The 2022 Australian Orienteering Carnival is based in the Central Highlands area of Victoria and will bring competitors in range of a series of historic towns.  This article will help you work out where you might want to stay, what to visit and what to steer clear of, to make this a great holiday as well as a great Orienteering experience. 

Day 1 Daylesford: Victorian  Middle Distance and Australian Grand Prix

The events: The morning event is on the Jubilee Lake map with its intricate Gold mining.  This map will offer a great test. It combines intricate gold mining with some lower visibility just to up the ante. For the first time, the carnival offers a second event in the afternoon; the Australian Grand Prix which will bring Orienteering and racing to the centre of Daylesford. We want to showcase Orienteering to the town and public and it will be head to head racing with all the excitement that offers. Don’t miss it.

Day 2 Blackwood: Australian Middle

The event:  A brand new gold mining map just out from the picture postcard tiny township. The map has some fascinating diggings and will provide some great racing mixing intricate gold mining and fast open forest. This area has never been mapped and will test us all!

Day 3 Kyneton: Australian Schools Sprint and Goldfields day 1

The event: A complex school map combined with Kyneton’s stunning botanic gardens. The town: Kyneton’s Victorian strip, Piper Street, draws many day trippers to its range of delightful galleries, boutiques, antique shops, and cafes. 

Day 4 Harcourt, Mount Alexander. Australian Schools Individual and Goldfields Day 2

The event: Mount Alexander is one of Victoria’s best Granite maps with spectacular views of the area. The event will use the more open and rarely used part of the map and offer the best of Victorian granite.

Day 5 Castlemaine: Wattle Gully: Australian Schools Relay and Goldfields Day 3

The event: The Wattle Gully North map offers a mix of everything: spur gully, subtle rock detail and gold mining. One of Victoria’s best maps with something for everyone.
Day 6: Rest day:

You are spoilt for choice: Climb mount Macedon, check out the amazing gardens on Mount Macedon, take the rocky drive to Tooborac to try some of the best pies in the state at the pub, visit galleries in Bendigo and Ballarat or ditch the car and catch the train to Melbourne.

Day 7 Sunbury: Australian Sprint Championships

The event: A brand new map at the school where the Ashes were born.

Day 8 Maldon: Australian Long Distance

The event: This brand new map features granite and gold mining on the same map. The area is Mount Tarrengower’s baby brother and was hand-picked for the Australian Championships.

Day 9 Castlemaine: Australian Relays

The event: Wattle Gully South. The Wattle Gully map is huge so we will turn to the South of the map for these relays. Gold mining, spur gully and some subtle rock detail will be fast and furious. Those are just a few highlights of the area. We haven’t mentioned the dormant volcano at Mount Franklin, trying the water of the numerous mineral springs, the micro-breweries, two amazing viaducts and the other waterfalls. You better start planning your week now!

Warwick Williams (Carnival Director) and David Jaffe (Carnival Communications)