From Havelock to Punakaiki Beach.
New Zealand’s South Island continued to amaze all the Int. GS Trophy riders as the 2020 edition continued its journey through this adventure rider’s paradise. Today’s 360-kilometre liaison included 180 kilometres of challenging and rewarding off-road tracks, with the remainder of the paved sections offering unbeatable views across lush, native forest and over blue oceans.
Tracks to remember.
Tracks to remember.
Leaving Pelorus Bridge, the first special stage of the day was only around 21 kilometres from the overnight camp, but the off-road ride to – and from – the ‘Emirates Challenge’ offered up some of the best riding conditions to date, with the promise of even more to follow. The challenge required not just slow-riding skills but also memory skills of the highest order, as teams had to remember flight numbers, boarding times and seat allocation numbers while negotiating a tricky trials course.
Just keep riding.
Just keep riding.
Leaving the Nelson area, the participants rode the Porika Track to Lake Rotoroa for a picturesque lunch stop, shared with the aggressive sand-flies well known in the region for attacking ‘incomers’ to this remote island nation. Afterwards, the riders headed off-road to Murchison before joining the tarmac for a memorable twisty dash to Punakaiki Beach – and the second special of the day.
Happy campers.
Happy campers.
Aptly titled the ‘Rab Challenge’, this special required team riders to dash from the beach to a Rab tent, take off their riding boots, unpack a sleeping bag, jump inside and zip it up, before performing the entire procedure in reverse and running back to the beach to tag his or her waiting team-mate. Suffice to say it was frantic for all who competed, but made for great entertainment for the others watching.
At the end of day five when all the points were counted, Team South Africa have now taken the lead, with France and Italy 11 and 30 points behind respectively.
