World Masters Orienteering

Our tourist activities started with a drive to the touristy (and thus overpriced) town of Katoomba. We had already overpaid there for tae and cakes the day before so found a more reasonable cafe. The walk we planned nominally started at a classic viewpoint where it cost about £2.50 an hour to park so we found a layby a couple of km away and modified the walk. The path network was fairly extensive and we did a four/five hour trip which took us down towards the bottom of the steep cliffs on which Katoomba sits. There were 900 steps back up at the end and lots more on the undulating track, so not a route for the day before a big race.

However the next day was just a model event when we experienced the intricate rocky "pagoda" terrain and realised we were going to be in for a challenge.

The first heat of the long qualification races followed the next day in an adjacent area and I struggled with the rocky area (see map which I'll put on http://public.fotki.com/DaveCo/omaps/ ). Control 5 was my big mistake and when I eventually found it I was 15m vertically above it; I reached it by scrambling down to a 45degree fallen tree which I then climbed down! I cannot really show my route in the complex terrain as it just obscures all the features.The second part of the course was a complete contrast with fast running and easy controls. I just scraped into the top half in this heat, so needed to do at least as well the next day.
The second qualification was in very different terrain - classic Australian spur and gully, with plenty of rock features. A major error on the first control cost me about 10 minutes or more and a smaller error a bit later another few minutes. Then an easy but very long leg, over 1.5km on a 5 km course gave an obvious track run for a large part of its length and running hard here managed to keep me well enough up to get in the A final.
The final two days later was a mixture of spur/gully and rock, but the latter less technical than the first qualification. I began cautiously but speeded up as things were working well and with just a small mistake later on, of just over a minute, was pleased to come 15th, behind some strong competition. An enjoyable race but the planning was unimaginative and the course did not feel as expected for a WMOC Final. Our course was also on the short side, being won in 40.41 rather than 50 minutes.

Sydney

The few days we had in Sydney produced cooler and damper weather than expected but we still managed to see a few major sights. After wandering the streets and parks a bit we visited the Opera House for a performance of The Mikado which I really enjoyed.


The day after that we did the "Bridge Climb" which gave a good view of the city from an interesting viewpoint. Unfortunately you are not allowed cameras on this trip and I was not prepared to spend $25 (nearly £15) for one (of the many photos) that they took. A good trip though a bit pricey, like most things in Australia - especially at current exchange rates.

The weekend gave us two days of sprint orienteering. The heats on Saturday were not that exciting. I had an OK run but only just made the A final, though did not make any big mistakes. The final at Sydney Olympic Park was much more challenging with many complex structures and tricky controls. I got into top half of the A finalists so quite happy with that; maybe I need to do a few more sprint events to improve.

(Talking to some fellow competitors, queues for registration got to five and a half hours before the issue of photo passes changed to blank passes. The only need for a pass seems to be free public transport in Sydney, which is of little benefit to orienteers after Sunday as we are 2 hours out of town).

We are now in Lithgow in the Blue Mountains ready for the Long Distance orienteering races which start with heats on Wednesday, so a day or two for tourism first.

A Whale of a time

Had a great day of whale watching from Hervey Bay. Spectacular views of whales. Will try and put one of pictures on blog when I can.

A two day trip to Fraser Island was also a good trip. A small group of just 5 people. A bit of gentle walking and beautiful beaches. It was quite busy due to being school holidays.

Flew to Canberra on Monday for 2 day orienteering. First day was a bit of disaster not helped by compass sticking and tricky and rough area. Took 90 mins for first two thirds of course. Second day much better (but a very straightforward area).

We drove to Sydney yesterday and completed a marathon! Well that was the queue to collect stuff for the event. Two and a half hours queue! World Masters Games is not good to be associated with!

Bay of Islands

My last few days in NZ took me to the Bay of Islands area for a weekend tramp. A group of six of us drove to the small settlement of Rawhiti, north east of Russell, where we stayed Friday night in a backpackers' hostel of sorts. It comprised a collection of rather old caravans; the toilet facilities were fairly basic with just a mossie screen door. Still it was right on the beach as we saw in the early morning sunshine.

The Cape Brett Track which we walked started 1km from here. This was an undulating walk (we clocked 1100m of ascent that day) through the bush but with glimpses of the coastline on either side of the peninsula from time to time. These would have been better if the sunshine has remained but the cloud came in for much of the day giving some rain. However it was not too wet and by mid afternoon we were back in sunshine.

After about seven hours walking we arrived at the Cape Brett lighthouse. The DOC (Dept of Conservation) "hut" where we stayed differed from their normal huts as it is actually the former lighthouse-keepers' house. It is below the main lighthouse but about 45m above the sea. We read that there had been occasions when the spray from breaking waves reached up to the house! It was agreat place to spend a night.

Sunday morning we retraced our steps for a couple of hours before descending a short distance to Deepwater Cove where we had booked a water taxi to take us back to Rawhiti. Fortunately it was calm morning or we would have had to walk out the way we had come in. Then a fairly direct return to Auckland for my flight to Sydney.

Next morning I took a short flight to Hervey Bay in southern Queensland where I am now, staying with friends, Phil and Eleanor.

Ski Touring and Winter Walking

On Monday (14 Sep) I should have been ski touring but the previous renter of the kit I was to use failed to return it to the shop! As it turned out the weather was not good that day so things worked out OK. Arriving late morning on Tuesday the snow was still rather firm and cover not great but Andy and I managed a short tour to a nearby peak (see photo), though we both need to put into use our self-arrest technique when traversing a steep icy slope (no harscheisen!)

Later in the week I flew north to Nelson where I met up with Richard and John, a friend of his, for a four day tramp in the Nelson lakes area. Friday was grey and increasingly damp for our quite lengthy walk in as far as the Angelus Hut. Richard had gone ahead and was going to come back and help John with his pack but in the end John turned back and went to a different hut. By now it was too late for Richard and myself to do this! We got to the hut, which was not easy to find in the mist with dusk approaching, rather wet and cold but got the stove going well and got all our kit dried out overnight.



The next day provided stunning weather and the two of us made an early ascent of Angelus peak (seen in the background of other photo, hut in foreground). The snow was well frozen and perfect for cramponing. After this Richard went in search of John and/or a mobile signal but the news eventually arrived via another tramper that all was well. This night, being Saturday, the hut was relatively busy with a dozen or so peole there. (The full story of John's journey is far to long to tell here.)

Sunday was another sunny day and we returned to near our starting point via a superb ridge walk; mostl on snow but some rocky patches to blunt the crampons. We finally met up with John again for the last night and had a gentle day on Monday before returning to Auckland.

The Auckland weather has not been so good for the last few days so it's been museum and wine tasting before heading north tomorrow.

Dolphins

After my Nguaruhoe ascent I had a gentle day taking a scenic route to Raglan on the west coast some way south of Auckland. Not such a nice day so I was very lucky the day before. Raglan is a laid back surfing town, very quiet (no surf).

Then flew to Christchurch where weather for the weekend was superb. Stayed with Pete and Dee for Fri/Sat - many thanks to them - and had a great run in the Port Hills each morning.

Sunday afternoon took a wildlife cruise in Lyttelton Harbour and saw some spectacular action by Hector's Dolphins (that's the name of the species, not the owner!)

Today (Monday) Andy and I were supposed to head to Broken River to go ski touring. Unfortunately the person who had the ski touring kit I was to rent had failed to return it. Anyway it is very windy today and +9C at the skifield so we have delayed a day; had a good mountain bike ride instead. 24C in Christchurch.

Now in New Zealand

First day in Auckland was mainly taken up with domestic chores; a shame as it was perfect weather. Had an unscheduled visit to Waiheke Island when I got directed to wrong ferry!

Next day I headed south to Tongariro National Park but only time for a short walk after the drive, but spectacular views of three snowy peaks - Tongariro, Nguaruhoe (a classic volcano cone) and the skifield peak of Ruapehu.

Wednesday had planned for the Tongariro Crossing but impossible to book the shuttle bus back without doing a guided trip. So as alternative I made a pre-dawn start to walk up Tongariro, round its ridge and then up Nguaruhoe. A fantastic day out with a couple of interesting sections, given that the snow was quite icy in places.

Pictures show me on summit of Tongariro with Nguaruhoe in background (self-timer pic), Shadow of Mt Fuji at dawn from summit and tuna in Tokyo fish market.