aussie! aussie! aussie! oi! oi! oi!

BRRrrrrrr it was cold at 1:30 this morning when the bus pulled out from West End Aquatics and another group of Kiwi West Swimmers was let loose on an unsuspecting world!!!!!

The trip to Wellywood was uneventful with Eve “EVEL” Athersuch keeping even the most determined sleeper (me) from catching even the slightest bit of shuteye.

Arriving at 4am we looked great as we strode purposefully through the terminal to begin the worst part of any trip - the ole hurry up and wait! “Ladies and Gentlemen check in for our Sydney service will be delayed by about 10mins” which is airline speak for 1 hour of a line not moving.

All was not lost though as a person of indeterminate gender (Lets call him/her Pat) provided a floor show which had much less to do with talent and much more to do with bucket loads of “P” !!!!

The police came and had a wee chat with Pat who continued merrily/manically pirouetting through the check in process! (Keep an eye out for Pat later in the day!)

EVEL was clearly looking for an early lead in the ”Whose parent will cringe the most” stakes as she left her passport, boarding pass and departure card in the last loo before the border. Alert team managers covering the rest room averted chaos!

Sam Love was next to put a point on the board with his forgotten Up & Go breaching security and disappearing into the bin. Coach Andrew posted a point by leaving his passport at the Explosives random search and Jess Love added a point for Team Love by leaving her cell phone behind.

Onto the plane and much to the disgust of the keep of aeronautical knowledge Rumbal it was not the 737 model advertised on the Qantas website but a far inferior model! Pat was on our flight and the antics of the androgynous one in changing seats in a mini skirt was a giggle for all, just ask Alex, he was in the row behind.(just as well he wasn’t eating at the time)

Frustrated by not scoring any points Ben 10 (Elkington) checked yes on the swim flu monitoring form where it said do you have headaches? (And he does, just not today)So Ben got to say hello to the nice people at Sydney’s flu taskforce centre.

We made it through the rest of Sydney airport with no drama and settled in for the 4.5 hour flight to Darwin. Wiser heads changed into shorts before landing in 32 degrees and we rolled into an airport awash with Arafura Banners and volunteers who couldn’t be more helpful.

We changed plans and swimmers, Coach, Sara Jane and Denise went straight to the Causarina pool in a bus provided by the organisers. We shared the bus with some of New Zealands Paralympics development team (tennis players and wheel chair athletes) while Roger ,Tim and Donna took all the bags to Free Spirit resort in our vans and car.

The swimmers had a 1 ¼ hour loosen swim in the competition pool alongside the local Darwin Team. They looked awesome in their uniform all day and the drink bottles and personalised caps looked great at the pool. Coach had a live interview with ABC NT radio about the team and met with our team’s media liaison person.
An Aussie style BBQ by the pool for dinner here at Free spirit and the day is done.
The Managers and swimmers worked as a great team today through all the hiccups and laughter.

Tomorrow we visit the crocs !!

Take care
Andrew (Coach in the sun )