March long weekend

There were a couple of orienteering events scheduled, including the first State Series foot event which my son and I like to do, so we had booked a van site at Castlemaine for the long weekend here in Victoria.  The weather forecast progressively deteriorated though we were excited at the prospect of getting some decent rain with the whole State being in need of it. As it turned out two terrible storms came through Melbourne and the Shepparton area with wind, rain and hail and caused enormous damage to houses and businesses in their paths. We had 75 mm rain in total but no damage at our home, luckily.

We didn't get wet at our events and were nice and dry in our van, but it wasn't a weekend for browsing shops as it usually is. My husband and son had an interesting drive around "Muckleford Diggings" on the road to Maldon, looking for a future camping spot. I was content to do some reading and cross stitching and listen to the steady rain, which is a sound I have missed over the last 12 or so years.

Saturday at "Chewton Diggings" was warm and extra humid so it made orienteering hard work. We saved our energies for the following day and concentrated on brushing up on our navigation, and marvelled at the skill and fitness of the senior state team members competing in their National Series events.

Sunday was cooler at "Bryce's Flat" near Daylesford/Hepburn Springs but the terrain was diabolical! The area along the creek had been intensively mined for gold back in the 1800's and the miners had apparently found rock and more rock ... their lives must have been so hard, it's difficult to imagine, and I am curious to see if there are records anywhere of how much gold was actually taken out of the area.

This the map for my course (W45+) which had 16 controls to visit in order, three clusters joined by longer legs. The black and brown dots represent piles of rocks and earth! It was slow going but I navigated well and was pleased with my result, although very tired immediately after.