The gruelling beauty that is Expedition Africa

MULTI SPORTS

Words & Photos: Anthony Churchyard

A few months back I was invited to cover Expedition Africa, a non-stop, multi-day, 500-km adventure race that sees four-person teams from around the world competing on foot, bike and kayak through the Kingdom of Swaziland. I was looking forward to it so much that I pretty much blew off all other work and events.

Team Estonia working their way through the dark caves.

THE GRUELLING BEAUTY THAT IS

EXPEDITION

AFRICA

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Beautiful mother rhino with her calf.

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A magnificent elephant quietly grazing.

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The media left for Swaziland on Wednesday, 3 June 2015 and we were treated to two incredible days at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary and Hlane Royal National Park.

Our first stop was Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, a beautiful and secluded sanctuary situated in the Kingdom's Ezulwini Valley, 'Valley of Heavens'.

A hub of activity for local birds and wildlife, visitors can enjoy the beauty of the surroundings and abundant wildlife that grace the plains by foot, vehicle, on horseback and on mountain bikes - all led by Swazi guides who are experts in their field.

Mlilwane also offers a wide range of activities, accommodation and dining options to suit all budgets and preferences.

Moving on to Hlane Royal National Park, although different to Mlilwane it was equally impressive. The park encompasses 22,000 hectares of Swazi bushveld, which is dominated by ancient hardwood vegetation and home to the largest herds of game in the Kingdom, as well as lion, elephant, white rhino, giraffe and a host of other species. It is also a bird lover’s paradise and boasts an abundant and diverse bird life, including the highest density of nesting white backed vultures in Africa.

Swaziland Tourism then treated us to a wonderful tour of the Mantenga Cultural Village, followed by a traditional dance to end it all off. I thoroughly enjoyed our stay at both parks, and would highly recommend adding them to your bucket list.

On Friday, after two amazing days in the bush, we headed to Lugogo Sun Hotel, which is part of the Royal Swazi Spa Valley resort. Nestled in Ezulwini Valley and surrounded by nature and mountains, the hotel exudes tranquility and made us feel even more relaxed upon entering the grounds. On arrival, we found a number of teams already unpacking and preparing for the race.

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Most surprising to me was the amount of gear needed for the race. Bikes, bags, helmets, dry bags, compasses, torches, specialised food and the list went on and on.

I was also amazed by the endless planning, down to the minutest detail, and strategy that goes into a race like this. The teams needed to pack their bikes and gear boxes in preparation for certain transition areas, which meant they had to plan where and when they needed what gear. No easy feat let me tell you. Commented Team Jabbawock, “We only have food till Wednesday, so we plan to finish Wednesday.”

ABOUT THE EVENT

This year’s course was cleverly designed and perfectly executed once again by Kinetic. Tough, long, hard, brutal and demanding, as well as beautiful and scenic. There were 12 legs, with the highlights being the canyon sections, caving section and 155 km cycle - part of which was through the magnificent Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary.

There were 23 teams, each made up of four members, from around the world taking part in this year’s event. That made 92 crazy individuals who had signed up for this 500 km expeditionstyle adventure race. As stated on Kinetic's website, adventure racing is a multi-discipline endurance sport where competitors compete in teams, navigating from control point to control point in a number of disciplines, which include mountain biking (250 km), trekking (150 km), kayaking (100 km) and orienteering. Teams are expected to navigate using a map and landmarks, and must be able to operate in harsh remote environments in all weather conditions. As one of the stops for the Adventure Racing World Series, the much sought-after first prize is a paid entry into the ARWS Championships in Brazil 2015.

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Team Racing Denmark Planning their strategy.

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To the sound of African drums, the race began.

Even though this is a tough race, the teams' safety was a is a priority. As such, all the teams carried a GPS tracker in their bags, which updated their locations every 3 minutes, depending on cellar signal. I have to admit that MTN Swazi has pretty good coverage. The benefits of live tracking don’t stop at safety though because it also allows for people from all over the world to watch the live updates. ‘Dot watching’ is what this is called and it gets really exciting when you can see the teams fighting it out for the top position. It becomes even more interesting or nail-biting when you see them take a wrong turn.

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AND THEY’RE OFF …

The race started on Sunday, 6 June 2015, with race organisers Stephan and Heidi Muller giving the teams a somewhat difficult and interesting start. Kicking off from the bottom of Sibebe Rock, the largest and highest granite monolith in the world, teams were immediately confronted by a steep 450 m incline on their first leg, a 33 km trek.

The front teams went at full speed, even beating the media team to the canyon section by about an hour. Thankfully I had packed a wetsuit, but had to borrow dry bags from a friendly volunteer (thanks Michelle) so I could follow the teams through the canyon/kloofing section. With big jumps and icy-cold water, the canyon took its toll on everyone, with Donovan ‘Tiny’ Sims

from Merrell Adventure Addicts saying, “It was so cold my jaw seized up and I was feeling dizzy.” Added Keyhealth team member Izak Theron, “I’m having fun, I’m enjoying the race, I’m only cramping because the water is freezing.”

The caving section was a unique twist to the race, with teams having to travel deep down into the earth through about 400 m of space. Estimated to be between 4 and 6 kilometres (2.5 to 3.7 miles) long, Gobholo Cave has the potential to be the world’s longest (and most impressive) boulder cave. Some teams had to squeeze themselves through the cave, while others chose not to risk it. The top teams flew through the cave as if it was a mini obstacle course.

The icy water taking its toll.

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Team Merrell Adventure Addicts making their way to the finish in first place.

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Team Untamed getting help from the local boys.

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This race also had a dark zone implemented, which prevented racers from paddling at night and possibly being eaten.

Commented Team Cyanosis, “What happens at the dark zone determines the outcome of the race.” (Cyanosis had to pull out due to illness before reaching the dark zone.)

Added Karen Lundgren, from Peak Performance, “It’s an unsaid benefit; sleep is as valuable as gold in the race and the more sleep and comfort you have in the dark zone the better it is.”

The top teams took this dark zone into consideration when strategizing their race, with most of the front teams arriving there on Monday night with the intent of resting well in preparation for the 06h30 start. Merrell Adventure Addicts’ Captain Graham Bird stated, “It’s a 48 hour tour of Swaziland and 24-hour sprint to the finish.”

The teams pushed hard in the kayak section and by transition point 5, teams were already starting to spread out.

On Tuesday night most didn’t sleep, and here I’m referring not only to the teams but to the racers organisers and spectators as well. The reason for this was that Team Merrell Adventure Addicts and Team Estonia were pushing hard in the final trek to be first over the finish line. Everyone was dot watching, silently willing on their team of choice to cross first. In the end though, at 08h00, Merrell Adventure Addicts picked up the South African flag and jubilantly ran together down the finish chute and across the line. Team Estonia finished in second, only a few minutes behind, which is pretty remarkable after 500 km of racing. Said Team Estonia after the race, “We made some stupid choices, we went straight like orienteers instead of using the paths.”

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Team Peak Performance pushing towards the rafting section.

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Jubilant Merrell Adventure Addicts, the winners of this year's Expedition Africa.

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For Captain Graham ‘Tweet’ Bird and Don ‘Tiny’ Sims, this was their third win at Expedition Africa racing together. For Grant Ross and Robyn Kime, newer and younger recruits, this was their first win here, and incredibly, for Robyn, her first-ever expedition adventure race.

When asked about picking a team for an event like this, Graham Bird said, “ I understand what makes a good adventure racer; it’s got nothing to do with experience in adventure racing or good at this or good at that, it’s about mental abilities and the dynamic, and it all fitting together.”

I’d like to add that while the winners came in after a solid 72 hours 30 minutes and the slowest team in at 148 hours 15 minutes, they all had wounds, were dog tired and had to dig deep to overcome the beast that is Expedition Africa.

Standing on the sidelines, you can only admire the immense determination it must take to complete hundreds of kilometres of traversing mountains, valleys and rivers on foot, bicycle and kayak. I experienced a lot of joy watching the teams push themselves, and also extreme sadness and agony when I saw what their bodies had to endure.

Blisters, cuts, bruises, cramping, icy-cold water, and most significantly sleep deprivation. How do they do it? What makes them do this? To be honest, I think they are a little bit crazy. However, witnessing the amazing strength and endurance that is possible has inspired me to test my own body and mind, and see if I’m able survive pushing myself beyond what seems impossible.

Said Peak Performance team member Stefan Bjorklund, “What makes the race unique is not what we’re doing! It’s the people we meet, the villages we get to see, the country we get to explore in a really cool way and how we experience this together as a team. That’s what I enjoy.”

I’d like to thank Stephan and Heidi Muller for an amazing event, I have fallen in love with Swaziland and adventure racing. My thanks also go to Action Ford Krugersdorp, and to Swaziland Tourism for having us in your beautiful country - I will definitely be returning.

More information For more information and race results, visit http://www.kineticgear.co.za/Adventure-Races/ Expedition-Africa

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