Australian Sprint Champs held on the grounds of Salesian College in Sunbury which encompasses Rupertswood Mansion famously known as the birthplace of the Ashes Urn which was presented to England captain Ivo Bligh to mark his team victory in the 1982/83 Test match series. The campus provided the usual left/right route choice decisions with a few impassable traps designed to catch out a few.
Katy 13th, Ella 24th and Andy 4th.
The girls had a day off orienteering and instead their team had an excursion to Sovereign Hill. Meanwhile Andy and Eoin both headed into Melbourne to work for the day. That meant Cath and I hung out together!
We had coffee at Harcourt Produce and General Store on our way to Mount Alexander, a hill that rises 350m above the surrounding flat farmland. After a quick drive around the picnic area, we decided to explore an area signposted as Dog Rocks.
What a great find! A short walk took us on the western slopes of the Mt Alexander. The granite outcrops were gorgeous and the views sensational! While Cath was on a work call, we wandered around the small footpads in amongst the large boulder many that had split. Dog rocks was apparently named in the 1850 by a local station manger who observed many dingos in the area. We can report there were none seen today.
From Dog Rocks, we made our way to Lang's Lookout located on the eastern side of Mt Alexander, just in time for Cath's meeting. Bathing in the sunshine on a large granite slab, I read a book while Cath worked away. It was peaceful until a large crash both startled us - a tree branch had fallen only meters away from Cath's car!
After the meeting, we ventured to the short distance to the lookout for more spectacular views over the farmland below. From Harcourt we drove into Castlemaine wandering around the Mill. Once the Castlemaine Woollen Mill, the site has evolved into food, vintage and artisan precinct. Lunch was enjoyed at a nearby cafe before driving back to Taradale. Nice day out.
Australian School Relay Champs today at Wattle Gully. Each state team is required to nominate one official relay team in each age group. With 8 girls in the junior division, it meant 2.5 teams for ACT. Ella joined Aoife and Katherine in the unofficial ACT team while Katy joined Mira and a NSW girl to form a composite team. The ACT team members and team officials showed their team spirit - identical braids with ribbons, painted nails and face paint. Plus there were lots of younger (and older) supporters to cheer them on!
ACT had great success in the relay's with the Senior girls placing 2nd Australian team (5th outright) and the Junior boys came 3rd Australian team (6th outright). Another highlight was that no-one from ACT mispunched joining only 2 other states to do so.
The relays concluded the School Championships. New Zealand dominated the competition and convincingly won the Southern Cross Junior Challenge. ACT placed 2nd behind the NSW in the Australian teams competition.
The route from the graveyard to the first control was a memorable one as the competitors ran through one of five tunnel beneath the train tracks.
Spectating from the arena was lovely. An open hillside with scattered granite outcrops meant the orienteers were easy to spot as they traversed across collecting several controls before returning to the last control and then negotiating the steep slippery erosion gully finish chute. Both girls had steady runs - Ella 24th and Katy 26th. Ella and Mira had a good tussle over the final controls! Several of their ACT team mates had standout performances with podium finishes.
Today's event was the Australian Middle Distance Champs held at Blackwood in a new unique sluiced gold mining train. The walk to the start was brutal - a steep climb to the top of the hill! The finish was also challenging with a river crossing - Katy's course had a route choice so she avoided the crossing by taking a longer route choice over a bridge. Ella got wet feet crossing at the rope crossing while Andy decided to cross earlier taking a feet steps into the shallow water before sinking up to his neck and swimming across!
Today's placing's - Andy 4th; Katy 17th and Ella18th.
With the girls travelling with the team, the cottage Cath had booked for our two families would be half empty but not for long. Word got out and soon the spare beds were filled! We lost the young family members and gained the older ones - Andy's parents Sandra and Dave were joined by Cath's mum Carolyn.
The cottage we were staying at was part of Taradale House Estate, an 1870's French provincial style homestead. Set on 10 acres, the cottages surround a communal grassed area. The gardens were extensive and looked a little sad - perhaps a reflection that spring had not yet arrived. The rear of our cottage overlooked the pool / spa and the vineyard that extended to the Coliban River. We were one of the many orienteering families who had booked at the estate.
