Part of it last used for Auckland Championships 2007. Map derived from “Beautiful Hills” which was used for World Cup 1994. Latest revision 2008; Paul Ireland, using LiDAR contours and 2007 orthophotos. Scale 1:7,500 Contours 5 m

As the mapper for this wonderful terrain we are able to experience I wish to share my thoughts about the Beautiful Hills map.

Forget the endless agonizing hours and headaches trying to render the complex mix of clay erosion and windblown sand hills into a fair and readable orienteering pallet. Forget the frustrations of remapping parts more than once because the detail just wouldn’t fit. Forget the buckets of sweet, bloody cuts and grazes and hunger when I forgot my lunch. Forget freaking out cos it was getting dark quickly, and forget thinking such defeatist thoughts such as “what on earth am I doing out here”, “am I completely insane”, “is my wife right about the last thought” and “will this ever end”…? Those memories are slowly fading away. Now what I’m thinking about is how I was wonderfully startled by the most handsome and huge of stags if ever seen, with antlers so big he had to smash down trees just to escape my presence. The day Mark commented that a pack of pigs scared the b’gebbers out of him. The peacefulness of the bush, the sound of the less common birds, sometimes no sound – just a heartbeat that gets louder if you ponder too long over the thought provoking quietness. The smells of the bush… from those magnificent native specimen tree aromas that gets you wondering; the familiar scent of those twisted, knarly tea tree groves; to the invigoration sharp smell of the pinus radiata that sparks life into any red blooded NZ orienteer. I also can’t get out of my mind thinking at times how nature has carved such an interesting sculpture of lumps and bumps, and then delicately or fiercely washed them away with torrents of rain - as if to create some terrain just for us!

On a windy challenging day the forest protected and sheltered me from the worst but even itself sometimes showed the scars of a lost battle, some parts that I saw reminded me of the perfection of a Japanese bonsai garden, only weeks later suffered at the hands of nature with its ever changing effect. Some of these place remain unaffected, beautiful, surreal, there to discover for those who can see it. When we race, some of these experiences are lost as we focus, trying our best not to be distracted, but it’s always there.

We are so lucky to have the chance to be in such wonderful places. One particular area I spent a very frustrating time putting onto paper, in my head I call the enchanted forest. I hope you get to feel it too.

The large permanent out of bounds area on the map is called a Urupa. Urupa (Burial ground) are regarded as extremely sacred and one of the most significant categories of Waahi Tapu. They contain the ancestors of the living and therefore require the utmost respect and attention so that the Mana (prestige) of these ancestors and their descendants can be protected. Waahi Tapu (Sacred place or precincts) A particular category of ancestral land which is held in the highest regard by Maori people, the term Tapu is used to refer to something which is sacred or forbidden, while the term Waahi refers to a particular location. Numerous categories of Waahi Tapu exist, some of the most common being Urupa; land associated with Marae; fishing grounds traditionally used; and areas which contribute to spiritual/cultural heritage, e.g. a battle site. The sacred place is a part of this lovely forest and has no distinct boundaries only survey posts, so please take care to respect the protected area.

Our courses have been designed so you can experience a variety of terrain in the short (hopefully) time that you course allows you to be here. Apologies for the long walk to the start, but wow - what a view! I wish especially to thank Mark L for his tireless and thorough help in controlling me, with his great ideas and enthusiasm to keep me going, he’s probably starting to know the map as much as me. As part of the remapping exercise I was [lucky]? enough to have access to some LiDAR contours and orthophoto imagery. This has allowed me with hard work to hopefully improve on the positional problems encountered in some areas on the old map. However combining two different maps together, with one having a couple of missing contours and others that magically disappear has been very difficult under our timeframe, so if you hunt carefully enough you will find more disappearing little brown lines, please don’t be too confused and I hope you forgive me! Disclaimer: Not all the forest is beautiful; some of it is foul, impenetrable and unforgiving. Be wary and enjoy!

Paul I.