Author Archives: dipidydoo
Rain Rain Go Away
It was a remarkably quiet night in Southampton, no doubt something to do with the scoreline in the Euro Championships final (2-1 in Spain’s favour). Just as we were ready to leave the apartment, the rain began. We’d been tossing up between taking an Uber or the train to the airport, to pick up our […]
It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
Dipidydoo is on the road again! The Debbie and Ian half took flight for the UK, and the Pete and Ilze half will be heading to other far-flung parts of the world in the near future. Our paths don’t cross on these trips, but our timings overlap a little. So you will hear from all […]
Day 3 – Vague
Today’s terrain was pretty much a repeat of the other two days, except it was less open, and scrappier scrub with smaller rock. Everything was vague. Vague contours, vague tracks that blended with the general sandy ground, vague fences that might or might not be standing, and vague vegetation boundaries where yellow gently graduated into […]
A Canopy of Giraffes, and an Elongation of Meerkats
With a relatively early finish (notwithstanding my 20-25 minutes worth of errors), we had time this afternoon to visit the no 1 tourist attraction – the Monarto Safari Park. This is an open range zoo with mostly African animals, and in what was a very appealing drawcard, you are driven around in an airconditioned coach. […]
Easter Day 2 – The Wheels Fall Off
My start time was 2 hours earlier, and I looked forward to a cooler morning; it was not to be, as the temperature quickly soared again into the mid 30s. The terrain was very much like yesterday’s, but with less shade on the course. Setting was similar too, with the first few controls on rock […]
Easter Day 1 – Putting on the Training Wheels
It was my first foray into the forest for at least 6 months, and my first Easter competition for 2 years. So it was with a little trepidation that I headed to the start, feeling very much like I needed my training wheels on. I was one of the last starters, and it was blazingly […]
Bound for South Australia (Again)
Once again, most of the Dipidydoo crew are back on the road; no planes this time, as we’re just across the border in South Australia. We left Captain K at home so he could keep an eye on Ian (though there seems to be some partying going on amongst my bear collection, and the Captain […]
Sprint Finish
After 10 orienteering events in 12 days, the fun had to end. We finished in style, with a final sprint race around the Auckland harbour precinct, known as Wynyard Quarter. On a perfect day it was very picturesque, with the city skyline, Sky Tower, boats of all sizes, and the Wynyard Viaduct opening bridge, making […]
Out and About in Auckland
Yesterday’s second race was at Auckland Girls Grammar School, in the very hilly Ponsonby area. The arena was in a lovely grassy park with gorgeous spreading trees; the one whose shade we sat in must have been ancient, judging by its size. As I had another late start, I had plenty of time to spectate, […]
Auckland Triple Crown Race 1
There was plenty of overnight and morning rain as we farewelled Karangahake, and headed to Auckland. Pam and Peter were already in the new lodgings in the southeast suburbs, and we were soon settled in. My room has a workspace, and a walk in wardrobe, so I’m happy. We whiled away the morning and early […]
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