The Palmiet race went off extremely well and the last teams on the
"long" course came in at 12h16 Sunday am after more than 16 hours of
racing which started with a freezing swim below Judgement Day rapid on
the Palmiet river. A 3km dash to the raft put in followed. This river
had plenty of water and for the next 2km teams tried to stay in their
rafts/crocs in the Grade2 and 3 rapids. The river was about a foot lower
than last year which resulted in it being a lot more technical at some
of the rapids. The customary swims [for some teams] at Water Fall and
Judgement Day rapids kept the spectators amused. At the end of the
rafting leg a 3 km trail run along the river to the transition at Fairy
Glen followed.

Teams now fetched their running shoes and race pack, setting of on a
mountain leg for 7km which took them via some of the most exquisite
views of the Bay and also visiting a check point in a cave. They then
crossed the Botriver at the mouth and continued on a 8km coasteering leg
to Meerensee, at the south side of Botriver Lagoon. This transition saw
teams changing into paddling gear again and launching into the chilly
and windswept lagoon for a 16km paddle, visiting 3 check points along
the way.

The next transition was from a paddling leg to a 40km [if you got it
right...] mountain biking leg with check points to be visited, including
one on the other side of a freezing cold quarry - one team member had to
swim across to visit the check point. Most of the mountain biking took
place around the Highlands forest areas with steep climb and declines
and stunning  360º vistas.

The last transition at Iona Farm was from the mountain bike leg onto a
tough 18km hike with check points off the trail. This proved to be too
challenging for a number of teams and as soon as the sun set, things
went pear for quite a few teams... Still, the stunning views persisted
with the rise of a full moon and after a quick [surprise] coffee at
check point 17. Thanks Trevor Ball - he hiked an hour up the mountain
with his Jetboil stove to make coffee for teams, only to realise he
forgot the gas cannister down the bottom. He hiked down and than back up
again to fetch it...! The last check point [18] was a sting in the tail
with a monster incline to the highest peak in the area and an insanely
steep decline down the other side, dropping around 600m in less than 2
km...

A well worthy mention - Tatum [Hobbit] Prins and Jeannie Bomford decided
to race as a female pair and were lying 3d all the way up to the last
transition - the night navigation proved a little challenging on the
last leg but with a little navigation practice, they will no doubt kick
up some serious dust in future races! They've made their point.

The Helly Hansen team of Martin [the Duke] Dreyer [Multi sport king] and
Rohan [Whippet] Kennedy [Duathlon guru] cruised to the finish in 9hrs
49min. In 2nd was the McCains Adventure Addicts team of Jan Schutte and
Andre Gie [both distinguished Multi sport athletes] - 11hrs 13min. 3d
placed was Team Energy [yes, they're still going strong..!] with Ugene
Nel and Mark Loftus - 13hrs55mins.

A great course layout by Quintin Smith from Quantum Adventures and lots
of thanks to him and his Marshals, Trevor Ball whom snapped over 600
pics on his new SLR, played the roll of field ambulance, photographer,
mother [to some], MC and managed the prize giving for both the short and
long courses.

Last but not  least - ALL of our SPONSORS! Thanking you!