It was an emotional finish at the Southern Traverse adventure race in Queenstown this morning when locals Team Edge Orienteering took the 2001 title. Paul Rogers, Bruce McLeod, Anthony White and Rachael Barton were welcomed across the finish line just after 8:30am (NZT) and were immediately showered with champagne by Race Directors Pascale Lorre and Geoff Hunt.

"You did it, you did it!" was the cry from the team's assistants and partners, Sasha Middleton, Amy Wilson, Andy Carter and Paula Kay as the team ran the last few minutes of its over 95-hour adventure.

"They are the best of friends; they've stuck together the whole way and they really, really deserve this," said Paula Kay.

Team leader Paul Rogers was all smiles as he was swamped by well-wishers including his mother, two brothers and sister and quietly said "I knew we would do it one day".

The team, which had never raced together before, only realized it was in the lead when it was met by photographers and media 15 minutes before the finish line.

"We didn't know how well we were going until we met up with those guys. I figure Marahau Beach Camp, who were in the lead, must have got lost on the trek overnight as it was quite a big navigational section there," Rogers said.

The team did not have an easy race, marred from the strat when member Bruce McLeod suffered dehydration and exhaustion after first day of racing on Monday, and at one stage, it was touch and go as to whether the team would continue on.

"We knew we were in 6th place at that early stage and decided to stop and eat and sleep, even if it took eight hours for Bruce to come right, we still felt we had a chance and in fact it only took three hours to get him back on his feet," Rogers said.

For its efforts, Edge Orienteering take home the Southern Traverse title, $9000 and a complimentary entry into the 2002 Adventure Racing Championships.

"It's lovely to see a Queenstown team pick up the winner's place this year and this team hve really had great race strategies so their win is well deserved," said Lorre.

Pink Pigs
Marahau Beach Camp, the lead team in the Southern Traverse adventure race near Queenstown, is crunching the final kilometres in the 320km course - and racing hard to keep ahead of the fast approaching Edge Orienteering from Queenstown.

Julian Sykes, his sister Claire and teammates Ned Norton and Heath Degarnham have held onto the front position since early this morning, having juggled it with Australian Team Wombat over the last 48 hours.

However Team Wombat dropped back to 3rd place after Edge Orienteering nudged past at the kayak transition area and got onto Lake Wakatipu 17 minutes ahead. Paul Rogers, Bruce McLeod, Rachael Barton and Anthony White of Edge Orienteering, who are known for their kayaking skills, then made fast work of the last water stage across to 12-Mile Delta.

Currently Marahau Beach Camp is completing the final bike leg of the course, a 21-kilometer ride through the Shotover catchment area of Wakatipu which will take them down into the famous Skippers Canyon. Once there, the final stage of the race will be a eight- to 12-hour mountain trek across the Harris Mountains, around the back of Coronet Peak and down to Millbrook Golf Resort to the finish line.

Race director Geoff Hunt believes the first team will be across the finish line early Friday morning.

"These front teams won't be stopping now; this is what they have been training for all year and with the weather good, they will be going hard out to make the most of the daylight. Marahau Beach Camp are a great team, well disciplined with a good camaraderie, but Edge Orienteering are on their home turf," Hunt said.

"Team Edge are in the perfect position to take the lead should anything happen to Marahau and they know this country like the back of their hands so there's definitely a race on here," he said.

Meanwhile, the rest of the field is spread across 67 kilometers of the course, the last team being California's No Borders. Queenstown team Outside Sports is in 4th place, Mainland Great Outdoors in 5th and Sierra International in 6th.

It's well-known that adventure racers can suffer from hallucinations due to continuous exertion, lack of sleep and limited food. Baz Smith of 4th-placed Outside Sports was reportedly seeing pink pigs during the lengthy overnight trek up to Walter Peak. And further back in the field, leader of the all women Team Timberland Sonja Sparrow said she saw clouds turn into babies and then into women with hoola-hoops - which she thought was rather strange.

The New Zealand Army team is still hanging in there, fourth from the back, and has achieved its goal of beating the airf orce team, which withdrew due to injury on Tuesday.

Team leader Matt Barlow clarified matters just before the race and said it was in fact a lesser goal. "If all else fails we must beat the air force," he said.

In a more conciliatory tone he added that if either team finished the long course they would have done well.

Grammer in Hospital
23:52:19

Tim Grammer from Team Cromwell has been taken by safety boat across Lake Wakatipu to the Lakes District Hospital after suffering from an infection to his feet. He is now comfortable in the hospital while his team members continue around to CP 31 without him.

Outside Sports' Mistake Costs 2 Hours
21:10:01

Local Queenstown team, Outside Sports, have made an error that could cost them 4th place. On leaving 12-Mile Delta, at CP 33, the team rode through the streets of Queenstown and directly out to Arthur's Point instead of riding to Moke Lake and CP 34. Race Director Geoff Hunt just happened to be driving past and saw them. He immediately told them to re read their course directions and upon realizing their mistake, the team turned tail and headed back towards Lake Moke CP 34. The error has cost Outside Sports aproximately two hours. Meanwhile, teams 26, 27 and 28 have all been at CP 33 for over an hour and if they leave now, the battle for 4th could be on.

Locals Back Team Edge
20:25:22

As the front teams head into the night, the big question is whether local knowledge of Team Edge will reign over Team Marahau's navigation skills.Queenstown mountain bikers out on some of the tracks are all backing Edge because of their familiarity with the Queenstown backcountry area. "They won't even be using their maps," one local said. "These guys know this area like the back of their hands."

3 Lead Teams Hit Rafts
20:05:34

About an hour ago Team Edge Orienteering had Marahau Beach in its sight as it prepared to enter the raft which would transport them across the Shotover River. One kilometer of mountainous terrain separates the two with Edge working hard to close the gap. Meanwhile, Team Wombat is one hour behind, has only just completed the rafting, and is now heading into the hills. Edge said they had four hours sleep in total over the last four days and nights and were feeling good.

—Courtesy, Southern Traverse Ltd.