Having raced under various guises over the past year it was time to come up with a new team name as both James & Ivan did not make the cut-off to be included in the Naughty Forties. After much deliberating whilst out on a training ride over Breedts Nek, we came up with the name Samurai. Why Samurai I hear you ask, well Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword, whereas Team Samurai employ a range of weapons such as backpacks, dual suspension mountainbikes, headlamps, trail shoes and our most famous weapon is the Compass.

Departing from both Johannesburg & Pretoria on Friday morning, we arrived at Waterford Kamhlaba College during the afternoon were we pitched our tents in a blustery wind.

After collecting our maps & registering it was time to plot the 39 CP's on the 6 maps. The briefing began and Darron rather jokingly referred to the Potholes and a 15-meter bumslide that was greeted with nervous laughter and re-iterated that our maps needed to be xtremely waterproof. Having finished the briefing it was time to look at the various route options and contact our maps whilst those increasingly blustery conditions outside prevailed.

Climbing into the tent with the hope of slightly more sleep than is normally the case the night before a race start, our hopes were soon dashed by that gale force wind now blowing across the Waterford field and accosting our eardrums as we lay in our sleeping bags. With minimal sleep it was up for a 7 o'clock start in decidedly overcast conditions that threatened rain and which materialised as soon as our tents had been packed away.

Delaying the start by 1.5 hours to ensure all the relevant CP's were either manned or had been placed we were soon off in a mad scramble down a wet tar road on our bikes to the first CP which was clipped in the company of a number of teams. The first bike leg included a number of small hike/push a bike sections with the ubiquitous wire fence thrown in for good measure. After 4 odd hours we reached transition from where we would hike up to Ngwenya North and clip a CP on top of the mountain before transitioning once again to a bike section.

The hike to T4 included an unmanned abseil down a waterfall that could only be reached through part of the old Ngwenya mine. Needless to say, we drew the short straw and the only available rope was that closest to the waterfall, which ensured that we all got a thorough soaking on our way down. CP13 had been cancelled and many teams decided to climb Ngwenya North by way of returning towards T3, we however decided on continuing on the route as had been planned by Darron and took the most direct route up one of the ridges. It was at this stage that Elsie whose jet-lag finally caught up to her (she only arrived back from Alaska on the Tuesday), decided that if she can climb Denali this little old sucker called Ngwenya North was not going to beat her even if it meant climbing up on her hands and knees. It wasn't a pretty sight! As we summated the mist came rolling in bringing visibility down to a few meters but we managed to clip CP14 with relative ease. From there we had a straightforward hike back down to T4.

We spent approximately 40 minutes at this transition devouring a home made chicken pasta meal and then set out once again on our trusty steeds for a bike leg. After collecting all the various CP's that included some serious bundu bashing whilst trying to find CP16, we once again arrived in transition and continued devouring what remained of that delicious pasta dish and we packed a thermos full of soup to ward off hypothermia after the kloofing section in the Potholes.

Debating whether to start the mammoth hike or catch a few zz's, we decided on hiking to the Malolotja Potholes and catch a few zz's whilst waiting for daybreak. At 6, Jeep Voetsak arrived and the whole debating process as to whether we were going to jump or take the path around the gorge began. Eventually we decided to brave the cold water and jumped into the 1st pool and clipped the CP between the 1st & 2nd Potholes. The nervous laughter that greeted Darron's description of the 15-meter bumslide was now a reality and without too much hesitation it was off (more foolhardy than brave, I suspect) down the slide. The rest of the Potholes didn't prove too eventful, although the cold air was now starting to take a firm grip on both Elsie and I. On reaching the end of the potholes it was off with the wet clothes and on with all our thermals. I was shivering so much that I couldn't even hold the thermos properly in my hands and spilt some of the hot soup all over my face.

The hike continued in the company of Jeep Voetsak whilst James at one stage thought he would look a lot better if he did a Van Gogh to his ear. We spent the best part of a couple of hours trying to bundu bash through that invasive weed called Lantana which was a nightmare of epic proportions and which didn't get much better once we crossed the river. Realising that we must have been pretty close to the CP, Piers in frustration shouts out “Where the F#@k is this CP, to which a reply was heard not more that 5 meters away “Here”. Hehe, it still probably took us 15 minutes to reach it!! and by that stage Team Enduro had joined us.

The hike out of the valley proved a lot less eventful and we completed the kloofing section before the Hydro dam that thankfully was bathed in sunshine and not as nearly as cold as the swim earlier that morning. We got to the dam wall, climbed the ladders and spotted the space blanket across the section where we should have descended into the gorge. I seem to recall quite clearly that at race briefing Darron had mentioned, "Do not trust any ladders", oh well, the only way out was to climb them and hope that nothing untoward occurred. Thankfully nothing did and the rest of the hike down to T6 was uneventful.

On arriving at T6 we were informed that the race had been halted due to the lack of water in the river and that we were to drive to T7 from where the race would be re-started the following morning. Here we need to say a massive thanks to Team CACE for supplying us with soup and a KFC chicken wrap for James, as our seconds had already disappeared to T7 to set up camp for the night. We eventually arrived at T7, had a hearty meal and were informed by Lisa as to what the status of the race was and what would be happening on resumption the following morning.

At the re-start a mad sprint across Maguga dam occurred and then a portage with the crocs down the road to the put-in for the White Water section. As Elsie, Ivan nor I had ever done any white water rafting this would be a totally new experience. The only problem occurring (apart from a couple of minor swims) was when Ivan "lost" his paddle and we spent 15 minutes trying to locate it. Having found it, we continued on our merry way and eventually reached the transition (T10) after portaging a couple of the more serious rapids/waterfalls.

A leisurely transition occurred and we began the last hike. By this stage we were accompanied by a number teams including Jeep, Enduro and Aquelle. We then ascended the kloof in the opposite direction of the Sport teams and were treated to some majestic rock formations and waterfalls, all the while ensuring that our feet, which had spent the better part of SX being wet, were not subjected to the same treatment again. Exiting the kloof we arrived at T11 and quickly transitioned onto our bikes for the last mtb leg of the race.

This leg included some steep climbs and serious downhills that ensured our brakes were tested to the limit but didn't prove too hectic from a navigational point of view until we approached CP37 were we wasted an hour trying to find a route that ensured we didn't utilise the out of bounds tar road, all the while being able to spot the CP's flashing red light in the distance. Once again we were joined by the previously mentioned teams and we eventually made our way to CP37, hiked up to the top of mountain to clip CP38 and then began the last 10k's or so to the finish at Panata.

At this juncture there were approximately 14 of us riding in a group with no one really taking responsibility for the navigation, so it came as no surprise when James called a halt to the proceedings and convinced the rest of the team that we were not on the right heading. With the rest of the group not paying any heed we re-traced our steps, quickly found CP39 and finished at Panata 15/20 minutes before the masses to a warm fire and a delicious meal.

As the race had become a staged affair and knowing that a number of racers and teams had withdrawn at T7, the manner in which the overall results would be calculated had us all intrigued. Darron announced at prize giving later that morning, that only teams who managed to get all team members over the finish line would count as official finishers and we were extremely surprised when he announced that we had finished 4th from 23 entrants.

To my teammates, it was a pleasure racing with you once again. James your navigation was tremendous and on the button! To our seconds, Claire, Katharine & JP a massive thank you for the hard work and effort that you put in. Better seconds one could not wish for.

It was an Xtreme race that saw us traverse some amazingly beautiful areas and to which we would be none the wiser should the race not have passed through these areas. Thank you Darron, Anita & your crew.«