Borculo, Nederlands, August 2004
Over to eastern Holland this year to a little town called Borculo not far from the German border. An ideal venue for first timers as not too far from anywhere in Europe. We were delighted to welcome two new divisions at their first overseas rallies: the Italians and the Spanish.

• Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, seriously hot!
  
• No rain till we set off for home (predictably it poured down on the GB side of the Channel)
  
• Great campsite with restaurant and bar on site and swimming lake nearby
  
• New skills learnt! How to make a very effective wasp trap! Cut a plastic water bottle near the top and take the lid off the top section. Fill the bottom section with sugared water or tea, then put the top section upside down in the bottom section. Enjoy breakfast in peace!
  
• Road Bowling competition (previously unknown to us but internationally renowned especially in Ireland where it was the game of the ancient kings of Ulster. Perhaps the Dutch got it from William of Orange when he came to Ireland in 1690! If you really want to know more go to: http://www.terracetalkireland.com/articles/road-bowling.htm (!)
  
• Pub Crawl round Borculo
• Motorcycle parade in pursuit of antique fire engine

Pictures available soon - Photo Gallery currently being collated!

Dorset, England, July 2003

A manorhouse set in the lush Dorset countryside was our venue for 2003, the longest hottest driest summer the UK has seen in many years - but the rain still managed to put in appearance (there's a good reason for the countryside here being described as "lush"!) In spite of that a good time was had by all thanks to the fantastic efforts of the organising team from WIMA Wessex.

• Wonderful picturesque site - and close to the famous Dorset Jurassic coastline
  
• Chance to try out the latest BMW motorcycles
  
• "Cultural" evening - the WIMA cabaret is fast becoming an established annual event!
  
• Treasure hunt and chance to discover the many delights of the Dorset countryside
  
• Ceilidh with live band; and morris dancing WIMA style
  
• Traditional homemade cream teas (ie. scones with strawberry jam & clotted cream and a pot of tea - NOT the cup of tea with cream in that some were expecting!)

See pictures in the rally PHOTO GALLERY

Czech Republic, August 2002
Back to the Czech Republic for the first time since 1996 to a site deep in the forest, so deep it's a miracle we found it - at least I think everybody found it! The numerous collections of garden gnomes for sale in roadside shops we saw '96 are still there. But we've never seen any in gardens. Are they the same ones? This one is destined to remain a mystery! The language is still incomprehensible but people are friendly and helpful and we always manage somehow!

• Beautifully peaceful site in the forest with lovely walks
  
• Czech beer - enough said! And still cheap!
  
• Endless silly games including overgrown bar skittles and a slalom using a pump-action scooter
  
• Enjoyable treasure hunt from unpronounceable place to unpronounceable place - only those who can read maps and ride at the same time had any idea what was going on or where they were. The rest of us hadn't a clue! And a welcome end at the lake for a dip on a very hot day
  
• Enthusiastic and lengthy welcome (in Czech) from the Mayor followed by Brass Band and display by the local Majorettes. We reciprocate by riding in a huge parade round the town and the Dutch show off their skills by riding standing up on their bikes - circus horse style
  
• Private organ recital at a church in Rozmital just for us by the head of the music college. He played a Christmas Mass (?!), and sang along as he played and let us have a go as well. Bit of a shock to hear "chopsticks" ringing out though! Discover that at least 3 of our members (Dutch, German and Japanese) can all play the organ - no end to WIMA talent!
  
• Bonfires at the campsite and more music late into the night - Linda (English but living in Spain) plays her tin whistle and lagerphone (strange Australian instrument) and sings in English, Strine, Spanish and Afrikaans and teaches us the choruses
  
• Day trip into Prague to marvel at this World Heritage city - still preserving its charm despite the July hordes of tourists.
  
• Great weather for the most part - never got my waterproofs out and somehow we managed to navigate from Weymouth (GB) to Rozmital (CZ) with only 3 kms of motorway. The roads we took were so small that we couldnÕt find France on the way back... Great riding!
  
  
  

See pictures in the rally PHOTO GALLERY

• Inauguration of WIMA Spain!
  
• Thrashing our bikes up and down the aiport runway at Gibraltar - while the road which crosses it and connects Spain to Gib was closed for our benefit - and then enjoying a police-escorted tour by bike round the Rock
  
• Welcome evening hosted by the Mayor and town of Castellar with local dancers, sangria and tapas
  
• Fantastic campsite just for us with huge swimming pool and amazing variety of wildlife and tame animals on site - from peacocks to three mad donkeys
  
• Our own flamenco show - complete with lessons!
  
• Day trip to Morocco with camel rides
  
• For some of us at least - a whole holiday without getting the waterproofs out!
  
• Hilarious evening with different countries putting on a short show - the Dutch did an origami presentation (?!)

Millennium Rally, Iisalmi, FINLAND, July 2000

From the tip of southern Europe to the far north. July 2000 saw us heading for the home of Santa Claus in Finland. Some 170 women attended our 50th Anniversary rally from all over Europe and Scandinavia, Estonia, Russia, Japan and Australia. This was only our second international rally in Finland - the first one in 1973 had just 10 participants. This time everybody knew about us - a film about the rally was shown on Finnish TV.

Highlights:

• Great open spaces, millions of trees and thousands of lakes, loooong days and short nights
• The famous Finnish sauna where we learned to beat ourselves with birch twigs (thank goodness there was no snow to roll in)
• A woodcarving competition (with expert instruction from renowned Finnish sculptor Jennifer Run - WIMA member of course)
• Silly games including welly-wanging- the Finns dredged up an old fellow who turned out to be the Veteran World champion of wellington boot throwing to give us a demo.
• Magical lunch by the side of a river where we cooked sausages on open charcoal fires
• The Irish band who sang in Finnish
• Welcome message from the Prime Minister of Finland who said she was sorry she couldn't join us!
• Amazing journeys to and from the rally - some went right up into northern Norway, Sweden and Finland before dropping down to Iisalmi - others came the other way via Lithuania, Russia and Estonia.
  

WIMA 50th Anniversary Rally, AUSTRALIA, April 2000

First ever International Rally to be held down under and what a rally it was too for about 140 women (many brought partners) including 60 from France, Germany, GB, Holland, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland. 78-year old Hazel Mayes, original founder of WIMA Australia (see PIONEER WOMEN for more about Hazel), was our honoured guest. One group of foreigners joined an organised tour with hired bikes, setting out from Melbourne. Another group rode all the way to Sydney from Western Australia, across the Nullarbor taking 6 days in all - a journey that sorts the women from the girls! And one girl rode from Brisbane, stayed to represent Queensland WIMA for 2 days, then rode back again. These Ozzies cover some distance.

Highlights

• Spectacular site - three gorgeous beaches within walking distance and caravans with jacuzzis!
• Performance from Doonooch Aboriginal Dancers who did a Reverse Rain Dance for us - and it worked. (this must be the reason why Alice Springs flooded when we got there after the rally)
• The Shelley Slatcher Memorial Handbag Toss - without which no WIMA Australia rally is complete and other silly games
• Fabulous rides into the Minnamura Rainforest
• More fabulous rides into the Southern Highlands
• Riding the latest Triumphs- kindly sponsored by the manufacturer
• Traditional Australian Bush Dance
• Superb food and booze

And not forgetting special guest appearance by mystery pillion rider, pictured right!

Go to the WIMA Australia site for full pictorial rally report