Author Archives: dipidydoo
Sprint the Bay Day 1
Overnight our world turned wet and dreary. Drizzle continued on and off as we got ready for our first race, but it was never heavy enough to justify donning raincoats. We drove to Taradale, a suburb of Napier and home to the Eastern Institute of Technology, or EIT. The map was described as one of […]
NZ Trip – Thermal Explorers
It was a very bleary eyed bunch that headed to the airport at stupid o’clock to catch a flight to Auckland. Having left Ian at home minding the ship, the rest of Dipidydoo waved their passports and departed the country for another overseas orienteering foray. Our mission this time is Sprint the Bay, a series […]
Capital O
Saturday Day 1 of competition was the Sprint Championship. The venue was Canberra Grammar, a stone’s throw from our apartment. Peter and Simon, running 21E, had late morning starts, with the rest of us spread between 1 and 3pm. We settled into the arena and got on with the important business of catching up with […]
A Capital Venture
Wednesday Off to the capital! After a few days catching up at home (I love holidays, you realise how much work interrupts your life), we packed up, handed over the streetO accoutrements to Ray, and hit the open road. It’s such an easy drive on the Hume, set the cruise control to 110, point your […]
Jungles of Ipswich
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 […]
Atherton Tablelands
My final day in Cairns has been just like the previous ones – clear blue skies, no wind, mid 20s. Perfect. Today we headed up over the range at Kuranda, where the rainforest gives way to savannah forest and the rich red agricultural soils of the tablelands. There are still remnant pockets of rainforest here, […]
Mossman Gorge
A beautiful day spent at Mossman Gorge and Port Douglas. My memory of the walking track at Mossman Gorge was of a very narrow rough and muddy path covered in tree roots, with vegetation of the clingy kind lying in wait to pounce. Everyone made a quick stop there on their way to the Daintree. […]
Soaking It Up
First full day in Cairns. After a leisurely start to the morning, we headed north. First stop was Crystal Cascades, a lovely rainforest walk along the same creek that backs the caravan park. The track climbs gently to a very pretty waterfall. The creek gorge is lined with huge trees with twisted roots, all competing […]
Edge of Darkness
Winter in Melbourne means orienteering at night, donning a head torch to light up the road, and compression tights to keep my legs from freezing. According to a major daily newspaper, night running is the Next Big Thing in edgy adventure. News flash – we’ve been doing it every week for 25 years! We’ve also […]
Pete’s Recipe For Success
During nearly twenty years of bush orienteering, my successes have been few, and those handful that I prize have been largely due to factors beyond my control. An early success was a second place at Victorian Championship, run on that section of Mt Tarrengower that has been described as “the single greatest threat to orienteering […]
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