Words by Ugene Nel | Photos by Jacques Marais
It’s that time of the year when many folk start stocking up on fire wood, red wine and fleecy blankets. Yet, this is also the time when the 'no-matter-what-the-weather' adventurers dig out their thermal gear and prepare themselves for the various adventure weekends and festivals on offer throughout the country.
Photo credit: Jacques Marais
One such gathering of like-minded outdoor types takes place barely an hour outside of Cape Town, in the quaint village of Kleinmond - and it’s not restricted to Capetonians. Hosted by the guys from WCAD, this kick-ass 80-100km adventure race will take place on 28 and 29 July, and the word 'average' will not feature here!
The race includes a rafting leg down the Palmiet River in grade 3 rapids, coasteering, mountain biking, hiking and the River Rumble. The River Rumble, organised by Quantum Adventures, happens in and around the Palmiet River mouth and estuary, and a makeshift bridge, tubing, water crossings with ropes, paddling and trail scrambling features in this fun event. Once our intrepid adventure racers have set off, the River Rumble course then opens to solos and teams of two and will remain open until mid afternoon. A new batch of racers will set off every 45 minutes to take on each other and this challenging course, which should take about 40 minutes to complete.
To ensure that no one is left out of the action and the needs of the more creative participants are fulfilled, the 'Anything-that-floats' contest will be a fantastic spectacle to watch from the shore. Teams will take to the water in their specially built, anything-goes craft and race against each other on the estuary, in full view of the spectators. Timing is everything as the estuary will only be sufficiently deep to launch these crafts at high tide – well, sort of …
Photo credit: Jacques Marais
For the more reserved outdoor type, the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and Kleinmond Conservancy hiking trails are open to explore. These trails are on par with some of the best in the Cape, offering distances and grades to suit all types. In addition, the Harold Porter Botanical Garden, outside Betty’s Bay, offers a different experience and should you go there, be sure to do the short hike to the waterfall - it's awesome!
By late afternoon a roaring campsite fire will welcome the returning athletes into its warm embrace, the day’s war stories sure to gather momentum against the backdrop of the setting sun.
So before you start thinking and acting like a squirrel, dare to challenge yourself and enter this amazing event. Oh, and if you are taking part in the Quantum Leap AR at the end of August, this event is the perfect opportunity for teams to hone their skills one last time before taking that quantum leap.
DINfo
For more information about the WCAD race, visit www.wcad.co.za. Information on the Quantum Leap, River Rumble and Anything-that-floats events can be found on www.quantumadventures.co.za or Quantum Adventures Event Facebook page.
