Trips To Australia
2007 - The Wallabies
It was a gorgeous crisp day when we set off on our adventure down under on Tuesday 10th July. We met at Cardiff West Services at lunch time where everyone seemed both excited and apprehensive about what was to come…there was a fantastic buzz in the air. There were parents saying goodbyes, team members meeting one another for the first time and team leaders getting their final briefing from Linda before setting off.
Finally the coach arrived. The luggage was loaded and a ‘head count’ (the first of many) of team members and leaders undertaken. Yes, all present and correct and away to go….to Delamare Services to pick up the remaining team members who had chosen to get picked up there dud to location. Again a few more goodbyes from parents, luggage and members loaded and now we’re finally on our way to Heathrow to start our 2007 adventure in Oz!
Heathrow was hectic but we managed to get through check in without any problems. We were flying to Oz via Abu Dabi, this entailed a 7 hour flight to Abu Dabi, followed by a 14 hour flight to Sydney, then a short internal flight to our destination which was Melbourne. We finally got to Melbourne at 2.15 pm Oz time, where we were then taken by coach to Melbourne YHA, we had been ‘on the road’ for an amazing 41 hours! You can just imagine how everyone felt…however, our plan…ok, I’ll rephrase that, Sarah Cornelius’ (Sarah travelled with the Wallabies to Melbourne) plan was to stay awake until at least 8 o’clock that evening and then collapse into our beds in order to avoid the ‘jet lag’. We got to the hostel and showered and changed, a team meeting was scheduled for 5.30. Most of the team found it difficult to concentrate on what was being said due to feeling so tired, however, after the meeting, we all went for a brisk walk, got some fresh (cold) air, and fuel in our bellies (Pizza and Pasta) before finally turning in at about 8-ish.
There was a totally refreshed group sitting around the breakfast table in the morning, Sarah’s persistence in ensuring everyone had stayed up as long as possible the night before had paid off…and had redeemed herself…no longer deemed as the ‘wicked witch’ (only joking) who wouldn’t let the team sleep…there had obviously been method in her madness…thank goodness!
12 team members were selected (names out of a hat) to visit the Oncology Ward at the Royal Children’s Hospital today (Friday 13th). The rest of the team had free time for the day.
The hospital visit was extremely emotional for everyone involved and an absolute eye opener. The hospital staff and facilities were fantastic! We were shown around by a lovely lady by the name of Merridy Justice whose role at the hospital was Patient/Parent Coordinator. This meant she attended to every ‘special’ need or request by a patient, she truly was fantastic!
We met and interacted with the children and their parents. We discussed the children’s illnesses with their parents which was emotional, to say the least for both parties. Abbey (Davis) drew some lovely tiger faces for a brother and sister, they were over the moon!!
The parents were so brave and could not praise the hospital staff enough, saying how much they help them to deal with the enormity of the situation they had found themselves having to deal with. Merridy’s colleague Jackie the Charge Nurse of the day chatted to us about the different sorts of cancer that they treated and how each individual had specific needs which were dealt with to the enth degree. They actually treat on average about 160 new patients each year and they have a success rate of circa 80% which they are extremely pleased with.
We were shown around the labs and then taken to the ‘family’ room where we were given tea and biscuits. Then we were actually taken into the ward where we met more children who had come along for treatment that day. The team members gave presents to some of the children, they were so grateful and it brought tears to our eyes…one little boy was given a beach towel with the Welsh Dragon on it (from Matthew Hedges), he was so pleased as his best friend’s dad was Welsh and he couldn’t wait to go and show the towel to him.
We left the hospital after three hours, Merridy sent us all on our way with plenty of fruit in our pockets…yes really, Apples, Mandarins and Melons!!!
The hospital visit had been a memorable and extremely emotional experience, one which the team members involved were all glad to have been part of as it had enabled them to meet families with sick children and then to realise how their fund raising was helping these families back home.
The rest of the day was free time for all, shopping and eating being the agenda.
The next two days were busy days, Saturday we had the Neighbours tour which went down a treat, and everybody was so excited. We visited Erinsborough High School and the actual street which was used for Ramsey Street. The real name of the street was Pine Street….lots… and lots…and lots of photographs were taken here, finally we actually got to meet one of the stars…I think his name was ‘Connor’ in the actual series (Patrick Harvey in real life)….again lots of photos and autograph signing….’Connor’ finally said his goodbyes and left….it had been a great tour and all the team members had had a ball.
Sunday was the Realto Tower visit…while walking to the Tower, disaster struck!!.....David had lost his notoriously famous RED HAT!!...I waited patiently while David retraced his steps back to the Hostel in the hope of finding it….as luck would have it he did find it, but in the meantime had lost ME….we finally met up after a few calls and texts and carried on our way, albeit a bit late. Unfortunately, I had to give this one a miss due to the lift (and my claustrophobia), however the other team leaders Rhian and Ifan headed off on the tour with the team while I waited in Starbucks with a skinny latte. By all accounts the views were amazing and again lots of picture taking the agenda. The rest of the day was free time and in the evening back at the hostel Amy Davis prepared a fantastic quiz for us all….the prize being no washing up on the first day of conservation….the competition was fierce as you can well imagine!!
Today (Monday 16th) we’re off to start our conservation work and the team are all fired up to go. We’re picked up at lunch time by our CVA team leaders Brendon, Bart and Michelle and the next stage of our adventure begins.
We arrive at our destination The Volunteers House on Phillip Island…it was fantastic, just like the Big Brother house. A large lounge and kitchen combined, with bedrooms in separate buildings situated either side of the ‘house’…AND all brand new!! We were landed. We were split into three teams each with a Joshua Foundation team leader and an Australian CVA team leader. We all sorted out who was in which room, dropped off our bags and then went straight to ‘work’. One team went to the Koala sanctuary…their work consisted of a tour to see the Koalas and then some tree planting followed by weeding and ‘poisoning’, yes poisoning….these ‘weeds’ were the size of a small tree, and had to be chopped down and the stump squirted with the poison to stop it growing any more.
The other two teams stayed locally and were shown how to repair tree guards and build penguin boxes.
Each team was just given a taster and it was only a short day of work today, just an introduction really, as to the sort of tasks we’d be required to carry out over the coming week….It was pretty late in the day to be starting as we had been on the road since midday and the journey had taken us two hours, so by the time we had all got settled in and in our teams, the day was getting on. Tea was a barbecue prepared by the CVA team leaders…along with different options for our vegetarians and gluten intolerant (I think that’s the phrase). Washing Up just kind of ‘happened’…the team just mucked in although I do have to give a mention to Andrew Northedge….he must have had the softest hands by the end of the week due to all the washing up he had done…good on you Andrew!
It was Cery’s birthday today so we had arranged a surprise for her. We had all clubbed together to get a new camera for her, as hers had run out (although unbeknown to the team she had already bought herself another TWO cameras, oh well you can never have enough cameras can you!!??)
We blew up some balloons and hid them in the storage cupboard out of sight. Cerys then disappeared to her room so we got out the balloons and everyone hid behind the kitchen counter….I went to fetch Cerys from her room saying we had a team meeting and as she entered the lounge we all jumped up and released the balloons…… Cerys’ face was a picture…she really didn’t expect it!! We had chocolate cake as her birthday cake, although we didn’t eat it until the following night as we were all full from our BBQ and ready for an early night…Also this first night at Conservation proved to be quite scary later on…one of the team (Abby) was ill and had to be taken to hospital, she was kept in for two nights for monitoring and was well looked after I’m glad to say. Both Amy and I stayed the first night, sleeping on reclining chairs cwtched in a hospital blanket. We did have a few chuckles though (sorry Abbey I know you weren’t well but it was your sister’s fault…honest) and I won’t say how you woke yourself up in the morning Amy….I’ll leave that to speculation…hahaha. And NO, I don’t snore!!!! Rhian stayed with Abbey on the second night so that Amy and I could shower and get a good nights sleep. After being given medication, Abbey was allowed to leave the hospital and with some TLC from the rest of the team Abbey was fine for the duration of our Conservation week…we were all glad to have her back at full speed!!....
The structure of the week was pretty much the same each day, we’d all get up for breakfast which we sorted out for ourselves, then lunch would be prepared by some of the team who had volunteered the night before to do so….then cleaning up would be done by other members of the team. It was great because nobody had to be actually told what to do…everyone just ‘did’ and it all worked really well. We were definitely a team that just gelled so to speak. Once lunch was prepared it would be put into separate ‘team’ bags to go off with each CVA team leader….and off we would go to our respective work sights for the day…either to the Koala Sanctuary for tree planting and weeding, the Penguins, to build them huts, and Land Care, which consisted of planting lots and lots of trees, ensuring they all had guards to protect them from any animals that might fancy their chances.
One memorable day that I had with my team of 9 members was one day was when Bart took us too a farm on a land care day. The farmers name was Henry and he was fantastic. While we were tree planting, (we planted 750 on this particular day) he would make sure that his truck was parked near us with his door open and the radio blasting….it was fab as we all worked and sang our hearts out at the same time…even Adam (Henry’s work colleague) had a solo part in the chorus..haha. At lunch time Henry prepared a fantastic barbecue for us all, but the best was yet to come. After we had finished digging and planting out trees for the day, Henry and Adam took us on what I can only describe as a roller coaster ride in a truck and motor bike…..we had just the best time. Adam took three of the girls (at different times of course) Jess, Amy PY and Amy Davis on his bike, taking them through the muddiest waters and getting them thoroughly soaked at the same time. They loved it! Then Henry took the rest of us in his truck…I rode shotgun with Henry while the others were all in the back of the open truck….he first took us to see one of the new calves that had been born not five days previous….THEN, he took us on the ride of our lives….it was handbrake turns….dives…..sideways over huge tumps, the lot….it was so much fun and everyone just had a ball….all you I could hear was shrieks and laughter, and it was a joy to see all these smiling faces in the wing mirrors….just so full of fun!
Another memorable day for me was our last day on Conservation. We were again doing some land care work but this time it was on just one of the steepest mountains and really challenging…both the other teams were lucky and having a half day, but no not our team, we had to work a full day…AND on an extremely difficult piece of land.
We spent the morning digging and planting and the sun was really hot, Bart decided to take us down to the beach for lunch as a treat and a softener because we were working a full day. We sat on a pier where the views were gorgeous and ate our lunch. It really was gorgeous. We returned to our place of work and carried on, but then the team were in a mischievous mood and decided to have a mud fight from one side of the mountain to the other…I was videoing it because it was so funny, again all you could hear was shrieks and laughter…mine included until…..both sides decided to throw the mud at me!!!!....we were so glad to finish that day, but as hard as the work had been, we still managed to have a really good fun day…good old Bart!!
I believe that in total between the three teams we must have planted approximately 5000 trees, although don’t quote me on that!
One night we all went to the Penguin Parade. This consisted of sitting on the beach watching (I think it was about 200) the penguins walking up into the mountains….they were so cute, but all I remember was being extremely cold and wet!!
We had a disco one night which was great fun…it’s amazing how you can turn a lounge into a disco in one fell swoop!....and a fantastic quiz another night (courtesy of Andrew N and Amy D) with an Australian round thrown in by the Ozzy CVA team Leaders….needless to say we all struggled with that round….although Brendon (ahh Brendon) did give a nice rendition of ‘A Pub With No Beer’…..I know, we’d never heard of the song either!
On our final night we all visited Nobby’s to see the sunset, it was spectacular….the evening was finished off with take away pizza’s…. a real treat and no cooking for the team just washing up of many plates…..well done Dom on this occasion!!....Andrew must have fallen asleep..haha.
Saturday morning and it’s time for a major clean up before we leave…everyone just gets stuck in and before we know it we’re all cleaned up, packed, buses loaded and ready to go…..we stop for some sight seeing on the way and some gorgeous ‘real’chips for dinner in San Remo, before heading off to the airport for the final leg of our adventure in Sydney.
We were supposed to have been meeting the Koalas, who were flying in from Adelaide, at the airport and all travelling to Sydney YHA together, unfortunately due to bad fog, their flight had been cancelled and they weren’t arriving until later that evening.
We had a slight hiccup when Emily’s luggage failed to appear with the rest of ours…poor Em, what a nightmare, however it was soon to be over as it was delivered to the YHA later on that evening…thank goodness!!
Sunday consisted of a visit to the Jewish Museum by both the Koalas and the Wallabies. This was an extremely emotional visit and a number of team members were quite tearful as we were spoken to by an actual holocaust survivor….who told us of his childhood. I just wanted to give him the biggest cwtch because it was so apparent that he still, after all this time found it really difficult to talk about… and understandably so.
The teams’ moods lifted later as we all went to Bondi Beach and everyone had free time to do whatever they wanted. We all had to be back at the YHA reasonably early though to get ready for dinner at the Sydney Tower. Dinner was booked for 7.30 and we all set off at 7 to walk there.
It was a fantastic night with absolutely amazing views and just the best food. The teams dispersed after dinner and went on to various pubs and bars to finish off the evening. A great time was had by all.
Monday was another hospital visit day for the Wallabie team members that hadn’t gone to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne; however a number of the team were still unable to go due to colds and sore throats. We couldn’t risk anyone passing on germs at the hospital so it was decided that anyone who didn’t feel too good would stay away. I myself spent the whole day in bed with a streaming cold. Thank goodness for Rhian and Ivan.
After the hospital visit, a group photo was arranged outside the Opera House and then it was off to Manley for more free time and by all accounts, lots of shopping. The evening was free time for the team to pick up where they had left off from the previous nights frivolities…
Tuesday was a full fun packed day and luckily my day in bed dosing myself up with medication had paid off and I was fit (well of a sort) to join the teams.
We set off to the Bridge climb and everyone was in high spirits, although unfortunately Abbey, due to her previous illness was not allowed to do the climb and was quite sad about this, however she put on a brave face and cheered everyone on before disappearing on a MAJOR shopping spree…nice one Abby!
It was amazing to see the different emotions that the team members were feeling. Some were just so excited and couldn’t wait to get up there, while others were really nervous but still well up for the challenge. Whatever anyone had been feeling before the climb though absolutely everyone (with the exception of poor Jess…ahh bless) was elated on completion of the climb. I’m sure Jade called out the fashion police though when she saw the gear she had to wear…hahaha. Sorry Jade my coordinated friend, just couldn’t resist that one babe.
After the Bridge Climb, then it was straight off to the Jet Boat ride. Everyone had a gorgeous (not) red poncho to wear as they were about to get soaked in the jet boat. This turned out to be a fantastic ride, and everyone enjoyed it immensely and wished it could have been longer. Once everyone had rid themselves of their ponchos there was more free time to do some last minute shopping before our big party night at the Hard Rock Café!!!
This was our last night and we were now four teams as the Skippies and Wombats had joined us on the Monday. There were 96 of us eating at the Hard Rock Café and we were all ready to rock big time.
It was Imogen’s 18th birthday today so we as a team again clubbed together and bought her the Harry Potter Book which Imogen had been deciding whether to get or not. We had given it along with a card to the Hard Rock staff, and they brought it out with desert when the whole 95 of us along with the staff sang Happy Birthday to her….it was really amazing and I’m sure Imogen had an eighteenth Birthday that she wouldn’t forget.
After the Hard Rock we went to Scubar and partied into the early hours….Dom I can salsa with the best of them now after your tuition….
Wednesday morning our final morning in Sydney came soon enough and we were all packed and ready to go by 11. The bus came and was loaded up with the Wallabies and Koalas, we waved goodbye to Sarah and Ben and were then transported off to the airport for our journey home to the UK via Abu Dabi.
We landed back in the UK at 8 am. Leroy our coach driver loaded us all on to his bus and off to Delamare we went. There were some emotional reunions with parents and children…..and with M&S Simply Food….hurray.
After re-fuelling our bellies and sad goodbyes to some of our team mates, it was off to Cardiff West Services.
We arrived at about 12.30 and it was teaming with rain, however it didn’t dampen the spirits of the parents who had been waiting patiently for their children to return and again there were some emotional reunions and sad goodbyes.
This was my first venture as a team leader and initially I was apprehensive and didn’t know what to expect, however, I must say it has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences ever…to see the team develop and grow in confidence over the last few weeks was fantastic and I am extremely proud of them all!!!
I think I can speak for each and everyone of them in saying that they had a fantastic time.
Thank you to The Joshua Foundation.