Session 1 · SOLVE: Link Ideas
Writing the course card
- 10 minJoin the zone maps into one class map. Add the grid, a compass rose, a scale bar and a key.
- 25 minChoose 6–10 checkpoints. For each, write the coordinates, and a clue from the last checkpoint: direction, degrees or compass point, and distance in metres.
- 10 minTohu asks one question about your plan: how do you know this clue leads to exactly one place?
- 5 minPlan the test: who runs it, what counts as 'found'?
Session 2 · SOLVE: Verify
Test run
- 10 minSafety briefing and boundaries. Testers get the course card and map only; makers watch and record, no helping.
- 30 minRun the course. Record for each checkpoint: found, found after searching, or not found. Note where testers hesitated.
- 10 minDebrief: which clues failed? Was the problem the angle, the distance, the scale or the wording?
Getting started
Write clues using compass points and paces only; add degrees and metres when these work.
Stretch
Include one clue that uses a transformation (for example 'reflect your position in the path') or a grid reference.
Checkpoint
The course has been run once by another group and every failed clue is listed with a reason.
Activities for this week
- Test-run the orienteering course: Do our clues really lead people to every checkpoint?
Useful this week
- NZ Topo Map ↗ Zoom and scroll the whole country's topographic maps online and find grid references.
- LINZ Basemaps ↗ Aerial photos of all of Aotearoa to compare with your hand-drawn map.
- The star compass – kāpehu whetū ↗ How navigators divide the horizon into 32 houses, explained by the people who use it.
- Wayfinding ↗ How voyagers found their way using stars, swells, birds and the Sun.
- Orienteering New Zealand ↗ Find a local club and school events, and see how real orienteering courses are set and checked.
- Know before you go ↗ How to plan a safe trip outdoors before testing a route in a park.