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Exercise Longlook is a tri-service exchange between the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The aim of the Exercise is to broaden the military experience and knowledge of the individuals selected and to further the interoperability of the three Commonwealth armies. Capt Alan Crapper recently spent 4 months with the Royal Australian Signals, he had the opportunity to do a lot of Adventurous Training. |
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I was based in Toowoomba, Queensland, about 2 hours from Brisbane. The first excitement of the exchange was an expedition in 4 x 4 vehicles from Toowoomba to the tip of the Australian Continent, Cape York. The trip lasted 10 days along a dirt track that lasted hundreds of miles and took days to navigate. On the return leg, the Great Barrier Reef offered the perfect opportunity to do my first ever dive. Within 2 weeks of returning, I was off on another trip, this time providing back up on a charity car rally. The rally lasted ten days and followed more dirt tracks from the East Coast, around Uluru and back. Uluru is the Aborigine name for Ayers' Rock and no trip would have been complete without taking the opportunity to scale it. The view from the top is amazing and the whole thing provided a 'once in a lifetime' experience.
Later in the trip, I was allowed leave and headed south to visit Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Sydney is a fantastic, multicultural city and my first view of it came as I travelled across the Harbour Bridge that looks over the world famous Opera House. As the visit drew to a close, I played my first and only game of Australian Rules Football and said farewell to my colleagues. The 24 hour flight back was broken by a day playing golf on a small atoll in the middle of the Indian Ocean - a fitting end to a great adventure.
My four months in Australia were some of the most exciting and enjoyable of my life. The links between nations and armies are very strong, both have similar beliefs and both face similar challenges. |
