After my lovely relaxing break in Cairns, it was time to start making my way home.  I got an early flight to Brisbane and was picked up at the airport by a lovely lady called Jennifer.  We chatted about orienteering as we drove to the event site at White Rock Conservation Park, near Ipswich.  I was greeted by many friendly faces, some of whom recognised me from other carnivals.  I was introduced to Lynda and Rob, who would be looking after me overnight.

Simon and Pete arrived soon afterwards, the boys looking resplendent in their Victorian o-tops, while I swanned around in my Istanbul top.  We hunted down the shade as the temperature climbed – more perfect weather.  I had a very late start so was happy to eat, drink, and chat to my new acquaintances in the Enoggaroos club tent.

Today was the Middle Distance champs, and the terrain notes warned of steep slopes with lots of undergrowth after a bushfire last year. They were right on both counts.  Dithering between two route choices on my first leg and then going with neither, I picked my way slowly through the long grass and scrub, getting a feel for the map and the rock.  Eventually I found the first control but my caution had cost a lot of time.  The next couple of legs were better, I was reading the rock well.  Then we had a really long leg through lots of green.  i just had to suck it up and bash.  I was only halfway round in an hour and clearly was not going to be on the podium.  Next was a big climb, then a steep drop, and we picked our way back in to the finish in a fairly straight line.  No errors, but slow slow slow – 90 mins total.  Simon had a great run for 6th in M21, and Pete was a few places behind.  Unfortunately though Simon rolled his ankle near the finish and was unable to compete the next day.

It was nice to have a shower and be fed and regaled with orienteering and travel stories for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. Lynda has an orchid house and a gorgeous garden, and they have a huge garage for all their club gear.  Jealous …

Sunday was another early start as I was off at 9am, but I was happy to have the benefit of cooler conditions.  We were more or less on the same map as yesterday so the terrain was very similar, but more rock and a bit less green.  Again I was over anxious on the first leg, and found myself in a steep thick gully, when I should have stayed high on the spur.  Learning my lesson, I followed a ridge to no 2, but overshot a bit.  It was looking like another disaster.  But then I got my act together and nailed the next couple.  Leg 5 was pretty long, and the obvious route choice was a big climb to a saddle, then down a spur with a very steep drop off.  It looked full of potential for error.  I realised that I could instead take a track right around the hill, use a fence corner as an attack point, and have a gentle climb to the boulder I needed – and the flag would be positioned on “my” side, so easier to spot.  I executed this perfectly, ran most of the way on the downhil track, and knocked off about 10 minutes on the time I would have taken on the more direct option.

After that it was easy, a couple of controls up on a spur, then track running for the last 3 legs.  My time was the same as the previous day but the course was 500 m longer, so I was quite pleased.  I finished 4th, and would have been 3rd if I hadn’t messed up the first leg.  Pete was happy too, as he concentrated on leg planning and it came off well.

After lunch Simon and I were driven back to the airport for the reluctant trip back to cold dark Melbourne. Pete is staying on for a few days, half his luck.  We all had a great time with the Qld orienteers, and I for one am planning a return visit next year.