With only a day to go until the start of Australian XPD, Team McCain Adventure Addicts are packed and ready to race.
Tatum’s update, sent today, is below.
It’s final – we are READY and packed!
This morning was what we called chaos! You can imagine the tension with only seeing the maps at 9am this morning. That left us with exactly five hours to have packed and strategised what was in each box, where dry shoes needed to be, food, repairs, bike stuff, you name it! Tweet was on the maps and the three of us stickered and packed and repacked and repacked again just because we could. You know how it is.
OK so the exciting part – THE COURSE!! We are heading off at 6am on a bus to the harbor across from Dunk Island. Then it is a ferry to the island – BANG – we start with a 6km running jaunt across the island, then its a quick pump of 1 boat (note 1!) and all four of us hopping in and paddling off to some forgotten exotic coral reef. From there it is all about collecting cp’s on the reef, snorkeling and paddling in the story book setting. (Drinking cocktails and Caparinhas…ok maybe not but we wish)
After our snorkeling experience we end off with a 12km paddle to mission beach (four in one boat again!!!)
BIKE – over 100km – so far the route looks ok – well it always does on paper. Tweet is happy about the nav on this section. This will take us to the Tulley River. eeeehaaa!
DARKZONE – we are dark zoned here until sunrise and then XPD REALLY STARTS!!!!
We hike 10km to a raft section and raft our socks off! 🙂 Can’t wait!
At the end of the raft we head into a 47km TREK. This heads into rainforest where we are warned about stinging tree (most bloody poisonous plant in the world!!!) and the jumping ants. Nav is getting tricky and playing a bigger role.
DAMN – battery going so have to end soon. BUT…we are getting excited and we are ready! There is nothing else we can do. Let’s hope we actually get some sleep tonight as jetlag has been terrible.
The general idea is that the legs are getting seriously long – between 12hr and 20hr legs. There are some seriously hectic ones which include WHEELBARROWING our 2 boats to replicate the miners’ early efforts – 20km upriver. Then it gets worse and we have to drag and paddle 70km what we can in a much-channeled river. Navigation is going to be HUGE!!!
There are three legs in this course that are said to break us; two trek legs in the outback where there is nothing what so ever and the paddle/drag leg. EEEEHA – BRING IT ON I SAY!!
The team is doing damn well, excited and cannot wait to get started.
Check out the Geocentric website – they seem pretty jacked with media. Send messages you buggers!
Over and out from
Hobs, Tweet, Smelly & 1 chop
Ps SAKKIE SAYS HI!!!!
Tweet has just sent through the following image of leg distances and estimated duration for each leg.
