Trips To Australia
Skippies 2008 Report
Our journey began on July 22nd when the Skippies met at the bus terminal of Heathrow airport and we headed towards terminal 3 for check-in with Virgin Atlantic.
After a quick check-in we all headed through security and took off on time at 10.35pm. 12 hours later we arrived in a very hot, very humid Hong Kong. Everybody was ready to get out of their clothes, have a shower and see Hong Kong ( Sarah had other ideas-she gave us 10 minutes to meet in the lobby of The Salisbury YMCA) Everyone was astonished with their rooms, some were even suites. The team gelled immediately when we headed for an authentic Chinese meal in the back streets of Kowloon. Personalities began to shine through ( I.e Mouth on a stick-Nick) especially when we ordered copious food, most of which we had no idea of its contents. After a couple of Chinese beers, everyone was relaxed and some of the team members spent a few hours shopping for handbags and watches. ( Sarah and Ben were in bed early- a precedent set for the trip)
Everyone was up bright and early for our tour of Hong Kong. It started well when we met Danny Boy our guide for the day. He told us all about the “incestors” of Hong Kong and that was pretty much the only thing we understood of what he said all day. We took the tram ride to The Peak and then most of the team enjoyed a trip in a SamPan boat at Aberdeen. We then headed to the famous Stanley Markets where most of us were roasted like chickens!! A quick bus ride back to The Salisbury allowed us to cool down with the air-conditioning. We picked up our bags and headed to Hong Kong International Airport and a short 8 hour flight to Sydney.
There were no sunny skies to greet us, just pouring down rain and finally cool weather!!! We said our goodbyes to the Koalas after Sarah had a row with a woman in the airport and we headed to Newcastle YHA where it was still raining. Our Wilmslow girls Claire, Francesca and Ellen had an additional roommate in the form of a spider, who was no doubt trying to keep dry and warm. Arriving at around 11am in Newcastle the group settled in and were at this point on auto mode-jet lag kicking in and impersonating the living dead!!
The first 2 days in Newcastle were a real battle with jet lag, but the team spent their time sight seeing and discovering the delights of the Estabar café overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The highlight of Friday was keeping the team awake long enough to go for a pizza dinner. That evening they ate the least food we saw them consume for the entire trip. Saturday evening we headed to the Rock Bar for our first wide awake group meal. The Sunday saw the group heading to The Hunter Valley where we discovered Nick talked even more after a session of wine tasting. Aside from vineyards the group visited an olive farm and a crazy golf centre.
Monday 28th July the group were up bright and early with bags packed to greet our CVA leaders Nicky and Matt. We were all convinced our luggage would never get into the trailer and we were right!!! A couple of members of the team watched in horror as their bags were loaded on top of the trailer, a canvas was soon added and our journey south to Woy Woy began. We arrived in one piece at The Australian Walkabout Centre our home for the next 5 days. Unfortunately the weather was against us, so we were unable to start work that day but we were taken on a tour which largely consisted of frightening the team-we are surprised any of them came back after the story about the brown snake which had been spotted on site.
The day got worse. After a quick shopping trip we headed to the La Salle Youth Camp where in the rain and cold our accommodation looked less than appealing. “Boxes” were how the group described their huts, but we quickly rearranged the team into 2 units and sourced heaters which made them more bearable. Of course by now we had heard from the Koalas who were in spider-ridden huts with no heating, so La Salle was almost The Hilton. The planned BBQ was cancelled due to the rain and the group enjoyed a warm pasta meal before heading back to their boxes for sleep.
Over the next few days the team worked in 2 groups clearing an aboriginal site and undertaking numerous track maintenance projects. Lunch was enjoyed every day on the veranda with our new friends UGG the Kangeroo and the mad Emus never far away. The group thought it was quite amusing that Nicky didn’t want to be separated from Ben, and Sarah’s team made fun of Ben about this at every opportunity. Sarah’s group also, after 2 mornings of track maintenance mounted a stand off with Matt and insisted on getting a shot at the aboriginal site. (we think the threat of stringing him up a tree may have helped!) Every evening the group was treated to a fantastic meal prepared by the team members with a little help from Ben and Sarah. A few members of our team did attract the mossies, but otherwise we were wildlife free.
A fantastic coastal walk broke up the work at the end of the week and taught one of our team members that it’s always a good idea to carry your inhaler on a long walk-mentioning no names-Sarah!!! We all walked “down by yur” and it was “fantastic” Ben was even taught some welsh by our giggly Welsh girls Gwenno and Bethan, albeit we still don’t know if the translation was totally kosher!! On the final night a special party was held to celebrate 10 years since Joshua asked Sarah to organize children from his oncology unit to go out for dinner. Emotional stories were shared by team members that made the team into a family.
With big smiles on their faces the group packed up from La Salle and headed to the bright lights of Sydney. We arrived en masse meeting up with the Koalas in front of the Sydney Central YHA. The rooms were allocated and both teams gathered together on the 1st floor for the first Joshua Foundation Sydney ‘Make your own pizza night’. The team members soon discovered the whereabouts of the Scubar and let their hair down after a week of successful conservation work. “Love was in the air” between certain unnamed individuals which added to our resident couple Heledd and Ben ( Price Junior) who were still talking to each other after nearly 2 weeks on the trip. Of course Ben did point out that he learnt a long time ago to do as he was told. We all had a lie in the next day and headed to Darling Harbour where the shopaholics i.e The Colonel Frank Girls, began their hunt for genuine UGG boots, or as Ben would put them “ugly awful boots” Most of the team took a water taxi over to The Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay and were able to get their first fabulous pictures of the iconic Sydney skyline. We took the group to the food court at HayMarket for a cheap meal-Nick never got that ‘blummin Jacket Potato’!! The team then treated us to a night out at Scubar where gossip was rife. Georgina Beardmore was looking for that ‘blummin person’ who kept tapping her on the shoulder-but we never found him!!!!
Monday 4th August saw most of the team head to Manly- where they took our superb advice and visited the Max Brenner Chocolate shop. Dean learnt how to use a hug mug- quite an achievement for a boy from Newport. But the highlight of the day was the Oz Jet Boat Ride from Circular Quay out into the Harbour- By far the best Oz Jet experience of all time!! Despite us being given additional water proof gear, the entire team, including us, got totally soaking wet. Riding on the waves of other boats we were particularly proud of Sarah B who is scared of water. The group headed back to the YHA (well that is apart from us-we headed to the hairdressers!!) to get ready for a night at The Sydney Revolving Tower Restaurant.
The next day the group headed to Bondi Beach where Nick and Dean practiced their American Football skills and the rest of the group, like lunatics, swam in the sea and sunbathed. We were told it was “well cold”. Undercover work began with us booking a restaurant in Cockle Bay to celebrate Victoria’s 18th Birthday!! We all discovered that none of us would make decent spies- some of us were forced into a shop on George Street when we caught up with Victoria’s group-she didn’t know we were joining her for dinner. To her surprise we all greeted her and after a few tears a great evening was enjoyed by the entire group.
Team photographs, outside the opera house, managed to evade the later downpour and luckily team members used their common sense and used their Australian Cork Hats to protect them from the elements. The sunshine had returned in time for us to head towards the Bridge and as darkness fell we began another mile stone- the 1st Joshua Foundation Night Walk up The Sydney Harbour Bridge. What a fantastic experience to see the Opera House and Circular Quay lit up on a clear night.
Despite being under renovation the Sydney Jewish Museum welcomed us with open arms for a visit. David Benedicto, an 88 year old Holocaust Survivor from Czechoslovakia shared his personal story with us which put into perspective any of the harsh experiences encountered by the groups whilst in Australia. Having seen his parents gassed in a mobile gas van he went on to survive numerous camps and eventually made his home in Australia. What an inspiring story!!
A storm descended on Sydney on the afternoon of our last day producing a spectacular thunder and lightening display. Luckily the storm had passed in time for us to board the Sydney 2000 cruise liner for our last evening together as Skippies. The team started the evening at a trendy bar in Kings Wharf where a couple of cocktails were consumed. We boarded the boat and set sail at 7.30pm. What a fantastic evening was had by the group. A dinner of chicken or pasta and chocolate brownies was washed down with the “skippies choir” singing songs from every era- even Ben treated us to a rendition of an old Italian Folk song. The group ended up clearing the room and we all took to the dance floor to the tunes of Abba. We re-docked at 10pm and the team continued to party at Scubar.
Friday 8th August marked a sad day for the Skippy team as it was time for us all to say our goodbyes. The entire team were staying out in Australia, so some left to join family and friends in the Sydney area whilst others caught the bus to the airport to fly to different locations in Australia.
The 2 of us would like to say a very big thank you to the entire Skippy team for making these last few weeks a real experience. We consider all of you to have become friends and we hope that these friendships will continue for many years.
The best of luck to everyone. Remember by taking chances and embracing adventures we enrich our lives and the lives of others. You have certainly enriched ours.
Sarah and Ben xx