. I'd been sticking with him for much of the way and so I took it as a personal affront when as I fatigued, he only sped up. Eventually he and two others disappeared around the one of the many turns of the twisting trail, even as I tried my best not to flag. That was when I entered what I'll nickname 'Prickle Path', a two kilometre stretch of fynbos, which left me scratched and bleeding and also slightly confused, when I momentarily left the trail. This momentary lapse, led the leading lady at the time, KATYA SOGGOT to overtake me on the challenging and hazardous descent to the famed Cape Town cannons. 

With energy at a bit of an ebb after the cannons, up a hill known unofficially as a Bastard to even the local capetonians (who should in all other circumstances take delight in breaking a man) , I was again overtaken, this time by the infamous and once local to George, LANDIE VISSER.

At the four k to go mark, I found renewed vigour and to my delight was able to overtake a number of runners, through the fun little section towards the blockhouse and UCT, including the now second place Katya and my new arch-rival, Mr. Green. It was a relief to collapse at the finishing mat with a 19th Men's open and 2nd Junior man's placing. It was indeed a blustery day.

Thank you Pennypinchers for the trip.

The Cairnbrogie Trail Run 2012

The Start

( I love it when  everyone stands back from the start showing so respect to the course to come)

Good Friday, the first day of the Easter long weekend and also the day of the Cairnbrogie Easter Trail Run. Now in its second year the Pennypinchers Adventure Racing Team had spent the last 2 months preparing the exciting routes on the Cairnbrogie dairy Farm outside Plettenberg Bay.  With 4 different routes on offer there was something for the whole family, young to old, fit to not so fit. With Magnetic South and thier new ESC (Every Seciond Counts) timing system we were able to run all three races at the same time.

Runners from all three runs cross the line (Every Second Counts captures the positions)

There were two short routes for the kids with the 4km Fun Trail Run only having prizes which were sponsored by Spur for boys and girls under the age of 12. This resulted in a fast race where the local Plett Surf Nippers dominated with the Roode, and Dugmore clan cleaning up again. Part of the kid’s package was also a 1,5km Adventure Trail where the younger kids and also the Wheel chair kids from Die Sterreweg went on a self guided walk /run/sprint through the forest and back past a number of newly born calves and to cup cakes and a Spur Goodie Bag.

Plett Surf Nippers Rule the Trail to!!!

The 7km Trail run was tackled by a whole host of runners and local runner Marius Schlecther in his first off road venture came in first. The route incorporated some of the specially made single track on the Cairnbrogie Farm.

The Blue Ribbon event of the day was 13 km run. The garden Routes best trail runners were on the line. Local Victor Gugushe, Knysna based Melakhaya Msitzi and Mark Collins were all eyeing each other on the start line. It was the unknown face of Stuart Marais that in under an hour (52 minutes) arrived at the finish line followed by Msitzi and then Collins. The ladies was won by Port Elizabeth based Triathlete Kirsty Wier in a time of 1hr 18 min. Marias who hails from Stellenbosch is a top Xterra athlete and flew in under the radar and really put on a great performance. His comments on the route were “this is a proper trail run “

Stuart Marais (1st) Andrew Hill (Cairnbrogie Farm), Melkahya Msitzi 2nd,Mark Collins 3rd

Apart from the running there were two groups of local dancers on display with the House of Hope girls giving a display of the Zamba dance with a very modern vibe and then the Reel Dancers from the Griekwa Church put on a display of the more traditional dancing from their community. The ladies from the Griekwa church had a great stall selling rooster koek and pancakes and had a great fund raising day.

With the long run being fully subscribed (100 only)and the two shorter runs having about 70 runners in each and the Kids Adventure Trail entertaining about 80-100 kids the day was a huge success made possible by the Pennypinchers AR Team, Cairnbrogie Farm, Chris von Christierson and a whole host of volunteers and local business sponsors.Pictures from Glen Murray

The album from Glen Murray is at https://picasaweb.google.com/114421207657151811852/CairnbrogieEasterTrailRun?authkey=Gv1sRgCIzrmeP1h-K57gE#

Results at http://www.trailrunning.co.za/news.php?newsId=951
For other photos of the day go to showmeplett website and go to the galleries.

Double Moon 250km Adventure Race

With the Teams main focus for the first part of 2012 being the Expedition Africa 500km Adventure Race in the Eastern Cape In May it was an obvious decision to enter the 250km Double Moon Race organized by the same people as the 500km event .(Stephan and Heidi Muller of Kinetic Gear). With 9 weeks before the longer event we would be able to see exactly where we needed to adapt our training and preparation as well as race together as Team.

The race venue was the Vanderkloof Dam which is on the border of the Orange Free State and the Northern Cape about 140 km North of Colesburg. After a long trip we arrived at the Vanderkloof Oord and while Jeff and Garth dropped our bikes a further 35km North Netski and I unpacked the gear boxes and Netski made two loaves worth of sandwiches. Garth and Jeff arrived back just in time for the race briefing which was pleasantly short and with only one instruction that were not allowed to climb over any game fences and that the start would be at seven the next morning which would then allow the paddle leg on the Orange River to coincide with a water release from the dam. As usual time ran away from us and with the maps done we got to bed at about 11:45. With everything organized the night before we were able to lie in in our tents until 6:00am. A quick bowl of Future Life and a sandwich before we handed in our boxes, paddles and paddle bags saw all the Teams toeing the start line just before seven o clock for the start.

Leg 1 (10km run orienteering)

This is a 10km orienteering leg with 10 check points around the village of Vanderkloof. We were given a Google Map of the area with the points already marked on it 10 minutes before the start. After the field split up with what appeared to be a big group following Red Ants and then us, Exhale and Castle Lite heading off in our own directions. Five minutes later we all arrived at the Main Gate to the Oord (resort) together and immediately realized we were at the wrong gate. We split up again and it took about 20 minutes to find the right gate. By this stage we were at the back of the field!!! With that first error out of the way we got the feel of the area and quickly got the rest of the points and headed down to the Orange River which was pumping through the 4 Hydro electric turbines below the dam.

Leg 2 28km Paddle) 

With Netski forcing the pace at the transition we got on the water and headed down stream towards transition 2. On the way down the river there were a couple of small rapids and then we over took the water release and the river became shallow and slow moving. Here choosing the correct lines became important and we started catching the teams in front of us as we wound our way from one side of the river to the next. Castle Light caught up to us here and half an hour of bantering on the river got us to the transition together in second place behind Red Ants. The transition was stocked by the organizers with cold water and one of the local farmers wives had set up shop with sandwiches and cold drinks. Cokes and Fantas for us and soon we were crossing the river and filling our shoes up with the mud and gravel from the river bed.

Leg 3 (30km hike)

After a quick stop at a farm workers house where we washed our feet and socks we came out of the 3m tall maize and spotted Bleskop the top of which would be the first checkpoint on this hot leg. The three teams behind us had pushed hard to catch up and had all done so by the time we got to the checkpoint at the trig beacon on top of the hill. From here we all headed of the hill in our own direction even though we were all headed to the same next check point. Each navigator has his/her own interpretation of how to get there. My route for the next 30km was chosen to get a balance between the shortest route and one where we could refill our water bottles because the temperature was now well into the 40 degrees range. Our first refuel came from a farm shed only 40m of the route and then we followed an irrigation canal for the next few kms and eventually the temptation to get in was to great and we all jumped in and floated down stream to cool off making sure we helped each other out before we got to a bridge or pump. Team Exhale was constantly in and out of view to our left but the other two teams including Castle Light had fallen back. We passed Ostriches, Wildebeest, Springbok and Sheep a plenty on this leg. The second last check point of the leg was a farm workers cottage just out of sight and away from the other buildings and with not another person in sight  we may have missed it if the lonely inhabitant had not come to the crest of the rise to see what all the noise was about. From here with the sun really beating down we climbed another hill for the last check point and made a bee line for the first shop in Luck Hoff where the next transition was. Cold drinks in hand we headed into the transition promising ourselves 20min before we set off on the 150km cycling leg. The Community Hall in Luck Hoff found Stephan and Heidi with a transition area set up as if it were or their own team cold water, Juice, coffee all on hand to make sure that everyone could refuel in comfort before heading out.

Red Ants were now an hour ahead and flying on the bike so we went flying after them!

Sunset on at the end of the hike (still over 30 degrees C)

Leg 4 (Mountain bike 150 km)

As we rode out of town it was dark and Garth and I got to show off our new AY UP lights. What a great buy they were lasting all night. Flying after the Red Ants hanging onto Jeff’s slipstream turned out to be a school boy error and after 25km we ground to a halt as Jeff relived his dinner and some. We had decided to take the straight line to the next check point and headed onto the farm roads. Leaving the fast district roads turned out to be the wrong choice but may have given Jeff more time to recover from his Jan Ulrich haul up the road. We got to the furthest check point of the leg and turned and started heading back to the Orange River. The road was flat and on the map we crossed contours every now and again. During this time Exhale passed us and we had no answer for their speed but because it was so flat we could see it was a burst to get past as they remained in sight for a long time. Just before dawn we passed them curled up sleeping on the side of the road. Jeff nearly rode into the ditch as he stared with envy at the four curled up bodies. He had been asking for a cat nap for 4 hours but the team was not obliging. Sun rise saw us riding again with Exhale who had jumped off the ground as we came past and joined us for the final 20km back to the Orange River. Having been racing for 24 hours and coming into a transition with a team with only 2 legs left adds pressure to the race so once again Netski whipped us through the transition and back across the orange River for the final time.

Leg 5 (16km Trek)

There was no time to clean shoes this time after the river crossing and the blisters would only worry us on the way home so we broke into a shuffle as soon as we crossed the river. Here some conservative navigating paid off using the canal and power lines as hand rails we got the first check point and seemed to have dropped Exhale in the process. The next check point found us underneath a water canal in a stream bed (an interesting place to be).We decided to follow the stream bed to stay out of the sun and also the thick vegetation for a while. This worked well until we came out on the flat scrubby area and could see the saddle which would take us to the last checkpoint of the leg. The last check point was a reservoir which we all hoped would be full of water but it was bone dry. Any way only 5km to the dam where our Fluid Kayaks would be waiting for us for a paddle and an abseil and then a short paddle to the finish.

Leg 6 (14 km paddle and abseil)

A quick drink and two Gus into my life Jacket pocket was all that was allowed at this transition and we were of onto the water again. After about 20 min we saw Red Ants heading back towards the finish and we could see no teams behind. Second place was ours so we splashed water and headed to the abseil in high spirits. The cool water of the dam was refreshing and we gulped it like cool drink. The abseil was in an awesome place with a clear view into the green waters below. Jeff said this was a real highlight for him as he slowly over comes his fear of heights. After a good cool off in the water it was back on the boats and we headed for home passing Exhale on the way. Back on dry, hot land again we were met by Heidi and put in the four finisher’s chairs with a cup of Bubbly and a chance to relax at last. Jeff nodded off in about 3 minutes and had to woken to take a couple of pictures.

The rest of the day was spent rehydrating and eating and sleeping in the shade of the trees as the rest of the teams came in. A braai at the campsite that evening was a great time to share war stories and meet other teams. The last team crossed the line at 4:30am on Sunday morning and despite them waking me up it was really fantastic to hear the sense of joy and achievement in the voices of people who not only had a Double Moon race but also a Double Sun race as well.

Netski's tips from racing all day in 40 degree heat “ drinking lots of water and using all the different flavors GU gels to make sure you get enough fluids and carbs because eating is very difficult in the heat.

Jeff’s hot weather tips “go at your own pace and protect yourself against sunburn (cap with flap and long sleeves)

Garths hot tip- “cover your legs in sun cream before a paddle leg as they are fully exposed to the sun (especially if you farm pineapples and wear longs to work every day and Blue Steel is the best anti chaffe by FAR

Lettuce’s warm weather tips” use the GU electrolyte Fizzy tabs in all your drinks to keep cramps at bay and rather take a longer route to keep your water bottles full”

Thanks to Kinetic Gear for a great race and we look forward to Expedition Africa in 8 weeks time

Final results

1)      Team Red Ants

2)      Pennypinchers AR Team

3)      Team Exhale