Toby Adams comes out on top at 2022 Lake Argyle Adventure Race

One of the east Kimberley’s most popular tourist attractions played host to something special at the weekend — a thrilling three-day competition designed to attract the region’s adventure seekers.

The Lake Argyle Adventure Race kicked off last Friday with the Solo Adventure Challenge — a gruelling swim, paddle, run and mountain bike ride through the tough but beautiful landscape of Lake Argyle and surrounds.

Perfect conditions greeted competitors in the first segment — a 2km swim through the fresh water of Lake Argyle.

Crossing the dam wall, the racers jumped into kayaks for a long, 7km paddle on the Ord River before embarking on a 9km run along its banks.

After another 6km trail run through the remote wilderness, the participants jumped on their bikes for a 17km ride across mountainous terrain before crossing the finish line at the famous Lake Argyle Resort.

Competition was fierce, with less than four minutes separating the top three solo male racers.

Toby Adams came in first with a total time of 4:22:56, just ahead of Adam Farina and Ray Monck.

The first woman to cross the line was Katie Guymer, who finished in 4:49:22 ahead of Virginia Westwood and Nicola Dearnley.

Saturday was just as thrilling with the Teams Adventure Relay.

Relay teams participated in groups of two, three or four to complete the same trek battled by the soloists the day before.

In the quad category, victory went to all-male team Has Beans... with a total time of 3:22:08, closely followed by the mixed team, Pufke Kids.

Senior Citizens were the fastest trio at 3:25:23, finishing ahead of Scrub Fowls.

Duo Team Weller won their category after completing the race in 4:11:13, followed by all-female team Back Again.

Perhaps the most exciting event of the day, the Sandalwood Sanctuary Junior Adventure Challenge, took off at 3pm and saw competitors aged 6 to 12 swim, ride and run around a shorter course which included a “slip and slide” to the finish line.

The day was finished off with a celebratory dinner with entertainment.