Kangaroos' Tales - January 2015
Sunday, 25 January 2015
Oceania 2015 - TasmaniaSprint into Spring had finished. Summer Park & Street O was well underway. Did we really want to spend our summer holidays doing more Orienteering? Now I hear some of you saying there is never enough Orienteering! Well I prefer beach holidays, with time spent lying in, lazy breakfasts doing the crossword and playing scrabble, a few bushwalks and plenty of beach walking and swimming. That is how January 2014 was spent and I loved it, so why even consider Oceania 2015, the big New Zealand & Australian Orienteering Carnival being hosted by Tasmania? A few people convinced us it was going to be spectacular and so we booked. Here are a few tales from the BK members who attended Oceania 2015.
Dennis and Pat Mews were some of the first BK members we met in Tasmania beginning with the World Cup Sprint in Cataract Gorge. Whilst this location was only for the World Cup elite it was possible to wander around their course afterwards. It was Dennis’ regular posts via social media that were cause for more delight. His discovery of East Coast beaches filled with white sand almost requiring him to wear sunglasses; wildlife including seals and pelicans and beaches that were so empty he wondered whether anyone actually lived in Tasmania. Both Dennis and Pat also enjoyed a few successes with Dennis only just missing out on a top ten placing in the Sprint and Pat taking second overall in her class in the Hobart Shorts competition.  Helen Alexander is on a search for the perfect under $20 a bottle Pinot.
Now this provides a very good reason to travel to Tassie, the home of
some excellent Pinots. Her search did not impede her winning the W75A
class in every event. Judi Herkes is back in form. Take note people. She was second in the Oceania middle behind the world champion from Britain and 3rd in the Oceania Long. I, Philippa was running W55AS which happened to run the same courses as Judi. Now whilst I did win my class I note that Judi outran me on nearly every occasion. This illustrates Judi’s good form.
Oceania race 3 was set on a property owned by the Kelvedon Winery. This winery is near Swansea and backs onto Cressy Beach. The walk to the arena involved hiking 800m along a track and UP – yes UP – some 400 metres. The first control on my course and many others involved further climbing. But then further progress took us to this most outstanding view of Freycinet peninsula. Can you imagine navigating up a hill and as you reach the summit you glance up from the map to see this most spectacular peninsula and beach? This has to be one of the most spectacular places to orienteer in Australia. Suzanne O’Callaghan had her best race in this locale!
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The Fossum Family, with us from Norway for the time being, based themselves in St Helens, the locale for the final races including the Oceania Long. I noted that both the young lads, Even and Magnus continued to place higher as the carnival progressed. The one comment I recall is their observation that the water is cold! Cold water in Tassie?!!!
Other BK members who made the journey included David Knight, Tina Smith, Vic Sedunary, Pru Dobbin, Bruce Paterson, Rob Lewis, Michael Hubbert and the rest of my family, including Nicholas and Peter Collins and Stephen. Geoff Adams joined in for the Hobart Shorts. Nicholas Collins had the most excellent carnival, even if it is his mother writing!! Not quite able to make a top three placing but very close on a number of occasions coming in 4th or 5th.
This was a terrific Orienteering Carnival. Terrific maps and courses, great bunch of people and yes – beaches and a time off for a few games and sleep-ins just occasionally. So thank you to the Tasmanians for their efforts in organising such a big event. Yes, I would go again and I am sure the rest of my family would although next time we would make sure there is a second set of car keys with us! But for that story please ask Bruce P.
Philippa Lohmeyer-Collins  |  |
Hobart Shorts
The Hobart Shorts Series of events was added at the end of Oceania 2015 to give us even more for our money. In all, I did 13 events in 16 days with the major problem being recycling of O-kit, given the vagaries of Tassie weather. Our tent was flattened by strong winds on several occasions!
Hobart hosted six events in four days, which must have been a considerable strain on the organisers, who were the same faces every day, and many of whom had also officiated at the Oceania events. The city is perched on steep slopes overlooking the Derwent River, the houses threatening to slide into the water at any moment.
I suffered the usual catalogue of elation and despair in equal measure, the highlight being the trot around the University campus on day one, while the low point was a rainy and windswept thrash around the sand dunes at Seven Mile Beach. Each day I was challenged by the presence of Vic Sedunary in my age group, who beat me more often than not.
Pat did better than me, completing all six events in reasonable time and winning a fluffy Tassie Devil – already given the name ‘Neville’. This was collected by Bruce Paterson, last heard of stranded in the Tasmanian wilds without car keys. Here’s hoping he and Neville emerge in due course.
Dennis Mews
Members' News
A warm welcome to new member Mark Pearson.
Ann-Cathrin Thyregod sent with her BK membership renewal:
"Hope all are well. Hi to everyone from Ann-Cathrin in Denmark".
Anna Bringby from Sweden was with us with her family in 2012:
"I just renewed my membership (through Eventor). I have filled in the membership form as well and will scan it and send to you by e-mail. I read the BKOC Tales with enthusiasm and am happy to have some contact with the club. If you hear that some club members are going to Sweden, we will be happy to help. One of Daniel's friends at Ericsson in Melbourne came to work in Stockholm, and visited us one day, that was great fun.
We've heard about the bushfires on the news, terrible, very different from our weather. We have had snow in Stockholm, and I have been out cross country skiing twice. But just a few days after the snowfall, mild weather came in with rain, so now it´s icy and really difficult to just be out walking. I had a run in the woods earlier today, and I was very happy for my Icebugs".
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