We did a course out at John Forrest National Park. We were rather unsure of where we were supposed to go and what we were supposed to do. However, the registration area was well signposted and there were lots of people there to explain the process and advise.
Based on the advice received we decided to do the "VE - Very Easy" course. Apparently this level of course is designed for 7y.o. to navigate on their own. The course follows tracks or other obvious features the whole way and each turn is marked with a checkpoint.
The VE course was approximately 2.3km and it was a "walk in the park" (apart from a 5y.o. who complained ALL the time - my youngest doesn't like walking - ever!). Still she is very good at navigating and loved using the E-tag at the checkpoints.
Today we went and did another course out at Kalamunda National Park (Jorgensen Park). This time we decided to the "E - Easy" course.
This was more of a challenge. Although you can use tracks to get to each checkpoint there are options for cross-country work as well. We did a mixture of the tracks and cross-country, particularly as most of the cross-country work was through areas of Parrot Bush (not fun!). There were also less checkpoints, and the ones that were there were further apart.
We found that this was a good challenge for all of us. My youngest still complained the whole way though ... so I'm trying to decide if it is worth dragging her along with us each time or if we should find an alternative activity for her on Sunday mornings. I like the idea of the family doing an activity together and she is quite a strong willed child so learning to compromise isn't the worst thing she could learn. However, I don't want to turn her off orienteering forever.
Unfortunately my camera has just eaten my photos of the events. Here's some from my husband's camera of the first event:
At a checkpoint
The cheer squad
My Youngest's Favourite Hobby
We are looking forward to the next event at Gooseberry Hill National Park on Sunday May 10th.
2 comments:
Good on ya for starting easy! Too many think, Oh I KNOW how to do this, and promptly get lost... :-)
And yes, compromise is something ALL children need to learn, either willingly or unwillingly :-)
One of the best views of Perth from up there on Gooseberry Hill. I used to get up there a lot when living in Helena Valley.
-------------
Morris
Post a Comment