Adventure Festival

Last weekend saw the sixth annual Gravity Adventure Festival take place just outside Kleinmond

 in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. The festival started as a small event for whitewater kayakers and has grown each year to include new events. It's now the Cape's premier adventure sports festival and this year's event was the best yet!

Festival goers started arriving from Friday evening and were greeted by a mass of sponsor's banners and a bedouin tent village supplied by F3 Freeform tents. These were to prove invaluable when the rain started later that evening! Saturday dawned overcast with a fine rain but no wind. The QUAC Adventure Race by Quantum Adventures got underway at 8am, starting with a quick run before the boating leg. The Palmiet River was full and the rafting action was second to none with lots of thrills and spills. Experienced Gravity Adventures river guides were on hand to help anyone in difficulty and the river run was one of the highlights of the race. Later stages included running through the beautiful fynbos of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, along with an exciting zipline across the river and a rock jump into the water. For full results go to www.quantumadventures.co.za



Saturday morning also saw the CapeStorm Kayak Races taking place. There were two events, the downriver race which involved a fast paddle to the finish over a course of 5kms and involving 4 major rapids with names like Waterfall and Judgement Day. The sprint race is a more technical competition which requires skilled paddling and quick reflexes. The ARK Croc Race was held in the afternoon. This event is huge fun and suitable for novices as well as well as experienced paddlers. All equipment is provided and entrants ranged from family teams to corporates. The team that came in second comprised frenchman Oli Feuillette and his twins, Emile and Jodie, aged 9! The Ram Mountaineering Rock Rally was held all day Saturday and saw about 20 climbing teams tackling the crags above the Palmiet Valley. The day's activities ended with a prizegiving and then the evening's festivities got underway. Braai fires were lit and everyone was entertained by local live act, Tribal Echo, who got the crowd jiving, as well as a display of firechains.



By Sunday morning the rain had disappeared and the Trail Run and Duesouth Mountain Bike race were held in ideal conditions. Both events had a good turnout and most competitors enjoyed the routes which ran through CapeNature's Kogelberg Nature Reserve and offered wonderful views over river, mountain and sea. Throughout the weekend, the TriActive climbing wall was well used by spectators' children as well as by the top climbers who gave a speed climbing demo. TriActive also kept the entrants and spectators well fed with their excellent catering. Abseil Africa offered everyone the opportunity to try an abseil or tackle the zipline across the river.

There was plenty of action and fun and the general consensus from competitors and spectators alike was "We'll see you next year!"



FESTIVAL 2006 RESULTS

CapeStorm Kayak Downriver
1. Richard McMartin
2. Johnny Heatlie
3. Wesley Massey

CapeStorm Kayak Sprint
1. Andrew Kellett
2. Alex Meiring
3. Johnny Heatlie

Best female Kayaker
Kat Lennon

ARK Croc Race
1. Team Explosive: Andrew Kellett and Rob
2. Team Fuiellette: Oli, Emile and Jodie Fuiellette
3. Team 27-41: Richard McMartin and Wesley Massey

Montrail Trail Run - Men
1. Peter Kirk
2. William van Dugteren
3. Johannes Albertyn

Montrail Trail Run - Women
1. Dain Hamilton
2. Karin Clarke
3. Danielle de Kock

Duesouth Mountain Bike Race - Men
1. Andries de Villiers
2. Craig Bruton
3. David Clarke

Duesouth Mountain Bike Race - Women
1. Tatum Prins
2. Michelle de Decker
3. Ingrid Seritsen

Black Diamond Rock Rally Results - Men
1. Louis Smit
2. Mike Scott
3. Marijus Smigleskis

Black Diamond Rock Rally Results - Women
1. Karen Varga
2. Raelize Loubser
3. Wendy Scott

Speed Climbing Results - Men
1. Clinton Martinengo
2. Phlip Olivier

Speed Climbing Results - Women
1. Karen Varga
2. Kirsti Meyer