Leg#2 Paddle 14 km

Thomson River is one of the best places in Victoria to paddle. The beautiful rocky, steep slopes, along with pristine waters create a majestic atmosphere and makes this paddle pretty special.

The kayak starts at Walhalla Bridge and follows the mighty Thomson River for 14.5km. We anticipate water release will bring water levels up to 0.4m at Coopers Creek gauge, however, this is not guaranteed and is subject to operational conditions. Even at 0.4m, the river is still narrow and rocky, please read this article about choosing right kayak.

Starting with 2.4km of moderate flowing river, with up to grade 1+ rapids, you will then come to the Horseshoe bend. At the start of the Horseshoe Bend, half of the river is diverted into the tunnel - and this is by far, the most dangerous section of the course. There is a permanent warning sign on the right-hand side of the river. This is where the course will enforce mandatory portage on the right-hand side, via a narrow and overgrown branch of the river. After the tunnel, competitors will jump back in their kayaks and travel a further 2km along Horseshoe bend. There are two more places where competitors will have to portage their kayaks over walking path crossing stones. The river disappears into the smaller bushes and goes through the branches, for a few hundred metres. Competitors are expected to paddle most of the overgrown parts. 

Diverted waters from the tunnel join back with the river again, pushing water levels back to normal. In another 100m there is the only grade 2 rapid, consisting of two stages.  The first one is a simple, smaller drop, followed by a quite large pool of water, followed by the second stage. The second stage has a large boulder in the middle-left of the river, opening a left narrow shoot and wider, main right shoot. It is recommended that competitors follow the main right shoot (the left shoot navigation is also possible). This rapid is not considered dangerous - check out the right shoot passage video at 0.31m level. At an anticipated 0.4m level it gets even simpler.

The river keeps going, with multiple smaller rapids up to grade 1+ to the Coppers Creek crossing, approximately 5.5km into the kayak course, where a marshaled checkpoint will be setup during the race.

There are multiple rapids up to grade 1+ interchanged with pools of slow-flowing water in the remaining 9km, and beautiful scenery to enjoy the paddle.

 

BAWBAWEXTREME Kayak 15km detailed small

Course legs

Leg#1 Run 5 km

The first run leg starts in the heart of the township, next to the historic original vault of The Bank of Victoria, which once stored 72 tons of Walhalla gold.  The run climbs up a steep staircase to join with a historic tramline walk.

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Leg#2 Paddle 14 km

Thomson River is one of the best places in Victoria to paddle. The beautiful rocky, steep slopes, along with pristine waters create a majestic atmosphere and makes this paddle pretty special.

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Leg#3 MTB 40 km

We have sub-divided the mountain bike course into two parts. 1 Day competitors will tackle both parts in one go, while 2 Day competitors will do part 1 on the first day, and re-start at Erica Sun morning to complete part 2.

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Leg#4 The run 25 km

This run leg showcases Victorian Alps at their best. Starting from meters-wide centuries-old over 80m tall gum trees and sub-tropical rainforest, you will climb to sub-alpine and then alpine vegetation in one go.

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What it takes to finish the race

Off-road skills

Commitment

Endurance

Determination