Good navigation skills are a matter of practice, like other skills.
The local orienteering club (Esk Valley Orienteering Club) have set up a public course at the Tailrace Park in Riverside, it is a bit elementary (i.e.. not very challenging navigation wise). You can buy a map with the control locations for $5.50 from the West Tamar Council Offices in Riverside or at Paddy Pallin and go and find the small metal red and white controls.
There are four public courses (permanent courses) around Hobart to practice your navigation skills when visiting Hobart. Below is a summary of the four courses. Kits include a map showing location of the markers are available from Public Course Kits, Orienteering Tasmania c/- 7 Kelly Street, Battery Point, Tasmania 7004 for $8 each.
*Queens Domain:* Situated in the middle of Hobart and within walking distance of the CBD the Domain is a 4 km x 3 km expanse of largely undisturbed parkland, so undisturbed that it contains many native plant species which are rare elsewhere. It is alive with birdlife, particularly parrots, yet has many excellent orienteering features such as overgrown pits and quarries, rockfaces, ruined buildings, shallow gullies and tricky route choices around sports grounds and areas of suburban housing.
*Risdon Brook Reserve:* Risdon Brook Reserve is located 15 km from Hobart just off the East Derwent Highway. It is within a reserve which has limited opening hours - approx 8.00 am until 4.00 pm. So always ensure your run is timed so that your vehicle is not locked in the reserve for the night! Risdon Brook has great sandstone features on the eastern side and hilly spur and gully on the western side. Long courses going right around the dam and totalling over 7 km can easily be put together with this map. A feature of the area is that wildlife is abundant particularly wallabies and wombats with kookaburras in the trees.
*Waterworks:* The Hobart Waterworks Reserve is only 5 km from the city centre, nestled under Mt Wellington accessed up Waterworks Road from Dynnyrne. It also has restricted hours of access so make sure you have left before the gates are closed. The Waterworks offers some very steep terrain with enormous sandstone cliffs and boulders in places and some very steep and thick gullies. Courses can be set around the lower waterworks or continue up the road to Ridgeway and set a course around the upper dam which can include features ranging from boulders, quarries, shallow gullies, earth mounds and rocky ground. Wallabies abound on the hilltops and the views everywhere are superb.
*Coningham:* The Coningham State Recreation Area is just past Snug on the Channel Highway 20 km south of Hobart. This location can be accessed any time and the map offers a number of alternative starting points. It consists of a range of steeply sided hills dissected by a number of gullies. Most of these gullies exhibit rock features including some sandstone cliffs up to 3 m high. Forest is generally open with some grassy areas but gullies can be very scrubby.
For more info about these public course and an example of a map go HERE
The local orienteering club events are also a good way to develop your skills. Up and coming events include a Sunday 2 hour event on September 5 and a series of four twlight events starting after work on Wednesdays in October. All you need to do is turn up after work at the start point (see details below) in Launceston, buy a map from them (about $5), bring your runners and compass, and a pen/pencil. Pick the 'short course' (gives you more time to locate things), copy the controls to your map from the master map and go find them.
Want help, just ask (always keen to improve navigation)
Cheers
Peter Zund
For more information please visit the championship website: http://arc2011.rt.asn.au