Mount Morgan Gold Mine

Last week we hosted our first guest, a friend of the Panzarella's, Twigg. On Thursday Matt took a day off from work and the three of us headed up Mt. Morgan, home to the world's most productive gold mine. During their gold rush this tiny little town hosted 13,000 people but is now home to about 3,000.

The town is situated on top of a hill so winding our way up to the top we had some nice views of the area. Once we arrived, we went to the tourist information center housed in the old train station. We arrived just in time to make the morning tour of the mine. The tour took us on an overview of the town pointing out some of the historic sites like the old suspension footbridge, the town bell, the pub, and various other historic buildings. Then they took us up to the mine. Here we were able to walk through the main building that had been converted to a museum dedicated to the history of the mine and mining. After our tour guides drove us around the grounds of the old mine and we had the opportunity to look at some of the old mining equipment. We also had the opportunity to observe some dinosaur footprints that were discovered in one of the mine's tunnel. There were even some kangaroos spotted along the way!

Friday Night Sprints

Well my personal photographer took some pictures and video for me to share with you.
Here is a video from the week before, but it is all about the same. 

This week a few more people showed up, it made for some faster races as there were more A grade racers and the A and B fields were combined.  We had 4 races on the night and they went really quickly.  This was really good as the mosquitoes were out in full force and every time I sat down they were biting me through my spandex. 

I did well in the elimination race again, finishing 3rd.  We also raced 2 scratch races and a unknown distance scratch race.  I did better in the later races than in the first one.  I seem to get better as the night wears on and my legs get warmed up.   I still have to work on my strategy, I often get caught behind people in the last lap which makes it hard to contend for the finish.  We will be racing on the track through March, so I should have plenty of time to practice.

The Comets: First Scrimmage

Saturday night was the opening day for the Comets. The day started at 2pm when the under-16 team played followed by the under-18 team. At 5:45 the Comets had their first test against Mackay. I arrived at 4:30 to help them get ready. Let me tell you, being in a men's locker room is a new experience for me! Lots of sweaty boys and testosterone permeated the air, not to mention all the heat and mozzies trapped inside the small locker room. I couldn't wait for the game to start, so I could get out and breath some fresh air while watching the game from the sidelines.

The boys took the field in their brand new uniforms sporting the new logo. I got to sit back and try and figure out how the game was played. The boys get 5 downs to score before the ball is turned over if the attempt is unsuccessful. When tackling, they have to hold them down for it to count. To score, they have to purposefully place the ball down on the ground. A goal earns 4 points, followed by a kick that can earn them 2 points. Typically they play in 40 minute halves, but they have a heat rule that the enforced that had them get a drink at 20 minutes. They do have a scrum like rugby union, but I'm still not sure why because it doesn't seem to serve any purpose in this game.

Unfortunately, the Comets lost to Mackay 0-10, but at least Mackay didn't score until the last quarter. Fortunately, there were no injuries to report, just a few sprained muscles. After watching how they take each other down, that was a nice surprise. They pretty much grab a guy behind the back of the knee, lift him up and toss him on his head! So, after checking in on them after the game and finding out they were all ok, I was free to go enjoy the Brisbane Broncos (the Comets' affiliate team) play the Melbourne Storm. This was a National Rugby League pre-season match up. Some of the Comets were actually being trialled as well, so it was fun to see a few guys that I know play as well. The game was a lot quicker and the passing a lot sharper and I had Ronnie, the Comets trainer, explaining the rules to me as the game went. Now that I had a better understanding of the game (and a tinnie of Gold in hand) it was a pretty exciting event!