This year, South Africa's Expedition Africa, an expedition-length adventure race, is host of the 2023 Adventure Racing World Championship. To celebrate, we've created a special 2023 Expedition Africa - AR World Championship fabric in collaboration with Expedition Africa for our AR Mini, AR Desert and AR Adventure Gaiters that matches the stunning event shirts.
Now in its 11th year, the 2023 Expedition Africa takes place in the Eastern Cape with the Cape St Francis Resort as its base. More than 100 four-person teams from South Africa and many countries around the world start to arrive on 13 October to be ready for the race start on Thursday, 19 October. Where it will take the fastest teams four to five days to complete the 700-kilometre route by mountain bike, kayak and trekking, the last team must reach the finish by the Day 9 cut-off.
Being in the area of the Baviaanskloof World Heritage Site status, the Kouga Wilderness, the protected dune fields and long stretches of beach, the teams can expect rocky passes, rugged gorges, indigenous forests, crystal mountain streams, sheer cliffs, waterfalls, and... sections with a lot of sand.
AR Gaiters offer sock and shoe protection by keeping sand, sticks, stones, grass seeds, mud and other trail debris from getting into your shoes.
AR Desert Gaiters are a full shoe covering that completely prevents sand from getting into your shoes. Teams from overseas can get the hard 'hook' side of velcro from any fabric store (and some hardware stores) stitched onto their shoes at home - and then collect your AR Desert Gaiters when you arrive (recommended). Alternatively, use Bostik Shoe Repair Glue when you arrive to glue the supplied velcro strip to your shoes. We provide clear instructions for both methods.
AR Adventure Gaiters are orienteering-style gaiters with a padded shin protection, a lycra back (breathable and gives a comfortable fit) and built-in AR Mini Gaiters. You can bash through any vegetation without getting your shins torn to shreds. For the Expedition Africa version, we use the custom printed fabric on the calf and the top band. The front is black and the Mini Gaiter section is black.
We have also made our new AR Gaiters P' Cloth in a Expedition Africa - AR World Series print. The AR P' Cloth is specifically for women, but can also be used by men, to dry off after doing a pee. Forget drip drying or using toilet paper out in the bush. The P' Cloth can be used over and over and it eliminates the use of toilet paper - saving you time and preventing littering of the environment.
South African teams can order directly from this website.
Foreign teams can contact us directly to coordinate their orders and foreign payments. Contact Lisa at orders@argaiters.co.za