From the Land Down-Under

This year for our winter training camp we decided to go to Australia: good whitewater, warm water and weather, and sun.

So far our camp has been going well. I arrived on the 7^th with Graham, AJ, and Paul. We met the rest of the group at our home base at the Nepean River Cabins. We have two trailers adjoined by a porch full of crisscrossing lines full of stinky paddling gear.

The temperature here never drops below 20 C, even at night. Despite the cloud cover yesterday, I still managed to burn my arms and face. Though it’s not bad, I definitely learned my lesson and will be wearing sunscreen all the time even if it’s raining.

I’ve been out of the boat for 2 months and feel a little bit rusty but after 3 whitewater sessions I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of things again. I am enjoying the whitewater here and I appreciate the fact that this site was once used in the Sydney Olympics.

We paddle twice a day right now, once in the early AM, and once in the PM. We end up having a lot of down time in the middle of the day. Napping, homework, and movies are all part of the mid-afternoon practice.

I’ve seen a lizard and parrot so far. No kangaroos or koalas yet. We have our first half day off on Wednesday.

Sample of the flora and faun in Australia