Images : Shift Media & courtesy Nicole Hayes |
So , when the opportunity arose in early October to run the Dryland Traverse on the first weekend of November , since Sean was once again appointed as commentator , I was very much conflicted . Having enjoyed Tankwa so much , I was chomping at the bit to tackle the Dryland , as I had been a spectator at the event in November 2021 and fell in love with it , but I was still worried about my heart rate . After much back and forth between my stubborn heart and slightly less stubborn head , together with Sean ’ s level-headed advice , I decided to go ahead and give it my best post-COVID , heart rate-spiking shot , at a slow and steady pace .
When November rolled around , we headed to Oudtshoorn , going down two days prior to the race so that we could do a bit of exploring before the race . We started with a lovely dinner at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge , overlooking a dam where the wildlife came to
Luckily no hungry crocs were seen during the race …
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drink and with a stunning backdrop of the Swartberg Mountains , then visited the Cango Wildlife Ranch and Conservation Centre , arriving just at the right time to see the biggest croc being fed . Of course , we just had to fit in a tour of the world famous Cango Caves , before heading to De Hoek Mountain Resort where the Dryland Traverse adventure would begin . As I wrote earlier , the Prologue didn ’ t quite go to plan , and thus I found myself a spectator when stage one began on the Friday morning .
Stage 1 : FOMO with a View
Having withdrawn from the race , I instead found myself driving up the Swartberg Pass with Sean to watch the runners tackle this first major climb of the race . The first stage of the Dryland is 25.7km long , with 1140m of ascent , and starts about halfway up the mostly gravel pass , leaving a good 5km of steep uphill to get the runners ’ legs and heart rates pumping . There was a great vibe at the start , and I had to laugh as I listened to Sean giving us a blow by blow running commentary as he was ‘ forced ’ to do a wine-tasting with Glanville Retief , a . k . a . one of the Pinotage Plodders , and several other runners . This has apparently become a tradition at the trail races , with Glanville ( and fellow ‘ plodder ’ Conrad Meier ) carrying a flask and wine glasses in their backpacks , and doing a tasting with Sean either before the race , or at one of the refreshment stations along the way . It ’ s a tough life , as they say …
The top of the Swartberg Pass is called ‘ Die Top ’ – I kid you not – and the views were utterly breath-taking . Literally , that is , as the runners were breathless from 5km of steep climbing , but even they had to stop for some pictures of the Die Top sign and the view from the top . We then headed about 300m past the summit to the first refreshment point , and what an amazing spread it offered , fully stocked with the most delicious snacks . This is another highlight of Dryland ’ s events , and to call them ‘ water tables ’ would be an injustice , because they ’ re more like buffets ! And if you ’ re a fan
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of banana bread and date balls , they have the world ’ s most delicious recipes , so make sure you stop and grab some along the way !
MC Sean Falconer enjoying pre-race wine-tasting with Pinotage Plodder Glanville Retief
A sign like that at the top of a pass is a musthave ‘ Kodak moment .’
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