Monthly Archives: April 2021
Sprinting for Home
Our last day in South Australia dawned fine and sunny, although low fog hung over the river flats as we packed up and tidied the house. One last drive along the Goyder Highway and into Renmark. Our mission today – tackle a Sprint race at the local school campus. I knew I’d run on this […]
Crooked Straight
Day 2 – we anticipated more of the same, but over a larger area, as this was billed as Long Distance. Again, we were on the riverlands north of Renmark, but it was quite different. More vegetation, bigger hills, deeper gullies. In fact, most of the map was on a giant sand plateau, with steep […]
Bound for South Australia
It’s strange when you arrive somewhere new after dark. You have no idea what your surroundings are like. I vividly remember alighting from the tram in Istanbul, at the stop right next to the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome. It was 7pm, we’d had a very stressful trip from Paris with my wallet being stolen […]
Last Hurrah
Ah – a sleep in, leisurely shower and breakfast, and no Forest of Doom to be worried about. Ilze didn’t come to Millthorpe last time we were here, so we took her on a sightseeing tour of the area – Lake Canobolas, then Mount Canobolas, with its extensive views over the Western Plains. At over […]
It Was Fine Till We Crossed the Fence …
Day Three. Warm and sunny again. Mid morning start time again. Multitudes of rocks again. Thick scratchy vegetation again. Remind me why we’re doing this? Oh yeah – cos it feels good when you cross the finish line and you haven’t mispunched on any of the three days. It’s all about still being upright at […]
Bumbling Around the Gumbles
Today’s map rejoices in the name of Gumble Pinnacles. There must be a story behind the name. We were on typical central NSW farming property, with a mass of rock of every shape and size, covering a large area that would be no use to anyone other than a bunch of crazed orienteers. It was […]
The Raising of the Flag
Today was Day 1 proper – the first of three days of technical (ie rock) bush orienteering. The program held all sorts of dire warnings about the complexities that awaited us. It’s been a long time since I tackled a Hard course at this level; first of all my vestibular problems saw me relegated to […]
Getting the Gang Back Together (Almost)
Just over a year ago, Covid caused the cancellation of the Easter 3 Day orienteering (along with everything else). We spent most of 2020 wondering if we’d ever be able to go to a major carnival again. Here we are up in Orange in NSW, having completed Day 1 of the 2021 Australian 3-Day Orienteering […]
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