Jenny Ganderton finds it difficult to believe she is finally here.
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After eyeing the 10th FAI Women's World Gliding Championships for some three years, Ganderton is part of a nine-pronged Australian team at the event at Lake Keepit Soaring Club.
The opening ceremony will be held on Friday, with the first races on Saturday.
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It is Ganderton's second world championships. She wasn't happy with her showing at the 2017 world championships in the Czech Republic.
Aiding her assault on these world championships is her acute knowledge of the Lake Keepit conditions. She was the club's manager from 2007-10.
Now based in Alice Springs, she is still a member of the club and regularly utilises its facilities.
She believes her excellent understanding of the Lake Keepit conditions gives her an advantage over her rivals.
"I'm very familiar with the terrain and where you outland if you have to and where the thermal sources are," she said.
"I actually started preparing for this [event] three or four years ago," she added, "flying as many competitions as I could.
"It's a bit hard to believe really: it's finally happening."
Ganderton said it had been "a bit bad with the smoke". "But when that clears away, it's [the conditions] not too bad."
She said Australia's club team was "confident because we think we've got better gliders than the opposition."
Ganderton has been flying gliders since 1990.
