Terrorising Terrigal
On Sunday, November 21st, I had the great experience of my first ever rogaine - introduced to the sport by Bob Kimbrey. We enthusiastically arrived at Terrigal by 7am, having misjudged the time it would take from Wollongong (but Bob is so keen I think he always arrives early). I'd helped out in the hash-house at Gundy a few weeks early so I had some idea of what happens, and although it was a real eye-opener, I suspect doing a socialgaine first was a gentle lead-in to the sport.
We enthusiastically planned our route so that we could get to 50 checkpoints and we actually achieved our goal. We started off heading north, picked up a few around the school in light drizzle, and then headed up along the beach. After about half an hour, the rain had stopped and we were heating up. The beaches were beautiful but there wasn't much time to admire them. Answering questions along the way added a new dimension for the old-timers (well, mine anyway). Walking up and down Hilltop Rd, on the way to No. 69 was exciting as the slippery road meant that I ended up flat on my backside at one stage. Finding the bath in the trailer there was one of the trickier checkpoints. . Along the way we met lots of locals who wanted to know what we were all doing (especially when they had hundreds of people counting their verandahs or peering into their gardens looking for gnomes). Heading back along a few streets and picking up 20, 34 & 56, made me realise what a boring letter-box I have. 102 was a very welcome checkpoint and I'm sure everyone was really pleased to see the wonderful Barnes family with their delicious scones and tea and coffee.
From there we set off up the beach once more and enjoyed a spot of cliff climbing at the end. The local threatened species was definitely NOT bitou bush or lantana and I found out what a chamfered seat is. Then we headed away from the beach and picked up a few between the main road and Wamberal Lagoon before heading up into the bush. The bush was just beautiful, even the hills. It was great having tracks to follow and we picked up 55, 64, 71, 82, 70 and all the way up to 50, which was a lovely sky-blue house set in the middle of the bush - location, location. Loved the bell-birds that were chiming constantly. Amazingly, we found a marsh at the top of the mountain at No. 71. Then back to 61, 51 and the gallery at 100. I'm sure the photographs were lovely but by this stage, there was no time to look, only to ask about Ken's signing dates and keep on. I think we all provided the most fun the gallery staff and patrons had had in a long time! At this stage, the spirit was still very willing but the knees felt like they were in danger of popping a tendon or two. Came back down and picked up 52 and 53, then 72, 90, 42 and 43. From there, it was time to high-tail it for home, just picking up what we could on the way back. On the way back we ran into a family of about 6 kids who were amazingly still full of questions and not one grizzler amongst them. We made it back with about 4 minutes to spare - which by that stage, was my main goal.
What a welcome sight was the "Terrigal Public School" sign, with only minutes left. Sitting down to add up the scores was a major mistake because it took a while to get up again. The hot soup and sausage sizzle were the best I've ever had and I'd like to thank all the people who put the effort into preparing the food. Thanks also to everyone who planned and organised the whole event. Deriving the questions must have taken a lot of work but it made the event fun for all the families. I had a great time and with Bob's encouragement and cajoling and bribery, we even managed to come in 4th in the mixed vets. Next time I will definitely get into some training beforehand, and I'm sure there will be a next time, once I'm walking normally again.
Kerry Ayre - Team 108
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