TWALK

First off, Twalk 2023 will be held on the weekend, 6-7th May 2023. Mark it on your calendars. We will make a post on our website when entries are open, but that is still a wee ways away from now :). 

Whew putting this out a bit late, but we got there in the end. Twalk 2022 was an absolute blast and we loved organising a fantastic event for all you beautiful people.

 I would like to thank everyone that attended, big round of applause for making it. Even bigger thanks to all the volunteers, without each and every one of them, Twalk couldn’t happen. Huge thanks especially to Blake, who was a huge help organising the kitchen. Our first aid team, a bunch of volunteers from R.A.T.S. was fantastic as always, patching up a rather concerning number of injuries. HUGE thanks to the fantastic people at Woodchester Station for allowing us to run around on their land. We had some fantastic sponsors, Bivouac Outdoor providing our brilliant winning prizes. Sanitarium helped us feed you. Event Hire (www.eventhire.co.nz) the helped us kit out the hash house. Chef’s Hire kitted out the kitchen. The University of Canterbury Student Association and the Canterbury University Tramping Club committee gave critical support. 

Thank you thank you thank you thank you

Ok now to 2023. So in 2022 We had limited entry numbers as the event was organized while there were restrictions on the number of attendees at events. Now those restrictions don’t apply so we will try to fit in as many people as we can (surely a 500 person Twalk this year). Hopefully those that missed out in 2022 will be able to come 2023. 

Also, if you have any criticisms, advice, comments, thoughts, twalk video links or write ups, send it though here: https://forms.gle/Jt5v9WTYPxVZ2jsy6 . Its always good to hear things that we can do better next time :). 

Hey ya,

This is scheduled for after we get everyone on buses because this is for everyone at home. If you are an attendee, don’t click the link, I will be very disappointed if you so.

For those at home, you will be able to track where people are on this website https://mytrack.co.nz/adventure/twalk.html

Cheers!

It looks like we will avoid a bunch of the rain, woooo! No promises, but I am hopeful

There will be a post going live at 8:30am Sat with link which will allow people at home to track their teams. Contestants ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LOOK, it would spoil the fun.

From now on I will be busy setting up, so emails might go unanswered. You can still get refunds if you are sick and can’t come, up to 7am Saturday, we just might not be able email to confirm. You will be added to our refund list though.

Cheers!

Hey ya twalkers,

First off, to those who missed the briefing or want a refresher, here is the link, it starts at 33 mins in. If you didn’t attend, very important that you watch this. 

https://canterbury.zoom.us/rec/share/qFAI6XACNohY940xeaU2EBRFH54-eOR3JbBZyqgMIGhH–WK1x5b4WPXGp9lJPDl.J0ms4FAbp1W106L8?startTime=1652160751000

Here is a link to the transcript. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WLn_pDUGUKY10n_o1D1zTu8M5hYJg4hd_YBq6MalUtI/edit?usp=sharing

Key Points:

Saturday Morning

1. Meet at the Haere-roa Carpark, 90 Ilam Road, at 7:15am.
2. Check in at the registration desk. Here the team leader will be given a tracker. For the teams meeting us at the startline, you will be given it there.
3. Put overnight gear in the luggage compartment. Keep anything you need for leg one with you.
4. Buses leave at 8:30 AT THE LATEST

The Course

1. Buses will drop you at the start of leg one. This will be at about 11:30. The startline is a different location from the hash house. 
2. Maps will be issued to each team. There will be at least TWO Maps per team.
3. Twalk will end after 24 hours
4. You will be penalised ONE POINT for every FIVE MINUTES you are late and after 30 minutes you will lose all points.

Hash house

1. Everyone must sign in and out at the check-in desk before heading out on course. This will be located in the hash house.
2. There is a compulsory 30 min down time for everyone after completing each leg.
3. 1st Aid Team is located in the Hash house next to the check in desk.
4. Vegetarian, Vegan, DF and GF options are available. The cooks will be in touch with some of you regarding what you like to eat due to your dietary requirements.

Prizegiving and going home (Sunday)

1. Prizegiving will commence as soon as the last team is in
2. Awards for 1st overall, 1st Student Team, Best Dressed, and Longest Leg One
3. There is an updated plan for Sunday, more on that later, but ideally we have everyone back on buses by 1pm and in Christchurch by 3:30.

Land Use

1. No littering. On course and at the hash house/campsite. The volunteers are not there to pick up after you. On a side note, if your costume tears or falls apart, pick up the pieces!
2. Keep gates as you find them. Assume fences are electric
3. Report any damage to organisers asap.

GEAR

We cannot stress this enough but for your own safety all gear on the gear list is COMPULSORY. Treat twalk like a tramping trip! No Cotton and No Jean (the only exception is your costumes on leg one)!

• Polyprop top and tights (or equivalent)
• Woollen hat and gloves (or equivalent)
• Fleece top or equivalent
• Wind and Waterproof Jacket – VERY IMPORTANT. If you are in doubt that your raincoat is still waterproof, a good and fun way to test is to put it on and stand under the shower at home (try not to do this with super hot water). Generally, if water leaks through seams, it is probably not as waterproof as it once was.
• Torch or headlamp and spare batteries
• Survival Blanket
• Adequate food and water
• A minimum of 1.5 liters of water on leg one – please take water with you on each leg.
• Bring lunch on leg one!

Overnight Gear is also compulsory. Sadly, we cannot have people sleeping in the hash house this year so instead we have a campsite nearby so please bring a tent! It is meant to be wet and cold, so a spare change of warm clothes and a sleeping bag is an absolute must! Your overnight gear will go in the luggage compartments of the buses.

• A full change of warm clothes (thermals, pants, fleece top, socks etc.)
• A bowl, mug and cutlery for food. A container may also be handy. 
• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping mat
• Tent

Team Gear

• A Compass
• A Whistle (it is a good idea for each participant to have their own)
• Sunscreen
• 1st Aid Kit
• PLB (optional but if you have one it is a good idea to bring it). The spot trackers have an SOS function for extreme emergencies only. Treat your spot tracker like a personal locator beacon!

If you are missing anything off the list outdoor retailers such as bivouac and macpac sell all the compulsory gear. Second-hand shops are also great for clothes like thermals.

The updated plan!

We have figured things out! It will be the first ever 21.5 hour long Twalk! How exciting! As everyone would have heard if they attended the meeting, the driveway to the farmstead where the hash house is located got washed out a bit. With this, we can no longer get the buses to the hash house. But we have found a solution!

So now, the plan is to END the event at 9AM SUNDAY MORNING, have prizegiving, and have everyone start walking by 9:30am down the ~6km the driveway to the buses. Everyone will walk along the driveway until they hit the road, turn left and walk along the road a few hundred metres to the gravel lot where the buses will be located. For people who are too tired/injured to walk after the event, we can do some shuttling and drive people from the hash house to the buses. This will be the same place everyone got dropped off for leg one. While walking along the road, WATCH OUT FOR CARS. We will be shuttling people and driving along the road, so watch out, walk off the road if you can, and get out of the way if you hear a car. STAY AS A TEAM while walking, you will have to check in and out as a team. Make sure that when you arrive at the gravel lot your team checks in.  

We will set up some marquess (as many as i can find in ~48 hours), some heaters and have a bbq lunch there. However, we encourage everyone to pack some lunch prior to leaving the hash house. There will NOT BE ANY WATER or LOOS at the busses, so you will need to fill up as much as you can and go to the toilet prior to leaving the hash house. 

On Saturday, you will load your overnight gear into the buses at registration. At the start of leg one, your overnight gear will be loaded from buses into vehicles/trailers and taken to the hash house. You will pick it up from the hash house. On Sunday, you will load your overnight gear into the tralers/vehicles and we will drive it to the buses and dump it there, under some marquees, and you will load it into the buses yourselves. 

This plan might be different on the day, we have been a bit hectic organising the changes, so don’t freak out if things are different.

The weather looks a bit grim, with 20mL of rain coming mostly overnight Saturday-Sunday. But it can change, keep an eye on it yourselves. Be prepared to get wet and muddy. Also, controls are paper plates, some might have already or will be washed away into illegibility. If you can’t find the control, they might be gone. But that is just part of the fun.

So Twalk will be going ahead, so see you all at 7:15am Saturday morning at the UCSA Carpark. (90 Ilam Road, Ilam, Christchurch 8041) Remember, only park on the side of the car park that is alongside Illam road. You will be dropped off at the same place, sometime Sunday afternoon. 

Thanks everyone!

Nick and Anna

Twalk 2022 Organisers

To those who missed the briefing, here is the link, it starts at 33 mins in. If you couldn’t make it too the meeting it is very important that you watch this. 

https://canterbury.zoom.us/rec/share/qFAI6XACNohY940xeaU2EBRFH54-eOR3JbBZyqgMIGhH–WK1x5b4WPXGp9lJPDl.J0ms4FAbp1W106L8?startTime=1652160751000

We are still figuring out the plan on how we are going to run twalk with the washed out road. We will touch base later today with what we decide is happening with twalk. 

Thanks everyone!

Hey ya twalkers,

We hope you have planned out some stunning costumes for us. We look forward to seeing all the effort everyone has put in. It is not too far away from Twalk (woohoo).

We are having a COMPULSORY race briefing at 6pm Tuesday, May 10th. All attendees should have received an email with the location, time and zoom link. If you haven’t received this email (and you have checked those pesky spam filters), flick us an email at twalk@cutc.org.nz.

Also, check out the rules page (https://twalk.nz/rules/) for the required gear list. This is not an exhaustive list of what you will need. It is essential that everyone has the gear, both personally and as a team, necessary to keep themselves safe. Individuals are responsible for their own safety, so spend some time prior to the event ensuring that you have what you need.

Phew that was quick. We have now sold out on tickets, so we are no longer accepting signups. You can still email us about adding more members to your team as we have a little wriggle room in that regard, but there is no guarantee.

Please fill in the waitlist for here if you missed out. If a spot opens up we will contact the team leader of whatever team is next in the waitlist. https://forms.gle/eB7PmHv33zcdxLd16

This years limited numbers suck, but we hope we will be able to return to our usual number of tickets text year.

If you missed out but still want to be involved, sign up to volunteer! https://forms.gle/z8eTR4vEYascNG49A

Hey ya twalkers,

Signups are available, so check out the sign-ups page and register your team!

Get stoked.

Woweee! TWALK 2022 will be held on the 14-15 of May 2022!

Watch this space for the registrations

Get hyped!

Your TWALK Organisers Nick & Anna

Hi all here is the zoom link if you can’t make it to the meeting tonight. If you have any internet issues don’t stress we will send a follow up email to all entrants 🙂

https://canterbury.zoom.us/j/91728493303