Last year’s NavShield was held in Wollemi National Park at Dunns Swamp near Rylestone. The weather was perfect, the scenery spectacular, and whether you entered competitively or socially, the event was heaps of fun.
The Navigation Shield (or NavShield) is an overnight navigation event where teams of competitors attempt to gain as many points as possible by finding their way, on foot only, through wilderness terrain to pre-set checkpoints. There are more checkpoints on the course than can be reached by any team during the event. Each checkpoint is given a score and it is up to the team to decide which checkpoints to visit and to select a route through the course. The team then navigates with map and compass along their selected route, collecting points at each checkpoint that they visit. The team with the most points at the end of the event wins. There are two events in the NavShield, a one day (8 hour) and a 2 day (30 hour) event.
The NavShield is designed to cater for the whole range of bushwalkers from elite speed demons to people who just enjoy a day out in the bush. The event is a chance for the best navigation and rescue teams in the country to compete, unsupported, in unfamiliar terrain. For the rest of us, it is an opportunity to train our navigation skills in a safe, friendly environment, and to enjoy a day or two exploring the bush.
The winners of last year’s event covered 59km during the 30 hour event, almost entirely cross country! Another team decided on the rather unusual strategy of swimming (in mid-winter) across Kandos Weir to reach a checkpoint, because it was faster than walking around! Other teams decided to walk to one of the checkpoints located on top of a pagoda and then enjoy a long lunch surrounded by magnificent views over the national park.
This year’s NavShield will be held on the weekend of 7th - 8th July in an area of around 100 square kilometres of rugged bushland in NSW. The exact location will be made known in the fortnight prior to the event. It is, however, being held in an area of bushland that few bushwalkers visit and the terrain is completely different to the terrain on last year’s event. (The course setter promises that there is not a single pagoda to be seen anywhere on the course!). This means that this year’s event will be a whole new challenge, and it’s a great