Tour Pics Ode to Tour 2005 Its five in the morning, can’t believe I’m awake Packing my bags, don’t know how much to take No earlier start, did we ever contrive But now we’re off, on the Tour of 2005 Eight hour in the bus, drives us all round the bend Only to discover that in Port Macquarie we have no games to attend We enjoy the scenery in our last day of blue skies We have some leeches for lunch, and some chicken surprise Moss Vales the next target another long hop We pull into the car park for sleeping bags to shop The hall is quite cold and not much to view After a soccer based warm up, we lose three games to two A short trip to Canberra, where we will stay for three days With time to relax, its belconen and movies we craze The games are now playing and we play our best The rotation system, gives us all plenty of rest The opposition is challenging and put up a fight But we have nothing but victories as we do everything right Though sometimes we get flippant, our eye of the ball And “I’ve had enough of this” become a new call The final are tough, and we drop the first set But we keep our heads and know that’s all they’ll get Winners of the division, its all been a dream We take lots of photos, with the opposing team The games are all over and we enjoyed all our winning Its now of to parliament house to watch a moth swimming The night air is cold with a very chilly breeze But no matters how many laps, we can’t find any cheese Dubbos a good game, in front of a crowd And the cheering for Dubbo, gets rather loud Four-Nil is the set score, though the sets were quite tight Then back to locals to party into the night Plenty of time in the morning, we need something to do We head for the rhinos and otters, and feed shoe laces to a kangaroo Stile time on our hands before the next spot where we stay So we stop at the big dish, just a whisper form the highway In Cowra the opposition I spare so we mix it up instead And enjoy a great moment, when the opposition hit Mat in the head The P.O.W. camp and Japanese gardens are really something to see But when it comes to paying, “would you believe we are a family?” West Wyalong is a short trip, not very long Opening doors while driving, cause the loss of a thong Here is West Wyalong we are camped right next to the hall We rest and dig in for our last day of volleyball We drop a set to their B team and beat their A team three-nil The back for some curry, for our stomachs to fill The games are all over and the last two days are quite long A mega meal at the RSL and the 500 fever is strong The tour is nearly over , we’ve played some fantastic volleyball There are many fond memories and jokes to recall Its sad that the tour of 2005 is ended now the we have reached home I’m happy to have shared the journey, captured in this poem.

 

The Tourists

The Tourist	Tour name
David Kelly	Eleven
Jarrod Kelly	Human Remote
Andrew Ewan	Pass Boy
Tammy Collins	Bouncer
Mat Stewart	Verbal
David Simion	40 Questions
Sarah Stapleton	Gene
Boris Georgieff	The Specialist
Rachael Campbell	Sorry

The  Story  of Tour 2005

The tour of 2005 left unbelievably early on Wednesday 23-Nov-2005. Planned to leave David Kellys place at  5:30am and we were only 15 minutes late thanks to an Esky mix up from Andrew which detoured us back past Sarahs place for the replacement esky. The second pickup also delayed us as we waiting for the forgotten sleeping bags by Mat. Then day 1 was off. What was effective a 10 hour trip passed reasonable well and there were many phone calls/message to/from the locals on the way as we were still trying to organise a game for the night. Finally at destination we had some really nice bungalows to stay in and we walked around town for a quick bite to eat where the food orders were really interesting. Port Macqurie is a beautiful place. That night we eat at a Chinese restaurant called the Great Wall of China who had a wall filled with cutlery attached.

Day 2 was a seven hour drive and got us to Moss Vale early. After some unusual Bus parking we shopped and Sarah and Andrew had to get some sleeping bags, it was very cold in Moss Vale. The hall was dark and cold. The warmup was very soccer orientated and David managed to kick a hoop. The Moss Vale player were extremely friendly and played very well. We played five sets and they beat us 3-2. We unfortunately had to decline there offer of the local pub as we raced home to have some hot chicken and salad.

Day 3 allowed a later start then normal and 2 hour later we arrived in Canberra. A bit early for our room we heading of to Belconnen shopping centre for a feed, a browse and some movies. Then back to the hotel where we stayed in a comfy villa with the Dragons teams from NSW. Some beach volleyball (was that sand or dirt?) and a big pass on the duck pong (was that a pool).

Day 4 the games commenced and Boris and Rachael joined us. We split into three of each hitters, setters and blockers and used a rotation system for substitutions that gave us all plenty of rest. We planned our bug games rather well as we made sure we ate at the appropriate times this year (no meals before big games, anyone remember the finals of 2002?) . While the day went well the night didn’t as the young ones argued for 2 hours over nothing and while I wanted to join in and finish the fight, Andrew reminded we might need the players functioning in the morning, dam!

Day 5 we started with duty again and then a break before our planned tough game. Everything is going very well, various players had up and downs and the team adjusted brilliantly. The girls setting was awesome and passing and defense was pretty good. We rested well before the final and the opposition started strong taking the first set. But our team had such confidence and we stormed them after that. Tammy was blocked back into her head which later she repaid with an awesome shutdown of the best hitter. Suffice to say we won 3-1 and mixed up some photos with the opposition, who incidientally were staying in the villa next to us at the Carotel and we had been talking to for the last couple of days. We squeezed in a visit to the Volleyball Warehouse over at the snake pit and a couple of people bought shoes and we watched a little of the honours action (but not the finals, dam). The Australian team had four Dragons players, awesome, and we watched them for a while. We had a final meal with fellowship of nine and then said goodbye to Boris and Rachael. We went for a cruise in the evening to look at parliament house. It was all dark, cold and breezy,  we did a couple of laps, found a park, no one else was there which made it easy for the guards to keep an eye on us. We took a couple of pictures, tried to drown a moth, make a lots of jokes and left able to say we were there.

Day 6 was an eight hour trip to Dubbo after spending a hour or so in traffic getting to the airport to ay goodbye to Sarah. More shopping, make ourselves some tea and headed off to the venue. Dubbo managed to get a bit of a crowd to watch our game. The dubbos boys played in Division 2 in Canberra and our games were pretty close even though the final set score was 4-0 to us.  Then we went back to one of the locals places for a few drinks and a chat. Dubbo volleyball has a great social atmosphere.

Day 7 It is only a two hop to Cowra so we start by visiting the zoo. We see a lot of animals during the feeding cycle this time and it is fairly amazing. The new Meekrat display is neat, they are pretty funny how the move about and stop to stand and look. A lot of photos on statues and then back on the road. We still had time to spare so we decided to stop at the Big Dish in Parkes for a little while. The roads are full of over sized vehicles everywhere. The locals aren’t very experienced and not many turn up and not at once so we just played with the teams all mixed up. Kind of a relaxing evening volleyball. Then up the town for another Chinese meal.

Day 8 Another really short hop only two hours. So we visit the POW camp and discover the amazing story about the Cowra POW break out. Very interesting, if you’re ever in the neighbourhood you should check it out. Then down to the Japanese Gardens where we manage to convince the establishment that we were a family. The Gardens are beautiful and the fish are huge. An interesting contrast, inside the fence is lush and colourful with water falls, streams, little buildings. Outside the fence is dead and baron and lifeless. Off to West Wyalong and eat along the way at Grenfell, birth place of Henry Lawson. Somehow Mat manages to lose a thong along the highway after having only purchased then in Canberra. In West Wyalong we can see the hall (only about 50m away) from where we are staying. We drive all the way to the hall and must be there early and start to wonder if it is the right place as noone is there and the hall was open. We get a game going against their B team and the score is one all when we have to stop for the local finals night to commense. So we took a while to find a shopping centre and purchase the curry supplies for later that night (remember, no eating before a big game). Their B team was pretty good, they were talking up their A team and how they were going to demolish us. It was our last day of games so we wanted to play our best as we expected them to be quite string. Well, they were quite strong, but we were playing beyond our normal capabilities and we beat them 3-0. No matter what lead they occasionally got or what ever happened we lifted and played better again (now if only our PVL teams could learn something from that). Anyway, we went back to the caravan park all happy, make and ate curry and played 500 into the night.

Day 9 Nine hours later, passing even more oversized traffic then days before and we arrive in Moree. The journey seemed to fly by, as did Tammy from the seat. Our plans for hitting the hot spas are ditched as its too hot and we head for the cool pool instead. Where a number of under water swimming and somersault competitions commence. That night we head for the RSL club and the meals are just huge. Some of the entrees were bigger than most places meals. The final night together was fun and the cards featured again.

Day 10 Home time. 6 hours and we are home. A quick detour around a cemetery , don’t know why, guess you had to be there. The final reading of the poem and announcing of the tour names and the drop offs. The last 45 minute trip into town in an empty bus seemed so lonely after the last 10 action packed days. Dropped the bus off, walked through the rain from the valley back into the city. Then into a crowed Myer centre and queued forever for a bus. A short hour bus trip home and it was all over. I’m glad to take every chance to tour. It’s a fun time, spent with friends in volleyball, seeing some sites, telling jokes, playing cards, driving … playing some of the best volleyball I have ever played.

Hope to see you in the bus with us next year.

David Kelly

Tour Veteran

Touring Since 1991 (and still going).

Thanks to Tour Organisers

Tammy Collins – Whose final email made it happen, organised the accommodation in a couple of days before the tour (including getting us fantastic accommodation  in the over booked Carotel) and she set brilliantly.

David Kelly – For organising the game locations and driving the bus (nice reverse parks and just missing everything) and coaching.