eNewsletter 228 - Saturday 7th November, 2026G'day [FIRST_NAME] [LAST_NAME],
In this newsletter
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Heart of Hawks Nest 3hr Minigaine, Sun 14th Feb
For your calendar: add the event date & add entries closing reminder Event overview What else would you rather be doing on Valentine’s Day than adventuring with your dear ones? The first rogaine of 2027 will be a 3-hour minigaine to be held at Hawks Nest, about 60 minutes north of Newcastle on Sunday 14th February. Open to teams or individuals, the course will include the stunning coastlines, pristine beaches and national park bushland surrounding Hawks Nest, plus urban and bush areas extending over the Singing Bridge to neighbouring Tea Gardens. Beyond the draw of the beautiful landscape, out on course you’ll find coffee shops, cafés and playgrounds, plus open-air showers and opportunities for a dip if it gets too hot! The Hash House will be located at Myall Park, a short walk from the surf club for a post event swim between the red and yellow flags.
Join us in February for:
Entries are expected to open in Mid December Key info at a glance:
Event times:
Timings of map availability, novice briefing, final briefing and prize givings will be confirmed closer to the event date. Final Instructions will be available on the website from Monday 8th February. Location Hawks Nest is approximately an hour north of Newcastle, approximately 2 hours 40 minutes (230km) north of Sydney, and about 3 hours 30 minutes (330km) south of Coffs Harbour. Whether coming from the south or the north, nearly all of the travel is an easy drive along freeways. Accommodation Plenty of accommodation is available in Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens, from camping and caravan sites through to motels, hotels and holiday rentals. This is the busy summer season so you should book early if you are making a weekend of it. Team finder service If you are looking for a team to join, or would like to start a new team for this event, go to our new Team Finder page. Key info for novices Info for novices with advice on what gear to bring and other information can be found on the website. For more info, visit the Event Website. |
Spring Challenge Review & results
Night time camaraderie at the HH The “More Tea for the Pot” Spring Challenge was held in perfect rogaining country and perfect rogaining weather at Gurnang State Forest. Toni Bachvarova & Andrew Smith (Smiffy) set an appropriately challenging course complemented with an equally superb map. Organiser Richard Sage and a dedicated team of volunteers created an event that embodied the true spirit of bush rogaining – navigation, physicality, great food and camaraderie.
NSW took out the ‘Challenge’ this year 77 to 17 – we won’t gloat too much as the date was close to other popular events down south, keeping ACT participant numbers proportionally low. Next year might redress this we feel.
Results Results and routes of every team can be viewed interactively for both the 12 and 6-hour events at rogaine-results.com. 12 hour winners Congratulations once again to the overall winners, the Mens Open team of Xanda Kolesnikow and Ivan Koudashev with 2890pts out of a maximum possible score of 3160pts. They finished the 12-hour with 7 minutes to spare, visiting 51 controls out of a possible 62. GPS data shows they covered 51.2km with 2886m of climb.
In 2nd place overall were the winning Mixed Open team of Gill Fowler & Phil Whitten with 2720pts while 3rd overall were David Williams & Brooner Brown with 2710pts. The winning Womens Open team at 6th place overall was Lucy Mackie & Nicole Mealing with a score of 2180pts while the winning under 23s team were Tarana Stubenrauch & Bill Klein with a score of 2030pts, placing 7th overall. 6 hour winners The overall winners were the Mens Open team of Sergey Pikuz & Ryan Armstrong with 1550pts. Second overall was the Mens Open team of Laurent & Fabien Devaud with 1360pts and the 3rd placed overall was also a Mens Open team of Callum Davis, Lucas Wong & Jimmy Huang with 1260pts. The top mixed open team was Isaac Chaffey, Alexander Ross, Angus Palmer & Sophie Taylor who were 7th overall with a score of 1020pts. Family and novice teams are also worth mentioning with Dan Smith & Hamilton Kinneally coming 12th overall at 940pts, and Jack Cullen & Patrick Edgar coming 16th overall with 830pts respectively.
Volunteers This year's Spring Challenge only happened thanks to the efforts of the well oiled team of Richard Sage, Nihal Danis, Toni Bachvarova & Andrew Smith. They need to be commended for their many months of work, along with the Black Springs Community Association, Nihal Danis, Hugh Percival, Robert Kemp & Bob Montgomery, who all pitched in at various times to do the catering. And then there were Mardi & John Barnes who did the Tea & Toasties out in the bush. Robin Cameron also put in a huge effort herding the volunteers as well as coordinating the food while Anita Bickle helped deliver it. A huge effort all round. Everything went so smoothly thanks to the well organised team of enthusiastic volunteers, including the following:##
##We are pretty certain this list is incomplete, so sincere apologies to anyone who has been accidentally left out. Also, thanks to the NSW Forestry Corporation and NPWS NSW for their ongoing support of rogaining.
Springtime out in the woods
For a lot more photos by our event photographers Bruce Sutton & Michael Watts, see the event page.
Entries have opened for the 20th World Rogaining Championships. This international event will be in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges at Rawnsley Park Station near Wilpena Pound in South Australia. Take a look at this stunning promotional video and share it with your rogaining friends. Since entries opened on the 1st of October, 326 participants have entered in 154 teams -- almost a year before the event! Remember, you do not need to be a 'champion' to go in this rogaine. All are welcome. Why come on this rogaine? It's different. World Rogaining Championship events only happen biannually, and are an opportunity for a country to bring out its most talented course setters and showcase its most spectacular terrain. The 20th World Rogaining Championships is Australia'a opportunity to host a truly world-class Championship rogaine. The stunning landscape is perfect for rogaining. On the hills it is possible to see long distances over the clear arid landscape and the colourful rocky bones of this ancient country really stand out. However, you need to come and see if for yourself, let the red dirt get under your fingernails and you will start to feel the magic of this country. The setters are laying a magnificent course and making sure they are thinking about recreational rogainers as well as the elites. So, if you don't want to miss out (there's a cap), perhaps you should go to the website and: Lock this event into your rogaining calendar and help us welcome the world’s rogaining community in 2027!
Kia ora, haere mai ki Aotearoa! We'd like to invite all Australian rogainers to the 2026 NZ Rogaine Championships, which will be held at St Arnaud (upper South Island) on the 21st-22nd November. The event offers a superb mix of terrain, from beautiful native beech forest to open tops travel for the more adventurous teams, all with picturesque lake and mountain views. St Arnaud is a great location for your support crew to hang out for the weekend, with lots of walks, mountain biking, and several accommodation/food options. There are event options for everyone, with the 24hr Championship event midday Saturday to midday Sunday, a '15 in 24hr' event also available for those that like their rogaining with a little more sleep, and 6hr/3hr events on Saturday for any families/support crew. St Arnaud is 4 1/2hrs drive north of Christchurch, or 1hr drive south of Nelson. For those who may want to plan a longer holiday around the event, the wider region is a great adventure destination with great hiking and mountain biking around Nelson, Abel Tasman, and other nearby national parks. Full info and entries at https://www.rogaine.org.nz/nzchamps2026/home.php
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