By Matt Tate
Another Saturday, another Epic! Saturday morning had everyone panicked, as the pressure was on to pack our overnight packs, but this time we only had 30 minutes to pack, instead of being told the night before.
The team leaders were given maps of the route we had to take, which had four points on it. At first glance, the map appeared different to that which we had been given before. This was largely down to how vague the topography was however we soon deciphered it. We were driven to the starting point on the map, one of the 4 points, and had to make our way through the other three markers, all within 4 hours.
The drive to the start was around 20 minutes, and any drive that long makes a Quester nervous. After being dropped off, we made final adjustments to our bags, then departed at 8:30.
Soon, we had made it to the beach, after a short stretch of dunes to get there. The beachfront is always best to hike along, since hard sand results in much less effort required.
Five kilometers later, we made it to our second checkpoint, aptly labeled Ladder. As we learnt two weeks ago, most of the beachfront is below a cliff, and the Ladder stands near the beginning of these cliffs. This ladder was a 50m rope up and inclined cliff that finished off as a set of metal stairs.
From there, we had to make our way through eight kilometers of dunes, all the way to our favourite, behemoth of an obstacle, WTF. This time, however, we had to ascend it on the reverse side, which was slightly less steep, but felt significantly longer, especially after all that time on the sand, not to mention the 15kg packs we carried with us.
As we approached, we realized we had a small problem. Due to the fact that we normally approach WTF from the farm side, we never registered the large forrest that blocks the path from ocean side. With time not on our side, a decision was made to throw caution to the wind and go through rather than around.
The bush ended up being thicker than anticipated, and so we had to 'bundu bash' our way through it. It stretched on for around five hundred meters, and after all of that, we still had to scramble our way up WTF.
After the climb, we rushed down the other side - which we usually ascend - and started to doubt that we would make it home in time. Most had scaled WTF by around 11:45, but the walk to home, our last checkpoint, was another five kilometers, and even a fast walk wouldn't make it. So began one of the hardest runs of most of our lives.
After all of that, only group 3 and 4 made it home before 12:30. The other groups finished 1’30” over the 4h time limit, after having run the 5k, as a group of 22, carry 330kg of extra pack weight, in under 25 minutes. It was a momentous achievement but one that can be better, in the future.
Exhausted after the run and hike, the camp descended into silence as the Questers retired for an afternoon nap.
Bush Survival
By Jan Harm Duvenhage
Bush Survival - one of the most anticipated weeks in the Quest program.
There are many aspects of Quest that are humbling - from your hair being shaved to wearing the same kit as everyone else, but this couple of days in the bush is probably the one that humbles you the most.
There are mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness around the group, but the expectation is still vastly different from reality.
Most of us here at Quest hope that this week in the wild will awaken the true survivor in us and turn us into a Bear Grylls of some sort, but this type of survival is very different to sitting around a campfire your dad made, telling ghost stories and roasting marshmallows. This is the real deal.
Limited clothes and ordinary equipment is the only source of protection between you and the unpredictable forces of mother nature.
You think you're up to the task?
It can even make the toughest oakes into a full blown mama's boy. Who can blame them?
Being used to years of moms cooking and being exposed to some of Veronica's and Edi's speciality dishes out of the quest kitchen, it's hard to adapt to only a couple of food rations throughout the week. What can I say, you can't change the wild, but the wild can definitely change you.
Just keep in mind, Africa is not for sissies.
