Leeming SHS: Student Blog Day 10 and 11

Solar Car Blog 10

Today, after a long (or not so long) sleep-in for some, we learned that we would be staying in Alice Springs for yet another day, due to a bit of confusion with what time the team were allowed to leave. This enabled us to get some much needed rest, and carry out some much needed repairs on the car.

In the morning, after a delicious breakfast of beans on toast, and several rounds of "Chicken Train" (by 'Ozark Mountain Daredevils' in case you'd like to have a listen) we all headed out to Alice Springs Mall. All the students went their separate ways to buy gifts for family and friends and numerous CD's and Magazines, while Mr Morgan and Mr Sheppard visited yet another Woolworths. Some of the boys then decided to climb to the top of the monument, while the rest of us took the bus. This proved to be a very academically positive excursion, as we managed to spot 5 different fast-food stores from the top, all in the same area.

When we got back, Trent, both Andrews and I (Curtis) all decided to climb the mountains of the McDonnell ranges. They are only about 200m high, but that's still quite a climb, due to near-vertical slopes. We managed to climb up it and down it in less than an hour, and it was good fun. No one slipped, and we had an excellent view from the top. Luckily, we managed to catch the Observer on the radio, as we had such good reception. On the way down, it was a lot more fun. There were a lot of various slippery steep rocks, about 3m long. They all had long, wide steps underneath them, so we were able to use them as slides quite safely.

We all decided it was about time for a swim, where a number of the boys (Flegg) "tried" to chat up some innocent girls in the pool, and we created a 12 person bombie line. We managed to completely drench Tom and Laura who were outside of the pool, when Gracie decided to bombie right next to them. This resulted in a rushed last minute wash, as lots of articles of clothing were soaked.

After we got kicked out of the pool, by Miss Tauber, we all went back to the camp. A couple of people put the solar car back in the trailer and got us completely ready for tomorrow, while everyone else cooked dinner. A couple of us also got in a bit of trouble when we hit the tent of an American lady with a football; but apart from that, all was good. We also all had a last minute pack, with lots of articles of clothing being thrown, lost and buried in sand.

All in all, it was a day well deserved, if not predicted. We got a lot of work done, and had a chance to relax and unwind. We all got to know each other a little better, and it was a great to experience Alice Springs.

By Curtis Brand (Year 11) and Laura Pilsworth (Year 10)

Special thanks to Danyal Cowasjee (Year 10) for helping

Day 11. I think we can call it a complete success. I promised we'd do better, and we sure did. Today we covered 407km with the solar car, which is pretty much 4 times the amount we'd done on solar in the last week! Our total is sitting at 519km now, not far behind our previous record of 798km, which we set in the 2005 Sungroper car. The team is ecstatic and we couldn't have hoped for much more. This is just one step forward to our goal of driving the solar car from Alice Springs to Adelaide.

This morning was a fairly enjoyable one, although very hectic. We all got up by 6:30, but were beaten by the Annesley College girls, who were driving a Greenfleet car. Some of the guys were disappointed and rushed out to say goodbye. I'm not entirely sure if it is a joke for some people or not, which is one thing I am hoping someone will clarify EVENTUALLY.

On top of all this, it was a really enjoyable day. Our team was also happy when we not only physically passed Willetton, but passed them in solar kilometres. They spent a few hours on their trailer unfortunately, while we were going solar from early this morning to 5:04 this evening. Of course, we're also cheering for Willetton, as it's not only our old car, but they're also a fellow WA high school. We would like to beat them though.

The other major thing that went on today was when we crossed the border from Northern Territory and South Australia. Amazingly, no one jumped from one side to the other doing the whole "NT, SA, NT, SA" thing. It was good fun though. We also saw the exact middle of Australia, which is located very closely to the Stuart Highway. We all thought this was a great novelty and took a lot of photos. We'd upload some, but they're pretty much just photos of ground and the bush.

One of the geniuses on the camp (Me) decided that maybe people are missing their families and friends, so one of those geniuses (Me) decided that we could all write a little message for our families down the bottom. Look out for your message below.

Laura says, "Hi to Hilary, Graham and Claire, and to all the people who are supporting me."

Tom says, "Hi Mum!"

Susan says, "Hey to friends and family, and to Daniel. Also Happy Birthday for the 26th to Stuart, hope you have a great day. Miss you all!"

Danyal says, "Hello to family and friends from somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Excuse me, you're in my parking space."

Angela says, "Ni hao ma ma he ba ba! We're spending the second night camping on the side of the road. Hello to all my friends reading this as well ^______^ wo zhen de ai ni, jie jian!"

Candace says, "A big hello to all my family and friends out there reading this, I'm missing you all and look forward to seeing you again. Love you all!"

Kai says, "Hello to anyone who cares about me… I'm fine. See all of you guys soon!"

Trent says, "Hi Home, hi family, hi Dora." :D

Declan says, "Hey everyone at home! We are camping by the side of the road… in the middle of nowhere."

Morison says, "hi parents and harry I saw road kill I saw it first so I got it, so when I get home I want it cooked, I got me a gold sticker for chopping dis darn tree down im special."

Ryan says, "Hi to all my relatives in England and parents, Nathan, Daniel and sister"

Curtis E Bear says, "Hey to everyone back in Perth. Hope it's not too quiet without me. Can't wait to get back and I LOVE YOU SUB."

Cavenagh says, "hi mum and dad, hey grandma (if you are reading this) I hope you all miss me because I will be home next week (I better start walking now) P.S. hey mum can you print a copy for grandma?"

Gizele says "Hey everyone! Miss you all and hope to see you soon. Love you lots."

Rhys Says "Hi Everyone, hope you guys are having fun, cause we are over here."

Flegg Says "Wow what an experience, loving it see you soon.