Start The Tasmania Tour

The Race was great but now it was time to see what else this Island held. The talk among the locals was The Leven Canyon. Rumor had it that the gorge held two large waterfalls, one listed at 10 meters and the other at 17 meters. One of our guides Pete Rand made a phone call to a friend who lived on the river for a level check. Boom just like that we knew the water was perfect and we were headed to Tasmania's "waterfall run".

The Girls

Here are the girls all smiles after the event. From left to right Georgia, Tanya, Nikki.

Georgia on the weekend

Today was a beautiful day unusual for Tasmania ( just joking tasweigens)
and we were up for the surprise race. We all met at 12 back at the river a
few of the competitors a little sore headed but ready to hit the water.It
was to be... 'The classic ball race' where in pairs you had to get a swiss
ball down the river with wait for it... a mass start which was right above
a double stage drop with a hole at the bottom. Myself and John watched in
horror the carnage unfold. The mass start was awesome. The first drop was
a narrow slot that not 16 boats could fit through at once.Aaron got stuck
in the hydraulic of the second drop after rolling above it and going
backwards and I could see the look of fear in his eyes as he tried to
avoid having his head smashed in by boofing boats coming towards him.
Luckily Daring Dan last years winner boofed him out of the there but sadly
enough Dan was held in up side down for a long period with many boats
boofing onto him and finally he swam out. Poor Dan. After a tiresome run
getting the ball down through the canyon Niki and Tanya did great again
and came in 2nd place. Go you girls! A sensational weekend at the Teva Lea
Extreme Race. Thanks to Teva, Solution Spraycovers and our hosts the crazy
Tasmanians.

The "ball" race

Here is the start of one of the most intriguing events I have ever seen. The idea was each pair of racers had to get themselves and their ball down the river. The team to get their ball and themselves across the finish line first was the winner. The entire weekend was great and the idea of racing in pairs really added a whole new dimension which I think everyone enjoyed. To see a short video segment of the race copy this link into your browser.
http://www.lvmvideo.com/tas/tasweb2.mov

Props to these guys

Here are some racers in a dingy. Believe it or not they stuck it, niether of them got their heads wet.

The crux

This drop was the crux of the race. Many people fell on their heads, ran it backwards and some even took a swim. Here I am making it through looking for a good place to film the race.

Race Picture #1

Here is Nikki at the first drop of the race.

Georgia's race comments

Woke up feeling a little less refreshed than I would have liked but
excited to be in Tasmania again and heading to the Teva Lea Extreme Race.
The beautiful rolling hills still green from the recent spring a great day
ahead. I reunited with lots of Tasmanian friends and some of which I had
spent time with in Tibet this year. Niki, John, Aaron, Brock and myself
had a quick reccy run down the Lea River and I was pleased as there were
some resonable drops and fast lines to scout. More than enough water took
us down this short but steep section of river. There was an air of
excitement in the air. Unfortunately I was quite shattered after my time
working so wasnt as fast as I would have liked to be in the race but the
girls Niki and Tanya kicked serious butt and came 2nd over all!! The party
that night was true Tasweigen style with plenty of singing, dancing and
various performances.

Last years winner

Here is Dan Hall last years champion. They call him flash. I couldn't figure out if he got the name from being fast or from the way he dressed. Either way he and his partner Justin Boocock took first again.

The Race

Georgia

Georgia Le Plastrier comments

Just finished a 3 week teaching stint of work teaching kayaking to TAFE
students and topped it off with a 9 hr drive to Melbourne to meet Niki,
John and Paul. A text message from Swarze ( my partner in the race)
earlier that day read " the lea is going to be cranking". I slid straight
from one car into the fun car a landcruiser stacked full of kayaks, beers,
camping gear and two of the worlds best kayakers. Thanks to Paul at Teva
everything had been organized. We drove onto the ferry that overnight,
would take us from the mainland to beautiful Tasmania

Traveling to the race

Australia

Little did I know how beautiful Tasmania was. Above was a typical view of the countryside which seemed to go on forever on this island. It was while on this ride I was filled in on the fact that Australia has more posionous snakes than any other place on Earth.

Morning in Tasmania

After a twelve hour ferry ride from Melbourne across the Bass Strait into the Hobart Harbor we were greeted with a blue-bird day. This was quite the change from the stormy seas (four meter swells) we dealt with all night. Officially we had made it to Tasmania.

Off The Ferry