Trips To Australia
2005 - The Koalas
The Koalas left for Heathrow with the Wombats on the morning of July 6th 2005. They were a team consisting of members from both Wales and the Heart of England regions. From Heathrow we travelled to Singapore. Although, we only had a short stop over here we did our best to experience Singapore’s cuisine, beaches, shops and sights. It is a city I think most of us will want to return to.
From here, the Koalas travelled to Melbourne. In Melbourne all the Koalas had the opportunity to visit the oncology ward at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital. This is an experience I think most of them will never forget. While we were there Oz members gave the children on the ward presents from back home. The children on the ward had been visited by Kylie Minogue the previous day. Somehow I don’t think we were quite as exciting but we did our best and after all it was a hard act to follow.
From here the Koalas wrapped up warm to enjoy to sights or should I say shops and markets of Melbourne. After a ride on the now infamous Puffing Billy we made our way to the Bass Coast to start the real work. Some of the group got to plant 9,000 trees in the mud while to rest of the group got to plant shrubs in Cranbourne Botanical Gardens. I think all the Koalas were exhausted by the end of the week but hopefully all will agree that this was the week that formed the lasting friendships of the trip. The group really gelled well while working together and heading back to Shiloh Ranch for evening campfires.
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Then it was off to Sydney! Well what can you say about that…shopping just about sums it up. I think all the Koalas would agree that they all had had an amazing time in Sydney. The Blue Mountains trip on our first day gave them all the opportunity to do a bush walk where they saw the most amazing scenery and had the opportunity to travel on the steepest land train in the world. After this, we went to the Sydney Jewish Museum where we were shown around by holocaust survivors. The next morning was the one most had been waiting for. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. Every one of the Koalas took part in this amazing three hour climb where they saw the most amazing views of Sydney Harbour. This was followed by a trip to Manly beach where of course lots of shopping took place. The trip was ended in style with a final evening with the Wombats in Sydney’s Hard Rock Café. A chance for everyone to get dressed up and have loads of fun.
After a quick trip to Bondi Beach in the morning, we made our way to Sydney airport ready to fly back home to the UK.
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