With weather forecasted to snow to low levels, organisers and participant had their fingers crossed for the second event in the Arrow 24 Series. Set in Central Otago’s Alexandra region, snow already covered the nearby mountain tops. Alexandra is known for it’s gold mining relics, hydro dams and extreme weather. And while during the summer months Alexandra can be one of the hottest places in New Zealand, during the winter it is often the coldest.

Luckily the weather gods were smiling for the weekend of the race. An early morning start had participants line up above the famous Clyde hydro dam at Champagne Bay. Teams commenced racing with a 5km kayak down Lake Dunstan to the dam, the then had to portage their kayaks 1.5 km to a boat ramp below the dam before paddling down the Clutha River to Roxburgh and the completion of the first stage.

Due to the low temperatures, the vista was spectacular as teams approached the Clyde Dam - perfect flat water with a misty haze rising above the water. Teams were previously advised of the portage, so many came prepared with trolleys to help move their kayaks. Some were more prepared than others. Bill Godsall and Ken Scott of “Team Old and Older” fashioned a trolley from an old baby pram, however a little CRC would have been useful. Other simply placed kayaks over their shoulders and legged it.

First to check in at Alexandra was local team “Central Adventure” Hamish Robb
Melanie Smith, Malcolm McLeod and Michael Wright in 1 hour 30 minutes. Hot on their tail was team “GroundWorks Queenstown” Mark Williams, Gordy Watson,
Karl Boomsma and Mitch Murdoch followed by the relay team of “ Rex’s Rockets”
Ron Anderson, Rod Markin, Vicky Sanford (still charging despite being 6 months pregnant), Rex Sanford, Ross Dungy, Craig Baites and Phillip Lindsey.

The lead changed as teams completed the kayak leg at Roxburgh Dam. “Groundwork’s” had taken a four minute lead over “Central Adventure” followed by “Old and Older”, then “ Rex’s Rockets” and “Murray’s Team” Murray Tomas, Hamish Morton, Ray Hope and Denice Thorn. The fastest time recorded for the kayak and portage was 3 hours 46 minutes by Groundworks. Just 11 minutes separated the top five teams.

Leg two was a mountain bike ride back to Alexandra via the Old Man Range, Graveyard Gully, The Shaky Bridge, then the Millennium track to the Frazer River Domain. With a head wind increasing, teams set out to find four CP’s en route to the transition. The mountain bike was a classic ride over 4WD trails along the tops of the Old Man Range, complete with picture perfect views of nearby mountains and blue skies.

“Groundworks” maintained their narrow lead completing the first two legs in 7 hours 52 minutes, followed by “Central Adventure” just four minutes back. “Rex’s Rockets” had pulled out a narrow two minute lead over “Old and Older”, while team “R & R Sport Queenstown” Mat Woods, Graeme Allen, Hayden Keys and Tom Mackey moved into fifth place after 8 hours 13 minutes.

The next leg consisted of teams tramping from Frazers Domain to Frazers Dam, Castle Rock, Conroys Dam and then back to Alexandra. It was during this leg that the local knowledge could serve as an advantage, due to the multiple route choices and absence of a marked trail on the map. Night navigation, stamina and the course proved to be the decider, with team Central Adventure getting the jump over Groundworks en route to the first check point of the tramp. Deciding to leave the 4WD trail and tramping over open tussock land, Cental Adventure put 10 minutes on Groundworks. From here in Central Adventure applied the pressure running the majority of the final 30km the complete the course in just 13 hours 54 and minutes

Outdone by Central Adventure’s superior navigation, Groundworks walked the final kilometeres of the race to finish second in 15 hours 2 minutes. Relay team Rex’s Rockets completed the course in third place after 15 hours 32 minutes, followed by Murray’s Team, Old and Older and then R & R Sport Queenstown.

The “Most Endurance” award went to “ South Canterbury AR Club” Steve Earnshaw,
Graeme Frazer, Bill Taine and Louise Wynn who completed the full course in 23 hours 31 minutes.

The next event in the Arrow Series will be contested in Wellington on September 16 followed by the grand finale this year - the 24 and 48 hour race in Canterbury over Labour Weekend, 21-23 October.

For more info go to www.24houradventurerace.com