Updates from The Mountain Zone Cybercast

Competitors intense at pre-start meeting. (photo: Chris Vile)

At 5:20 this afternoon the Discovery Channel Eco-Challenge for 1997 was officially started by event founder Mark Burnett. The race start was at the Undara Lava Tubes. In Aboriginal Undara means "a long way," definitely an appropriate starting point!

After a long day of traveling into the outback of Australia (500 km southwest of Cairns) the level of tension, anticipation, and excitement was intense. The drama at the start was akin to a Hollywood production with choppers blazing overhead and film crews everywhere. Mother nature performed on queue with the first snake encounter happening right on the start line jolting both the competitors and media into the reality of this event.

Eco-Challenge '97 is away into the sunset. (photo: Chris Vile)

This first leg of the event sends the competitors off into beautiful outback "golden hour" which fast falls to darkness. The course is a 95km bush trek through up to waste high grass. The ground if flat but extremely dangerous as it is covered in small rocks and boulders, not to mention the termite mounds and fallen branches. For those who race off at speed the chances of a fall and a broken ankle are extremely high. The key to this leg is certainly being slow and safe to make it through. Even at this point if injury should force one team member out of the event it means the whole team is out, and indeed in the darkness on this terrain it is a very real possibility.

We will have our first contact with the teams tomorrow on course, so watch this spot to see who has survived the night.

-- Chris Vile, Mountain Zone Kiwi Correspondent