The Adventure Racing World Championship Goes to Africa for the first time in 2023

June 1, 2022

The 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship will be hosted by Expedition Africa, and held in the Kouga region of the Eastern Cape of South Africa in October.

/ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship will be hosted by Expedition Africa, and held in the Kouga region of the Eastern Cape of South Africa in October.

The race will be the 18^th Adventure Racing World Championship, and the first to be held on the African continent. The 700km race will be the culmination of the 2023 Adventure Racing World Series, which unites in competition the world’s best endurance athletes at the premier expedition adventure races around the world.

Expedition Africa will Host the World Championship

The Race Directors of Expedition Africa, Stephan and Heidi Muller, launched the ‘Adventure Racing World Championship Kouga 2023’ at the Lombardi Game Farm, which works in Rhino conservation.

“We are honoured and delighted to be chosen by the Adventure Racing World Series to host the most prestigious race in the adventure racing calendar,” said Heidi Muller. “When we staged our first Expedition Africa 11 years ago, we never dreamed of this, and over those 10 races we have met wonderful athletes and teams from all around the world. Our race is always as much about the people as the place, and it has become a global family. We want them all to share in our African World Championship in Kouga next year! It will be a celebration of all that is good about adventure racing; exploration, achievement, teamwork and connecting people from around the world.”

The first Expedition Africa was held in 2011 in the Western Cape and the race has visited most provinces of the country, as well as neighbouring Swaziland. In 2019 the island of Rodrigues played host to Expedition Africa, and this year’s 10^th anniversary race took place in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho.

The Estonian ACE Adventure Team are regular competitors and they were the winners in Lesotho. Their team captain Silver Eensaar said,

“Expedition Africa is a very special event. It’s a race that always delivers great adventure courses in unique terrain and a cultural environment. Above all, it provides a sense of community and love that is different to other races. Expedition Africa is probably the most loved adventure race in the world, and teams keep coming back. Dot-watchers enjoy exploring Africa while following the teams and the race always provides world class media content for fans around the world. They will stage a great World Championship.”

Kouga and the Eastern Cape are the Perfect Location

Stephan Muller spoke about the exciting possibilities for the course in Kouga and the Eastern Cape, which he has already begun scouting and planning.

“For an Adventure Race of this magnitude we need to find an area which is far away from any human development, to ensure teams have a true wilderness experience and race in unique terrain. At the same time we have to be able to deliver fast and dependable logistics, transition areas that offer a welcome respite from the wild and accommodation with strong internet facilities for the world’s media.

The Eastern Cape has all that, and so much more. It has a comfortable climate in October, a UNESCO World Heritage site, world class game reserves, and a rich culture. It’s an exciting and diverse area, and the perfect location for an Adventure Racing World Championship.”

The Eastern Cape is the second largest of South Africa’s nine provinces, situated between the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal and bordered by the Orange River and Drakensberg Mountains.

The Eastern Cape slogan of “Yours to Explore” is fitting. The province has 800 km of unspoilt, picturesque coastline and some of the world’s best beaches. Southern Right Whales and their calves are regularly spotted in the Indian Ocean, the Wild Coast has dramatic cliffs and dunes, and the Sunshine Coast has more sunshine than anywhere else in South Africa.

Wildlife is abundant and the big five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and the African buffalo) are easily spotted at private reserves, such as Kariega Game Reserve, and National Parks like the Addo National Park, which are spread across the province.

The wilderness Muller requires for his course is plentiful. The Karoo Heartland is dominated by vast, dry plains, and is renowned for its seemingly endless, star studded skies, and its idiosyncratic little towns that take you back in time.

The 60,000 square kilometre Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve was recently created a World Heritage Site and the Kouga Wilderness area is a vast expanse of rocky passes and gorges, indigenous forests, crystal mountain streams, sheer cliffs and waterfalls.

“We believe the variety of landscapes, coastlines, wildlife and peoples which teams will experience in the Eastern Cape will make the race a fitting and memorable World Championship.” said Muller.

He added, “We will do everything we can to make it the best ever!”

A Warm Welcome for the Teams and their Families

Teams will fly into Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), and it’s then a 90 minute transfer to the race venue. The Kouga Local Municipality and the Sarah Baartman Municipality will host the race and the venue will be the Cape St. Francis Resort.

The resort has world class facilities and a magnificent beach side location, and played host to Expedition Africa in 2017. “Cape St Francis Resort being the host sponsor for the Adventure Racing World Championship 2023 re-enforces our commitment to bringing sports tourism to the Kouga region,” said the resort’s owner Fasie Malherbe. “This event will be a big boost for this region as 600 competitors from all corners of the planet travel here with media, medics, volunteers, friends and family members.  It’s been a privilege to work with our co-sponsors, Kouga Municipality, Sarah Baartman Municipality and Merrell to put this event together. However, none of this would be possible without Stephan and Heidi Muller and their passion for adventure racing.”

Heidi Muller commented, “We can’t imagine a better venue than the Cape St. Francis Resort. The village feeling we will have there is vital to create a welcoming experience for everyone. Family and supporters are welcome to join their teams and visit the Eastern Cape, and while waiting for them to reach the finish line can relax on the beach or view the Big Five in nearby game parks.”

Speaking at the event launch the Sarah Baartman Municipality Mayor, Deon de Vos said, “Sarah Baartman District is proud to be part of the Adventure Racing World Championship, which will be hosted in a true African style.

“Adventure awaits in our beautiful and diverse District, home to the 7 Wonders; The Addo Elephant Reserve, Baviaans and the Gamtoos Valley, Makhanda, Jeffreys Bay and St Francis, Karoo, the Sunshine Coast as well as Tsitsikamma and the Langkloof.”

Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio Hendricks, welcomed the event and said; “With its international appeal, the Adventure Racing World Championship is a powerful marketing tool, which helps to keep our region on the tourist map.

“We are ready to welcome the teams to our shores in October next year before they tackle one of the toughest races ever and the Kouga Municipality wishes all the participants the best. We hope that the event – the first of many to come – will be an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.”

All About Expedition Africa and the AR World Series

You can find out more about Expedition Africa and see details of the 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship, including entry pricing at www.expafrica.net

Entries will open on Nov.1^st 2022 and places will be limited. Interested teams are advised to sign up for the ARWC 2023 mailing list on the website, and follow @expafrica.net (Facebook) and @expafrica (instagram).

You can watch the live launch broadcast on the Expedition Africa Facebook page.

Expedition Africa is supported by Merrell South Africa and SPOT Tracking South Africa.

Images from the ARWC 2023 launch event, and from course scouting in the Eastern Cape are available and free for editorial use at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1B5gzT7Sm5F9ixq94ySd6f3cNIKmhbU7m?usp=sharing

Interview opportunities with Stephan and Heidi Muller are available on request from media@arworldseries.com

And the 2024 and 2025 Adventure Racing World Championships will be …

The Adventure Racing World Series is also able to announce the destination of the 2024 Adventure Racing World Championship, which will be held in Ecuador!

The host race will be Huairasinchi, one of the longest established AR World Series races. The race held the World Championship in 2014, and will do so again on the 10^th anniversary of that race. (The 2014 race will be featured in the Hollywood movie ‘Arthur The King’, starring Mark Wahlberg and Simu Liu, which will be released later this year.)

The race will again be staged by Proyecto Aventura, and Race Director Santiago Lopez said, “Hosting an Adventure Race World Championship 10 years after our last one is a great honour and challenge. We are thrilled to be planning a magnificent event with a totally new route in unexplored locations in southern Ecuador.

“The experience we acquired in the past World Championship will help us to create a dream event in one of the most diverse places on earth. Culture, nature and wild terrain will be part of an expedition teams will never forget.”

More information will be released about the 2024 World Championship in due course and you can find out all about Huairasinchi at https://www.huairasinchi.com

This year’s Huairasinchi starts on July 22^nd and is stage 7 of the 2022 Adventure Racing World Series.

The 2025 Adventure Racing World Championship will be announced later this year, and the front runners are Expedition Oregon; America’s Toughest Race. Bend Racing has already put in a strong bid to host the Championship.

The 2022 Expedition Oregon has only recently finished, and was won by Spanish team ‘Vidaraid Adventure’. (That team included Urtzi Iglesias who is Race Director of this year’s AR World Championship, to be hosted by Expedicion Guarani in Paraguay in September.)

This year’s Expedition Oregon was a remarkable race and you can read about it at; https://arworldseries.com/expedition-oregon-2022-takes-adventure-racing-to-a-new-level-of-endurance/ and at https://www.americastoughestrace.com/

For more information about the Adventure Racing World Series and World Championship see www.arworldseries.com

Additional Information

Eastern Cape – https://visiteasterncape.co.za/

Kouga – https://www.kouga.gov.za/

Sarah Baartman – https://www.sarahbaartman.co.za/index.php?lang=en

Addo Elephant Reserve – http://www.addoelephantpark.info/

Karoo – https://www.karooheartland.com/

Kariega – https://www.kariega.co.za/

Langkoof – https://showme.co.za/tourism/kouga-wilderness-area-langkloof-eastern-cape/

Baviaans – https://www.baviaans.net/

Weather – https://weather-and-climate.com/st-francis-bay-eastern-cape-za-October-averages

Sunshine Coast – https://www.lonelyplanet.com/south-africa/sunshine-coast

Cape St. Francis – https://www.capestfrancis.co.za/