It's coming to the end of my trip around Australia and New Zealand and despite the hundred little things that went wrong during the course of my stay, I'm happy to say that my results were better than I could have hoped for.
After all three of my bags went missing for several days, I had to find a complete set of equipment to train in. Thankfully, there were two heroic Aussies on hand who kindly gave me all the rental gear free of charge!
My bags finally arrived in Australia just in time for the quali day for the first two Falls Creek ANCs where I placed 4th in both races against some tough competition.
I then placed 7th in the Junior World Championships in Cardrona NZ after a big crash the day before qualifiers (which I totally blame on having the wrong prescription contact lenses in...) and I then went on to get two podiums for the two final ANCs in Hotham which meant that I placed 3rd overall in the Australian/New Zealand Cup.
Not bad for my first season... I've now learnt to travel with my boots in my hand luggage and not to leave my only pack of contact lenses in an Australian apartment a 3 hour flight away!
I've also learnt that my teammates are a supportive bunch and can make me laugh even when my bags are stuck somewhere in Hong Kong and I'm on my last pair of clean pants.
A bit of a character building journey but I wouldn't change a thing. It's now time to head back to Europe for training in Saas Fee, Switzerland!
