The 150km Merrel Eden Duo is a different type of adventure race in that navigation plays very little part in the race from your second attempt onwards since the same course is used every year. This results in a race that is higher paced than usual for a race of this distance and first-timers are at a distinct disadvantage compared to the veterans and locals. Fortunately, this year we were not first-timers anymore, having suffered our school fees for 24 painstaking hours in 2009, finishing at 5am. This year, we set out to exact revenge on the course.
Preparation went very well for my brother-in-law Laurent and I, with our third team member Danie coming on board again to provide logistics, equipment, food, local knowledge and moral support. Knowing exactly what to expect, we could train accordingly: the Eden Duo is one of those races where less than half the distance is covered by bike, so the foot is the primary means of transport.
There was an extra stage to my race though, a solo prelude involving a snapped cambelt 140k from Cape Town on the N2 at midday the day before the race. To cut a long story short, I felt like I was well into the race by the time we started at 5am on the beach at Touwsriver mouth, having banked only 3 ½ hours restless sleep the night before. Anyway, it was a good feeling to be setting off along the beach and the atmosphere at the start was really good, with fire-drums for warmth, everybody dressed in their Merrel bibs and familiar faces chatting excitedly in the gloom about the full day’s exercise that lay ahead.
Stage 1 – Wilderness to Saasveld, 10k, foot
A quick prayer by the race director Jan Heenop and off we went down the beach and into the kloof. The icy black waters of the Kaaimans river were greeted with the usual disbelief by novices and I even saw one chap taking off his shoes, probably reckoning that this was a once-off swim! It was good to see that there was a lot more water in the kloof (there has been severe drought for a few years), but that meant quite a bit of swimming until we were further up the kloof where boulder hopping on soap-like rocks became the main activity. At just the same spot as last year, we met a local team The Screaming Eagles, who know this kloof well and whom we had followed last year. These guys always do an incredible job of the kloof and we stuck with them again (They went on to win the veteran category). That kloof is great, it’s one of the highlights of this race, because it’s not the kind of place you are likely to go other than during this race, yet when you are swimming in between the spectacular walls of rock towering up either side of you, with only one way forwards and one way back, it feels very special.
Stage 2 – Saasveld to Herold Wine Estate, 35k, bike
A quick change to dry socks and cleats, some coffee and rusks and we set off for a nice bit of single track followed by a new route (new to us anyway!) through the forest until the railway line and then to the dreaded Montague Pass. Last year, this pass was dreadful in the heat. This year, the weather was kind, we were fitter and it was earlier. We actually enjoyed the ride and chatted on our way up with organiser Jan Heenop and his team mate Graham Bird of the Merrel Adventure Addicts about their exploits at the ARWC in Spain (No, we weren’t that fast, he was just taking it easy!). In no time at all we found ourselves at the transition at Herold Wines, obviously confusing Danie who hadn’t arrived yet, but who can blame him since we were about 2 hours ahead of last year’s schedule! We used the time to gulp two boerewors rolls each straight off the braai they had going there. Quite a nice atmosphere at Herold Wines, it’s definitely worth visiting under less hurried circumstances.
Stage 3 – Herold Wines to Groeneweide Picnic Site – 25k – foot
Danie arrived, we changed back to trail shoes, packed our backpacks with compulsory food and gear, loaded up on 3 litres of water each and set off on what for me is the crux of course and the best part. Laurent’s opinion of this section is best left unprinted, in case children read this.
It’s a spectacular hike, part of the Outeniqua hiking trail I believe, over the Outeniqua mountains, along fynbos covered ridges and one deep kloof, back to a picnic site nestled in indigenous forest. Along the way one sees a variety of brightly coloured plants and fynbos flowers and interesting rock formations. The trail was in pretty good condition and the mist which arrived together with some light rain added to a mystical ambience, particularly in the shaded kloofs with their giant ferns and water running out of the rocks. We needn’t have taken so much water, because the streams all flowed with delicious mountain water, but after last year’s living hell we weren’t taking any chances.
The temperature continued to drop away and as we jogged through the Saasveld via-point a breeze picked up and it became damn chilly. At this point we could have taken a shortcut to the picnic site via the road instead of the forest trail, but we decided against it since that would go against the spirit of the race and besides, the thought of jogging on a road when there was an indigineous forest trail available was ludicrous. The last few km through the dense forest was sheltered from the wind, so that helped cheer us up a bit, but by this time we were fantasizing about coffee and rusks. We arrived to a delicious cup of soup and sat down on the tailgate of Danie’s bakkie to enjoy it. Our bikes were prepped and ready to go, leaning against the fence in front of us. It started raining again. We sat, wet and cold, staring at our bikes. It took us an embarrassingly long time and the verbal efforts of several people to finally cajole us out of the relative warmth of the bakkie and onto the bikes for a miserable ride in the rain!
Stage 4 – Groeneweide to Hoogekraal Bridge – 30k – Bike
Once we were on the bikes and moving, it actually felt good. The uphills were better because then you didn’t get spray in your eyes off your front wheel and you didn’t get windchill. Eventually we reached operating temperature and found some rhythm, cruising steadily through a rural landscape along a mixture of dirt and tar roads to get to a low bridge over the Hoogekraal river mouth. The good thing about this stage is that the finish is lower than the start and you are on wheels. We arrived in good spirits and in good time at the paddle put-in.
Stage 5 – Hoogekraal bridge to Swartvlei Beach caravan park – 14k – paddle
The paddle was a first for us because last year we had been redirected by bike to the caravan park due to the dark zone on Swartvlei lagoon. It starts with a really beautiful paddle down a section of river which I never knew existed. There were some farm houses visible and some horses grazing on the river bank. The river led into the Swartvlei lagoon which is one of my favourite bodies of water due to many great family holidays on its banks and in various watercraft on its surface.
There was no wind, the rain had stopped and conditions were perfect. We could not have asked for better. We joked and exchanged banter with passing teams (them passing us) as we made our way asynchronously down the lagoon. For some reason Laurent, who pilots Airbuses and Boeings for a living, seemed unable to pilot this canoe in a straight line. When I quizzed him about this, he assured me that he was just trying to shake our tail as there were several canoes with us in their sights. Getting overtaken is no fun at all, especially when advice is handed out during this unpleasant experience. These so-called pros just didn’t get it that the problem was that our boat was slower than everybody else’s, nothing to do with our paddling style. Regardless of this little nuance, we arrived in a good mood before sunset at the caravan park and prepared ourselves for the dreaded Beach Run (aka Bitch Walk).
Swartvlei to Wilderness – 20k – foot
Donning our headtorches and wasting less time than usual, we set off at a light jog for Gericke’s Point and beyond. Last year we had missed low tide and ended up doing the “run” at spring high tide, trudging through the thick sand for 5 hours.
Stage 4 – Groeneweide to Hoogekraal Bridge – 30k – Bike
Once we were on the bikes and moving, it actually felt good. The uphills were better because then you didn’t get spray in your eyes off your front wheel and you didn’t get windchill. Eventually we reached operating temperature and found some rhythm, cruising steadily through a rural landscape along a mixture of dirt and tar roads to get to a low bridge over the Hoogekraal river mouth. The good thing about this stage is that the finish is lower than the start and you are on wheels. We arrived in good spirits and in good time at the paddle put-in.
Stage 5 – Hoogekraal bridge to Swartvlei Beach caravan park – 14k – paddle
The paddle was a first for us because last year we had been redirected by bike to the caravan park due to the dark zone on Swartvlei lagoon. It starts with a really beautiful paddle down a section of river which I never knew existed. There were some farm houses visible and some horses grazing on the river bank. The river led into the Swartvlei lagoon which is one of my favourite bodies of water due to many great family holidays on its banks and in various watercraft on its surface.
There was no wind, the rain had stopped and conditions were perfect. We could not have asked for better. We joked and exchanged banter with passing teams (them passing us) as we made our way asynchronously down the lagoon. For some reason Laurent, who pilots Airbuses and Boeings for a living, seemed unable to pilot this canoe in a straight line. When I quizzed him about this, he assured me that he was just trying to shake our tail as there were several canoes with us in their sights. Getting overtaken is no fun at all, especially when advice is handed out during this unpleasant experience. These so-called pros just didn’t get it that the problem was that our boat was slower than everybody else’s, nothing to do with our paddling style. Regardless of this little nuance, we arrived in a good mood before sunset at the caravan park and prepared ourselves for the dreaded Beach Run (aka Bitch Walk).
Swartvlei to Wilderness – 20k – foot
Donning our headtorches and wasting less time than usual, we set off at a light jog for Gericke’s Point and beyond. Last year we had missed low tide and ended up doing the “run” at spring high tide, trudging through the thick sand for 5 hours.
In a cruel twist of fate, we were once again presented with high tide! After half an hour of running, we finally gave up and walked. We tried to walk fast, taking long strides, waiting for the tide to recede, the idea being to run again when the hardpack became available again. By the time it was marginally runnable again two hours later, we were so stuffed that we just carried on walking. By this time we were walking with the father-and-son Team Hawkstone and we were all just mindlessly trudging ahead in the rain towards those orange lights on the horizon that never seemed to get any nearer. I found that I could close my eyes and catch a few second’s sleep while walking 50 or 100m at a time. That helped to pass the time. Also thinking about somebody that couldn’t walk: perhaps they would long for the opportunity to walk for 4 hours on the beach in the middle of the night in the rain, unlike us ungrateful bastards. Eventually what looked like car headlights appeared, descending down from the bridge over the Kaaimans river, indicating that Wilderness must indeed be close. It was now definitely within walking distance! We arrived unceremoniously at the spot where we had been at 5 that morning, but did not stop to savour the dejavu. Instead we just found the canoe patiently waiting where Danie had kindly placed it at the water’s edge, got in and started paddling.
River Mouth to Campsite – 4k – Paddle
As we started paddling we knew that it should be less than half an hour before we finished. But then we nearly capsized when a couple of fish skidded off the top of the boat after jumping out of the water. It seemed they were attracted by our headlamps, so we switched them off and the action ceased abruptly. It would have been a very grumpy swim to the river bank at that point in the race. At each bend in the river, we thought we might see the finish. Finally, at midnight, the burning torches on the river bank indicated the end of the day’s fun. With a “dead-leg” I nearly fell backwards into the water while trying to get out of the boat, but luckily somebody solid grabbed my hand and helped me out. Our time was just under 19 hours, a 5 hour improvement on last year! Filled with the joys of finishing successfully, we celebrated for about 5 minutes. After that we headed off to a shower and some blissful sleep!
Thanks to Danie Liebenberg for race support and also to Jan Heenop, Garth Flores and his team of organisers as well as Merrel, the sponsors. Great race (except for the beach!)
well done on the improvement on last year, it was great chatting to you on the “bitch walk” lets hope for low tide next year and another 5 hour improvement!
Best regards Alec ( Hawkstone )