We've fought side-by-side, laughed together and constantly sledged each other.
Australia and New Zealand have been the closest of allies since before the Boer War, with the Trans-Tasman partnership at times almost feeling more like sibling rivalry.
On the other side of the globe this week, the Anzac partnership was in full force in an unlikely place: on top of Whistler Mountain during day 5 of Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025.
A close-knit group of 5 women - 2 Aussies and three Kiwis - lined up for the Intermediate-Advanced ISB5 Snowboarding competition. But instead of giving their opponents the evil eye, it was more like an Anzac friendly.
"It was such a good feeling, really encouraging," said Team Australia competitor Dr Katie Chapman.
"We all got together and were talking, sharing how nervous we were, pepping each other up saying, 'you've got this, you've got this', making jokes and laughing.
"It was very nice, it wasn't competitive in a nasty way, it was, 'let's go out and do well, and just all have fun'. It was a very nice vibe, you couldn't ask for better."
A wealth of hugs and cheers met each competitor as they reached the course's end, with Katie going on to take out the gold with a 22.15-second run, in front of New Zealand's Alana Blackman and Aussie team-mate Cindy Chawner. "That's pretty good considering she's a grandma," Katie quipped. "I think she's done really well."
Learning to snowboard through Army and ADF snow competitions since about 2010, Katie had some race experience under her belt, including three international tours against the British Armed Forces. This allowed her some degree of confidence as well as a weight of pressure.
"I tried to encourage the girls up there because none of them had ever raced," she said. "It was new for all of them so I just tried to encourage them to relax and enjoy it."
The good vibes continued through to medal presentation, where Games patron, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was on hand to present the former Army officer and Bendigo local with the gold. With Katie decked out with a double-Australian flags headband, the pressure was off the competitor and on the Duke.
"When they told me Prince Harry would be putting the medal around my neck, I was stunned," she said.
"I was giving him a bit of grief and saying, 'better not stuff this up, Harry, you'd better get it over my headband'. Which he laughed about."
Meanwhile, day 5 was also somewhat of a reckoning for Australian alpine skier Petty Officer Justin Brown.
The Navy Imagery Specialist was 'absolutely stoked' with his performance at Whistler, dashing down the groomed downhill track in 21.34 seconds to finish 18th out of a field of 52.
"It was better than I ever imagined," Petty Officer Brown said. "I was just absolutely pumped at the end; fist pumps in the air and just ecstatic that I made it down without hitting one of the flags.
"To have my family at the finish line, my youngest son in the kangaroo suit, it was awesome."
The Sanctuary Point man and father of two said nerves almost overcame him in the lead-up to the run. With knees shaking at the starting gate, a calmness set-in when officials started counting him down and he felt the flow all the way through the gates.
"The snow is my absolute happy place," he said.
"I've never ever been happier - other than when I'm doing archery - than when I'm at the snow.
"I feel free, it relaxes me. There's nothing in my mind sending it haywire, it's just cruising."
A 30-year Navy career has resulted in mental health issues including major depression and anxiety, so finding that peaceful space is a huge positive.
After suffering a breakdown following a deployment to Afghanistan in 2013, the 50-year-old turned away from his love of adventure sports. But now, thanks to the Invictus Games, he is headed back to what he loves.
"When I was younger I used to skydive, bungee jump, kite surf, all the adventurous types of sports; and when I had my mental health breakdown it just all put aside.
"The two sports I've competed in so far - skeleton and skiing - have that adrenaline rush - it's come back and I'm feeling it and I really went to get back into it.
"The whole Invictus experience has changed my life and the way I look at it.
"I may have mental health challenges but they're not stopping me now from going and doing things anymore."
