“The passage to Tassie on the Spirit of Tasmania was unforgettable! There were 3 stages. Departing from Port Melbourne, conditions were perfect with blue skies and an even bluer sea. On reaching Bass Strait, the opulent ship was buffeted to and fro by turbulent seas. On arriving in Devonport, the conditions settled down and we were able to truly enjoy this final league of our spirit experience. Its something that everyone should do at least once!

For me, as the chosen (or conscripted!) driver (depending on your perseptive), Polart 2006/07 was much the same as the Spirit experience. Smooth start, bumpy middle, but it all settled down in the end!

It began by me taking delivery of the well-maintained 22-seater Mazda mini-bus. The only chore for the first day was to deliver and return Lajkonik Ensemble for the welcome dance party, held at the Hobart Function Centre. I enjoyed this easy start as it gave us a quick peek at the picturesque City of Hobart, one which I would get to know like a local over the next ten days.

The pace of my duties magnified as the concerts and rehearsals started. Having to make up to sixteen trips a day, including the day trips for our entourage of dedicated parents, thoroughly tested my tolerance and sanity. But, seeing the “kids” performances at such grand venues like the Federation Concert Hall, and the Theatre Royal, Australia’s oldest theatre in existence, made it all worthwhile.

Inevitably, by living so close to each other for ten days, it was not all smooth sailing. Feathers were ruffled and petty arguments amongst the group occurred. But our busy schedules meant that these were quickly forgiven and forgotten and the Ensemble got on with its main priority of dancing.

The Farewell Concert signalled the end of the dancing commitments and now we could actually enjoy our Tassie adventure. In the two days that we had, we were able to visit the Tahune Forest Airwalk, the Hastings Caves and Thermal Pools, the Cascades, Brewery, Port Arthur, Eaglehawk Neck and the Tasman Arch.

All in all, 2181km were travelled. Being the busdriver enabled me to see the festival like no-one else. I shared their joys, and saw their smiles in the rear view mirror after a great concert and drove them to Mcdonalds at Sandy Bay to reward them for all their hard work. I, together with the teachers and parents, was so proud of them!

Being there, behind the scenes, seeing the “ups” and the “downs”, made it all worthwhile. No amount of money would have bought a better seat to what Polart is all about and how it affects the dancers than the one I had. It was great, and I look forward to doing it all again in Adelaide for 2009/2010!