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The adventurers will be treated to some fantastic scenery during their week of racing. From the scenic coastline of the Able Tasman National Park through the forests of Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes National Parks, the traverse will include over 80km of mountain running, 290km of mountain biking, 67km of sea kayaking, a 200 meter abseil and a section of rafting down the famous Buller River. "Being an adventure racer," Hunt said, "I know just how much teams can take — and I test those limits."
The course breakdown reads something like a road map of pain. Pohara beach is where teams launch themselves into Tasman Bay for a seven-to-10-hour sea kayak that ends up at Marahau. Then as if the team's behinds are made of iron, competitors will mount their mountain bikes and ride 55km over Takaka hill and into Cobb Reservoir. By the time section two of the course is over for the leading teams, it is getting dark. What lies before them is a savage Mountain Trek up and over Mt. Arthur, altitude 1790 meters. Luckily the run will only last about 10 hours, at which point it's back on the bikes through the Golden Downs Forest region for a brisk 101km cycle that should take no more than 15 hours. The first teams should clear the forest before it's too dark, but for the medium-to-slow teams it will be a navigational nightmare as the try to orientate themselves through dense woodland — by the way, it's probably raining heavily by now.
It's at this point that the sixth and not so widely used discipline of the southern traverse may come into play: sleep. It may be only for an hour or so, but honestly, anything longer than a blink will be an absolute godsend for teams that won't have seen a flat piece of land for two days. After a short nap it's back on your feet for a 18-hour trek that includes Mt. Robert, Lake Angelus, Sunset Saddle, Hopeless Creek — the name of which I find particularly funny but I'm sure will be of little comfort for the weary competitors. Then on to the Traverse River, again ironically appropriate, and to the St. Arnaud Range where the teams will meet a guy by the name of Spoon — no joke. Spoon is a rope master who is entrusted with overseeing the 200-meter abseil that has been the cause of concern for many freshman teams. The abseil is expected to take place in the dead of night which should be a benefit to many of the teams because competitors won't actually be able to see how far down it really is.
Next up is another bike section travelling 40km from Rainbow Ski Area, returning to St. Arnaud. Rafting is the order of the day, as the competitors will be guided briefly down the Buller River. After the first 10km of rafting, teams will lose their guide and carry on alone. Tactics are important when dealing with rivers as dark hours dictate that no travel can take place on the water. A cutoff time will be imposed and teams who do not enter the water by a certain time will be forced to stay the night, which would mean sleep for certain. And if there is one thing you must avoid when you're racing it's the "Sleep Monster." Common sense may win the debate and the time penalties accumulated by continuing on the water are sure to be far more a deterrent than a good night's rest. Certain teams will be forced to run a detour course if time requirements are not met and will be ranked as short-course competitors. The Southern Traverse has a record of only one third of the teams actually completing a full course and it is this method of shortening the course that will separate the serious competitors from the more social.
After the rafting section, it's back to the bikes for a short 30 minute ride before the absolutely hideous Mt. Owen Mountain Run. The guidebook tells me that it's in Tolkien Country and from the look of things it certainly seems mystical. Mt. Owen has some of the most amazing karst features. Over thousands of years, water has slowly dissolved the marble to produce a complex maze of underground drainage systems. Navigation in this area is nearly impossible. Geoff Hunt informed teams at briefing that when he scouted the course, the map of Mt. Owen he was using made more sense being upside down. Not that he was holding the map the wrong way around, it simply made more sense when looked at from the opposite direction. "Good luck," he wished the crowd, "You'll need it." (Interestingly enough, Peter Jackson's film unit was recently in the area filming for the up coming Lord of the Rings trilogy.) Hunt also warned that if by this stage you were hallucinating hobbits...you might not actually be nuts.
With all these kilometers of countryside under their feet you'd think that surely Mt. Owen would be the finish. You'd be wrong. Not completely content with the length of the race, Hunt included an 85km mountain bike ride through Courthouse Flat, Tapawera, Moutere and on to the finish line at Mapua Beach.
The top teams are expected to cross the finish line Thursday, November 25th around lunchtime — four full days after the start with some 443 kilometers in the distance. Although Hunt explains, the first and last teams will have more than 24 hours separating them and the last teams may not cross the line until Friday, November 26th at midnight.
What is waiting for them at the end of this test of fortitude? An island vacation? Or maybe a new car? Nope. The prize pool is kept small and for good reason. Winning teams, in each division, can look forward to splitting the $4000 prize between the four members. The money is just enough to cover the entry fee. So why the hell do teams do it? I asked Pascale Lorre, Co-Organizer of the event, "It's the love of competing and the thrill of competition that drives them to finish."
And as I've found out, many teams return to compete again and again. This year, one team has a combined age of 203. This astonishing total has this group ranked as the oldest competitors but funnily enough this team also holds the record for the most completed Southern Traverses, having competed in every event so far. That's eight consecutive years and, you guessed it, the team is planning to return next year as well.
The atmosphere in the briefing room today was electric. I can scarcely imagine what the beach at Pohara will feel like tomorrow. Time for me to go to bed now and sleep for about six uninterrupted hours. Tomorrow will bring new experiences for many people and I'd doubt that we'll be sleeping that long for quite some time.
— Dave Turnbull, Southern Traverse
*Southern Traverse Photographers Include: Derek Paterson, Brian, Jurgen Ruoff, Barbara Newton, Rob Lile, Tony Di Zinno, Gareth Eyres, Alan Nelson, and Beyond City Limits.
EXPEDITION DISPATCHES 
