Author Archives: dipidydoo
Dam Dam Dam
One of the nicer things about the house is watching it slowly light up in the morning, as sunlight and shadows interplay. Packing up required an earlier start, and we were back on the road by mid morning. The first dam of the day was a recrossing of the Eppalock Spillway. It’s quite an impressive […]
A Million Places to Put a Control
After another lazy morning (well we are on holiday, although it’s not like we bounce out of bed at the crack of dawn at home – did that for 40 years, not doing it now), we had an early lunch and set out for Heathcote, only about half an hour away. We skirted the northern […]
Not Quite A Grand Design
We’re back on the road again, 8 months since the last time we travelled, having spent nearly half that period in another long lockdown. This trip is a mish-mash of previously planned short breaks and orienteering weekends, strung together to make a slightly circuitous route through central Victoria. First stop – Eppalock; a 3 night […]
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 […]
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