Avaya team captain Nathan Fa’avae, of Nelson, said he was tired, but finishing the 10-stage endurance race was really satisfying.
The team arrived at Brighton south of Dunedin at about 12.30pm yesterday, after leaving Jackson Bay at 9.30am on Friday.
Fa’avae said it was great to successfully defend Avaya’s champion title.
He chalked the result up to the stellar teamwork of Stu Lynch, of Auckland, Sophie Hart, of Nelson, and navigator Chris Forne, of Queenstown, and himself.
The course had been challenging, but as adventure racers, that was what the team sought out.
Members of the team had been competing in Godzone since the beginning of the event in 2010 and as Avaya since 2014, Fa’avae said.
They achieved multiple wins at Godzone, including last year’s race in Rotorua.
Upon arriving at Brighton the team was presented with a trophy, which Fa’avae said would go home with whoever had room in their car, and the team would take turns with it.
There was a prize pool, but the team had no idea what it was, he said. They were competing for the sake of adventure, challenging themselves and engaging in teamwork.
Now the race was finished, he was looking forward to returning to life as an outdoor educator and taking the foot off the pedal.
Event director Warren Bates said he was pleased Godzone was seen as the pre-eminent event of its type and attracted competitors from across the globe.
It also inspired people to be active outdoors, even if they were not getting into endurance racing themselves.
Race director Adam Fairmaid said the ‘‘stunning and brutal’’ event was different every year and they had incorporated the coast to coast element this year to mark the 10-year anniversary of the race.
