monstr wrote:Hi Muddy,Sounds like its going to be a bloody awsome comp ,a couple of dumb questions for you ,are we camping on site or are there motels near by ,also does any of the comp sites have an air strip that can be used ..Cheers
No camping facilities on site. The prizegiving function will be at the "Clubs of Marlborough" Function Centre. Nearest hotel (and previous Winch Challenge sponsor - hopefully again this time) is the Copthorne Hotel for those with bigger budgets. The main venue is about 20km from Blenheim on the road to Nelson. The closest DOC camping ground is at Onamalutu, about 30min drive away. Slightly further would be Whites Bay or Pelorus Bridge. Or proper Camping Grounds in Blenheim or Havelock. Lots of Motels around - closest to the main competition site would be Renwick, but scrutineering and prizegiving will be Blenheim. There will also be a fair bit of travel on the Saturday (about 1hr 20min) to and from the Nelson Club Venue near Lake Rotoiti while the Blenheim marshals have a busy day re-setting the local stages for Monday.
Public airstrips at Omaka and Woodbourne, private strips at Havelock, and at Lake Station near Lake Rotoiti, but all of them are 20 mins drive from the Winch Challenge venues. You could take a helicopter to the Lake Rotoiti venue, but would not be welcome at the Blenheim one as it's held on a deer farm...
For those who have been to the previous "Top of the South" Challenges, in some cases we are combining 2 or 3 of those stages into longer stages, we are significantly extending other stages, and cutting a few completely new ones. The one thing that won't change is that terrain will include rocky creek beds, steep clay banks, loose shingle, lots of water, mud, and bottomless bog holes. They will not be high-speed stages. We want the competition to be won by good driving and teamwork, rather than just horsepower. So get your winch-men out training - they will be very tired boys by the end of the weekend!