A very close heat, the margins were tight over the four days, but in the end Geraldton Grammar flew to the peak with the Shocking Horoscopes in second place followed by the Asgard Avengers in third place and the Runaway Brides who fell into fourth place mainly because they couldn’t sort out their own names.
Everyone showed a great amount of TLC toward their fifth 'member' and none were lost.
Fresh on day one, Geraldton Grammar showed a glimmer of potential trying to get untangled from the web of life – the others remained chained to each other.
But first day saw the Runaway Brides wok on through to dinner time after getting the tent erected first with the help of the Shocking horoscopes.
The Asgard Avengers kept their spirits high and with a song that went well with picking ticks off each other like monkeys, they sang and danced their way up Mt Wells looking for the 19th hole! And wouldn’t it have been nice – it was quite warm that afternoon.
Indeed the weather was quite warm on the first two days but come the morning of day three, teams found themselves in the cool of Mt Wells. In fact I think Angus’ new head dress may well be the talk of Geraldton by now. Who would have thought that sleeping up in the tower would require three pairs of jocks to keep your face warm?
No matter what the challenge the Runaway Brides rose to it with the most optimism, looking for the first taxi, bus or any vehicle to get them out of there whenever they could.
So confident were they, that they almost stopped waiting at what they thought was a bus stop at the top of Mt Wells, even if they had to break a few eggs before making the omelette. At the same time Rob and Angus were off with the birds before getting to the campsite and Steven was quite happy to share his preferred use for fixomul. We all hope that rash goes away quick Steven.
In the end though we all got the Dwellingup pub and everyone (almost everyone) was happy about that.
Here is the story according to the Asgard Avengers (Green team):
We were bright young hopefuls setting out on a quest of adventure.
Where was the challenge? Outside our team? Inside our team?
In silence before the breaking dawn,
Stomachs churning our hearts forlorn.
The prospect of no showers for four days,
Missing the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.
Those bloody ticks, the blisters galore,
The fixomul added to the rear door.
The pain, the damned pain, losing the map,
Retracing our steps and feeling like crap.
We made it success crawling to the pub
Now parting all smelly and damp.
An experience unforgettable,
Our hearts want to dance.
Hard rocks, soft buts.
Falling into cold water,
Listening to snoring and Steve's poetry.
Drinks at the hotel,
Winning the trade... Asgard wealth makers...
Retrieving my glasses from the Mt Wells drop toilet,
Jim's pep talks.
A missing card with 20 minutes to go,
Dash, dot, dash , dot!
Teams up next are Adventurous Women, DEC-heads, Wesfarmers and the Wetland Warriors.
Second Heat Results
Congratulations to the DEC-heads (Dept of Environment and Conservation) for winning the second heat for 2011!
The morning of the first day saw clear skies but that was about to change. Before lunch the heavens opened and the Track became a small river. Though not cold, it did pose some challenges when two of our group missed a turn and had to be found. It wasn't long before they were found and the sun began to shine again.
As usual competition was tight and even though they couldn't see, the Wetland Warriors were constantly pushing the bar up for other teams.
By the end of day one, the DEC-heads were already in the lead but The Adventurous Women didn't let that stop their creativity. Solid Energy (Wesfarmers) were coming second but only 50 ahead of the Adventurous Women in third.
Solid Energy were determined to catch the DEC-heads and huddled together many times to work out a strategy to do so.
Meanwhile the Adventurous Women thought a song and dance would get them going. What was that about cane toads and frogs??
But the ugly duckling of not winning enough challenges had turned into a beautiful swan for the Wetland Warriors. By the second night, the difference between second and fourth was only 125 points!
The DEC-heads though fiercely maintain their lead drawing on inspiration from a person by the name of Bourke for inner strength. The rain had passed and the weather was very kind with cool walking days ahead.
The Adventurous Women kept to their plan though. No matter the challenge, no matters the obstacles - they aimed for the top -and even waved when they got there with the others.
It was very cold start to the last day after some strategic walking the afternoon before. Adventurous Women had just hit second place above Solid Energy. However today was to be the day for the Wetland Warriors.
Once at the pub though, all was well. DEC-heads took the lead, followed by Adventurous Women, Solid Energy and the Wetland Warriors. Everyone took care of their political babies and it wasn't long before we headed for home.
The ride home on the bus though was a sight to see. Is that YMCA they are singing?
Here is the story according to Solid Energy (Wesfarmers - Gold team):
The ticks were atrocious, expealidocious!
A beer on day three would have been met with great glee!
We found ******ing quite entertaining
The dehydrated food was good.
Our ship was pretty neat but did spring a fatal leak.
Steve's knowledge is holistic but his games are sadistic!
The team in blue were a jolly good crew.
The folks in red were always focussed ahead.
The team in green slipped through unseen.
We had our highs, we had our lows.
But we are glad we did it with you!
Third Heat Results
Congratulations to the NAB for winning the third heat!
Thursday morning began with the knowledge that it was going to be a very warm and sticky day. The rains were coming but had already made a significant impact upon Panoramic Resources who had an eleventh hour team withdrawal as some of their team were stranded in the Pilbara due to flooded roads. Also affected, but due to the effects of the flying kangaroo being grounded, were the NAB team who lost their fourth team member who was stranded in the north-west.
So with only three teams and with one team down a member we set off for the four days. The stifling conditions of a humid morning however were quickly washed away with heavy rain cooling us down immensely.
Residential Attitudes were confident that they could take on the NAB especially as they were one team member down. But the resolve of the NAB team to work harder and focus more saw them take the lead by the end of the first day.
By day two the Wesley Warriors had started to close the gap on Residential Attitudes who continued to hold second place. Catching the Residential Attitudes was always going to be a challenge especially as the Wesley Warrior’s secret weapon turned out to be a bag containing innocuous hair gel.
Nature continued to reveal itself in its subtle way and the wet weather held off for a little while on day two whilst people were looking for the 19th hole.
The climb to Mt Wells saw the weather fine up for a while which saw the return of the flies. Despite being covered in flies, this did not deter NAB from remaining on task.
Day three on the third heat will go down in Team Challenge history as the wettest day ever! The rains began around mid-morning and continued through the day. They eased off whilst teams looked for extra points off the Bibbulmun Track but came back with a vengeance once all were in camp. The property values of some tent sites increased with new water side views. All that was missing was the private jetty and jetski to get to the shelter.
It would take more than floods and an extra pack to carry to hold back the Wesley Warriors. They took second place from Residential Attitudes and came within 25 points of taking the lead from the NAB by the end of day three. The cold afternoon affected morale but a warming fire and the end of the rain by early evening saw all teams have a good night’s rest.
However by day four the NAB secured their lead taking an easy cruise to the finish line whilst the Wesley Warriors crossed the line second followed by Residential Attitudes who lost a team member that morning. All was well though once the surviving team members reached the pub in Dwellingup. An outstanding effort by all three teams who dealt with some very adverse weather conditions. Well done!
Here is the story according to the NAB team:
There was red who shared a bed
They snored like troopers and over flowed the pooper.
There was green, 1 Ron and 3 Sherpas mean
But all were lean, aside from Ron’s fat pack
It started 2 teams of four
1 team of three.
It ended up 3 teams of three with ropes, black plastic and compression bandage,
The bibble wiggle made a merry dance with the Axe’n’Izzy.
Fourth Heat Results
Congratulations to Western Power 2 for winning the fourth and final heat for 2012.
Our expectations that this was going to be the warmest week of the Team Challenge were incorrect. Indeed it was the best weather for bushwalking, mild days, mild nights and no rain. With all teams set to go we boarded the bus with the most organised person (apparently) of the Norton Rose team being a little late, we headed for the Bibbulmun Track.
From the outset there was friendly competition between all the teams, especially between the two Western Power teams (blue and gold). It didn't help though that WP1 (gold) were tied up in knots and unable to find their black plastic on day 1.
Momentum (green) certainly tried to sing and sculpt well but alas WP2 trumped with their Great Wall of China and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Once again two people had to be rescued from themselves. We could hear screeches coming from the bush, but it wasn't from seeing a snake! Oh no! It was those friendly ticks.
As time went by it became obvious Norton Rose (red) needed a little extra time to prepare for whatever was coming their way. Gold and Green were quick off the mark but they just couldn't manage to stay a pace in front of Blue, even though the gap between last and first began to close significantly.
Dessert was a highlight at Mt Wells. Apple crumble with dark chocolate or a Bibbulmun Tiramisu anyone??
By the last night the gold team were hungry for a win! Tiffany did not hold back and went like a bull at a red rag under the Quadpod of death. Blue and Green were amazed by her efforts and Dan from Norton Rose collapsed under the pressure.
At the end of the four days it was clear that much had been learned. With everyone cheering on, many people pushed well beyond their comfort zone and indeed their pain threshold in some cases. Some amazing resolve was shown and tears were shed before reaching the pub.
Here is the story according to Western Power 1 (gold):
The amount of hills didn’t give us much thrills.
Up hill, down hill with our packs yellow had plenty of stacks.
Primary colours we were with green making four.
In the end it didn’t matter coz yellow were better.
We pushed ourselves to the edge and conquered the track challenges with pride,
Whilst all aching and hurting inside.
Spondonical Steve was a hard arse that kept us on our toes,
Tony the egg was very stinky to the nose.
Now we are at the end, I think it’s time to shout, I WORK OUT!