New to O > Orienteering Maps

Introduction
An orienteering course requires the participants to visit a number of locations on the ground with the aid of an orienteering map. The course is marked on the map by a series of red circles, with the feature which you must visit in the centre of the circle. These features range from track junctions, gullies, and creeks to smaller point features such as large boulders.

Courses and Controls
The features which the orienteer must visit are called controls, each of which is marked by a control stand with an orange and white flag. Each control is identified by a unique number, so that you know you are at the right feature when you find it. At an event there may be up to 10 courses which vary both in length (from around 1.5 up to 10 km), and in their navigational difficulty. Completing an orienteering course may take about 20-40 minutes for the easier courses, and 1-2 hours for experienced orienteers on the more difficult courses.

The orienteering map is made specially for bush navigation and shows much more detail than most other maps. Long arrows across the map show the direction of magnetic north, whilst a scale bar will show the scale of the map. Different types of features have characteristic coloured symbols (see Map Features)