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GKR South Australian Tournament Team National Championships 2007 Day 1 |
Arrival Day |
Travelling day for many of the Team who were flying was Friday and there were the usual funny stories retold upon arrival. For us, the day started off fine, with Daniel arriving 15 minutes early to pick us up - minor panic by Karol but as we were ready, not a problem. Suitcases packed and off we went. Just need to call into his office said Daniel, just a minor detour. Off we went as Daniel expanded on the funny side of the car booking. As a frequent interstate traveler with his work, Daniel had offered to book a vehicle (Tarago) for the six of us. Not a problem - well......... Back to Wednesday night - Jeremy and Daniel had arranged to meet up at my class to do some final synchronised and individual kata for the Tournament. We picked Jeremy up on the way and Daniel was coming a bit later from work. Jeremy assisted me in teaching as Alan had an exam. Daniel arrives about half an hour into the class, dressed in business attire. The conversation went something like this. "You look very smart" says Karol "You won't think so in a minute" replies Daniel The story went something like this. Daniel receives the confirmation/reminder email from Avis on Wednesday morning. He looks at it and is surprised to see that it is for a Dodge Voyager or something similar. He reads on and finds that the daily charge is $C80 per day, still doesn't twig. Looks at the enquiry number and it looks odd, nothing that is normal for Australia. Suspicion sets in and then the revelation - he has car waiting for us in Sydney, CANADA. Frantic cancellation of this booking, no Tarago's available in Sydney, so we end up with two Hyundai Getz booked instead. Back to the trip to the Airport. Just before we turn off near Daniel's office, he says that he has to pop in to vote - been meaning to do it all week, it is only 150 metres from the office but bit busy, didn't get it done. In he goes, his phone rings, it is Alan who advises that he has been into the office to pick up some folders, spare batteries for the laptops and some plans. I advised Daniel on his return and he says that it means that he has to take the estimating documents (Daniel's company provides detailed cost's for engineering concepts. They will be heavy. Into the office, pick up the plans and off to the airport, which does involve a bit of a walk from the long term car park but all is good - almost. Daniel uses the electronic check in and proceeds to baggage, I check in for us and do the same just, in time to see Daniel shake his head, take out his credit card and hand it over. Yep the documents mean he is 7.5kgs overweight, a mild naughty word follows about the office boy. Flight was good and we arrived in Sydney fine. Karol makes a joke or two about how Amber (Jeremy's partner) will like the landing part next Wednesday when they arrive - Amber has never flown before. While she is saying this, I feel bruises start to develop from the tight grip she has on my arm. Into Avis/Thrifty and we find that we have been bumped up to Mitsubishi 380s instead of the Getz at no extra charge. Paul Dimech (Russell's dad) didn't bother to book a car - we will get one when we get there. He got the only car available - a Ford Fairlane so he was lucky, but paid for it. Daniel, with his trusty GPS got us from the Airport in fine time, considering it was mid afternoon to see that the pre Tournament celebrations were already in swing. The Lane Cove River Tourist Park is set on the edge of the Macquarie National Park and is a great setting. We have stayed here before as a Team and all the new people have been very impressed. We have a group of 10 cabins, fortunately set a bit away from the rest of the Park as things could get noisy. The birdlife is very used to people and it is common to see the Rainbow Lorikeets fly down on the balcony rails for a chat, or a feed or even wander into your room if the door is open. Friday night was a bit late for some as it was an opportunity to chat away from training and get to know a bit more about them or perhaps just talk about nothing at all. A few more travel stories came to light. Ian Weaver decided to enter the GKR Tournament only two months ago and booked on the 6am flight for the "good price". This does mean an early start and no breakfast - he had plenty of time at the airport as his plane was delayed and didn't leave Adelaide until 07:15. The Spencer family drove over and with five of them, space was a premium. They have containers fitted to the roof racks for extra space where the Gi's were packed along with the belts. Unpacking time in Sydney and panic stations when it was found that rain had seeped in and thre was a bright blue streak across the front of Craig's Gi from Mel's new Blue belt. Fortunately, washing and bleaching did remove the stain. There was also the usual Beau stories, which proved once again that natural blonds are sometimes naive but time for bed. |
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