Tele Point Trail Hunt
Last month, the Mid North Coast Hiking Group held a Tele Point Trail Hunt in the Rawdon Creek Nature Reserve. In a combination hiking-orienteering-geocaching event, 27 numbered markers were hidden over a 16km course.
Working in groups of 4, teams had to use their map reading skills to find the general location of each marker, and then hunt around in the 5m radius area to find the hidden control point marker.
The event was sponsored by Anaconda, with donated items hidden along the trail, and prizes for the first team back with a minimum of 27 points, and for the team who found the most point markers.
The markers are still in place along the trails for anyone else wanting to have a go.
The map shows each marker by a pink circle. The markers are numbered and have additional symbols as clues to their location.
The map is based on Orienteering principles. It is oriented to magnetic north to make it easier to use a compass, and the symbols follow orienteering standards. However, the scale of the map and degree of difficultly to locate the markers does not meet orienteering regulations.
The numbered markers are white rectangles (from milk bottles) and are generally located at the base of stumps or trees on the off-trail side (so they are not visible from the walking trail). The markers are not obvious and will require some hunting around to locate. If you are familiar with geocaching, you may find it easier to recognise likely hide spots.
Overall, the complete course is a good 16km in length starting from Wharf Rd and finishing at Charlie Watt and takes between 4 and 5 hours to complete. You can walk a more direct route only locating the markers that have the * symbol on the map for a shorter 9.5km course. Long pants and good boots are recommended as there is some off-trail hunting to find most markers.
