100 Dogs And Competitors To Contest Gruelling Nz Sled Dog Champs Near Taupo

About 50 people and more than 100 dogs will take part in the gruelling New Zealand sled dog championships in the Kaiangaroa forest near Taupo next month.

One of the teams of (six) huskies will be pulling more than a quarter of a tonne around an 8.5km course. This is the 10th year of the nationals and the four and six dog freight events will be the toughest on in the July 23rd championships.

``Those races will cover 8.5km and will take just over half an hour,'' current national four-dog freight team champion Mark Roberts of Christchurch said today.

``My dad spent time in Antarctica in the 1960s working with sled dogs, so I've always been interested in them. Earlier this year I did a tough overnight trip in Central Otago and the dogs covered 50km in two days. The dogs had a lot of deep river crossings and thick mud and rocks to contend with
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