Course

Dinden National Park straddles the Lamb Range which is that part of the Great Dividing Range behind Cairns. Rainforest cloaks the wetter eastern slopes of the range where Lake Morris, the main water reservoir for Cairns, is situated. Eucalypt woodland occupies the drier rain-shadowed areas on the western slopes. Between these two contrasting vegetation types runs a strip of a rare forest type known as wet sclerophyll. The first European to sight the area back in 1876 was John Atherton who established a home for his family and 1500 head of cattle near what is now known as the town of Mareeba.
Gold was discovered in Davies Creek in the early 1900s and logging in the area also began around this time. Historic pack routes, used to transport supplies between the coast and the Atherton Tableland, pass through Dinden National Park.
Davies Creek National Park includes part of the Davies Creek valley, a rugged landscape of rocky granite outcrops, ridges, boulders and slabs. The creek drops about 75 m down the granite escarpment at Davies Creek Falls. These falls and the impressive Clohesy River fig tree are major features of these national parks.
Race HQ (Hash House) is 418m ASL with the highest point on the event course being 810m (obvious 100 pointer here). Event terrain will be primarily spur/ gully with open woodland to tall open forest and the only rainforest being riparian along main creeks. ‘Wait a while’ has not been seen by field workers on the event course. Black spear grass may be present on small areas of the 188 sq km event course.

Location

The Hash House is an easy 40 minutes by coach from Cairns CBD on the Cairns Highland. As the location is on a working property, only camping is provided. There are no caravan parks or lodgings close to the HH (See below for Mareeba/Kuranda accommodation).

Weather

While the event is to be held in June, those of you who have not experienced tropical weather may still feel its effects – particularly through the middle of the day and late night. The nearest weather station is at Mareeba Airport, 20 km distance and at similar ASL. June temperatures recorded have included a high of 27C and a low of 4.3C. Winter is the ‘dry’ season in the Tropics. Weather details are available here. We strongly recommend that competitors protect themselves from the tropical sun with suitable clothing and arrive at the event well hydrated and be prepared to stay that way. 3 litres of fluid is the minimum recommended carry. Night temperatures on the Highlands in June can drop to single digits, so please come prepared for cool nights.

Equipment

Water points will be available on the event course, however, you may want to bring along water purification tablets/systems if you are not prepared to drink natural water sources directly. Gaiters are strongly recommended, limiting lower limb exposure to spear grass, hidden branches and blady grass, but are a minimum of long pants would be expected. Given the likelihood of at least 1 waist deep crossings, individuals may like to consider appropriate chaff prevention equipment and clothing.

Compulsory equipment that must be carried at all times:

• A first aid kit per team
• A space blanket per person
• A whistle per person
• Two compression bandages per person
• Head torch, torch or lighting

Highly recommended equipment

• Sun smart clothing.
• spare batteries.
• food for the duration of your event and water for the event or to planned water stops.
• Compass, watch and pencil.
• Mobile phone for emergencies (coverage limited to higher points and very patchy at Hash House) , and to take photos of suspected faulty Navlight Punches.

On Course Food/Water
As well as a superbly stocked HH, we have 2 strategically located All Night Cafes (ANC’s), one in the northern area and one in the southern area. Hot food, fruit, fruit cake and isotonic drinks will be available as well as potable water and minor first aid. 3 sizable perennial streams flow through the course and drinkable water should be available from each, however we recommend water purification as a precaution.

Accommodation

Only camping / RV / Camper Trailer facilities are available at the HH. We will supply showers, loos and covered areas for map preparation etc.
The Hash House is 19 kilometres east of Mareeba and 18 kilometres west of Kuranda. Each is 10 minutes on sealed road by car from the HH.
Both towns have Motel/Resort and Caravan Park style accommodation, however Kuranda is on the HH bus route.

Travel

Air Travel
Cairns Domestic airport receives 43561 passengers per week from 283 flights; direct flights are available from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and Perth as well as Townsville, The Gold Coast, Alice Springs, Auckland and Christchurch; we can definitely cater to your air travel needs. Additionally direct flights from Port Moresby, Guam, Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore are available.
Coach
Coach transport will be available for competitors on Friday night & Saturday morning from 3 Cairns and 1 Kuranda location and for the return journey on Sunday afternoon. Coach transport booking and payment is via online pre-booking as part of event registration.
Vehicle Hire
For the more independent travellers, Cairns offers a variety of car and camper hire options.

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