Post-Jamboree tour

On the last official day of Jamboree we started to pack up most of the tents. This necessitated some steam-rolling (to get the air out) and also resulted in the amusing extrication of a large rock with a tent peg firmly drilled through it (to our surprise, we managed to retrieve just about all the pegs and screws that we had used to pitch everything).

The closing ceremony involved a large audience, some fireworks, and a rather disappointing closing act that had the kids wanting to head back to their troop site early.

The next day, after frantically taking down the last tents and dining shelter and packing things into our crates, we hopped onto a bus to head to Ballarat (the Tasmanian contingent usually has two or three days tacked on to the end of Jamboree to do a few extra things).

The first order of business was a stop at Horsham. The pool wasn’t quite as clean when we left as it had been when we arrived (but it was sooooo nice to start feeling dust-free).

We then had two full days in Ballarat, where we got to visit a zoo,

do some more welcome swimming (it had been hot at Tailem Bend, and it was still hot in Ballarat at 39° on one day),

fill the local La Porcetta restaurant for dinner (and scare away some (but not all!) of the other customers),

test the local public transport system (which required a little coordination, when two or three troops wanted to head off in the same direction),

and visit Sovereign Hill (a replica goldmining town)

And finally, after camping/travelling for two weeks (for the Scouts) and nearly three weeks (for me and the other advance party members), it was time to head home, which involved waiting in the airport lounge with supplies of Krispy Kreme donuts (apparently it is traditional for Tasmanians to bring these home, since it’s not as if we don’t have other perfectly satisfactory donut stores in the state),

being reassured that our baggage was going to be going home as well, 

and being pleased to find that there were no kids nor luggage nor leaders left behind when we got to Hobart (not a speck of fluorescent green anywhere!).

Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to have a recovery break before I have to get back to work and the like.