After all the training and preparation, the Woomera Tour 2022 finally begins!
One member was so keen to get there, she decided to fly out 12 hours before the main party. The rest of the group gathered at Bisley after the Autumn Meeting for the final preparations. This consisted of numerous discussions about how best to pack one’s rifle. Many bits of foam and cardboard were sacrificed to provide the best protection possible.
Once all the administration was done, the North London Rifle Club kindly put on a BBQ dinner for us. This gave everyone a chance to relax before our long journey, whilst starting our acclimatisation. Various awards and thanks were giving by the Captain whilst wishing everyone good luck for the following three weeks.
Departing the UK
An early start (for most at least) was made more bearable once again by the hospitality of the NLRC providing bacon rolls. With expert efficiency and coordination, the coach was packed and checked and, once the Captain arrived, we were all set to start the 10,500 mile journey.
First stop on the itinerary was a two hour tour of the check-in lane 1 at Heathrow Terminal 3. The activity of the morning was to complete the ammo hokey-pokey (put the ammo in a bag, out of a bag and then have it shaken all about by security). After this stop, a few select individuals got a tour of the underground level of Heathrow security to escort our rifles and ammo to once again discuss the packing requirements for the ammo. A quick dash up through security scanners to customs for the final stage of the procedure left everyone with 5 mins before boarding the plane.
Due to dangers of COVID when booking, our route was a 17 hour flight to Perth before a 1 hour stop and another 3 hours onto Melbourne. The first flight was slightly delayed as ‘cargo’ (14 large rectangular cases) was loaded onto the plane.
Landing in Perth, we were greeted with a beautiful blue sky and 22°C. The transit in Perth could have been tight with only 1 hour to move from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3. However, this transit consisted of only 100 yards walking involving three right hand turns before we were at the bar near the gate. Perth departure lounge did prepare us for the prices in Melbourne as it cost AUD14 for a beer.
We did collect one more member of the team in Perth as Julian Peck had flown out a week early to Western Australia. Although he was on a flight to Melbourne at a similar time to us but not on ours. This might be an omen for the rest of the tour as Julian is often bumbling around near us but not quite managing to meet and coordinate with us, most of the time.
Melbourne
We left the sunshine of Perth and travelled the short hop (it’s all relative) to the rain and colder weather of Melbourne. First stop for one member on arrival was the Duty Free. Others meanwhile started building our relations with the Australians by helping them run a training exercise for their sniffer dogs. Their handlers were excited to be able to practice on “live” suitcases. This meant once we had carefully collected and counted all our bags, they were then laid out as a training exercise. Was this on the itinerary, no. But after 24 hours of travelling the excitement of a few dogs was too much to refuse. After the informal play with the dogs, we then had to go through the formal import steps. This was the adjutant’s time to shine, having carefully guarded the “football” since leaving Bisley with all the important original documents that were required for this.
The final logistical challenge was getting all our rifles, ammo and accidentally said member’s duty free to secured storage during our R&R days in Melbourne. This consisted of loading 16 people, 900kg of luggage and 14 rifle cases into a small trailer and mini bus. It’s OK though because we had a expert driver who didn’t know where he was going. Thankfully Google Maps came to the rescue.
Having finally made it to the Hotel in central Melbourne, we unloaded the bags. Despite the late hour, this gave quite a bit of amusement as one of the bags was forcibly vibrating. The owner claims he needs to get new batteries for his toothbrush….
To continue our acclimatisation protocols, it was decided that we should integrate with the local people and cultures. Everyone therefore headed out to The Drunken Poet, a local Irish Pub. Thankfully with many Irish shooters on the team, we were allowed to enter although those other nationalities were greeted as would be expected.
The next two days are for Rest and Recuperation in Melbourne before the start of the Shipwreck Coast Challenge on Friday.