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| Mountain Designs Wild Women - Geoquest NZ 2023 |
With the announcement that this iconic
adventure race ‘Mountain Designs GeoQuest’ was going to cross the ditch, there
was no way that the Mountain Designs Wild Women were going to miss out. Part of the reason that adventure racing is
such a cool sport, is because it always takes you to places that most tourists
and the general population can’t access or simply do not even know about. So
now this was an opportunity to not only explore the Hawkes Bay region in the
North Island of NZ but also provide a little boost to the community which was
devastated by floods earlier in the year.
Mountain Designs Wild Women team captain Kim
Beckinsale had planned to race with Debbie Chambers and Emma McCosh in XPD –
Rivers of Gold - Cairns in 2021, but COVID restrictions prevented the Kiwis
from international travel, so this event became the perfect opportunity for us
to finally race together. Debbie is no
stranger to GeoQuest, as she raced with the ‘Girls on Top’ (all women’s team) back
in the early days of GeoQuest in Australia. Debbie has had a lot to do with growing
women’s participation in the sport the sport of adventure racing in Australia,
so by racing together, in GeoQuest NZ, we form a bit of an international
alliance for the continued growth of women in adventure racing. Debbie called
on her experienced AR friend Rachael Cashin to join us for the adventure as
well.
Tri Adventure host the Wild Women Adventure Race - Noosa
North Shore - October 14 2023
Dare2Sweat Events host the Spirited Women’s Adventure Race – Cromwell NZ – February 9-11
2024
Mountain Designs GeoQuest was first held in
Australia way back in 2002 and back in those days it was a fully supported
race, meaning that teams of 4 raced and their support crew would transport
their gear and provide food and support in the transition areas. This was the
format adopted for this event and thus brings even more exposure for the sport
to the local area, which was much needed. Experience and local knowledge are
always going to be advantageous in adventure racing and in a fully supported
race this means that the crew are an integral part of the team. So, the Mountain
Designs Wild Women were supported by Jan Leverton (who has raced and finished
more than 17 GeoQuest events in Australia) and Brendan Pheasant a former Napier
local who had returned to the area mainly to help with flood recovery.
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| Race HQ GeoQuest NZ - Hawkes Bay |
The Race
The GeoQuest NZ Hawkes Bay – Napier course was
196km and included 14 different legs or stages - 4 treks, 3 paddles and 6
mountain bike legs, meaning that slick transitions would be advantageous. There
were 6 maps (2 x topographical, 3 x orienteering, 1 x google earth) with scales
ranging from 1:50 000 to 1:4000 adding to the navigational challenge which is
such a big part of the sport. The course was not the original planned course,
in fact a totally different. It was a revamp due to the February floods which
caused massive landslides and destruction to infrastructure. So, the fact that
Wild &Co were even able to plan a course in the area was a huge feat in
itself.
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| Start - GeoQuest NZ 2024 |
The race started with a 6km beach trek and then
a 14km ocean paddle which due to the light tailwind winds was a lot faster than
expected. Then we had a lightning-fast transition onto the 20km Cape Kidnappers
Trek where we collected CP 2,3,4, 5 and 6. The tide was low, so we ran quickly
along the beach before heading up to the top of the cliffs to enjoy the sea
views and views back to Napier. We met our support crew on the road just after
CP 6 and transitioned onto Leg 4, a 34km Gravel Grinder to Te Mata. Enroute to
the Te-Mata range we located CP 8 beside the Tuki Tuki river before climbing up
to the MTB park, where we had to find CPs ABCD before embarking on a trek.
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women - ready to hit the water |
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| Hawkes Bay is so calm! |
Mountain Designs Wild Women tracking to CP 6
Emma and Debbie had been there before, so that
made things a little easier, Emma set the pace on the bike, and we followed. We checked in with our crew at TA 3 before
heading out on the scenic 6km Te-Mata Peak rogaine. This leg was shorter and
easier than we expected (much easier than on the bike) so we finished in daylight,
and we were onto Leg 6, an 8km ride to the Tuki Tuki River, nearly 2 hours in
front of our time estimate. We stopped a
bit early when looking for CP 9, but Debbie then sighted some ponds below which
we had not yet passed, so we kept going and found it quickly!
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women almost at the Te Mata Peak |
Our crew were ready for us at the TA with our
kayaks all set up and ready for us to almost slide into the white-water on the
Tuki Tuki River – Leg 7 was a 15k paddle and the fact that we were starting in
daylight was a huge bonus. (We still
layered up with thermal pants and waterproof over pants). Emma and Debbie, prior to the start, thought
there would be no rapids on this river, so Emma got a bit of a shock when we
hit a rock and almost tipped in one section. The rapids were all pretty tame,
so it just made the paddle fun and faster with a little flow. CP 10 and 11 on the riverbank were easy to
spot. It was getting dark, but we could spot our crew on the bank at the TA.
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| Heading to Cp 10 |
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| Craggy Peaks in the background |
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| Just a few rapids - but they are quite small. |
It was time for cheese toasties, so we scoffed
these down with some hot coffee, just one advantage of having a support crew. It was apparently freezing, so we changed out
of our wet clothes into dry and warm gear and layered up with tights, thermals,
vests, arm warmers and buffs (we also carried dry and waterproof jackets and
pants}. Leg 8 the Hawkes Bay Gravel Grinder Part 1 ride to the next TA was
quite short – just 18k), so the crew had to do a super-fast pack up to try to
get there ahead of us; they made it in heaps of time. The Mountain Designs Wild
Women were leading the race at this point, if front since ½ way through the ocean
paddle.
The team transitioned quickly into shoes and
set off on foot for Leg 7 the 4k Pakowhai Park Rogaine. We located CP’s L, Q, P,
R, O, N, and M quite easily, as the flags reflected when shining our lights and
our off trail navigational skills of setting and holding bearings definitely
helped us finish this leg in under 45 minutes. Just as we arrived back at the TA to head out
on Leg 10 Gravel Grinder Part 2, the Kauri Coasters arrived, it was the first
time that we had seen them since passing them on the ocean kayak. The Mountain Designs Wild Women were now being
chased down and unfortunately; we made a few little errors that would prove
costly. After nailing CP 13 in the dark
we took the wrong road on our way to CP 14, so the bridge we were looking for
was non-existent. Backtracking (out of
the OOB area – oops) we found the bridge on the correct road but found it hard
to find the CP – no flag. We were now
worried about being caught; you could just sense it. CP 16 (Under Remnant Concrete Pylon seemed to
be missing – Emma took a photo, but our team continued to search and search and
try and find the flag. My jaw dropped
when the Kauri Coasters arrived.
We waited a bit and left having not found the
CP (you never want to be in this position in a race, as the other team could
just somehow find it if it is there), we then rode the stop bank track, found a
crossing spot. It was quite cold
crossing the river and we were lucky to get to the other side without falling
over in the strong current, but unfortunately Emma and Rachel fell into deep
holes when trying to scramble up a steep bank at the other side. CP 16, we hoped, was just up the track, so we
were pretty excited to find it quickly exactly where we looked 100m S of path
road crossing. Just as we were walking
out, the Kauri Coasters arrived. We
think they thought it was where we had crossed the river, as they did not even
go and look for the CP, so we just kept riding. Think they eventually realized.
At the next TA our crew had some HOT bacon and
egg pie that Rachael had made, so we scoffed that down as we ran out onto Leg
11, The Dolbel Park Rogaine (3km). We
knew the Kauri Coasters were hot on our heels. I stuffed up a bit after CP X so our route to
CP S was a little longer than planned. The
team ran hard with Emma leading the pack up the hill to find T, U, V before
returning to the TA. We managed to get
out onto the bikes before the other team arrived back. We were riding super-fast on these flat stop-bank
trails on the second last bike leg of the race – Hawkes Bay Gravel Grinder Part
3. I was looking at the map carefully
and just trying to make sense of it all. We found CP 17 after counting some trees but
got a bit bamboozled looking for CP 18. We
found a bridge but not the CP. We were riding
so fast we second guessed ourselves and decided to backtrack, this is where we
were passed by the Kauri Coasters. We
saw them stop at the same bridge and find the CP, right where we had been
looking. It was meant to be on the SE
end of bridge, but we believe the CP punch was actually on the NE end.
We arrived at the TA for Leg 13 Marina Rogaine
Paddle (6km) just one or two minutes behind, so the race was on. We had to mark up our maps with CP locations
and clues, so Kim did this with Debbie straight away before anything else. The Mountain Designs Wild Women were in the
water in a flash, thanks to the extra support from our crew who had cracked our
glow sticks and hurried us through the transition. Kim and Rachel were in one kayak and Debbie
and Emma were in the other. Rachel was
absolutely motoring, and we soon arrived at CP AA; Emma and Debbie had the
punch card so they punched, but the other team were right there and it was a
race, so we put Rachel with Emma – giving ourselves the best chance of keeping
up. We paddled fast to BB then CC and
DD. As we headed for CP Z the water
disappeared and the paddle became a mud drag to CP Y. The Kauru Coasters arrived back at the TA just
in front and were off on their bikes in a flash. The final bike, Leg 14 (7km) was aptly named
‘The Sting in the Tail’, there were only two CP’s – 20 at the end of the Marina
and the final CP at the top of the hill at the lighthouse. It was a good
testing climb - not too punishing, we located the final punch – CP 21, then we
enjoyed the descent to the finish on the beach front at Napier.
The Finish
The Mountain Designs Wild Women finished the race 2nd outright, 1st all women team. Yes, we were pipped at the post by the Kauri Coasters (Mixed Team), after being caught on the second last bike leg, and not able to get back in front on the Marina Rogaine mud drag paddle. The Coasters had that slight advantage off the water, and that with a little bit more local knowledge, were just a bit too fast to keep up with, but we certainly did not stop trying.
Mountain Designs Wild Women Finish GeoQuest NZ - Hawkes Bay
Highlights
Hawkes Bay Ocean Paddle – The conditions were
perfect – chilly but a light tail wind and little swell just to make the finish
interesting. There was a little shore
dump and a few surfers out catching waves!
Cape Kidnappers Trek – This was a stunning
beach trek alongside remarkable sandstone cliffs with CPs located in dry creek
lines. We saw seals, pacific gulls, gannets and plenty of other sea life as we
ran underneath the million-year-old cliffs. Then we headed up to the top of the
cliffs to the lighthouse at Cape Kidnappers before walking through spectacular
lush farmlands and a private golf course. Then we got to ride down the hill out
of there which was so fun!
Te Mata MTB & Trek – The mountain bike
trails were challenging but fun and the CPs were not too difficult to find. They were part of a permanent Orienteering
Course, so we were looking for 7.5 x 7.5 cm Orange & white squares on posts
/ trees. On the trek in the same area,
we were able to take in the scenery and see some of the ancient fossils
embedded in the cliffs and on the trails.
Tuki Tuki White Water Paddle on sunset – White
water paddling is always a bit of fun especially when the water is a bit shallow,
the rapids are not too big, and you are with experienced paddlers. We were
treated to beautiful views of the Craggy Range Peaks as the sun was setting and
finished just on dark.
Racing with a team of confident, competent,
super tough women who were swift on every discipline of the including the
transitions.
Challenges
Starting the race when the temperature was
close to zero degrees, knowing that there was little time for it to warm up
before the start of the paddle.
Deciding what gear to wear for the start and
then the paddle as transitions would need to be super slick.
Landing the kayaks off the ocean paddle – the
boat ramp was nonexistent and there was a big shore dump.
Riding past some of the famous Hawkes Bay
wineries and not stopping in for some wine tasting.
Looking for CPs that had no orienteering flags
as they were all certainly well hidden.
Re-routing after we took a wrong turn and could
not find CP 14 because we were on the wrong road.
Being caught by the chasing team at CP 15 but
deciding to keep going as we had taken a photo.
Crossing a river in the dark with our bikes not
really knowing exactly how deep it was going to get.
Doing a U turn on the 2nd last bike
because we couldn’t find the CP on the bridge, despite being in the right
place. Thus we were passed by the chasers!
Dragging our kayaks through the mud on the
final marina paddle. The race for the win was on and the tide was so low there
was no water to paddle on.
Outcomes
Wild &Co successfully launch Mountain Designs GeoQuest in NZ and bring more visitors to
the Hawkes Bay Region at the same time – a welcome boost to a struggling
community after devastating floods in February.
Growth of the sport in NZ with the addition of
a 48hr race in the North Island and maybe a possibility that some Kiwi’s may
consider travelling to Australia for GeoQuest Australia in June 2024.
Mountain Designs Wild Women have another very
successful race in New Zealand, hopefully inspiring more women to get out and
have a go at the sport.
Kim finally gets to race with Debbie Chambers,
and in the process races alongside Emma Mc Cosh and Rachel Cashin – some of New
Zealand’s most experienced and toughest adventure racers.
Great memories of the event as we look back
over some of the amazing photos taken by Murilo Mattos posted on the Wild&Co Facebook Page These will also help to showcase
the beautiful Hawkes Bay Region to the world as the event was a part of the ARWS Oceania Series
An opportunity to explore more of this Hawkes Bay Region by staying and playing. There is plenty to do in the area such as explore
the Hawkes Bay Trails , Hawkes Bay Wineries or some of the Napier Art Deco.
The Mountain Designs Wild Women would like to acknowledge the
support we have from Mountain Designs as having access to a wide range of race
gear and equipment makes a huge difference in the sport of adventure racing, because gear needs to be reliable and robust!
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