Race Report: Team Plett Adventure Racing at ARWS World Championships
”A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
This past October, the Plett Adventure Racing Team took on the epic World Championships of the Adventure Racing World Series in the Eastern Cape. They competed in an 800km challenge, alongside the best teams from across the globe, and facing their fair share of adversity including illness forcing team anchors, Petrus Maree and Drew Scott to yield their spots in the team shortly before the event began.
It was a mammoth task for any team and Plett Tourism is incredibly proud of the spirit, perseverance, and positivity that the team displayed throughout the race. We were with Jeannette, Andrew, Pax and Scott every step, paddle and pedal – dot-watching their live trackers. Thank you for carrying the spirit of Plett Adventure onto the world stage. Below, the team gives a race report of highlights, lowlights and no lights.
All Photos: Glenn Murray Photography
Jeannette Wylie
Adventure racing is just different. One cannot compare it to any other sport as it’s a life choice, it captivates some and others not. It peels off the layers that we build around us, it’s dependent on the support of family and friends, and one has to be a jack of all trades as any activity can be thrown at you. It has no boundaries, it makes you cry and laugh at the same time and shows you beautiful places that not many see. It makes you humble, it forms bonds with teammates that never break – it’s simply beautiful.
The Adventure Racing World Champs which started in Cape St Francis did not disappoint: it threw all sorts of obstacles at the team. Firstly, we lost our team captain and backbone, Petrus Maree, just two weeks before the race Luckily, we found Pax Mostert to take his spot. Another blow was struck when we lost our team navigator, Drew Scott just two days before this important event – and you can imagine how important the navigator is to this sport! Fate intervened again, as Pax’s son, Scott – without any adventure racing experience – bravely decided to give the race a go and joined the team.
Scott did brilliantly on the first hike – across the enormous Alexandria Dunefield – helping us with nav but I think on the next leg, he realised the enormity of the task ahead and admitted that he wasn’t prepared due to lack of training. So, from then on we became the Three Musketeers!
It’s quite hard to do a race report of our nine days of racing, as one cannot even begin to explain all the different emotions we went through, the varying habitats, the hardships, enjoyment, tears and laughter. Here is a short and sweet version of each leg:
56 km Trek: Pebbles, sand, pebbles, sand and more pebbles. A beach hike that set the tone for the rest of the race…hard and long.
181 km Bike: Long undulating hills of reddish brown and never-ending roads.
90 km Trek with Abseil: Hike for survival in freezing rain and wind that Cape Town would be proud of with a stunning waterfall abseil. A proper adventure.
65 km Paddle: The best fun ever. Rapids, swims and laughter with an added obstacle of a hole in the boat! We fixed this on the muddy river bank by making a fire (thank God for the compulsory kit) and melting a plastic spoon over the hole.
224 km Bike: A bike leg that’s just a blur…the only thing I remember is the stop at Jansenville
64 km Trek: Over the mountain along the big plain and up over the majestic Baviaans with a stop at top to celebrate the sunset with a sip of whiskey.
124 km Bike: Beautiful, beautiful mountain, crystal clear river crossings and heat. With an unbelievable stop at a tiny little shop in middle of the Baviaanskloof and a swim.
32 km Trek: Disbelief. It’s the end. Mixed feelings of happiness and sadness.
The one thing that stood out in this race was our amazing stop at a small shop in the middle of Baviaanskloof during our 124 km cycle. We got welcomed with open arms – never mind our smelly dirty bodies – and every single person got the same treatment. We always say we are proud to be South African but that is too cliché for me. There is more to it ..it made me feel content as this is the country I want to bring up my child in. A country, even with all its problems, stands together. South Africa has the biggest heart and, most importantly, people who love.
Andrew van Rensburg
For Team Plett Adventure, this event was a tribute to rising up against adversity. We unfortunately had two team members fall out due to illness just before the event started, but we overcame the chaos and managed to start the event with a full contingent.
The severity of the cold and heat, and long trek and bike legs all provided challenges that – as a team – we overcame…I am very proud of this fact: that we stuck to it and got it done.
A left-of-centre fix of a hole in the boat while we were paddling again pays tribute to the fact that we would find a way to get to the finish. The stunning sunrises, sunsets, and clear Karoo skies at night with stars shining down while we continued to toil forwards are memories I will never forget. Completing this race was a fantastic experience with a great team and Kaptein!
Pax Mostert
Sharing a few words from ‘last-minute.com’, filling in for Petrus.
When Petrus called me a few days before the start of the 2023 AR (Adventure Racing) World Champs casually enquiring about my state of fitness, I immediately knew what the friendly voice on the other side was up to.
This was my second invitation to join an adventure racing team to race at the Kouga edition of Expedition Africa – also the World Championships. My friends from Team Rust Proof were sorely disappointed when I declined their invitation a few weeks before.
However, this request to join the Plett Adventure Racing Team was different. I had raced a few times with Jeanette over the years and had confidence in the team’s commitment to be competitive and take it all the way to the end. After a few phone calls I managed to get the necessary kit required together.
The Monday before the event handed another severe blow to the team, Drew, the team’s navigator had caught the flu and was unable to race. While Jeanette and Andrew started the registration process at St Francis I convinced my son Scott – The Farmer – to join us. He became the wild card! Unfortunately the short notice and lack of cycle training didn’t take him past the second day, it was still a proud moment for me to share at least the first day together.
As the event went on I slowly lost track of time and date, and focused on just moving forward. With our navigator absent the task of finding our way around became a three-man team effort that actually worked extremely well.
As the days in the mountains passed by so did our personal layers start lifting making for interesting conversations over wide open plains. This team was all about supporting each other and being sure to get to the finish in one piece……eight days later!.
I am grateful for the memories made and shared and the opportunity to race alongside some of the best AR teams in the world. Plett AR Team, we held it together thanks to the years of experience of our captain Jeanette, the endurance ability and medical knowledge of Andrew but also and most importantly the support of friends and family.
