Plot

The first 24hours of any Adventure Challenge on the World Stage is the most debilitating, the more experienced teams work hard to open a lead that they feel will be hard to close down over the coming days.

As they say when its go time ... suffer. Leg 1 Kayak 15km - Just before first light our teams rally in the belly of the beast, the frigid waters of Milford Sound where they face a fast and furious kayak towards its shores. For some this is a foreign environment and the chaos of kayaking under headlamp becomes apparent. Leg 2 Mountain Bike 49km - From frigid waters we head onto the bikes along a mist drenched road that rivals some of the stages of the Tour de France. This epic tarmac leg weaves its way through the fjord-etched landscape and in so creating some epic battles so early into the race. At this stage it is more about mind games than physical prowess as our lead team start a charade of gamesmanship. Leg 3 Canoe 36km - New Zealand's Ellington River weaves its path through some epic vistas. Our teams, once off the bikes, face 36km of glacial flow. If all things were equal the snows should have subsided causing a high volume of water. Unfortunately the cold has created a slow current making conditions extremely tough. Never the less our lead team manages to make considerable time on their rivals, a testament to their experience.