Location: Singleton Heights
Directions: For Newcastle people: follow the Hunter Expressway/New England Highway to Singleton. After crossing the Hunter River, travel 600m, and turn right at the traffic lights into Bridgman Road. Ignore the first Gardiner Circuit street sign, and drive on to the second Gardiner Circuit street sign on your left which is 2.8km from the traffic lights. Travel 400m and park near the children's playground on the left side of the road.
From Muswellbrook: head towards Singleton and 1.2 km after Singleton Hts railway underpass, turn left at the traffic lights into Bridgman Road, then follow the instructions above.
Map: "Nowlan Park" scale 1:7500 with 4m contours. The map is bounded on the west by the railway line and on the east by Bridgman Road. The map was developed by Russell Rigby for the come-and-try-it event on 29/10/17.
Planner:Peter Newton
Courses:
A choice of 3 courses:
a short 2.8km line course: 13 controls, numbered 161 - 173, no need to leave the park (no road crossing).
a longer 4.7km line course: 20 controls, randomly numbered, need to run a few streets to join them up.
45 minutes score course: 28 controls, see how many you can register, and get back before 45 minutes is up.
All controls, except one, are located in grassy park areas, but for the Long course you will need to zig-zag through a few streets to get from one grassy area down to the next grassy area.
Start and Finish for all courses is in the park with the playground equipment on the southern side of Gardiner Circuit. Look for Orienteering banners.
Facilities: There are clean toilets and a nice sandy playground, with shade cover, in the park.
Start times:There is a 2 hour start window from 1:30 - 3:30pm.
Course closure: Please aim to be back at the assembly area by 4:30pm. That leaves time to collect the controls before it gets dark. Walking time for the short line course is about 40 minutes at casual pace and for the long line course about an hour. The score course should take 45 minutes as there is a points penalty for returning late.
Notes: This event follows the urban format: all controls will be tethered to a tree or fence post in a mown grassy area. There will be 28 controls scattered around the course. For line courses you must follow (as best you can), the connecting lines on the map and visit the controls in order. If you accidentally record a control that is not on your course, it is not a problem. However, if you miss one of the controls on a line course, then you are recorded as having failed to complete the course. So navigate carefully and make sure you find all the required controls. Check the number on the control stand before registering it on your p-card or SI stick. All the sculptures in the park have been mapped but many signs are not mapped. A black cross often means a big concrete sewer cover.
Safety: I have tried to select course legs that do not go past easily upset dogs. If doing the long line course, or score course, you should wear bright clothing so drivers notice you on the side of the road.
Please call back to the assembly area, download at the computer and tell us you have finished your course, so that we don't get concerned that we have not seen you come back yet.