A personal write-up from the heart about the other side of Expedition Africa

Expedition Africa is an event that travels each year to a new adventurous destination, a place where race organiser; Stephan Muller designs a new route in a new playground. This year over 50 teams took on the 500km adventure race in the 'home of adventure' locally known as the Garden Route.

After 5 days and 22 hours organisers, volunteers, athletes, supporters and sponsors have officially begun wrapping up the 2016 edition of Expedition Africa. This gruelling 500km adventure race ventured teams and individuals on a mixture of self discovery and hard competitive racing.

Earlier today an official written complaint was lodged disputing team Featherbed Painted Wolf's capture of CP 17. The local team lead the 500km adventure race, gaining time on their lead throughout the event.

Athletes currently cycling 118km along the Karoo dig deep as they make their way to the next transition, and onto the finish for Expedition Africa 2016.

3 days, 12 hours and 33 minutes is how long it took for Expedition Africa 2016's champions to complete 500km of pure adventure racing. Cheers from the side lines howled as team Featherbed Painted Wolf neared the spectator filled shoreline at Pine Lake Marina this evening.

Day three of Expedition Africa proved to be an extremely interesting day for both the teams taking part in the 544km adventure race and the arm chair experts sitting at home dot watching.

The majority of the Expedition Africa pack have completed the first 120km of the 544km course, with multiple teams currently cycling through the heart of the Knysna Forest and onto the world famous pioneering Harkerville single track. Athletes will venture from the heights of the forest and cycle down towards the coastline for 84km reaching transition six in Plettenberg Bay.

Day one of the self supported and navigated challenge proved to be an exciting one with a kayak start at the Knysna Waterfront. Teams paddled towards Thesen Island hastily, taking on their orienteering leg, in order to collected their next map and plot their next route. The Merrell Adventure Addicts took the lead upon the water, with Sweco Adventure (SWD) in tow followed by Naturex (FR).