Eco Challenge Venue Announced...

The venue for this year's Eco Challenge has been announced and it's....

Fiji! Obviously this means the event will include special extreme grass-skirt-wearing stages and abseiling with garlands of flowers:

'From impenetrable jungles to jagged limestone cliffs to stunning turquoise lagoons, Fiji is both a paradise and a fascinating study in contrasts. Only 100 of the 333 islands which make up Fiji are inhabited, and it was only a century ago that Fijians were considered the world's fiercest cannibals. Today the people are among the world's friendliest, but are still deeply committed to their tribal cultural heritage.' Say the Event Organisers before adding:

'Fiji is a land of duality, with both majestic tropical beauty and harsh rugged adventure. In October 2002, seventy-five, four-person, international teams will converge on the exotic islands of Fiji. They will explore and race through 500 kilometers of Fiji's most impressive and untouched terrain by bushwhacking through dense jungles, mountain biking on rugged trails, paddling down jungle rivers, trekking on ancient pig hunting trails to remote villages, climbing fixed ropes up raging waterfalls and exploring the uninhabited islands. In an evolution from years past, the 2002 Eco-Challenge will increase its problem-solving expeditionary nature, challenging competitors with more team decision-making and navigation.'

More information on the Eco Challenge web site.

WARNING
Adventure racing is, as ever, incomprehensibly hard, even in a tropical paradise like Fiji as the boys from On The Hill will testify. Monthly in depth adventure race news and race reports in the special adventure race section of the magazine.