 |
|---|
| The weather forecast was less than favorable so to see five teams arrive for the start of a very ad-lib evening was pleasing to say the least. Geoff VK3VR and John VK3TVB were fox for the evening with ring-in Andrew VK3KIR helping to bolster the fox numbers. The evening was off to a good start when the OW team arrived at the fox’s house only to discover they had left a vital piece of equipment at home – the ‘U’ bolts to hold the gear to the roof racks. In a offer of generosity, or was it pity, Geoff VR decided to offer the OW team use of his Prado for the evening with an added bonus – Geoff as runner. This proved a challenge for the fox as Geoff was privy to the locations for the evening, so John and Andrew decided to use the force, and come up with some ad-hoc locations. Hunt 1 started about 8:15 and took the hounds approximately 2km east of the start location to the friday night shopping mecca of Kmart, East Burwood. The fox went to ground in the middle of the upper carpark, blending in to the rest of the busy carpark. Despite the best intentions of the local shoppers to slow the hounds down, VK3YDF was first in followed closely by VK3OW and VK3BLN. Hunt 2 saw the hounds depart the Kmart carpark and head west towards the city with a traditional 10 minute drive off hunt. The fox headed west along Burwood Highway turning right into Camberwell road before going to ground in the carpark under Safeway in Camberwell. The fox was placed in a stairwell between the lower level carpark and the street. This cause all sorts of stray signals through the Burke road shopping center with some teams heading down to the cinema on the other side of the junction. |
|---|
 |  |  |
|---|
David VK3XAJ was first on the scene (left) for the BLN team followed by Bruce VK3TJN for the YQN team and Adam YDF (right) Geoff VK3VR also made it (center) after checking out what was on at the Rivoli. The fox went to ground on top of a small carpark 100m west of the skipping girl on Victoria street in Abbotsford for hunt 3. The view from the top was great for the fox. The plan was to hopefully lure a few hounds into the Ikea carpark across the road.  Most hounds were in the area relatively quickly, but the signal bouncing round the suburb and the extra elevation proved a little challenging for some. The view from the carpark shown below. |
|---|
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| First in for this leg was Adam VK3YDF followed by Bruce VK3TJN (who spent a good 5 minutes trying to find the fox – middle photo) then Doug VK3JDO for the VT team. Hunt 4 found the hounds traveling about 2km from the previous hunt to an old disused factory site in Richmond. The one way streets slowed things a little, but most found the fox in close succession. First in was Geoff VK3VR for the OW team, then Bruce and Adam two minutes later for the YQN and YDF teams respectively. Hunt 5 was time for the trick hunt. By this stage of the evening, John and Andrew had a hankering for a coffee, and what better place to have one than in Bridge Road. The fox drove around the block and parked in a carpark immediately opposite the street the hounds would turn out of into bridge road, then to make things even more interesting, walk back across the road to the cofee shop on the corner. Having been told the coffee machine had been turned off, the fox had to resort to a soft drink on such a cold night, oh well, call in the hounds. Most drove the 100m from the end of the previous hunt to the intersection where, if only they’d looked left while stationary, they would have seen the fox no more than 10m from the car in full view. Everyone disappeared into the night, only to realise the signal was getting weak very quickly. U turns were the order of the day with the YDF team coming sideways across Bridge road to get in first. David XAJ was second followed by Bruce TJN 3rd. Hunt 6 pointed the hounds in the direction of supper. An oldie but a goodie is the railway platform at Glenferrie Road. |
 |  |
|---|
| First in on this leg was Geoff for the OW team (right) followed by Bruce for the YQN team and Adam for the YDF team. The fox went to ground in a small park next to the Telstra tower of Cantebury road in Surry Hills for the seventh hunt of the evening. The transmitter was hidden under some kids play ground equipment. Adam found it first for the YDF team followed by Bruce for the YQN team and Doug for the VT team. Hunt 8, the last hunt for the evening found the hounds in a lane running parallel to Rutland Road in Box Hill. The fox was hidden under an old polystyrene box which didn’t fool anyone. The VT team found it first followed by the OW team and the YDF team. Everyone headed back to Geoff’s place for supper where the following results were announced. Team Hunt 1 Hunt 2 Hunt 3 Hunt 4 Hunt 5 Hunt 6 Hunt 7 Hunt 8 TOTALS VT 5 5 3 5 4 4 3 1 30 BLN 3 1 5 4 2 5 4 5 29 OW 2 4 4 1 5 1 5 2 24 YQN 4 2 2 2 3 2 2 4 21 YDF 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 16 |
|---|