The world’s first trail-running safari experience, traversing three African countries, in a three-day, 92-km journey through big-five game areas, has been announced by South African trail-running event specialists, Wildrunner.
The inaugural Mapungubwe Transfrontier Wildrun®, will take place from May 13 – 15, 2016. It promises a wildlife-rich running experience through the bushveld of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation area, where South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe intersect.
Following elephant paths and game trails, the route will take runners to the ancient Mapungubwe citadel in South Africa’s Mapungubwe National Park, the rolling savannah of Botswana’s Tuli Game Reserve and the Maramani community lands & Sentinel Ranch in Zimbabwe.
Highlights along the way include crossing the mighty Limpopo & Shashe Rivers, running through magnificent riverside forests, past huge Baobab trees, Khoisan rock paintings, dinosaur fossils and the rural villages of Maramani. Runners will be covering kilometres of ancient elephant trails, etched into stone in Zimbabwe. Throughout the route, runners will experience the thrill of seeing abundant wildlife, including elephant.
The daily distances over the three-day event are 30km, 34km and 28km. With challenges that include wilderness bushveld, wildlife encounters, rugged and hilly terrain, heat and remoteness, the event is not for the faint-hearted. Groups of runners will be led by experienced bush rangers who, in turn, will be supported by assistant guides to ensure that the experience for all runners is safe but still interactive with wildlife.
Importantly, this event is not a race, so participants will be able to enjoy the scenery and soak up the intimacy of the African bushveld.
