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Hamish Who? Olympic What?, or My Kingdom For a 2001 Dollar Coin.
Triathlon, noun - an athletic contest consisting of three different events, typically swimming, cycling, and long-distance running - but not this time.
If only Hamish Carter had known about the MCCoA Triathlon Trial held on Sat 3rd May, he may never have wanted to become an Olympic champion. I’m sure he would have instead changed his life priorities to include this event in his list of ‘must do’ achievements.
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This 3 stage event could have been termed a ‘Pentathlon’ as there were 2 extra tasks for all to complete in conjunction with the main stages. Gary’s initial briefing finished with words to the effect of “The organizer takes no responsibility for marital disharmony caused on this event. Please all remember, you are meant to be having FUN". This last reminder was really unnecessary as it was impossible not to. The 2 extra tasks were a ‘Treasure Hunt’ and a ‘Poker Run’.
The Poker run was different from our previous one in that the cards were individually sealed in envelopes and had to remain so until the official playing of hands at the end. We had no idea of what cards we had collected along the way. Cards were distributed at the mid stage checkpoints, as well as the start of stages 2 and 3.
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Gary pulled out the ultimate trick in the treasure hunt. A Heineken bottle top! Tinsel! Knitting Needle! Trumpet! The treasure hunt would have provided enough challenge to be its own event, let alone trying to collect 19 items while being navigated through some wonderful countryside, concentrating on the Triathlon Trial! One of the required items was a 2001 One Dollar coin. After calling in at a friends hotel and checking through all of the extremely full tills, there were no 2001 $1 coins at all. Plenty of 2000 and 2002 coins, but no 2001 minted dollars. I began to smell a rat here. Two more stops at very obliging stores did not provide any 2001 coins either, but there were plenty of 2000 and 2002 coins! The smell was becoming that of a complete extended family of rats now. We began to wonder why we needed a mouse trap - it would be far too small to trap the perpetrator of the great 2001 $1 coin swindle!
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| Stage 1 began at the Drury Services at 8:00 am with one of the more traditional tasks - following written instructions and answering questions along the way. This was the longest of the stages as we found ourselves in places with names like Drury, Ardmore, Clevedon, Brookby, Hunua with the mid stage checkpoint down at the falls, Paparimu, Mangatawhiri, Maramarua, Waeranga and finally to Te Kauwhata for morning tea. A quick tour of the local shops (that were open) did not contribute to the treasure hunt. By this stage we had only 4 items left to find and I thought that might be enough. |
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| I couldn’t see any of the others getting close - we had called in at home to collect what we could as it wasn’t far off the path. Luckily we persevered and collected everything but that 2001 $1 coin. Underestimate the resourcefulness of a Mini owner / driver at your peril. It was funny that as we entered the Waikato region, the sun came out which made for a very pleasant stop in this historic town. Stage 1 had provided all with a fair challenge, judging by the stories and comments being thrown about over a cup of tea. |
| However, we still had a long way to go and couldn’t stop here for ever. Stage 2 was to be a ‘tulip diagram’ run where diagrams are provided of the intersections where we need to change direction. A list of clues on a separate sheet were also provided. One of the first things we had to do was cross the Waikato River at Rangiriri. I don’t know what it is about the Waikato, but when crossing it, it looks dark and foreboding and not a place you want to be. I wonder if it has anything to do with the history of the river and all the ‘things’ that have happened on or in it, or its closeness to Taupiri mountain. |
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You fully expect to see a Taniwha sunbathing on the river bank and must not disturb it any any cost. Well not for less than a few million anyway. From the river we tracked west , then North, then East to cross the river again at Mercer. It seemed I was being followed by that Taniwha as I was sure I saw it again as we crossed the river. However, this time it turned out to be Murray and the stage 2 checkpoint. Thoughts turned from taniwhas to turrets as it was time to answer another question. The river did not look quite so foreboding from here. Thereafter, the route took us back to Mangatawhiri, up Pinnacle hill Road to Bombay and on to the motorway services for the lunch break. While there we witnessed what must be a unique event. We observed a motorist pulled over by the Police (plain car - Nissan Maxima) for speeding in the McDonald’s drive through. He must have been doing 6 kph in a 5 kph area. How low will this revenue collecting go? Will we soon be forced to sit in our cars only as any speed at all will be outlawed. Hang on a minute lads......this might stop the boy racers. |
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Stage 3 was the jewel in the crown, the pinnacle, the Everest of stages. I heard 16 jaws hit the ground at the stage briefing (mine included!). To give all those who missed the event and haven’t seen ‘straight-through’ instructions before, I have included a diagram of page 1 out of 7 pages of ‘pace notes’ for your information*. Open this link for Page 1.
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These instructions took us around and about Bombay, Ararimu, Hunua, Papakura, Ardmore Airport for the mid stage check point and on to Clevedon, Brookby, Whitford, Howick, Dannemora and Redoubt Road and through to the Botanic Gardens for the finish, needing to collect answers to questions on the way - again. We finished at 4:00 pm so the day had been 300km’s and 8 hours long. It certainly did not seem that long, but we had been promised the ‘Mother of all Trials’ and we certainly were given one. I can only imagine the amount of time it had taken Gary and Catherine to put this event together. From a personal point of view, I found stage 3 to be the most rewarding as the driver and navigator had to work closely together and trust in each other in order not to get lost. This was a very small taste of how closely together the WRC drivers and navigators must be in order to succeed.
As for the 2001 $1 coin - they were not minted in 2001!
Swimming training: Painful
Cycling training: Disagreeable
Running training: Agonizing
MCCoA Triathlon: Priceless (I concede - so is an Olympic Gold Medal)
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Results:
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Name |
Questions |
Tresure Hunt |
Poker |
Points |
| 1st |
Gavin and Ben Agnew |
24 |
19 |
3 Kings |
73 |
| 2nd |
Les Gubb |
23.5 |
18 |
2 Jacks
2 Fours |
69.5 |
| 3rd |
Allan and Shelagh Murie |
24.5 |
19 |
2 Queens |
63.5 |
| 4th |
Rex and Susan Coubray |
24.5 |
13 |
2 Aces |
57.5 |
| 5th |
Joy and Vic Hayes |
24.5 |
13 |
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37.5 |
| 6th |
Roy Wilson |
27 |
8 |
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35 |
| 7th |
Brad Hall and Leigh Shaw |
21.5 |
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21.5 |
*If you want the pace notes explained further, you will have to do the next one!
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