Working from maps and photos provided by the forest owners Carter Holt Harvey, professional orienteering mapper Michael Wood has just returned from seven days in the forest. He has been checking out the forest roads and tracks, and also the skidder tracks made during logging operations, and classifying them for ease of riding. The area covers 50 sq.km, and extends right into the picturesque village of Hanmer itself.
Michael will now put the information into the computer, using the specialist orienteering software OCAD. The different "ridability" will be clearly shown by different symbols, and in conjunction with the contours, competitors will be able to choose the optimum way to get from A to B! The map will be laser printed in five colours.
Michael met the organisers Graham Frith and Andy Clayton while he was in Hanmer, and plans are under way for a great event. The NZ Championship will be a "point to point" event on the Saturday, which means the order of visiting the control points is specified although the route you take is up to you. There will be classes for open men and women, veterans (over 40) and juniors (up to 18). The open mens course will be designed to have a winning time of 90-110 minutes in accordance with the international conventions, and a bit less for the other classes. Competitors will start at 2 or 3-minute intervals.
On the Sunday there will be a score event, in which you can visit the controls in any order. However you have to maximise your score within a time limit, with a heavy penalty for arriving back late. The task is made more interesting with different scores for each control point. Competitors all start at once in a score event!
It is likely that bulk accommodation will be arranged, and bus travel for both competitors and bikes is a possibility from and back to the Picton ferry, making it extremely attractive for lower North Island riders.
Do we need to mention that Hanmer is famous for its hot pools???