Month: December 2009

Navigation is the discipline that gives adventure racing its character and differentiates this sport from off-road multisport events. It’s a fact that map interpretation and route choice make-or-break your race. Navigation basics – before the race starts – include accurate plotting, clear location markings and careful route consideration.

Orienteering is an outdoor adventure sport that originated in the forests of Scandinavia in the late 1800’s from military navigation training exercises. The objective of orienteering is to find your way from one point, termed “control”, to the next using only a compass and a specially prepared orienteering map of the area.

If you’re looking for topographical maps (1:50 000), topo-cadastral (1:250 000) and orthophotos of South Africa, this is where to go. The 1:50 000 topographical maps are the largest scale maps providing full coverage of South Africa. The series consists of a total of 1916 sheets.

The essence of navigation is knowing where you are (A), where you’re going (B) and being able to select the optimal route from A to B. This process relies on the navigator being able to interpret the colours, shadings, symbols, scales and contour lines on the map.

I often hear people say, “I would love to do an adventure race but the navigating thing scares me”. In reality, even if you’re a frightfully slow hiker, can barely sit in a kayak and spend more time pushing your mountain bike than riding it, you can ‘crawl’ your way to the end of any race.