On Thursday, 4th June, some of The Rockets left for sunny Queensland (some drove up earlier) to attend the 37th National Tenpin Bowling Championship for Persons with a Disability, which was held at Suncity Tenpin Alexandra Headlands.
We flew into Brisbane and drove 104 km to the Sunshine Coast as this airport does not cater for 25-seater buses.
Our accommodation was at the beautiful Novotel Twin Waters resort, about 15 minutes from the bowling alley.
Wildlife was abundant!
As were the areas to relax!
Friday 5th June saw us bowl a Singles and Doubles.
Due to the alley's smaller size, bowling took longer than expected. We travelled to the Events Centre in Caloundra for a pre-show dinner, then attended the “Dolly I Love You” show. Much foot tapping and singing along occurred.
Saturday 6th, we bowled later due to the Opening Ceremony at the Alley. Lesley, along with some other volunteers, was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of valuable contributions to the sport of Tenpin Bowling in the International Volunteer Year.
Sunday 7th was our first and only full day of bowling – 3 series. Very tiring for the bowlers (and parents). We started at 8.00am and got out of the alley at about 5.00pm – long day.
Monday 8th was our “free day”. It had been raining the previous night, so we thought our entertainment options might “go down the drain”. However, Lesley assured us that she had spoken to “higher authorities” (fingers crossed) and it would clear!
Miracle – we woke up Monday morning and it was cloudy but no rain. We travelled to Australia Zoo and the sun came out. We saw the tiger show, many animals and witnessed the crocodile show at the World Famous Crocoseum. Lunch was at the Crikey Café before we headed back to the accommodation.
Tuesday the 9th was once again wet.
We bowled a Singles and Doubles with plans for the evening in doubt.
We had a 1-hour Sunset Canal Cruise booked, and just as we arrived, the sun came out. We cruised up and down the waterway, spotting multimillion-dollar properties, and even saw the Irwin residence with their boat, Croc One, parked out front. Our Celebration Dinner was next to the canal overlooking the water.
Wednesday 10th saw us back in Sydney.
As for the bowling, there were some great results and congratulations to all the bowlers.
Each bowler's top score is listed below:
Candice – 133
Dom – 107
Emma C – 157
Emma M – 176 and scored a turkey
Lauren – 149
Natham – 204 and scored a turkey
Tim - 180
