I have no idea when the idea of an Arthurs Lake Aquagaine took hold. One evening Karen and I drove past Arthurs Lake and camped for the night to avoid hitting wildlife, next I am looking at the Lake on Google Earth, then a paddling visit just to see if, maybe,….. Then, well most of you reading this know what happened next. We had the first Tasmanian Aquagaine in fifteen years.
Setting an event like this is fun. There are stressful moments, yes, but overall what a privilege to purposefully explore an entirely new area in a no agenda, no format kind of way. We loved the few periods that we had just wandering or paddling on the potential map. Karen and I enjoyed discussing the map boundaries, just how big should the map be? We enjoyed deciding the nature of the controls, water accessible, or on water readable (but not all of them). Who got annoyed when they came across the odd control that was not quite readable from the kayak? Sorry to say that was deliberate, to make you appreciate the other ones more. Who was surprised at just how brutal the rock and leaf litter terrain was between 101 and 70. I was when I put the controls out. That little circuit 19-101-70 took me an hour and a half and I was wearing boots and gaiters.
The little cabin at 24 was idyllic, the water path to 71 a little tortuous, but my favourite control overall was 30. What a cute little island, it was so tempting to put the control in the middle of the island just so that everyone would have their ‘Swallows and Amazons’ moment, but we were kind.
The weekend itself? We couldn’t have asked for better weather. An idyllic Saturday afternoon and evening, plenty of happy campers. I have to admit ‘those paddleboarding clowns’ (thanks Cathy McComb for that phrase) did leave us a little concerned when they had to be assisted back to the campsite by Jono McComb during their practise. And the event day, so many people challenged by a ‘bit of a headwind’ throwing off their timing. So many happy, if tired, faces at the end. It was all worthwhile and nobody got hurt! I did hear the phrase ‘fun in retrospect’ used.
Thanks to those of you who collected a few controls, and to Karen who performed her own mini aquagaine to collect all of the controls on the big island in the late afternoon and early evening, finishing in the dark. Thanks to Rogaining Tasmania, both the people and the organisation for making it so easy to turn a ‘what if’ idea into an event. Thanks to the Arthurs Lake Roadhouse for taking the increase in camping numbers in their stride. Finally, thanks to all the competitors for signing up for an oddball event and coming along with open minds and a determination to have fun.
If you have an idea for an rogaine, metrogaine, aquagaine, or other (even if you have never organised event before) contact the Rogaining Tasmania committee. They have the skills and procedures to mentor you through the whole process. It might be time for a new team to think about the next Eastern Shore bike/foot event using the Tangara trail network. Planning an event is a great excuse to get out on your bike and explore your local area with a purpose and discover those cut-throughs, trails and secret spots.
The results and winners’ route are on-line on the RT results page.
--Simon Allen (pictured left with fellow organiser, Karen Wild-Allen)
