Southern Traverse 1999 - TA3 (Nelson/Marlborough)
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A "drive by" cache to remember when we were last here in November 1999. Cache is a pill bottle with a micro container and log inside. This is a dirt road that is suitable for the family car. Proceed further at your own risk. 4WD from here on in. This is an entry/exit point to the Kahurangi National Park at the Southern end of the Mt Arthur ranges.
In1999, Ms M, in her wisdom, decided to get a four person team together to compete in the Southern Traverse adventure race to celebrate turning 50, five days, 450km, sleep if you dare. It was held in the Nelson area, the first time out of the deep south, Ms M liked this idea because she didn't think she would die on a glacier or in an avalanche. Mr M was roped in as support crew, as one does. The race started at Pohara one fine morning in November, with a kayaking leg around Separation Point to Marahau with a couple of check points along the way. (6hrs) At Marahau (TA1) the kayaks were swapped for mountain bikes and they were off, to pop over the Takaka hill, followed by a leisurely bike ride up the Cobb valley to the top end of the reservoir. At Cobb reservoir (TA2) they ditched the bikes and set off on foot about 16 hours after leaving Pohara. Their destination was this cache - TA3 - at the bottom of the Ellis track. To get there they went over the saddle below Mt Peel into the tablelands, climbed Gordon's Pyramid and Mt Arthur and descended into the Ellis. Meanwhile Mr M was having his own fun. Team Sabah (support crew) had managed to roll their 6 berth campervan over a precipice on the way down from the Cobb. Two members were transported in Team Marchwood's Hiace to the Takaka medical centre with a few cuts and bruises. Duly deposited, we high tailed it off to TA3 to camp by this cache. Not to be outdone, the Japanese crew decided that the road up to the Baton wasn't quite wide enough for their Hiace and somehow managed to put their left hand wheels over the edge. We arrived in time to help the local tow truck pull them out. We finally arrived, just past this cache, in plenty of time to set up camp and prepare to greet a weary team. In fact by this time, as our team was one of the slower ones, we worked out that if we timed it just right Team Gurney would have struck camp just in time for us to move in and take over position A at the transition. After all this rescuing carry on, the support crew was also ready for a rest. The team ended up descending the Ellis track in the dark. I'm told that there are a lot of tree roots on this trail. Not a track for the faint hearted. From here they headed off on their bikes via the Golden Downs forest to St Arnaud, by raft to Owen river and bicycle to the finish line at Mapua. And that was the "short" course for the slow teams. The full course for the top teams included a 24 hour leg from St Arnaud to St Arnaud via Angelus Hut and Mt Rainbow and after the rafting, a trek from Owen River to Courthouse flat over Mt Owen. When collecting this cache see if you can imagine a transition area here with about 50 tents, 50 support vehicles and 200 mountain bikes. Muggle central? In the light of day and without the heat of competition there are some really nice picnic spots by the river. Enjoy the tranquillity.
Additional Hints
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