AUSTRALIAN ALUMNI HUNTEROOS: A T-ROOLY CHALLENGING DAY

KUALA LUMPUR 25 Apr 2009: The Australian Alumni Hunteroos is one of a handful of annual events organized by the Australian High Commission with support from the Malaysian Australian Alumni Council (MAAC) for former graduates of Australian Universities and friends.

This year's event was held in conjunction with the Australia Month in Malaysia promotion, a month long event that showcases Australia to the Malaysian public. The activities lined-up include an opportunity for the Malaysian public to indulge in Australian culinary, to enjoy an ensemble of Australian Performing Arts and to witness first-hand a popular Australian sporting pastime, the Australian Rules Football.

Held on Anzac Day - a day of remembrance, this year's event (organized for the third year running) saw the departure of the walk hunt in favour of the motor hunt, although the format of the hunt remained unchanged with challenging tasks making up 40% of the overall score. 18 teams turned up for the journey from KL Bird Park to Alice Smith School in Equine Park, Sri Kembangan.

Before leaving the Bird Park, teams had to complete the first two of four challenges. Both were challenges on paper - to identify the names of five Australian animals from B&W images, and to name the nicknames of ten Australian national sporting teams (eg. Boomers = men's Basketball team). We did decently here, garnering 12 /20 points, and could have done better if not for a sudden loss of memory on my part.

For Leg 1, teams were required to head to Bangsar to answer the first 8 of 25 questions, and to complete the remaining two challenges at a "mystery location" that first had to be deciphered from a paragraph of clues given (wasn't so mysterious for teams that intuitively decided to peek into the Tulips for the starting point of Leg 2). Challenge 3 and 4 were variations of Australian traditional indigenous games. One of the challenges (Woomera) required us to toss five tennis balls into large bins 15-20 feet away with an overhead action using a ladle to hold the ball. The other challenge (Kalkadoon Kee'an) required us to knock-off Teddy sitting in a ring also about 15-20 feet away with a "weapon" made from stockings and tennis balls. Both challenges were beyond us, and we scored nothing here. Leg 2 was a standard hunt consisting of 17 questions and complete with tulips.

Woomera

Kalkadoon Kee'an

In the end, I suspected that the scores from the challenges had decided the top 3 positions, as the questions were standard fare (but with a taste of Australian theme). We finally lost our title which we held for the last 2 years, but heck I thought we put up a determined challenge, only to lose out to the winning team on tie-break.

I've decided to post one of the treasures from today's hunt. Although it is not a new idea, it may still be interesting enough for some of you who have not come across this type of clueing.

Treasure 2:

The puzzle below will guide you to the treasure item. Break the code, and then unscramble the letters to identify the item.

Code:

(i) Capital of Australia, Capital of Western Australia, Capital of Victoria

(ii) Capital of Tasmania

(iii) Capital of South Australia

(iv) Capital of Queensland

(v) Capital of Tasmania, Capital of Western Australia, Capital of Northern Territory

Answer: 1 packet of Chips More (any variety).

As in previous years, the post-event lunch was the highlight of the entire event. This year's star attraction without any doubt was the lamb spit, which was well supported by a generous buffet spread of barbecue meats and sausages, fried rice and salads. The Australian wines and beer served during the lunch made a great accompaniment too!

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Australian Alumni Hunteroos
(Full score 105 pts)

1st: Jonie Lim & team (81)

2nd: Wong Chiang Chuen, Claire Chin, Margaret Sha, Chong Voon Kiat (81)

3rd: Liew Kok Seng, Adrian Wong, Wong Sze Lynn, Chong Foo Seong (76)

4th: Joyce Shia, Ng May Ching, Kwok Wai Yee, Loo Jian Sern (72)

5th: Desmond & team (71)

6th: David Choong & team (63)

7th: Param & team (62)

8th: Nurul Huda, Ai Lin, Jan Drew, Thor So Nia (58)

9th: Zul, Farook & team (53)