Run by the Remarkables Orienteering Club, the Coronet Twilight Nav Series began last night, and continues the next two Wednesdays.
Organiser Emily Forne says the sport combines exercise with the intellectual challenge of planning a route, then executing the navigation of that route.
"It’s a multi-faceted thing — that’s what makes it fun and makes people want to come back and do more. And it’s also quite sociable."
The series, a first for the Whakatipu, follows the Coronet Peak Dogaine last month, which attracted more than 100 competitors and their dogs.
Forne says the Coronet Twilight Nav Series is intended for teams of two, but people can go solo — at the organisers’ discretion — if they have the necessary rogaine and outdoor experience.
It involves ‘collecting’ as many checkpoints in the allocated time as possible.
Each pair’s given a map and have a short time to plan their route. They can start any time between 5pm and 6pm, with one-hour and two-hour options.
Each of the three events is being held on a different part of the ski area.
Although they finish before dark, for safety reasons it’s mandatory for participants to have a head torch.
Forne says mid-week rogaining is very popular in Christchurch and Wellington.
"In Christchurch they do them throughout the year, and get hundreds of people showing up.
"Weekends tend to get packed out with other things, so [the Nav Series] seemed like a good opportunity to get people out doing something after work."
For more info, or to enter, visit roc.org.nz
