Day 1

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.

The first day of the carnival was a busy one centred around Daylesford! The morning event was the Victorian Middle Distance Champs at Jubilee Lake. This was the girls first time orienteering in gold mine terrain. Andy placed 3rd, Katy 16th and Ella 25th in their respective age groups. As my knee is not yet sorted out I was a spectator for the whole carnival. Thanks to Tom De Jongh for the excellent action photos!

The next race, the Grand Prix was several hours away, so we headed into Daylesford in search of lunch and coffee. We returned to our morning coffee spot, Pancho's on the Main Street. the food was delicious and the coffee excellent.

Prior to the start of the Grand Prix, the kids participated in the opening ceremony for the Schools Carnival.

 

 

The Grand Prix was a new innovative especially for the elite classes - touted as a sprint race in three types of terrain - forest with complex tracks and vegetation network, lakeside park and a small campus with the addition of mass starts and bonuses for those who were fastest. For the majority of competitors the Grand Prix was a mass start sprint race. Katy was 6th, Ella 20th and Andy 3rd again.