The first three legs are short and snappy. The race starts around 07h00 tomorrow morning (Sunday, 25 May 2014). South Africa is GMT +2.
At 07h00 the teams take to the sea for a short 11 kilometre paddle. Low tide is around 06h00 – this won’t really affect them. They paddle South, down the coast to the mouth of the Umtamvuna River. They have CP1 to locate here. They’ll then proceed up the river. The mouth is shallow but open. Up the river they’ll find T1.
At T1 they transition on to foot for a 12km trek within the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve. They have been instructed to stay on the hiking paths. The last 5km of this section will be a bit of canyoning – scrambling over rocks and river crossings. This will take them back to their kayaks at T1.
And then it is a 5km paddle downstream, back towards the river mouth, to T2, which is located at the Wild Coast Sun. I had dinner there tonight – with other media and crew (thank you Wild Coast Sun). It’s a lovely venue but unfortunately the teams won’t be able to stop to enjoy it – nor will they get a chance to play on the water slides at WaterWorld.
At T2 they receive maps for Leg 4 – an 80km hike that many of the teams are dreading. For them this is the first big crunch of the race.
For now, I can’t tell you any more than this.
Remember to tune into the LIVE TRACKING on the KineticGear website. Also follow the race via Twitter. Use the #expafrica hashtag.
See you tomorrow!
Photograph by Andreas Strand.