Team's Arrival in Darwin

Brian's blog

Heather and I got to Mackay Airport at 6am and met up with other team members Syd & Janet Norman, Bill Young, and Ross Neivandt. Check in became interesting when Syd & Janet set off the security alarms with a small pair of scissors in their hand luggage and then Heather was selected (again!) for a personal explosives check. So, that’s one for concealed weapons and one for suspected terrorism and we hadn’t even left Mackay!

Thankfully the rest of the air trip to Darwin was uneventful until the final touch-down, which was more of a slam-down…I think we got the apprentice pilot, or his contact lenses weren’t in properly.

We took a bus to our rented apartment, checked in and then the rest of the team left to pick up the event car and support vehicles, while I got on with some media stuff. The damage to Ross’s car was not as bad as first thought…more of a flesh wound than a critical injury. Gotta say that the team at Kerry Holden, the local car dealer that looked after the vehicles, was fantastic. They treated our team like royalty and nothing was too much trouble. Thanks guys.

Late that afternoon, while I was measuring up the Saab for signage, the “egg on wheels” (Switzerland’s Twike team) arrived. They’d done the trip up the coast and west across the top end to Darwin (nearly 3000 miles), without breaking anything except a sweat. They all looked noticeably leaner after that long trip in their travelling sauna. Both teams headed off to the wharf to sample the delights of the harbour eateries, washed down with ample liquid lubricant.

Jane arrived from Brisbane just after midnight and that signalled the end of our first day in Darwin.