Eco-Challenge Borneo, 2000

Eco-Challenge 2000 was held in the eastern part of Malaysian Borneo, based in the town of Semporna. It started with the 76 teams setting off in a mass paddling leg out of the town in perahu canoes, to some islands where there swimming legs in pairs and then further paddling. Next came around 12 hours of mountain biking inland, followed by a 48 hour jungle trek, which finished with a river swim for several kilometres. At this point teams picked up hefty local river sampan canoes before hiking to the coast. At this point teams got back in their perahu canoes to face a final 100 kilometre paddle, which was interrupted by two stops - first a brutally hot, hanging rope climb (in a swiftlet and bat cave), a ridge-walk and finally a 400 foot abseil and second a short section of scuba diving. Thereafter it was a paddle against ferocious winds to the finish back at Semporna. The course was widely held as the toughest since Canada.

You can read an article about Eco-Challenge Borneo, published by Trail magazine, below.