National Geographic Television sent EXPLORER host Boyd Matson to compete in the 1998 Southern Traverse and hired freelance television producers James Heyward and Andy Salek to document the race. They assembled a team of independent videographers and support crew members.

CORRESPONDENTS

Boyd Matson 193>>, host of National Geographic EXPLORER, doesn’t just cover endurance races; he runs them. He raced on horseback for 24 grueling hours in California’s Sierra Nevada and outlasted several running partners in the Marathon des Sables, a weeklong Sahara competition. For the Southern Traverse, Boyd joined Macpac Geographic, a team from Dunedin, New Zealand. (Macpac produces sports gear.) They spent several days paddling, biking, and bushwhacking before withdrawing from the race—a fate shared by a third of the teams each year.

I’m Peter Winkler 140>>, a wordsmith for nationalgeographic.com. My task was to bring you the stories behind the story. As I huffed and puffed to keep up with the intrepid TV crew, I often thought, “These people are trying to kill me.” The first day alone, they lured me into a jet boat and chopper, then cajoled me into a cave. Several days later, we drove our Range Rover into a ditch. When even that failed, the infectiously insane Kiwis actually talked me into bungee jumping.

TELEVISION PRODUCERS

“I’m a gypsy,” said James Heyward. 88>> “My life is one of change, turmoil, and chaos, and I like it that way.” Born and bred in Christchurch, New Zealand, he took eagerly to traveling—always “looking for stories.” He has climbed mountains (including stretches of Everest), sailed the ocean alone, and skippered a yacht in Turkey. James began his film career as an actor but soon longed to be on the other side of the lens: “I always knew that I wanted to do documentaries.” The Southern Traverse project is his first National Geographic assignment.

“It’s the Southern Traverse,” Andy Salek 128>> told the film crew, “and anything can happen.” Slappy, as his “mates” call him, was there to cope with whatever wrenches the fates threw into our already elaborate logistics. He also shot portions of the race while leaning from a helicopter. “You get used to it,” he said matter-of-factly.

VIDEOGRAPHERS

Originally slated to focus on interviews at transition areas (where teams shift from one activity to another), Brendon Allen 95>> emerged as the kayaking correspondent—dangling from the stern of a jet boat, wading into neck-high rapids, and swimming gingerly between racers’ paddles.

Filming in remote places all over the world, technical director Russell Baxter 22>> has learned to dissect just about any piece of camera equipment. Faced with a recalcitrant VX 1000 video camera, he conferred by cell phone with experts in Auckland and Wellington. The sad diagnosis: The machine needed surgery that not even Russell could pull off in the field.

Nicknamed Rambocam, Geoff Mackley 61>> loves the strenuous life: endurance running, kayaking, and rappelling. When a rock sheared the front of his kayak in one competition, he paused just long enough to mend it with gaffer’s tape and a trash bag. “Giving up is not an option,” he explained, “just because of a little thing like a broken boat.”

Surfer, cyclist, and skier, Gus Roxburgh 59>> seemed so perfectly suited for the life of a Kiwi adventurer that it was almost astonishing to learn he has a “real job”—as an environmental consultant. On the Southern Traverse shoot Gus rode 42 miles (67 kilometers) with the Macpac Geographic team.

Love lured Yves Simard 99>> from Canada to New Zealand early in 1998. Cracking the small, close-knit Kiwi film industry has been a challenge, and he was thrilled when a friend of a friend steered him toward the Southern Traverse gig. A freelancer who started shooting at 16, Yves endured—and filmed—the overnight hike that ended the race for Macpac Geographic.

SUPPORT CREW 21>>

Vanessa Quin is New Zealand’s leading female downhill cyclist, ranked 18th in the world. Lending her biking skills to the cause, she donned the helmetcam and cycled a stretch with the Macpac Geographic team. She also helped drive and feed the camera crew.

Al Wood wanted experience, and he got it. A film student in Christchurch, he came to the Southern Traverse crew as a driver and wound up accompanying Yves Simard on a “bush walk” that turned into an overnight ordeal.

The strong will that got Carmel Allan kicked out of both Sunday School and Brownies proved a great blessing for our camera crew. A local adventure guide recruited to serve as a driver, she was actually a mix of den mother and drill sergeant—and gentle coach when your online correspondent decided to try bungee jumping.

An Australian who trained to be a chef, Chris Cochrane came to New Zealand to work in a restaurant. “Roachie” saw snow for the first time and was hooked. He wound up as a heli-ski guide and works as a freelance helper on camera crews.

“Get Mark Whetu 188>> to show you his feet,” everyone said. (I declined.) A veteran mountain guide who has twice achieved the summit of Everest, Mark lost his toes to frostbite. One climb, which took the life of a good friend, became the subject of The Fatal Game, an acclaimed documentary produced by James and Andy.

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