22 and half hours
0450 and the phone alarm rings. Outside the sound of rain was not what we wanted. The forecast all week had been for a dying southerly, which would be quite good. So much for the forecast at this point. As the sky lightened we could see that all the tops were well covered in cloud, and we were heading that way.
One hour and 10 minutes seems a reasonable time to get out of bed, feed, and dressed and down to the start line for a 0600 start - but it is just enough time, and we wheel in on our bikes to the line just at 0558. A last minute briefing and we are away.
Peleton riding to begin, headlamps and taillights glowing as we ride towards Queenstown. Just before the gorge, a right turn and then immediate left onto a private driveway - oops. I even said as we rolled down it - ‘I don’t think this is right’ - but surrounded on both sides by bikes - there was not much choice. A quick u turn, out the gate and turn into the correct road to begin the ascent of Mt Michael. (1163m a 1000m climb)
All around the gears click down into the lowest cog - we will not get out of this gear for the next hour as we ascend the last remnant of the Pisa Range.
No navigation yet - but once we pass the trig station things become a little more interesting. Almost on top and surrounded by cloud - no reference and no speedo on the bike - would have been handy right now. It’s about 2 kms to the turn we are looking for - 20 minutes pass and we find a split in the road. A small debate with Adam Fairmaid (from another team) and we decide that the left turn may just work. I had looked at the map hard, but in the gloom of the early morning - not really hard enough. The correct turn was in a depression and showed different on the map - but you never know with the maps and the vast number of roads all over the tops of these local mountains.
This track heads in the right general direction and downhill which is where we need to go - but soon the dozer driver got bored, or just decided the line he was taking didn’t work for him either and the road stops. Damm Damm. A quick scout around reveals nothing - steep ground to the left and no sign of continuing road anywhere. Damm.
Well - we are left of the road so nothing to it but to sidle right Some of these tops are rideable cross country - some aren’t. One ridge, two ridges - more roads going where? At least still right. A prominent ridge looms ahead - must be the one. Careful of the spaniards - but they still get Adams team - two punctures on different bikes. We push on and leave them as we hit ‘the road’ Well who knows but it is big and going downhill, so Jeff and I follow it. As it continues steeply down we have the confirmations that we need - deep holes in the middle of the road - we had been warned about these - so all seems good.
Well except for the low cloud and rain. The brakes would be heating up - if they could get through the mud and water. The grass road drops suddenly onto the Nevis Pack track - actually a good gravel road, and some wet looking officials who huddle under the open rear door of a car and a umbrella or two. 5th team through - things look up all of a sudden, and only minutes behind a team we had left on top when we made the wrong turn. It puzzles me all day - but I know from experience that the correct way is not always the fastest - the mistake has cost us no time at all really.
Highway riding back to Cromwell - one team caught and passed and feeling good
Jeff asks as we walk the 3kms to the boat ’You said we were just out making up numbers in this race - what are we doing in 4th place?’
Paddling - two singles - didn’t even thing of trying to get a double - much to my regret later. Out of the main lake, up the Bannockburn arm paddling hard to try and stay ahead of the chasing teams - one in a double and Adams team in a 4 man - well actually the old Arrow 5 person boat from early Southern Traverse days. But to no avail they pass us. But the double boat does not realise the extent of the flow in this arm of the lake is actually still quite strong and by using the eddies I am able to pass them again and arrive at the ‘abseil ‘ just ahead of them. I wanted to avoid any hold up, but two ropes meant that it was not a problem anyway. The 4 person team clears the ropes just as we arrive and by the time the harness is done up we are straight onto the ropes. Back down to the boats and away.
Back out of the Bannockburn arm and bang, straight into the southerly, and it is strong and funnelled in the gorge. Wish I had done so paddle training. It’s a long long way to Clyde (not quite - just to Champagne Gully) but feels like I am paddling to Dunedin - sneaking along the far shore - trying to stay out of the wind. The 4 person boat has long gone, the double, a couple from Wellington, slowly pull away into the distance, and Jeff and I paddle, lost in our own thoughts, at times separated by the width of the lake towards the end of the stage. Ian Huntsman in another double goes past like a express train and quickly fades into the distance, but the and is in sight now and I struggle to get there - putting my paddle down as soon as it is possible to drift to shore.
Stage 3 done - now it just walking / trekking - but it is uphill.
The culvert under the road provides a good shelter from the driving rain squalls that have been passing - just raining lightly right now. Extra layer on - woollen T-shirt, woollen jersey, hat, peak cap, rain jacket - food - maps. Makes me feel cold just sitting here.
We leave just minutes apart from 3 other two person teams and remain in sight up the long uphill road climb. The track stops and disappears so we strike straight up - cross country on sheep tracks knowing that in a 100 metres or so we would hit the power line road. This achieved we continue up and up, at times it almost gets flat and other times it is steep. I miss a grass track heading off to the left and we go a bit high, before realising and coming back down onto the continuation of the road.
The groups coalesce and we eventually reach the high point of the trek Checkpoint 6, but we are yet to go to Checkpoint 5 and to do so we need a handrail - of course we are in the cloud again, damm. Cannot see anything more than a couple hundred metres. The map provides such handrail - a marked fence and we follow the road along the top for a km or so until we hit the fence. Jeff and a few of the others stop to put extra clothes on, but I can’t . One it’s too cold to do it there and besides, two - all my clothes are already on. except for the long johns.
Descending rough ground beside the fence we see two teams coming back up Adam and his four person team, and the Wellington couple. It warms up slightly on the way down but I am still cold and there is but one solution - the long johns are going to become another layer - scarf or cut a hole the crutch to make a head hole The second option it is and using the compulsory equipment knife it is easy to cut a small hole and rip it bigger. (nothing that a good seamstress can’t fix) Slip the arms into the legs and pull the rest down - only covers the top of the chest but it makes all the difference to my temperature.
Checkpoint 5 is just ahead - cross that small deeply entrenched creek and scramble up steeply for 100 metres.
Gavin Mason and girlfriend are huddled in their sleeping bags under a well tied down tarp. We check in and are told that checkpoint 7 is cancelled. so we retrace our steps, down, and then back up the rough ground alongside the fence. A small sheep track makes the climb back up a bit easier.
Checkpoint 6 again. What is the word on the generator shed door? - there are none - but the door of the small locked safe along side says - 1100 volts - so all the teams (4 teams of two) decide that this will do. With no cp 7 to go to it is back down the very same road we came up. Again no views - just cloud although it is a little lighter with signs of sun in the distance, but also a little darker. It’s now 2000 at night.
We leave first but the other teams come past at a dog trot. What's the rush? ‘Got to get of by dark’. Dam - the walk down becomes a run. So from 1647 metres we run down to the boats - 1447 metres of downhill running, except for a couple small uphills and flats. I wonder what my legs are going to be like on Tuesday.
We pass one team still heading up - glad it is not us as they will do the fence line in the dark, and then we catch another team going down. A team of young racers who had kayak problems, and had turned around and went back. They had driven down the gorge and just went for a walk up the hill to fill in time.
2130 at the boats - dark, cold and another long paddle to get back up the lake. The southerly is still blowing although not quite so hard so this paddle is much easier. Still it is a long way, but now I have had one paddle practice so it goes a little easier. Paddling at night is always interesting - light facing to back, so the rescue boat does not run us over, and no lights facing forward. The light of the glow sticks the only reference to the vague shadow of Jeff ahead.
As we near Cromwell the southerly is again well funnelled and we are running down the face of the waves. Not quite surfing but interesting in the dark needless to say. Don’t really want to fall out but the excitement and adrenaline takes away some of the tiredness and makes this last part a lot easier into Cromwell. Around the narrows at Cromwell the wind gusts of the mountains from different directions so more concentration is need and Jeff slips away in the dark.
I expect that I will see him under the bridge, but no, so continue paddling towards the harbour of McNulty inlet. I am a little wide on the approach and have to turn and paddle straight into the flashing lights of the official.
As I drift into shore he asks ‘Where is your team mate?’ Not here I ask. Now I am a little confused. But he look's up and ‘here he is’ Jeff drifts in to the shore.
We had been paddling apart by 100 meters or so for the last km but had not seen each other in the dark (Jeff had circled around to look for me but must have passed to the inside closer to the shore)
Another stage completed. 0100 Sunday morning. The walk back to the HQ passes quickly and we have just one stage to go - one and half hours mountain bike orienteering.
The cryptic clues and map show that we go over towards and through Bannockburn. We miss the first two - the road is named on the map but not on a sign post, and continue on to get, cp 15 (along the true left river track towards Queenstown), then cp 10
(in the quarry) ‘Who staked their claim her?. Although it was written - ‘Who stacked their claim’. Gabriel is the answer on the stake. Cp 11 proved a bit more of a struggle - I knew it should be on the Bannockburn Classic return track - but what the hell were ‘three soldiers’.
We spent sometime along the track looking for it without luck. Counting trees, fence posts, looked at warratahs - part of a fence across the track - around the bottom - and still didn’t see the answer and gave up. (it was on the warratahs - 3 of them and tied down at the bottom)
Onto Cp 12, 13 and 14 in and around the Gold fields Park. Adam sleeping at the foot of the sign said - ‘don’t worry we know the answer it is nine’ and so we wrote nine (wrong) It was a sentence with the number 21 in it, Dam
CP13 and 14 were relatively easy and we start for home, stopping to pick up cp 8 (after a very quick scout to see if CP9 was achievable from the wrong end)
So to the finish though the quiet streets of Cromwell to arrive at 0430. The quick one and half hour orienteering had taken 3hrs (perhaps it we could have done it in 2 1/2 hrs - but certainly not in 1.5hrs)
22.5hrs training in one day - not bad, Sleep did come easy after a quick shower.
Geoff Hunt and Jeff Staniland
Team Two Jeff’s finished 3rd in the two person teams.
We ascended 4,056 meters at 7m/min and descended at 12m/min
