Dolamore Park and its native bush will play host to an orienteering adventure on Sunday, thanks to the Southland Orienteering Club.
The club hopes to build on the success of their Have A Go event on March 15, where about 40 explorers made their way through the Gore A&P showgrounds.
Competitors are guided by ordered clues which help individuals or teams move from point to point.
Club president Andrea Patterson said the coming event had something for everyone.
“We colour-code the courses with each map offering differing levels of difficulty. The white course suits first-timers; the yellow and orange courses are for those with some experience, and the red course is designed for the experts.’’
Club secretary Mark Hotton said although orienteering was timed, it was accessible for all ages.
‘‘They can come out, they can walk it, they can jog it, they can run it ... It's such a great family event because you can go out as a family, and the youngest person can still do the same thing as the oldest person.’’
Mr Hotton said orienteering was more than a contest.
‘‘It's more around taking part and getting outdoors and spending some time with a map in your hand and trying not to get lost.’’
And if anyone was to err off course, they need not fret.
‘‘We have committee members there who will show people and give them coaching at the start and send them off, and check in with them when they get back as well,’’ he said.
And a little bad weather would not get in the way of the fun.
‘‘It's an outdoor sport, so we just encourage people to dress for the weather. There's no such thing as bad weather, really. It's more bad clothing choices.
As long as they've got good jackets and don't mind getting a wee bit wet, then normally it's pretty good.’’
Any updates will be posted on the club’s Facebook page.
