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Born to be wild

Mogens Johansen combines a traditional holiday with a sporting challenge at the world’s most scenic triathlon

I’m excited. A million thoughts are racing through my mind. I’m nestled comfortably into my seat on an Air New Zealand Dreamliner from Perth to Auckland and I’m heading for an adventure to Middle-earth — Wanaka, on New Zealand’s South Island, to be exact.

“Looking for adventure, and whatever comes our way.” I can’t get the Steppenwolf song out of my head. “Like a true nature’s child, we were born, born to be wild.” But the lyrics of the song fit in perfectly with what I’m about to experience.

Like many travellers these days, I am going to combine a sporting challenge with some more traditional holiday activities. I have set myself the task of competing in what has been voted the world’s most scenic triathlon, Challenge Wanaka.

The race draws triathletes from all over the world who want to test both their physical and mental limits in the spectacular but demanding terrain of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Challenge Wanaka is New Zealand’s largest triathlon festival and one of the town’s big annual events that draws thousands of competitors and spectators. Athletes can choose between the full iron man distance, which is a 3.8km swim and 180km bike ride followed by a 42.2km marathon run, or the half iron man distance which, as the name suggests, is exactly half the distance: a 1.9km swim, a 90km cycle and a 21.1km run. I will be tackling the latter.

Competitors head out for the swim leg at the start of Challenge Wanaka / Picture: Getty Images

Wanaka is looking its stunning best when I arrive, the crystal-clear blue water in the lake glistening in the afternoon light and the surrounding mountains giving the small town a welcoming, cosy feel.

I can’t wait to unpack my bike and hit the road to check out the course. I decide to head out along Lake Wanaka’s western side on towards Glendhu Bay. This is truly majestic scenery. The undulating road winds along close to the lakeside; on my right there is one picture- postcard view of the lake and mountains after another, and on my left the 1578m Roys Peak reaches for the sky. I continue through farmland until I run out of sealed road by the turn- off to the popular ski area at Treble Cone, about 23km from Wanaka, and head back. This stunning route will be the first part of the bike course and I can’t wait to ride it again on race day.

I spend the last day before the race relaxing and having a look around Wanaka. The restaurants and cafes along Ardmore Street offer splendid views of Roys Bay and they are bursting with life. There is an excellent choice of restaurants, cafes and retail shops. Sports and bike shops are particularly well represented, reflecting the popularity and demand for anything to do with outdoor pursuits here. I end up at Water Bar on Ardmore Street for dinner, where I enjoy a delicious slow-braised shoulder of lamb with greens, potato cake, pea puree and gravy. I finish the day with a whisky gelato from the Black Peak ice-cream shop next door because, as it says in the shop, “life is too short to eat bad ice-cream”.

The alarm goes off early on race day. I haven’t slept much but I’m feeling good. The weather looks great; a very light breeze is blowing in over the lake and it looks like perfect racing conditions.

I join my fellow half-distance athletes in the frigid water of Lake Wanaka. Rumour has it that it is about 17C but it feels a lot colder. Breathtaking is one word that comes to mind; I’m very appreciative of my wetsuit.

The starting gun goes off and the mayhem begins, thrashing arms and legs change the crystal-clear water into a foaming bubble bath. The strong and confident swimmers all vie for the lead but I choose to hang back a bit to find a rhythm. The water gets deep very quickly and the low morning sunlight struggles to penetrate fully, giving it a slightly spooky look that adds to my stress levels. I manage to find some relatively clear water and try to put the cold water out of my mind for the rest of the swim — as far as I am concerned, the worst of it is over; my favourite part of the race is next.

I quickly settle into a sustainable pace on the bike and take some nutrition on board. Heading out towards Glendhu Bay, the early part of the ride is very congested so I need to concentrate to avoid drafting; the rule in long-distance triathlon is to keep a 10m buffer between each bike and if you are caught drafting by the course marshals they will pull you over and politely ask you to stop for a four-minute penalty.

Competitors in the cycle leg. Picture: Getty Images

I breeze through the first 40km and by now I’m in new territory — I didn’t have a chance to ride this part of the course before the race. After passing back through Wanaka the course heads to Albert Town and loops out to Lake Hawea through Luggate and back to Wanaka. The roads are open to normal traffic so extra caution is needed when passing other riders. It is tough going: constant rolling hills with some sharp, leg-sapping climbs at regular intervals and even at Hawea Flat, where I was hoping for a bit of respite, there is just enough of a breeze to make it diffcult. Despite that, the jaw-dropping alpine scenery means the 90km ride passes quickly.

A nice, fast downhill stretch marks the end of a the bike ride and my thoughts are now on the final leg, the 21km run, which heads out of town along the foreshore of Roys Bay towards Beacon Point, along the narrow, undulating Outlet Track beside the Clutha River towards Albert Town and up a steep hill at Gunn Road before turning back towards Wanaka. It is starting to get hot and the breeze is dropping off, but thankfully the run along the Outlet Track is mostly nice and shady. I try to keep pace with the flow of the river and enjoy the tranquillity, but things are about to get harder.

Johansen on the Outlet Track. Picture: Marathon-Photos.com

At about the 11km mark, I make a right-hand turn and see the steep hill of Gunn Road ahead. The hill is lined with an enthusiastic crowd encouraging the runners ahead — they are fantastic and thanks to them I manage to shuffle up to the top. From here it is mostly downhill back to Wanaka along Anderson Road. The atmosphere in the main street, the encouragement of the crowd, a sense of satisfaction plus some adrenaline carry me on to the red carpet before the finish line. What an awesome experience and what a stunning place to experience it.

My job is done but there are still athletes doing the full distance coming into transition after their 180km bike ride. They are about to start a marathon and it is getting towards the hottest part of the day. Some have a pained but determined look on their faces — they want to finish this, after all they have paid good money to enter and no doubt invested many training hours as well.

After a refreshing dip in the lake and a quick change I head back to the finish line to wait for the professionals to finish their full-distance race. Dylan McNeice manages to hold on for his third successive win, followed closely by Wanaka local Dougal Allan and West Australian Courtney Ogden in third. Another West Australian, Matt Burton, collapsed into the arms of race officials after crossing the finish line in 15th position. I speak to Courtney after the race and ask him about his thoughts on the event and place. “It’s a love-hate relationship,” he says. “It’s a tough race, it’s the hardest one I’ve done and the hardest one I’ll probably do. It’s the fourth time I’ve done it; I placed second in 2011 and fourth in 2012.”

Later in the evening, as the sun begins to set behind the mountains, one couple decide to make Challenge Wanaka a very special part of their lives by getting married during the event. Australians Mark Smoothy and Alyssa Coe and their wedding party come running down the main street. Mark and his groomsmen are wearing smart tuxedo-style lycra suits with red bow ties and Alyssa is in a smart matching lycra suit. Family and friends wait in a roped-off area at the turnaround point for the run. After a quick and informal service by their bikes, they head out for the second lap of their marathon as husband and wife — what a way to begin married life.

Mark Smoothy and Alyssa Coe during their wedding ceremony half way through the marathon. Picture: Mogens Johansen/The West Australian

The awards brunch the following morning is a lively affair with competitors swapping war stories. Some are nursing sore bodies but bursting with pride and already discussing when they can do the next one. I chat to Jonathan Simpson, a Kiwi who has lived in Perth for 15 years and completed all the Busselton Ironman races since the event began 11 years ago. “Busso is a piece of cake compared to Wanaka,” he tells me. “The wind can be tough in Busso but Wanaka is a very honest and tough course. I’ve also started in all the nine Challenge Wanaka events but have failed to finish four of them.”

Fifty-three-year-old Alistair McGaughran, of Dunedin, tells me how emotional he felt when he ran down the main street to complete his first Wanaka Half. “I never thought I would be able to achieve anything like this,” he says.

I, for one, can’t think of a more spectacular or more special place to compete in a triathlon. If you need a goal for your next New Zealand holiday, “get your motor running”.

Air New Zealand has daily flights from Perth to Auckland with their new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. airnewzealand.com.au or 13 24 76.

Wanaka is about a one-hour drive from Queenstown Airport via the Crown Range and Cardrona Valley.

Alpine ConneXions runs multiple daily bus services between Queenstown and Wanaka. alpineconnexions.co.nz.

For more on visiting Wanaka, see lakewanaka.co.nz.




In Thursday Travel, Mogens Johansen’s New Zealand adventure continues, this time as a spectator at the GODZone Adventure Race, a gruelling 500km competition passing through some of the world’s most scenic, challenging and dangerous terrain. See his full story in Travel on Thursday.