The front-running teams slowly emerged from the southwest coastal track to arrive at Rarakau near the Humpridge Track on day five of the 540km race.
An excited crowd gathered to watch as All Black great Richie McCaw and his PwC team members Rob Nichol, Sarah Fairmaid and Bob McLachlan arrived at the transition area in the sixth position.
Team captain Nichol said the course had been spectacular so far.
``We are feeling great about how the team is tracking and happy to be at TA3. The last section was long, and both Richie and Sarah ran out of food, so we are pleased to be here. Richie is slightly unsteady on his feet right now, but once we get some tucker into us everyone will be good to go,'' Nichol said.
The next stage is a 160km mountain bike leg through Rowallan Forest to Borland and Percy Saddle and over to West Arm on Lake Manapouri.
Nichol said racing alongside other top Kiwi teams had been enjoyable and they were pleased with how the race was shaping up.
``At this point on the course, we just want to make the most of the good daylight. This next mountain bike leg has some tricky navigation through the Rowallan Forest so it will be good to get through that before nightfall.''
Nichol is suffering from swollen hands and the team hase several scrapes and blisters from bushbashing, but they remain undeterred.
