Mountain Designs GeoQuest headed to North Haven in the Port Macquarie Region June 2024!

North Haven, located just south of Port Macquarie, has been announced as the official start and finish location for the 2024 edition of the Mountain Designs GeoQuest 48hr Adventure Race. 

Date: 7-10 June 2024
Location: North Haven, NSW, Australia
Duration: 48 hour event
Entries: Enter Here
Team size: 4 person
Part of the ARWS Oceania Series

Over 300 people including competitors, support crews, family and friends from around the country will attend the Mountain Designs GeoQuest 48hr Adventure Race from 7 to 10th June 2023. 

The race is held annually on the weekend of the Queen’s Birthday in June. The location of the course is moved each year to a different area to pose exciting new challenges for competitors. 

This year’s location of choice, North Haven, is a 4hr drive from Sydney and located just 30 minutes south of Port Macquarie. 

The charming town of North Haven sits at the mouth of the Camden Haven Inlet, surrounded by beautiful waterways, gorgeous beaches and rugged wilderness. It’s a nature-based escape where you can spot koalas and dolphins, explore surrounding national parks and enjoy watersports on sparkling Queens Lake making it the perfect backdrop for a spectacular 48hr adventure.

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co event director says, “We’re very excited to be heading to North Haven for 2024, there are exceptional paddling opportunities, amazing mountain bike trails and plenty of new and familiar trails to explore.

Teams in the full course, and maybe the half course, can expect an ocean kayaking component which should make for some real excitement on race day/”

Mountain Designs GeoQuest involves 48+hrs of non-stop endurance racing in the major sporting disciplines of trekking, mountain biking and kayaking. Mixed gender, Male and Female teams of four must navigate their way through an arduous 220+km course that is only revealed to them the evening before the race. 

The Geo-Half adventure race runs simultaneously with the Mountain Designs GeoQuest. The Geo-Half covers only half the distance but teams have the full 48hrs to complete it. The legs will be challenging but with the additional time available to complete the half course, teams have a greater chance to reach the finish line before time is up. 

The window for registration closes 5 June 2024. Accommodation can be booked through the Visit NSW website at www.visitnsw.com/destinations/north-coast/port-macquarie-area/accommodation

For the latest information on the race please visit www.geoquest.com.au

The event is made possible thanks to major sponsor, Mountain Designs and additional support this year by Port Macquarie Hastings Council 

Terra Nova 24 headed to Kioloa in 2024!

Kioloa, located on the southern end of the Shoalhaven region has been announced as the official start and finish location for the 2024 edition of the Terra Nova 24 Adventure Race. 

Date: 6-7 April 2023
Location: Kiola NSW, Australia
Duration: 24 hour event
Entries: Enter Here
Team size: 2/4 person
Part of the ARWS Oceania Series

Over 400 people including competitors, family and friends from around Australia and the Asia Pacific Region will attend the Terra Nova 24 24hr Adventure Race from 6-7 April 2023.

The race is held annually on the first weekend in April in the Shoalhaven region. The location of the course is moved each year to a different area to pose exciting new challenges for competitors. 

This year’s location of choice, Kioloa, is just off the Princess Highway and around 2 hours south of Sydney. 

Located half way between Ulladulla and Batemans bay, Kioloa is known, for its beautiful beaches, ocean front camping, family-friendly atmosphere and lookouts to spot migrating whales and other wildlife.

It's close to Murramarang National Park, and has stunning views of nearby Belowa Island which protects the beach from big swell, making it a great beach for fishing, families and kayaking. It has a small boat ramp at it's southern end and Butlers Creek and Butlers Headland at the northern end.

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co event director says, “We’re very excited to be heading to Kioloa at the southern end of Shoalhaven, it's the perfect location to start and finish an Adventure Race. It gives us access to the ocean and some of the best trails the region has to offer.

We've got an exciting new course for Terra Nova in 2024 and can't wait to show off trails Terra Nova has never been to before. For something special, full course teams should be ready for an ocean kayak leg to start!”

Terra Nova 24 involves 24hrs of non-stop endurance racing in the major adventure racing disciplines of trekking, mountain biking and kayaking. Mixed gender, Male and Female teams of two or four must navigate their way through an arduous 120+km course that is only revealed to them the day of the race. 

The "Terra Nova Half" runs simultaneously with Terra Nova and covers just over half the distance but teams have the full 24hrs to complete it. The legs will be challenging but with the additional time available to complete the half course, teams have a greater chance to reach the finish line before time is up. 

Early Bird entries close 31 December 2023 and the final window for registration closes 4 April 2024. Accommodation can be booked through the Visit NSW website at: www.shoalhaven.com

For the latest information on the race please visit: www.terranova24.com.au

The event is made possible thanks to major sponsor, Mountain Designs.

Adventurethon Australia are Top Dogs and ARWS Oceania Champions

Top Dog 24 was the fitting name for the new adventure race from Wild&Co, staged in Canberra and the Capital Territory and hosting the 2023 Adventure Racing World Series Oceania Championship.

Fifty-two teams arrived at the Pavilion at the Stromlo Forest Park, home to some of Australia’s best mountain bike trails, which the racers would enjoy as part of the weekend’s racing.  There were full and half-course (Little Dog) options to suit different levels of experience, and additional ‘championship checkpoints’ for those wanting to race for the ARWS Oceania title.

After a tough race it was Team Adventurethon Australia who were the first ever AR Top Dogs and claimed the Oceania title, along with a free entry to 2024 Adventure Racing World Championships in Ecuador! 

On a weekend of cool and overcast conditions teams raced a course including gravel road and mountain bike trails, river and lake paddling, trekking and navigation. There was a cave checkpoint and an archery challenge and teams had to stay together from start to finish.

The Tog Dog 24 teams covered 120km (150km with the Championship Checkpoints) and their course took them west towards the NSW border.  From the opening trek there were big views of the Murrumbidgee River valley and a 12km kayak along the river was stage two of the race.

Race Director Chris Dixon said, “I was worried there would be a lot of carrying due to low water, but recent rains made it an enjoyable paddle.  There were some exciting rapids and in places racers had to finda way through the rocky riverbed, at one point doing a ‘kayak limbo’ under a fallen tree trunk.”

The biggest stage of the race followed with a 40km ride over the Blue Range and the first championship checkpoint was just over the state border.  This required an uphill hike-a-bike to collect and 10 teams opted to go for the longer championship course, the rest taking a shorter and easier route to the next checkpoint.

The ride took teams back to the Murrumbidgee via a foot rogaine at Cotter’s River, then past the start area at Stromlo into Canberra, where the Top Dog teams join the shorter ‘Little Dog’ route.

This included another rogaine in the National Arboretum and for the Top Dog teams a spectacular night paddle past the illuminated capital buildings on Lake Burley Griffin.  (The Little Dog teams mostly completed this in daylight.)

Those on the championship course had further to go, paddling under Commonwealth Avenue Bridge to find a checkpoint on the shore of King’s Park.  Both courses then finished with a final ride on the Stromlo trails in the quiet hours of Sunday morning to reach the finish line.

The first finishers were the ‘Little Dog’ teams, and there was a close race with the lead changing on the final stages. 

First to finish (overall and male winners) were Last Minute Buzzer Beaters (Derrick Cant/Adrian Harper) in 06 hours 49 minutes 29 seconds. The pair were racing together for the first time and only met up at the race start!  On the finish line Adrian said, “We lost about 15 minutes looking for CP X and had to race hard to make up the difference on the way back for the win.”

Finishing just over 2 minutes later for second overall and as first premier mixed team were Lambeth Racing (Kieran Macdonell & Clare Lonergan). They aimed to finish before dark, and were very happy to do that!

Third, only 6 minutes later, were Tiger Adventure Racing Maniacs (Monika Lee & Andrew Slattery). Monika has been one of the most prolific racers this year, competing in Terra Nova, Rogue Raid, Explore Gippsland, Hells Bells, Wildside Adventure and now Top Dog 24!

The fastest team on the Top Dog course were ‘Faff Attack’ (Minh-Tam Nguyen and Mark Van Der Ploeg), finishing in 15 hours 55 minutes 05 seconds.  Team Resultz Racing (Robert Joford and Michael Reed) were quicker, but portaged their kayak on the Lake Burley Griffin stage, which was against the rules.  A one hour penalty pushed them into second place.

A total of 22 teams finished the Top Dog course in male, female and mixed categories, and in the whole race only 3 teams retired, with all the others crossing the finish line.

The Oceania Championship race wasn’t such a close contest as Adventurethon Australia dominated and lead from start to finish.  They crossed the line in 16 hours 39 minutes 18 seconds to take the title and win the big prize of a place the Ecuador World Championships.

The team of Mitch Nissen, Brock Hawke, Narelle Crozier and David Jennings are a very experienced quartet, with many different endurance and multisport events behind them, including GODZone and One Water Race. On the finish line they said, “Great course, it was awesome.  We liked the rogaines as they were runnable but the hike a bike was long and hard.  But then it wouldn’t be an adventure race without a hike-a-bike!”

In the male category the pair of Stephen Machale and Tommy Doman racing as ‘That’s a Paddlin’ were quickest, despite also getting a one hour penalty for portaging, and in the women’s Championship category the Mountain Designs Wild Women finished in 20.03.01 to record another full course finish.

Speaking after the race Kim Beckinsale thanked the Wild&Co team for getting the new event off the ground.  “This enabled us all the opportunity to out on a fantastic adventure around Canberra,” she said.  “Wild Women had a wild and wonderful time on the course, especially the white water paddle down the Murrumbidgee River and riding the Stromlo trails.”

Wild&Co will bring the race back to Canberra next year. “I’m excited about the possibilities for racing in the ACT,” said Dixon.  “There are so many possibilities for future Top Dog races and we’ll be back bigger and better in 2024!”   

Hells Bells! Australia’s Favourite 24 Hour Adventure Race Celebrates 2 Decades

The Hells Bells 24 hour adventure race celebrates 20 years of competition on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland this coming weekend (August 5-6th).

Few adventure races anywhere in the world achieve this longevity and consistency, and the race is one of the keystones of Australian adventure racing.  Over the years most of the greatest Australian adventure racers have taken part and the race has been an introduction to the sport for many.

The race was started in 2004, has had 3 different owners, and has taken place annually, even managing to avoid Covid cancellations. It has had the same headline sponsor for much of its history too and this year Mountain Designs will once again support the race.

Hells Bells always takes place on the Sunshine Coast, and has been as far North as Rainbow Beach, and as far South as Bribie Island.  This year Wild&Co will take the race back to Cotton Tree in the heart of the Sunshine Coast.  It’s a town known for its relaxed atmosphere, easy access to the Maroochy River, pristine rivers and stunning sunsets – all of which racers will likely experience.

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co event director said: “We’re very excited to be heading back to Cotton Tree. It’s the perfect location to start and finish an Adventure Race and gives us access to some of the best trails and waterways the Sunshine Coast has to offer.

“We've got an exciting new course for Hells Bells 2023 and can't wait to show off trails Hells Bells has never been to before and to re-visit some of our favourites.”

Races have been promised big views and big hills, waterfalls and even a viewpoint where teams can get a sunset view of the whole course.

Dixon added, “What I love about this year’s location is that you within a few minutes and a few kilometres you can feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere. We’ve got an incredibly beautiful swim/float/paddle to start and some CPs hidden away on Islands and rocky outcrops. Then come a combination of beaches and hinterland trails, some world class mountain biking,  which will potentially feature in the 2032 Olympics, a CP on a small but brutal hill climb and for Hells Bells, an as yet unpaddled waterway that will be incredibly beautiful under a full moon with its narrow twists and turns.”

A Record Entry

This year the race has once again broken its record entry and with close to 300 racers is set to be the biggest 24 hour adventure race ever in Australia. The race starts will be split, with 4 waves of competitors leaving race HQ on Saturday morning between 11.00am and 12.30pm. 

Dixon said, “It’s been exciting to see it grow from 64 people in 2016, when we first took it on, to 240 last year and well over 300 this year, I actually didn’t believe it was possible but it goes to show that with a great race concept and better execution each year we’ve really created something great.

“Every year the stats are the same; 70% of the racers are locals from the region, 20% are from interstate and about 10% are from overseas. It’s really exciting to have people like Vincent Chang from Hong Kong racing again as he first entered in 2020, but when the world shut down he couldn’t make it.

The race is open to pairs and teams of 4, and there are two categories, the full Hells Bells course which is around 120km and Fairy Bells, which is a 70km+ course which teams have the full 24 hours to complete. The Fairy Bells course uses some of the same ground as the Hells Bells course and is designed as a stepping stone to Hells Bells and longer races and is perfect for teams doing their first adventure race. 

All members of the team complete the swim, paddle, trek and mountain bike stages, staying together from start to finish.  Fairy Bells this year has 7 stages, and Hells Bells 9 stages and teams know both races will start with the swim/bodyboard stage.

Dixon says the races are wide open this year, and it’s a chance for some new names to appear in the Hells Bells Hall of Fame.  After 20 years a new generation of racers are starting out in adventure racing at Hells Bells.

Follow the Race

The race will have live tracking so supporters and fans can follow their teams’ progress around the course. 

To follow the race go to https://live.trackmelive.com.au/HB2023/ (live after the race start).

There will also be race updates, photos and videos posted to the Wild&Co Facebook and Instagram pages (@wldnco)

Hells Bells History

Hells Bells was started by Geocentric Outdoors (Craig Bycroft and Louise Foulkes) in 2004 and is Australia’s longest running 24 hour adventure race.

Each year the organisers choose a beautiful location somewhere on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. In the first year over 150 athletes started at the Dayboro Show Grounds catching the train into the CBD to begin the race with an urban rogaine before heading north.

For the first few years there was only a full course option with Fairy Bells being introduced in 2009. The race format hasn’t changed much with race distances and disciplines relatively consistent since the start.

In 2016 Chris Dixon from Wild & Co took over Hells Bells from Sunshine Coast Adventure Racing Legend, David Schloss.

The race is now part of the Adventure Racing World Series Oceania region and race winners get a free place at the Oceania Championship in November.

For more information see;

https://www.hellsbells.com.au/

https://www.wldnco.com/

www.arworldseries.com

Adventurethon Australia are Top Dogs and ARWS Oceania Champions

Top Dog 24 was the fitting name for the new adventure race from Wild&Co, staged in Canberra and the Capital Territory and hosting the 2023 Adventure Racing World Series Oceania Championship.

Fifty-two teams arrived at the Pavilion at the Stromlo Forest Park, home to some of Australia’s best mountain bike trails, which the racers would enjoy as part of the weekend’s racing.  There were full and half-course (Little Dog) options to suit different levels of experience, and additional ‘championship checkpoints’ for those wanting to race for the ARWS Oceania title.

After a tough race it was Team Adventurethon Australia who were the first ever AR Top Dogs and claimed the Oceania title, along with a free entry to 2024 Adventure Racing World Championships in Ecuador! 

On a weekend of cool and overcast conditions teams raced a course including gravel road and mountain bike trails, river and lake paddling, trekking and navigation. There was a cave checkpoint and an archery challenge and teams had to stay together from start to finish.

The Tog Dog 24 teams covered 120km (150km with the Championship Checkpoints) and their course took them west towards the NSW border.  From the opening trek there were big views of the Murrumbidgee River valley and a 12km kayak along the river was stage two of the race.

Race Director Chris Dixon said, “I was worried there would be a lot of carrying due to low water, but recent rains made it an enjoyable paddle.  There were some exciting rapids and in places racers had to finda way through the rocky riverbed, at one point doing a ‘kayak limbo’ under a fallen tree trunk.”

The biggest stage of the race followed with a 40km ride over the Blue Range and the first championship checkpoint was just over the state border.  This required an uphill hike-a-bike to collect and 10 teams opted to go for the longer championship course, the rest taking a shorter and easier route to the next checkpoint.

The ride took teams back to the Murrumbidgee via a foot rogaine at Cotter’s River, then past the start area at Stromlo into Canberra, where the Top Dog teams join the shorter ‘Little Dog’ route.

This included another rogaine in the National Arboretum and for the Top Dog teams a spectacular night paddle past the illuminated capital buildings on Lake Burley Griffin.  (The Little Dog teams mostly completed this in daylight.)

Those on the championship course had further to go, paddling under Commonwealth Avenue Bridge to find a checkpoint on the shore of King’s Park.  Both courses then finished with a final ride on the Stromlo trails in the quiet hours of Sunday morning to reach the finish line.

The first finishers were the ‘Little Dog’ teams, and there was a close race with the lead changing on the final stages. 

First to finish (overall and male winners) were Last Minute Buzzer Beaters (Derrick Cant/Adrian Harper) in 06 hours 49 minutes 29 seconds. The pair were racing together for the first time and only met up at the race start!  On the finish line Adrian said, “We lost about 15 minutes looking for CP X and had to race hard to make up the difference on the way back for the win.”

Finishing just over 2 minutes later for second overall and as first premier mixed team were Lambeth Racing (Kieran Macdonell & Clare Lonergan). They aimed to finish before dark, and were very happy to do that!

Third, only 6 minutes later, were Tiger Adventure Racing Maniacs (Monika Lee & Andrew Slattery). Monika has been one of the most prolific racers this year, competing in Terra Nova, Rogue Raid, Explore Gippsland, Hells Bells, Wildside Adventure and now Top Dog 24!

The fastest team on the Top Dog course were ‘Faff Attack’ (Minh-Tam Nguyen and Mark Van Der Ploeg), finishing in 15 hours 55 minutes 05 seconds.  Team Resultz Racing (Robert Joford and Michael Reed) were quicker, but portaged their kayak on the Lake Burley Griffin stage, which was against the rules.  A one hour penalty pushed them into second place.

A total of 22 teams finished the Top Dog course in male, female and mixed categories, and in the whole race only 3 teams retired, with all the others crossing the finish line. 

The Oceania Championship race wasn’t such a close contest as Adventurethon Australia dominated and lead from start to finish.  They crossed the line in 16 hours 39 minutes 18 seconds to take the title and win the big prize of a place the Ecuador World Championships.

The team of Mitch Nissen, Brock Hawke, Narelle Crozier and David Jennings are a very experienced quartet, with many different endurance and multisport events behind them, including GODZone and One Water Race. On the finish line they said, “Great course, it was awesome.  We liked the rogaines as they were runnable but the hike a bike was long and hard.  But then it wouldn’t be an adventure race without a hike-a-bike!”

In the male category the pair of Stephen Machale and Tommy Doman racing as ‘That’s a Paddlin’ were quickest, despite also getting a one hour penalty for portaging, and in the women’s Championship category the Mountain Designs Wild Women finished in 20.03.01 to record another full course finish.

Speaking after the race Kim Beckinsale thanked the Wild&Co team for getting the new event off the ground.  “This enabled us all the opportunity to out on a fantastic adventure around Canberra,” she said.  “Wild Women had a wild and wonderful time on the course, especially the white water paddle down the Murrumbidgee River and riding the Stromlo trails.”

Wild&Co will bring the race back to Canberra next year. “I’m excited about the possibilities for racing in the ACT,” said Dixon.  “There are so many possibilities for future Top Dog races and we’ll be back bigger and better in 2024!” 

3hr Adventure Paddle 2023 Information Kit

Just under a week to go...make sure you're properly equipped and ready to go!

NOTE – This information has been emailed to those team members who have their name registered with Wild & Co and who appear on the team list. Team captains – you may need to forward this to your other team members.

With just under a week to go the event is shaping up to be an exciting one. The course is set, we're setting up HQ, placing CPs and packing the race packs. This email contains a few important reminders so please read carefully!

It's essential that you carefully read the information pack (click the image above or the link below) which includes all the important information you need, including the mandatory gear list. If you have questions please ask.

It’s important to note the Race HQ Update:
Schuster Park, Tallebudgera QLD 4228

CLICK HERE: Information Pack

Mountain Designs Geoquest Starts a New Chapter in New Zealand

Cape Kidnappers stage at the Mountain Designs Geoquest New Zealand / © Murilo Mattos / Wild and Co

The Mountain Designs Geoquest in Australia has been going over 20 years and has its own stories, traditions and atmosphere, built on the history of racers and races past. This year the race expanded to New Zealand for the first time and the race in Hawke’s Bays was the beginning of new chapter with new stories, traditions and experiences waiting to be written.

Teams that raced the inaugural 2023 Mountain Designs GeoQuest NZ 48hr Adventure Race in Hawke’s Bay started that new chapter in spectacular fashion.

With the Hawke’s Bay region still heavily affected by cyclone damage from the early part of the year, course design was a challenge, but all teams understood the situation.  The resulting course was fast and furious and a spectacular tour of some of the region’s many highlights.

The race was based out of the Napier Conference and Events Centre and for most teams it was their first GeoQuest experience, so they were curious about how the event would unfold. Most travelled to attend the event with 80% of the field from outside of the Hawke’s Bay Region. Kim Beckinsale, the team captain of the Mountain Designs Wild Women and long time GeoQuest participant, travelled from Noosa in Australia to attend the event. The youngest racer was 14 years old and racing the half course.

The race has a 48 hour time limit, two distances (full and half course), which are on some of the same trails and rivers much of the time, and is open to teams of four, with the option to race supported or unsupported. Most teams chose to race the traditional supported format which really made the transitions a fun atmosphere as support crews checked out and competed with each other for best transition.

The full course was a comfortable 198kms, shorter and flatter than a traditional GeoQuest, with the half course 122kms.

Starting out with a 6km coastal run and 15km ocean kayak in near perfect conditions, teams headed south towards Cape Kidnappers. Teams were grateful for the conditions as a swim in the 13 degree ocean wasn’t something anyone wanted to do. 

Landing their kayaks comfortably at the Hygge Cafe in Clifton, teams set off for a 20km beach and headland trek along the spectacular Cape Kidnappers coastline passing under the towering sandstone cliffs and spotting the occasional seal, then visited the gannet colony around the lighthouse. The trek can only be undertaken 2hrs either side of low tide and all teams made it through this section in comfortable time and then headed into the rolling hills across the top of the cliffs through the Cape Kidnapper estate.

Leg three was the first of the first of six bike legs that made use of the extensive Hawke’s Bay cycling trails network connecting both the region and the race together. The long climb to Te Mata peak was rewarded with what some have called one of the most spectacular mountain bike trails to feature in an Adventure Race. Perfectly timed for the late afternoon sun, teams took on both mountain biking and rogaining legs around the peak using the mountain bike and walking trails in the area, collecting permanently placed check points in the area using maps provided by the Hawke’s Bay Orienteering Club.

There was a race to get off the mountain and down to the moving water of the Tuki Tuki River before it got too dark. The faster teams completed the 15km grade 1 river paddle in just over 2 hrs, and it became more challenging for later teams as the light faded and teams had to pick their direction carefully with through the braided river bed in the dark. Reflective checkpoint flags certainly aided in the navigation in this section.

Completing the river paddle teams then faced a 69km ‘gravel grinder’ along the Hawke’s Bay trails network through the vineyards and apple plantations back to race HQ, broken up by two short foot rogaine legs and a paddle rogaine near the marina.

David Tait, a local adventure race director who helped design the course said, “Many people travel to the area with a plan to ride all the cycling trails in the region, it was very cool to see GeoQuest teams almost ride them all in one event.”

Kim Beckinsale of Mountain Designs Wild Women enjoyed the challenge of swapping 1:50,000 scale maps for the detail of the 1:5000 maps on the rogaine legs to complete these fun and challenges on the way back into Napier.

The Mountain Designs Wild Woman led for most of the race being chased by the Kauri Coasters. It was just at the last paddle that the Kauri Coasters caught them with only a minute or two separating the teams at by the time they crossed the line.  The winning time was 20 hours and 3 minutes.

The Antiques Roadshow were the final team to cross the line, and they were all smiles and very proud of their first adventure race as a team.

Race Director Chris Dixon commented, “It’s always exciting putting on a new race, and this time it’s with the pedigree and history of Geoquest, in the country where adventure racing began, and in the fabulous scenery around Hawke’s Bay.

“The 48 hour race format offered teams a chance to step up from the more familiar one day and 24 hour events and to push themselves to a new level. It was ideal training for an expedition race like The Legend, but at the same time the flexible race format made the race accessible to new teams who wanted a full weekend of adventure activities.

“It was a great start for Geoquest NZ and we are looking forward to returning to Hawke’s Bay next year with more teams and a bigger course.”

As the race is part of the ARWS Oceania regional series, the teams who took part earned points for both the Oceania and ARWS global rankings.

You can find out all about the race at; https://www.geoquest.com.au/

The race is organised by Wild and Co. who run adventure sports competitions throughout the year (https://www.wldnco.com/) and is part of the ARWS Oceania series (https://arworldseries.com/arws-oceania/).

Mountain Designs Geoquest Starts a New Chapter in New Zealand

Cape Kidnappers trek stage at the Mountain Designs Geoquest New Zealand / © Murilo Mattos / Wild and Co

The Mountain Designs Geoquest in Australia has been going over 20 years and has its own stories, traditions and atmosphere, built on the history of racers and races past. This year the race expanded to New Zealand for the first time and the race in Hawke’s Bays was the beginning of new chapter with new stories, traditions and experiences waiting to be written.

Teams that raced the inaugural 2023 Mountain Designs GeoQuest NZ 48hr Adventure Race in Hawke’s Bay started that new chapter in spectacular fashion.

With the Hawke’s Bay region still heavily affected by cyclone damage from the early part of the year, course design was a challenge, but all teams understood the situation.  The resulting course was fast and furious and a spectacular tour of some of the region’s many highlights.

The race was based out of the Napier Conference and Events Centre and for most teams it was their first GeoQuest experience, so they were curious about how the event would unfold. Most travelled to attend the event with 80% of the field from outside of the Hawke’s Bay Region. Kim Beckinsale, the team captain of the Mountain Designs Wild Women and long time GeoQuest participant, travelled from Noosa in Australia to attend the event. The youngest racer was 14 years old and racing the half course.

The race has a 48 hour time limit, two distances (full and half course), which are on some of the same trails and rivers much of the time, and is open to teams of four, with the option to race supported or unsupported. Most teams chose to race the traditional supported format which really made the transitions a fun atmosphere as support crews checked out and competed with each other for best transition.

The full course was a comfortable 198kms, shorter and flatter than a traditional GeoQuest, with the half course 122kms.

Starting out with a 6km coastal run and 15km ocean kayak in near perfect conditions, teams headed south towards Cape Kidnappers. Teams were grateful for the conditions as a swim in the 13 degree ocean wasn’t something anyone wanted to do. 

Landing their kayaks comfortably at the Hygge Cafe in Clifton, teams set off for a 20km beach and headland trek along the spectacular Cape Kidnappers coastline passing under the towering sandstone cliffs and spotting the occasional seal, then visited the gannet colony around the lighthouse. The trek can only be undertaken 2hrs either side of low tide and all teams made it through this section in comfortable time and then headed into the rolling hills across the top of the cliffs through the Cape Kidnapper estate.

Leg three was the first of the first of six bike legs that made use of the extensive Hawke’s Bay cycling trails network connecting both the region and the race together. The long climb to Te Mata peak was rewarded with what some have called one of the most spectacular mountain bike trails to feature in an Adventure Race. Perfectly timed for the late afternoon sun, teams took on both mountain biking and rogaining legs around the peak using the mountain bike and walking trails in the area, collecting permanently placed check points in the area using maps provided by the Hawke’s Bay Orienteering Club.

There was a race to get off the mountain and down to the moving water of the Tuki Tuki River before it got too dark. The faster teams completed the 15km grade 1 river paddle in just over 2 hrs, and it became more challenging for later teams as the light faded and teams had to pick their direction carefully with through the braided river bed in the dark. Reflective checkpoint flags certainly aided in the navigation in this section.

Completing the river paddle teams then faced a 69km ‘gravel grinder’ along the Hawke’s Bay trails network through the vineyards and apple plantations back to race HQ, broken up by two short foot rogaine legs and a paddle rogaine near the marina.

David Tait, a local adventure race director who helped design the course said, “Many people travel to the area with a plan to ride all the cycling trails in the region, it was very cool to see GeoQuest teams almost ride them all in one event.”

Kim Beckinsale of Mountain Designs Wild Women enjoyed the challenge of swapping 1:50,000 scale maps for the detail of the 1:5000 maps on the rogaine legs to complete these fun and challenges on the way back into Napier.

The Mountain Designs Wild Woman led for most of the race being chased by the Kauri Coasters. It was just at the last paddle that the Kauri Coasters caught them with only a minute or two separating the teams at by the time they crossed the line.  The winning time was 20 hours and 3 minutes.

The Antiques Roadshow were the final team to cross the line, and they were all smiles and very proud of their first adventure race as a team.

Race Director Chris Dixon commented, “It’s always exciting putting on a new race, and this time it’s with the pedigree and history of Geoquest, in the country where adventure racing began, and in the fabulous scenery around Hawke’s Bay.

“The 48 hour race format offered teams a chance to step up from the more familiar one day and 24 hour events and to push themselves to a new level. It was ideal training for an expedition race like The Legend, but at the same time the flexible race format made the race accessible to new teams who wanted a full weekend of adventure activities.

“It was a great start for Geoquest NZ and we are looking forward to returning to Hawke’s Bay next year with more teams and a bigger course.”

As the race is part of the ARWS Oceania regional series, the teams who took part earned points for both the Oceania and ARWS global rankings.

You can find out all about the race at; https://www.geoquest.com.au/

The race is organised by Wild and Co. who run adventure sports competitions throughout the year (https://www.wldnco.com/) and is part of the ARWS Oceania series (https://arworldseries.com/arws-oceania/).

2024 24hr+ Adventure Racing Events Announced!

With just two races to go for the 2023 season we're looking at 2024 and have a very cool line-up of events! 

We start out with the Legend Expedition Race in late February in Apollo Bay, Terra Nova 24 in April, GeoQuest in June, Hells Bells in August, GeoQuest NZ in September before finishing with Top Dog 24 in Canberra in November.

To celebrate the launch we're running a 15% discount across all 2024 Wild&Co events* until Midnight Wednesday 13 September – use code LAUNCH2024 – and lock in your place at Terra Nova 24, GeoQuest or Hells Bells in 2024. That's an extra 15% off on top of Super Early Bird and Early Bird rates and you don't need your final team so lock it in!

And if you can't wait for 2024 then entries are still open for GeoQuest NZ next weekend and Top Dog 24 in Canberra in November.

*does not apply to Legend Expedition Race

Another Legendary Location.

After the success of the inaugural Legend Expedition in 2023 we're back with a new location and a spectacular new course. This event will be a big highlight of our 2024 calendar and one not to be missed. There's already a great lineup of teams and we're loving spending time on the Great Ocean Road and it's surrounds.

KEY DETAILS

Date: 24 February – 2 March 2024
Location: Apollo Bay, VIC, Australia
Duration: 6 day event, full and half course
Entries: Open Now
Team size: 2 person, 4 person

For more information or to register visit: www.legendexpd.com.au

Terra Nova 24 back again and set to be bigger than ever in April 2024! 

After an epic (and wet) event in 2023 with a fantastic coastal location we're excited to head back to another coastal town for 2024. The location announcement is coming soon, but we've left a clue or two on the website. And with entries selling the way they are, it's set to be bigger than ever.

Super Early Bird entries are still open so lock it your place at a super special price.

KEY DETAILS

Date: 6-7 April 2024
Location: Shoalhaven, NSW, Australia
Duration: 24 hour event, full and half course
Entries: Open Now
Super Early Bird: Ends 30 Sept 2023
Team size: 2 person, 4 person

For more information or to register visit: www.terranova24.com.au

Mountain Designs GeoQuest heading to another spectacular mid-north coast location. 

Teams said 2023 was one of the best GeoQuest courses yet – we're confident for 2024 Mountain Designs GeoQuest will live up to its reputation as Australia's premier adventure race. We're looking forward to seeing the familiar faces and new recruits step up and take on this epic 48hr challenge. The location announcement is coming soon, but somewhere south of the 2023 course, and as a bit of a clue, GeoQuest has never been there before!

KEY DETAILS

Date: 7-10 June 2024
Location: Mid-north Coast NSW, Australia
Duration: 48 hour event, full and half course
Entries: Open Now!
Super Early Bird: Ends 31 Oct 2023
Early Bird: Ends 29 Feb 2024
Team size: 4 person, Supported + Un-Supported Options

For more information or to register visit: www.geoquest.com.au

Mountain Designs Hells Bells is back for 2024 and set to be badder that ever.

After an epic central Sunny Coast location we're turning our eyes to the fringes of the coast for the baddest 24hr adventure on the Australian calendar. We're currently exploring options in one of the four corners of the Sunshine Coast coastal locations – there's un-finished business with a few trails and secret spots and we can't wait to build them into a course. There will definitely be an island too.

KEY DETAILS

Date: 3-4 August 2024
Location: Sunshine Coast, Qld, Australia
Duration: 24 hour event, full and half course
Entries: Open Now!
Super Early Bird: Ends 30 Nov 2023
Early Bird: Ends 31 Mar 2024
Team size: 2 person, 4 person

For more information or to register visit: www.hellsbells.com.au

GeoQuest New Zealand set to continue in the Adventure Racing World Series Oceania

Geoquest was one of the first Australian adventure races back in 2002, and has been the country’s premier race in all that time, attracting the very best Australian and international competitors.  Race organisers Wild&Co. are loving time spend in the Hawks Bay region too much so plan to continue with GeoQuest NZ for 2024.

EVENT DETAILS

Date: 25-28 October 2024
Location: Hawks Bay, New Zealand
Duration: 48 hour event, full and half course
Entries: OPENING SOON
Early Bird: Ends 30 June 2024
Team size: 4 person, Supported + Un-Supported Options

For more information or to register visit: www.geoquest.com.au

After the success of Early Bird Entries for 2023 we're certain Top Dog 24 will be back for 2024.

We've been dreaming about this one for ages and it's exciting to see the 2023 event take shape. Given the feedback so far and the popularity of our 24hr event format we're very excited to see it on the calendar for 2024.

KEY DETAILS

Date: 2-3 Nov 2024
Location: Canberra, ACT, Australia
Duration: 24 hour event, full and half course
Entries: Open Now (2023)!
Early Bird: Ends 31 July 2024
Team size: 2 person, 4 person

For more information or to register visit: www.topdog24.com.au

GeoQuest NZ 2023 Information Kit Now Available!

12 days to go...make sure you're properly equipped and ready to go!

NOTE – This information is only available to those team members who have their name registered with Wild & Co and who appear on the team list. Team captains – you may need to forward this to your other team members.

With just under 2 weeks to go the event is shaping up to be an exciting one. The course is set, we're setting up HQ, placing CPs and packing the race packs. This email contains a few important reminders so please read carefully!

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS

It's essential that you carefully read the information pack (click the image above or the link below) which includes all the important information you need, including the mandatory gear list. If you have questions please ask.

• Information Pack

• Mandatory Equipment – use the 'Regional Round' list

PADDLE AND PFD HIRE

Please fill in the paddle and PFD hire form if you would like these supplied: Click Here

TA HELP WANTED!

We're chasing a few extra volunteers to help with TAs. If you know someone that is up for the weekend or interested in checking out adventure racing or just loves to get out and watch their mates suffer then we'd love to have them on board. It's also a good deal if you're after a free entry in the future....the main job is helping with transition areas.

REGISTRATION

Registration will open from 12:00 to 2:30pm, your race pack including your race number, maps and logistics planner will be available. We're back to normal so the team is welcome, especially as you'll want a team pic!. Event waivers were signed as part of the entry process so no need to bring these. Race Briefing is at 3:00pm and is for all participants.

Follow us on Facebook for event updates!

Wild&Co Sprint Series Dates Announced for 2024

Take on the challenge of an epic 3 or 6hr adventure race in the heart of Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Shoalhaven or Sydney! Run, kayak, mountain bike and navigate your way over a 15km or 30km un-marked, off road course with 6hrs to collect all the check points and get back to the finish line.  

These team based events will be possibly the funnest day out on the trails you can have. They’re a 2 person team based challenge to work together and navigate using a map and compass around a 15 or 30km linear course, collecting check points along the way and get to the finish before the 6hrs cutoff. The winner is the first team over the line that completes the course.

“The 2023 events were so much fun to deliver and we had such great feedback that we’ve added a few more locations and dates. These events are a great opportunity for first timers to check out Adventure Racing or for seasoned racers to introduce friends and family to their favourite sport.”

We’ve still got two more events to deliver for 2023 – a 3hr Adventure Paddle on the Gold Coast and a 6hr Adventure Race on the north side of Brisbane. So if you can’t wait for 2024, check out these SE Qld events” Chris Dixon, Race Director.

Depending on the location there will be two course options – a full and a half course – full course teams can expect to run 5-7kms, mountain bike 10-15kms and kayak 5kms. Half course teams can expect to run 3-5kms, mountain bike 5-7kms and kayak 3-5kms. The full course is a great option for beginners with good fitness and experienced adventure races looking to sharpen their skills or introduce their mates to their favourite sport. The half course is perfect for young families or anyone that just wants to see what adventure racing is all about.

The goal of these events is to provide a fun day out in a more accessible format as an introduction to Adventure Racing for everyone. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, VISIT:

Gold Coast 3hr Adventure Paddle – 21 October 2023
Enter Here: wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/3hr-adventure-paddle-gold-coast

Brisbane – 11 November 2023
Enter Here: wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/6hr-adventure-race-brisbane

Ulladulla – 16 March 2024
Enter Here: wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/6hr-adventure-race-ulladulla

Sunshine Coast – 11 May 2024
Enter Here: wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/6hr-adventure-race-sunshine-coast

Gold Coast – 13 July 2024
Enter Here: wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/6hr-adventure-race-gold-coast

Brisbane – 7 September 2024
Enter Here (2023 Event): wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/6hr-adventure-race-brisbane

Gold Coast 3hr Adventure Paddle – 26 October 2024
Enter Here (2023 event): wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/3hr-adventure-paddle-gold-coast

Sydney – 9 November 2024
Enter Here: wldnco.com/3-6hr-events/6hr-adventure-race-northern-beaches

Adventure Racing World Series Oceania Champs 2023 Heading to the Australian Capital and Hosted by new Adventure Race.

The venue for the ARWS Oceania Championship of the Adventure Racing World Series has been announced today as Canberra the Australian capital and will be hosted by the newly launched ‘Top Dog 24’ Adventure Race.

This championship event will be the final event of the 6 race series for 2023 that has seen over 200 teams compete across Legend Expedition Race, Terra Nova 24, X-Marathon, Mountain Designs GeoQuest and Mountain Designs Hells Bells.

The new ‘Top Dog 24 Adventure Race’ will host the ARWS Oceania Championship and will take place in Canberra from 4-5 November, when adventure racing teams will mountain bike, paddle, trek and navigate their way around a 150km (championship) 120km (full) or 70km (half), non-stop courses.

The premier ARWS Championship category is open to teams of 4 which must be mixed sex, and the elite teams will be chasing the Oceania title, ARWS ranking points, and the ultimate prize of a paid-for place in the 2024 Adventure Racing World Championships.

The race isn’t just about the championship and for the elite teams. The course will be designed to be achievable and accessible to all abilities, remaining open for 24 hours, and allowing teams some choices to provide short-cuts should they need them. Two person teams and all-male and all-female teams can also enter, but won’t be included in the ARWS championship category. The sport of Adventure Racing is unique in allowing the world’s best and novice teams to compete together on the same terms.

The weekend of racing also includes the shorter full and half courses, which have less distance with the same time to complete the course, but many of the same amazing challenges and locations.

The event will be staged by specialist race Management Company Wild&Co and Event Director Chris Dixon is excited about the opportunity to deliver a race in Canberra and the opportunities it offers to racers.

“There’s no better place for a championship event than the nations capital! We’ve been wanting to host an event in Canberra for a number of years now – it’s just 2-3hrs from Sydney and there’s already a strong local contingent of adventure racers in the area. It’s just made for adventure too with an extensive network of world class mountain bike trails, incredible bushwalking opportunities across the multiple national parks and nature reserves, stunning vistas with mountains and fun kayaking opportunities with both man made and natural waterways.

The ARWS Oceania Championships is a great opportunity to launch a new event in a new area and with a long history of adventure racing events, Canberra is right location to do it,” he said.

He added. “Canberra also offers visiting teams an abundance of accommodation and services for a great trip and is very accessible, by road from many population centres, or via both Sydney and Canberra international airports.  It’s a great location for our Championship race.”

Following the success of 24hr events like Mountain Design Hells Bells and Terra Nova 24, The ‘Top Dog 24’ Adventure Race will be based on the same familiar format, moving around the ACT with a new and exciting course each year.

Early Bird Entries are open unto 31 August 2023.

RACE DETAILS

Date: 4-5 November 2024
Location: Canberra, Australia
Duration: 24hr premier, full and half courses available
Entries: Open Now! Early bird discounted entry extended to August 31.
Team size: 2 or 4 person 

Hells Bells! Australia’s Favourite 24 Hour Adventure Race Celebrates 2 Decades

Definitely a few CPs in this shot. Cotton Tree by Dillon Hunt, Unsplash

The Hells Bells 24 hour adventure race celebrates 20 years of competition on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland this coming weekend (August 5-6th).

Few adventure races anywhere in the world achieve this longevity and consistency, and the race is one of the keystones of Australian adventure racing.  Over the years most of the greatest Australian adventure racers have taken part and the race has been an introduction to the sport for many.

The race was started in 2004, has had 3 different owners, and has taken place annually, even managing to avoid Covid cancellations. It has had the same headline sponsor for much of its history too and this year Mountain Designs will once again support the race.

Hells Bells always takes place on the Sunshine Coast, and has been as far North as Rainbow Beach, and as far South as Bribie Island.  This year Wild&Co will take the race back to Cotton Tree in the heart of the Sunshine Coast.  It’s a town known for its relaxed atmosphere, easy access to the Maroochy River, pristine rivers and stunning sunsets – all of which racers will likely experience.

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co event director said: “We’re very excited to be heading back to Cotton Tree. It’s the perfect location to start and finish an Adventure Race and gives us access to some of the best trails and waterways the Sunshine Coast has to offer.

“We've got an exciting new course for Hells Bells 2023 and can't wait to show off trails Hells Bells has never been to before and to re-visit some of our favourites.”

Races have been promised big views and big hills, waterfalls and even a viewpoint where teams can get a sunset view of the whole course.

Dixon added, “What I love about this year’s location is that you within a few minutes and a few kilometres you can feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere. We’ve got an incredibly beautiful swim/float/paddle to start and some CPs hidden away on Islands and rocky outcrops. Then come a combination of beaches and hinterland trails, some world class mountain biking,  which will potentially feature in the 2032 Olympics, a CP on a small but brutal hill climb and for Hells Bells, an as yet unpaddled waterway that will be incredibly beautiful under a full moon with its narrow twists and turns.”

A Record Entry

This year the race has once again broken its record entry and with close to 300 racers is set to be the biggest 24 hour adventure race ever in Australia. The race starts will be split, with 4 waves of competitors leaving race HQ on Saturday morning between 11.00am and 12.30pm. 

Dixon said, “It’s been exciting to see it grow from 64 people in 2016, when we first took it on, to 240 last year and well over 300 this year, I actually didn’t believe it was possible but it goes to show that with a great race concept and better execution each year we’ve really created something great.

“Every year the stats are the same; 70% of the racers are locals from the region, 20% are from interstate and about 10% are from overseas. It’s really exciting to have people like Vincent Chang from Hong Kong racing again as he first entered in 2020, but when the world shut down he couldn’t make it.

The race is open to pairs and teams of 4, and there are two categories, the full Hells Bells course which is around 120km and Fairy Bells, which is a 70km+ course which teams have the full 24 hours to complete. The Fairy Bells course uses some of the same ground as the Hells Bells course and is designed as a stepping stone to Hells Bells and longer races and is perfect for teams doing their first adventure race. 

All members of the team complete the swim, paddle, trek and mountain bike stages, staying together from start to finish.  Fairy Bells this year has 7 stages, and Hells Bells 9 stages and teams know both races will start with the swim/bodyboard stage.

Dixon says the races are wide open this year, and it’s a chance for some new names to appear in the Hells Bells Hall of Fame.  After 20 years a new generation of racers are starting out in adventure racing at Hells Bells.

Follow the Race

The race will have live tracking so supporters and fans can follow their teams’ progress around the course. 

To follow the race go to https://live.trackmelive.com.au/HB2023/ (live after the race start).

There will also be race updates, photos and videos posted to the Wild&Co Facebook and Instagram pages (@wldnco)

Hells Bells History

Hells Bells was started by Geocentric Outdoors (Craig Bycroft and Louise Foulkes) in 2004 and is Australia’s longest running 24 hour adventure race.

Each year the organisers choose a beautiful location somewhere on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. In the first year over 150 athletes started at the Dayboro Show Grounds catching the train into the CBD to begin the race with an urban rogaine before heading north.

For the first few years there was only a full course option with Fairy Bells being introduced in 2009. The race format hasn’t changed much with race distances and disciplines relatively consistent since the start.

In 2016 Chris Dixon from Wild & Co took over Hells Bells from Sunshine Coast Adventure Racing Legend, David Schloss.

The race is now part of the Adventure Racing World Series Oceania region and race winners get a free place at the Oceania Championship in November.

For more information see;

https://www.hellsbells.com.au/

https://www.wldnco.com/

www.arworldseries.com

The Legend Adventure Race Takes to the Great Ocean Road for 2024

The Great Ocean Road Coastline will feature in The Legend 2024 / Photo by Connor Home on Unsplash

The Legend expedition adventure race was launched by Wild&Co in February this year as part of the Adventure Racing World Series. In the first race teams crossed the Alpine mountains, forests and lakes of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. 

It was a spectacular 500km route undertaken on bikes, on foot and in kayaks and reaching the finish line was a huge achievement. However, it could be the start of a much, much bigger journey, taking racers to the most scenic areas of every state in Australia.

Race Director Chris Dixon plans to hold The Legend annually, with each race moving to a new location, in a new state, and the 2024 race will follow The Great Ocean Road in Victoria!

Adventure racing teams will have the chance to circumnavigate Australia, as Dixon explains; “At the closing ceremony of the 2023 event we asked competing teams where they’d like to race next. There was such a diverse range of responses from the south western tip of Western Australia to the deserts of central Australia, from the island tropics of far North Queensland to the forests of Tasmania.

Legend 2023 – teams cross the high plains in the Snowy mountains. Photo: Murilo Mattos

“In order to deliver on our vision to establish The Legend Expedition Race as the quintessential Australian expedition race – one that sees teams competing in the toughest sport on the planet, in the most iconic locations in Australia, we realised we needed to do it all.

“’Doing a big lap’ of Australia is dream that many in Australia and around the world have, and the Legend Expedition Race will be a unique and exciting way to fulfil that dream.”

Photo by Slava Abramovitch on Unsplash

The 2024 race will take place from Feb. 24th to March 2nd, and entries are now open on the race website at: www.legendexpd.com.au

The next destination for The Legend offers the chance to race in area which has never been used for an expedition adventure race before.

The race HQ will be in the town of Apollo Bay, which is only a 2 hour 40 minute drive from Melbourne, and is a popular stop for those following The Great Ocean Road.  The town is renowned for its coastal location, magnificent beaches, tasty seafood and wildlife tours, and is the start of the 104km Great Ocean Trail.

The Legend will take a longer route, following the course of The Great Ocean Road, but going off-road, and exploring the National Parks, rivers, lakes, cliffs and beaches of the world renowned coastline.   

Dixon said, “Teams will trek wild coastal trails and visit the iconic sights and cliffs near the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge.  They will explore the Great Otway National Park, paddle remote inland waterways and rivers, and discover little known waterfalls.  Depending on the conditions they should be prepared for an epic ocean paddle stage with a beach landing. They will mountain bike through ancient temperate rainforest along gravel roads, fire trails and ride some of Australia’s best mountain bike trails.”

Legend 2024 will feature epic coastal and hinterland mountain bike trails. Photo: Murilo Mattos

The only adventure race to visit the area before was a stage race (with teams stopping each night).  The Race Director was John Jacoby, perhaps the greatest Legend of Australian adventure racing and he said, “We're excited to see what Wild&Co will do – it’s such an amazing region!”

“We're excited to see what Wild&Co will do – it’s such an amazing region!”

Adventure Racing World Series CEO Heidi Muller commented, “The ARWS has had an Australian expedition race in the calendar almost every year and Chris is carrying forward that great tradition.  His vision to take The Legend to every Australian state is impressive and going from The Snowy Mountains to The Great Ocean Road is a wonderful start!  He is providing Australian racers with a unique opportunity to explore their country.”

The Legend format is a classic, non-stop 6 day adventure race involving trekking, mountain biking, kayaking and other adventure disciplines. The race is for teams of four and they must stay together and navigate their way unsupported through an epic 500+km course.

For those wanting to test out expedition racing there will also be a half course option next year.  This will offer the same epic adventure and visit the most iconic locations, but teams will have the full 6 days to race half of the full course distance, allowing more inexperienced teams a greater chance of reaching the finish line.

Race Details

Date: 24 Feb – 3 March 2024
Location: Victoria, Australia
Duration: 6 days / 500km & 250km (full and half course)
Entries: Open Now! Early bird discounted entry ends August 30th.
Team size: 4 person 

Photo by Our Life in Pixels on Unsplash – Lorne, Victoria

GeoQuest New Zealand Update – yes it’s on for 2023!

Cyclone damage on the SH5 Napier-Taupō highway. Photo: Tony Alexander

We’ve been trying to get this event off the ground for over 3 years now. We’ve dealt with COVID lock-downs (twice), getting cold feet with low entries and then the catastrophic weather events of January this year, ironically on the weekend we’d planned to run the event.

Up until very recently we didn’t know if the course we’d planned was even there as you simply couldn’t access many areas.

As roads and access points have re-opened and landslides cleared, we’ve been able to access some areas to discover that the course as planned simply isn’t possible – whole sections of the area have collapsed and access points to rivers and trails don’t exist. Other areas are locked off to all but emergency management and locals. The magnitude of the damage is quite overwhelming. It’s hard to describe the scale of the impact to the local community. Consultation with DOC last week has confirmed that the event cannot proceed as planned.

So what does this mean?

Well thankfully there is some good news, we have a ‘Plan B’ that will work. Actually, it’s not ‘Plan B’, it’s mostly ‘Plan A’ for another year – so we’ll be racing in the future. Trippy. As the original area re-opens, we can explore it again in the coming years.

The new course is still very affected by cyclone damage, which will be obvious on the course. A lot of creativity is needed to put it all together, but just as we’ve had to adjust to the severe impact of bushfire damage in Australia, we’re confident it will be a great course.

WHY RACE MOUNTAIN DESIGNS GEOQUEST NZ?

Outside of the usual Adventure Racing sales pitch of ‘awesome weekend with your mates’, ‘push yourself to the ultimate limit’ and ‘it’s quite hard at the time but in retrospect, actually enjoyable’, events are an important way to reinvigorate a local community badly affected by disaster.

Hawks Bay really needs it.

From an event management perspective we’re engaging local suppliers for almost everything required to deliver the event – from t-shirt printing to tracking to venue booking, transport and map printing. From a teams perspective the accomodation bookings and food and beverage spends are a huge help to the local economy.

The local council, local adventure racing community and local tourism organisations are all really keen to GeoQuest proceed and so are we!

We’ve just wrapped up Mountain Designs GeoQuest Australia and it was nothing less than spectacular – check out the images below. The response was overwhelmingly positive with many saying it was one of the best GeoQuests ever. Off the back of this we’re very encouraged to press on with GeoQuest in Hawks Bay – it’s great event concept and the 48hr linear format will work really well in the region.

ENTER HERE > EARLY BIRD ENDS 15 JULY 2023

WHO IS WILD&CO AND WHO IS CHRIS DIXON?

We were quite late to the Adventure Racing scene – our first event was 2016 when at the last minute we took over the delivery of a legendary Aussie 24hr event called Hells Bells. It was a baptism of fire and while it didn’t all go to plan, we fell in love with the sport. Everything from exploring new trails to the logistics to the marketing and communications and best of all, the incredible sense of accomplishment on teams faces as they cross the line.

Since then we’ve delivered 24 Adventure Races including 14 x 24hr events, 5 x 48hr events and 1 x 6 day Expedition Race. We’ve recently added a series of 6hr races to the calendar and even bought a fleet of 50 NZ made Mission kayaks! While this will be our first international event, we’re confident we’ve got the team and experience to deliver an awesome event.

On the start line for Mountain Designs GeoQuest 2022 in Shoal Bay, NSW

Who is Chris Dixon? I grew up as an 800m runner – so a 220km 48hr event does seem like a long way. I’m not a top adventure racer, but depending on who I’m racing with, finishing inside the top 10 is usually the goal. I still run, love cycling and kayaking and racing in our local adventure racing events.

I grew up in a small town on the Sunshine Coast and have spent most of my life doing some sort of adventure based activity, from weeks long tramps with our kids, surfing as much of the Australian east coast as possible, to exploring the local creeks, rivers and trails on weekend adventures. I fell in love with New Zealand on my first trip there in 2000 and am always looking for an excuse to travel back. Like all our events, GeoQuest NZ is really an excuse to explore a new area, get to know likeminded people and go on adventures.

Professionally I started out as a Graphic Designer and worked my way to Managing Director of an Advertising Agency over a 15 year period before stepping into a roll as Operations Manager of a multi-national not-for-profit organisation. In the last few years I made the jump back into business and am working full time on Wild&Co.

Chris Dixon

A Classic Mountain Designs Geoquest Adventure Race at South West Rocks

When a race has been going over 20 years it has its own traditions and atmosphere, built on the history of racers and races past. 

The annual Mountain Designs Geoquest has taken place every year since 2002, challenging teams to explore and enjoy the best of the NSW coast and hinterland.  (It has always been sponsored by Mountain Designs too, which must be one of the longest sponsorships in Australian sport.)

This year the race was based at South West Rocks Surf Club and teams were returning to keep their race tradition going, or starting out on a new adventure. One newbie team, Southern Lights, even travelled all the way from Tasmania, and a 26 strong party from the Kaiarahi Cultural Collective drove 14 hours from Melbourne, and back again after their 36 hour non-stop race.

The race has a 48 hour time limit, two distances (full and half course), which are on some of the same trails and rivers much of the time, and is open to pairs and fours, supported and unsupported. 

This year the courses were linear, so teams were driven form South West Rocks to a start point in the Mcleay River Valley, and set off at intervals in kayaks. They put straight into the grade 1 rapids which enlivened much of the paddle, and what a memorable paddle it was! 

Under clear blue skies and in pleasant 20 degree temperatures the teams set off down a beautiful stretch of water which few, if any, had paddled before, though they will surely now come back to do it again.  The 28km paddle was an undiscovered gem and coming off the water several teams described it as the best they’d ever done!

Richard Barnes of Team Goldfish said it was the best, and he’s the first person to paddle from Australia to NZ unsupported and without stops!  (This team were riding two tandems to make the race more of a challenge!)

He had a rival in Team Bridie and the Bad Boys for the most epic endurance feat amongst the competitors.  They had teamed up with fellow Queenslander Allan Jefferson, who won the 5000km non-stop Race Across America bike ride!

Not all racers had such endurance pedigree of course, some were completing their first long distance race.

After the paddle the two courses split with the full course taking a gravel ride up the Balls Road and stopping on the way for an 8km trek where teams were asked to get 5 out of the 6 checkpoints on their map, in any order they chose.

The Full course was 212km and the Half 137km, so the half course teams now rode through the Collombatti State Forest, South and East taking a more direct route back toward the finish at South West Rocks. Later on the routes would converge again and the teams would mix and see each other on the trail.

Stages alternated between trek and bike, some with navigational challenges, like the Briggs Lookout trek, where teams could split up to find the checkpoints, if their map and compass work was good enough. 

The Full Course had a second 30km paddle on the Mcleay River and for some teams this was a night paddle.  Team Holy Guacamole said, “It was a very exciting new experience - night white water paddling in the fog. The beautiful parts were the soft mist swirls like little twisters rising up beside us. The sketchy parts were not being able to properly see the rapids and pick the right line before going down them.  Luckily they were only little.

“Except for that tree sieve that Silas and Kaela ended up in, which tipped them and the maps out. The boys from Tassie were behind us though and checked we were OK and after agreeing to us sticking with them till we got to TA, they actually found our maps in the water, and then we waved them off.  Kaela and Silas were then treated to a platypus sighting, whereas Kylie and I both got hit in the head by a low flying duck trying to take off! 2am saw us shiver off the river to an awesome fire at the transition.” 

No other sport can offer such experiences!

The transition areas between stages were a chance to warm up, rest and eat, and chat to the marshals who gave all the teams a friendly and warm welcome. 

Both courses had the same finish with a memorable trek up Mount Yarrahapinni, which Holy Guacamole described as “the steepest trek possible” and where Race Director Chris Dixon said some competitors “were on their hands and knees on a tiny, barely walkable track.”

Then came a final paddle on the tidal Mcleay Arm where Laura Newton of the all female team Missifts described “navigating sandbanks at night”.  The team were the first unsupported women’s team to finish (behind the supported Mountain Designs Wild Women team) and she said her team “had the best time together, sharing the love and the load throughout the entire course.”

The final stage was a Geoquest staple, a coastal trek taking in dunes, beaches and headlands, which some teams were lucky enough to do at sunrise. This brought the teams back to the finish of another Mountain Designs Geoquest, which many said was the best course yet.

The most emotional finish came from the four teams from the Kaiarahi Cultural Collective, which supports the health and well being of those in need in the Maori community.  Last year Jeremy Nikora led 3 teams and the team building and racing experience was so positive and life affirming he came back with 4 teams this year, plus a support crew of 10.  They trained together for months, completed the course together and were welcomed on the finish line by a Haka from their supporters.

Nikora said afterwards, “I’m so proud of our crew, both the teams who completed the course and our amazing supporters who stayed up through the long 36 hours it took us to reach the finish line. There were so many inspiring moments and achievements which will take time to reflect on and the Kaiarahi Cultural Collective will be back next year!

“Thanks again to Chris Dixon at “Wild & Co” for doing so much to help us get to GeoQuest and for taking care of us along the way.”

Teams were lucky with the weather this year and experienced a classic Geoquest course, and already many have said they will be back again in 2024.

That’s why the tradition lives on and the Mountain Designs Geoquest is a fixture on the Australian Adventure Racing calendar. 

You can see the race tracking and full results at https://live.trackmelive.com.au/geoquest23/and find out more about the race (and the new Geoquest New Zealand race) at www.geoquest.com.au

The race is organised by sports event management company Wild&Co who have a full programme of races throughout the year.  For a full calendar of events see - https://www.wldnco.com/

South West Rocks set to turn it on for Mountain Designs GeoQuest 9-12 June 2023

SOUTH WEST ROCKS, LOCATED ON THE MACLEAY VALLEY COAST, IS THE OFFICIAL START AND FINISH LOCATION FOR THE 2023 EDITION OF THE MOUNTAIN DESIGNS GEOQUEST 48HR ADVENTURE RACE. 

30 teams along with their support crews, family and friends from around the country will attend the Mountain Designs GeoQuest 48hr Adventure Race from 9-12th June 2023. 

The race is held annually on the weekend of the King’s Birthday in June. The location of the course is moved each year to a different area to pose exciting new challenges for competitors. 

This year’s location of choice, South West Rocks, is a 4.5hr drive from Sydney and located just 70 minutes north of Port Macquarie. 

Located just off the beaten path of the Pacific Highway, South West Rocks is known for its picturesque Norfolk pines, family-friendly atmosphere, stunning beaches and exceptional diving. The entire Macleay Valley Coast in which it sits features rugged coastlines, pristine waterways and a stunning hinterland, making it the perfect backdrop for a spectacular 48hr adventure.

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co event director says, “We’re very excited to be heading to South West Rocks for 2023, it’s a spectacular area with magnificent trails, ancient forests, rugged coastlines, and plenty of hidden hinterland secret spots can’t wait to show off.

We’ve got something different planned for the 2023 event with a course design that hasn’t been done before with GeoQuest.”

Images from the 2022 Edition of Mountain Design GeoQuest Adenture Race

Mountain Designs GeoQuest involves 48+hrs of non-stop endurance racing in the major sporting disciplines of trekking, mountain biking and kayaking. Mixed gender, Male and Female teams of four must navigate their way through an arduous 220+km course that is only revealed to them the evening before the race. 

The Geo-Half adventure race runs simultaneously with the Mountain Designs GeoQuest. The Geo-Half covers only half the distance but teams have the full 48hrs to complete it. The legs will be challenging but with the additional time available to complete the half course, teams have a greater chance to reach the finish line before time is up. 

The window for registration closes 6 June 2023 and there are only a few places left. Accommodation can be booked through the Macleay Valley Coast website at macleayvalleycoast.com.au/places-to-stay

For the latest information on the race please visit www.geoquest.com.au

The event is made possible thanks to major sponsor, Mountain Designs and additional support this year by Kempsey Shire Council. 

Circumnavigate Australia with Legend Expedition Race

High in the Snowy Mountains on the Legend Expedition Race 2023

After a truely legendary inaugural event in the Australian alpine region Wild&Co are excited to launch Legend Expedition Race for 2024 with a 7 year vision to circumnavigate Australia. The 2024 event will be held in the Australian state of Victoria before continuing each year around Australia to Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and finishing in the Australian Capital Territory.

“At the closing ceremony of the 2023 event we asked competing teams where they’d like to race next. There was such a diverse range of responses from the south western tip of Western Australia to the deserts of central of Australia, from the island tropics of far North Queensland to the forests of Tasmania.

“In order to deliver on our vision to establish Legend Expedition Race as the quintessential Australian expedition race – one that sees teams competing in the toughest sport on the planet, in the most iconic locations in Australia, we realised we needed to do it all.

‘Doing a big lap’ of Australia is dream that many in Australia and around the world have, and Legend Expedition Race will be a unique and exciting way to fulfil that dream.”
Chris Dixon, Race Director

Circumnavigate Australia with Legend Expedition Race

The 2024 event will take place from February 24 to March 2 2024 in Victoria in a soon to be announced, iconic Victorian location.

“Organising a race non-stop for 6 days in a new location each year is a real challenge and a privilege. I’ve had the opportunity to explore so many amazing areas in Australia love sharing this experience with teams. Each race is a unique experience and I want the competitors to have the journey of a life time.

“For 2024 we’re going to cover some amazing ground with real highlights – from big views to remote gorges, cliff edges, pristine waterways, ancient forests and iconic coastlines. The course highlight will be travelling through one of Australia’s most iconic scenes. The course will cover 500+kms and teams have 6 days to complete the route, with the leaders likely to finish on day 3.”

Legend Expedition Race is organised by Wild&Co, and is the first event on the 2024 calendar in Oceania. The Race Director is Chris Dixon and Legend Expedition Race is the second expedition length race he has planned after working in the events industry since 2007 and adventure racing since 2016. To date he has organised 22 adventure races and Chris and his team are looking to build on the success of recent years to create another legendary experience.

The event will be part of the Adventure Race World Series (ARWS) with the winning team receiving entry into the 2024 World Championships.

For full information on Legend Expedition Race see - https://www.legendexpd.com.au/

For information about the ARWS see - https://www.https://arworldseries.com/

Mountain Designs Hells Bells headed to Cotton Tree August 2023!

Cotton Tree, located in the heart of the Sunshine Coast, has been announced as the official start and finish location for the 2023 edition of the Mountain Designs Hells Bells 24hr Adventure Race. 

Date: 5-6 August 2023
Location: Cotton Tree, Qld, Australia
Duration: 24 hour event
Entries: Enter Here
Team size: 2/4 person
Part of the ARWS Oceania Series

Over 400 people including competitors, family and friends from around Australia and the Asia Pacific Region will attend the Mountain Designs Hells Bells 24hr Adventure Race from 5 - 6 August 2023.

The race is held annually on the first weekend in August on the Sunshine Coast. The location of the course is moved each year to a different area to pose exciting new challenges for competitors. 

This year’s location of choice, Cotton Tree, is a 15min drive from the Sunshine Coast Airport and just 70 minutes north of Brisbane. 

Located just north of Brisbane in the heart of the Sunshine Coast, Cotton Tree is known, for it's family-friendly atmosphere, easy access to the Maroochy River, pristine beaches and stunning sunsets.

Chris Dixon, Wild & Co event director says, “We’re very excited to be heading back to Cotton Tree, it's the perfect location to start and finish an Adventure Race. It gives us access to some of the best trails and waterways the Sunshine Coast has to offer.

We've got an exciting new course for Hells Bells 2023 and can't wait to show off trails Hells Bells has never been to before and to re-visit some of our favourites.”

Mountain Designs Hells Bells involves 24hrs of non-stop endurance racing in the major adventure racing disciplines of trekking, mountain biking and kayaking. Mixed gender, Male and Female teams of two or four must navigate their way through an arduous 120+km course that is only revealed to them the day of the race. 

"Fairy Bells" runs simultaneously with Mountain Designs Hells Bells. The Fairy Bells covers just over half the distance but teams have the full 24hrs to complete it. The legs will be challenging but with the additional time available to complete the half course, teams have a greater chance to reach the finish line before time is up. 

The window for registration closes 3 August 2023. Accommodation can be booked through the Visit Sunshine Coast website at: www.visitsunshinecoast.com

For the latest information on the race please visit: www.hellsbells.com.au

The event is made possible thanks to major sponsor, Mountain Designs.

The Legend Expedition Race in Australia Starts the 2023 Adventure Racing World Series

THIS YEAR’S ADVENTURE RACING WORLD SERIES SPANS 10 COUNTRIES AND THE NEW LEGEND XPD RACE IN AUSTRALIA IS THE FIRST, TAKING PLACE FROM FEBRUARY 25TH TO MARCH 4TH.

The expedition adventure race is based in Jindabyne, a popular alpine town that sits on the shores of the picturesque Lake Jindabyne at the edge of the Snowy Mountains.

Teams will begin arriving for registration on Saturday at the Conference Centre at the Adventist Alpine Village, which has the perfect facilities for a race HQ. After competency checks and a race briefing they will prepare for Sunday’s 09.30 race start. They won’t know the details of the course until 2 hours before the start when they receive the race maps and can plan their route for the next 6 days of adventure.

The race is organised by Wild&Co, and is the first of 6 races planned for this year in Australia and New Zealand, the last of which will be the Adventure Racing World Series Oceania Championship in November.

The Race Director is Chris Dixon and The Legend is the first expedition length race he has planned after working in the events industry since 2007 and adventure racing since 2016. To date he has organised 20 adventure races and now it’s time for Chris and his team to deliver the ultimate outdoor challenge, a 6 day non-stop expedition race.

“Every adventure race is part of the learning curve for a Race Director,” he said, “and over the years I’ve coped with all sorts of challenges from extreme weather to Covid restrictions. You never know quite what will happen and have to prepare for the expected and be ready to cope with the unexpected!

“Organising a race non-stop for 6 days in the mountains and wilderness is a real challenge and a privilege. I’ve had the opportunity to explore this amazing area while setting the course and now get to share it and send teams on the journey of a lifetime. The race will be a unique experience and I want the competitors to enjoy every moment.

“We’re going to cover some amazing ground with real highlights in each leg – from big views to remote gorges, cliff edges, alpine waterways and rolling high country plains. The highlight will be summiting Australia’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko.”

The course covers 507km with over 10,000m of climbing, and teams have 6 days to complete the route, with the leaders likely to finish on day 3. There are 13 stages in all, including 6 foot stages (orienteering, trekking and gorge walking), two kayak stages and 5 navigational MTB rides, including what may be the toughest stage of all, 143km ride with an elevation gain of 4250m.

The route will take teams into a uniquely Australian landscape with rolling farm land, pristine alpine environments, huge alpine lakes, the snowy river and some spectacular rock formations. Teams will experience high mountains, big skies and wide open plains.

The race guide warns teams to prepare for extremes of weather, reminding them that reports from other races in the area say teams have ‘never been hotter and never been colder’, all in the space of a day. Teams are warned the mandatory race gear is a minimum and to consider packing extra warm gear. The paddling stages on two big Alpine lakes will be cold, especially at night and if the wind picks up. On the second of these teams will need to tow extra kayaks with their bikes in to reach a remote transition point.

Ten teams will be on the start line next Sunday, some with considerable expedition race experience and pedigree, and others taking on a new level of challenge. The teams of 4 will be aiming to complete the full course and every member of the team must cross the finish line together to achieve that. The premier category is for mixed teams and the most experienced teams in this category are ‘3 Points of Contact’, ‘Capital AR’ and team ‘E Dog and the JJ’s’.

There are two equally experienced all female teams as well. ‘Vortex Diva’s’ and ‘Mountain Designs Wild Women’ regularly race against each other in Wild&Co races and their strategic race planning and team work will be even more important over an expedition length course.

Dixon said, “We owe a huge thank you to everyone that has entered. This is an exciting stage in our journey and we’ve been dreaming of this event for a long time. And while we’re 100% focused on delivering this event, we are hoping very much this is just the start for the Legend!

“Special thanks must go to our sponsors Mountain Designs, Trail Brew, TrackMe NZ and to Snowy Mountains Tourism for their support – it’s very much appreciated. And of course to the logistics and volunteer team that will make the race happen. We couldn’t do it without them!”

The race will have live satellite tracking on https://www.followmychallenge.com/.../legend-expedition.../ and there will be regular reporting and photography on the Wild&Co Facebook page - Wild&Co

There will also be news on the social media pages for the Adventure Racing World Series (@arworldseries) and ARWSOceania pages (@arwsoceania).

For full information on the Legend Expedition Race see - https://www.legendexpd.com.au/