The organiser of a new 260km, four-day kayak race down the Clutha River from Lake Wanaka to the sea describes it as "a good outing".
Adam Fairmaid, of Queenstown, said yesterday that after running the successful Godzone adventure race between Queenstown and Milford Sound earlier this year he was left holding 62 double kayaks he needed to find a use for.
The result is the "Wild Descent" which begins at Albert Town on January 17 and finishes at Kaka Point - sea conditions permitting - on January 20.
The first leg to Lowburn will be 65km, the second to Roxburgh 75km, the third to Clydevale 77km and the final leg to the sea 44km.
Fairmaid said the Clutha River required competitors to be able to handle grade two rapids, which was the same requirement as for the Coast to Coast, from Kumara Beach on the West Coast to Sumner Beach, Christchurch.
The kayak leg of that event is 68km.
Fairmaid said the Godzone race, in which competitors covered a 500km course on foot, mountain bike and kayak, had shown him the appeal of multi-day events that enable competitors to socialise along the way.
Competitors will have to carry their own camping gear and supplies and Fairmaid expected the hardest part would be the haul across Lakes Dunstan and Roxburgh.
He knew of only one other kayak event - in South Africa - covering such a long distance.
Entrants so far include nine-time Coast to Coast winner Steve Gurney.
