Trips To Australia
2006 - The Wallabies
Setting off……
Some of team Wallaby met at Colston Hall in Bristol on an extremely sunny day, awaiting nervously to wave their parents good bye and finally begin ‘their trip of a lifetime’. The team leaders including me were probably the most apprehensive, having never done anything remotely as challenging or nerve racking before. Before too long the Oz kids wiped away their tears (no names mentioned) and looked forward to their 24 hour journey!! Oh the fun!!
We arrived at Heathrow to be greeted by the rest of ‘Team Wallaby’, admittedly the best team to ever take part in the Oz experience!!! At this point, smiling faces were dwindling as the reality of their onward journey hit home. The flight out was absolutely fantastic, and having never flown with Emirates before, we were all pleasantly surprised. Food was handed out like sweets and as was alchohol….much to the delight of Chris! You’ll be pleased to know that the entertainment system was out of this world. There was a choice of around 200 movies and every album you could think of, so you were completely occupied for the full 24 hour slog!!
Singapore
Well what can I say, apart from Singapore being one of the most amazing and cleanest places….EVER!! It’s quite surreal, as everyone speaks English, all the road signs were English and they drive on the left hand side. It was like being back at home but with Chinese people roaming the streets instead. That evening we lazed about on the roof top pool, where a certain Adrian took enjoyment from the kiddies slide!! We have photos to prove it! The temperature was scorching so for the rest of the time there we sunbathed and tried the local food, which consisted of fish, fish and more fish!!! Yum Yum!! Oh and as a reminder to all future kids travelling with us, please don’t do an Adrian and lose your passport, which resulted in Pat searching the hotel room all night whilst Adrian played on the kiddies slide!!! She was not impressed!!
Brisbane
Arriving in Brisbane was a welcome break from the journey, where we could finally put our heads down and get some much needed sleep. However in true sods law style, there was work in progress so we were disturbed by the sounds of drilling!! But, the show went on and the kids explored Brisbane. Before all this, we bombarded the woman at the youth hostels café with an order of 28 English breakfasts. At one point we all thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown! Hmmm think we’ll do that differently next time! Hope she’s recovered now!!
The highlight of our trip to Brisbane was the visit to the late Steve Irwins zoo. I don’t think we could shut Sara up for the entire journey there as she kept on declaring her undying love for the crocodile hunter. A great day was had by everyone, even though the weather wasn’t too kind. You’ve been warned that all of your spending money could suddenly disapear through the various photo opportunities with the animals form around the zoo. The Koala photo wins hands down!! It’s a must! We were unfortunate to not meet Steve as he was there the day before.
Kooralbyn
We were met in Brisbane by our CVA leaders, the wonderful Chris, Brian and Marion (who later became known as the crazy French woman). Chris stupidly made me chief navigator, which he sorely regretted after we got very lost!!! Sorry about that. Finally arrived at the resort, which in fairness, was one of the most beautiful places ever. However, it soon became apparent that we’d have to make our own fun out here in the sticks as there was not much to do apart from play with the sheep! Conservation work started the next morning, which was hard work but worthwhile. We got to climb mount Edwards and Mount Barney, replacing steps along the way to stop land slides. Once we eventually reached the top, after much moaning, crying and screaming at some points, the view was breathtaking and well worth the 4 hour vertical climb!! Only kidding!! It was only 3 and half hours!!
The week was spent getting up very early, much to the disappointment of Katrina and I, doing a day’s conservation, cooking tea for 30 people and collapsing into bed at around 9pm!! We were party animals as you can tell!! The final night came so we spent it doing a barn dance which was the most cheesiest yet funniest thing I’ve ever done. Imagine a group of around 50 people in a field with a man playing guitar and dancing like hyena’s on heat!! Well that’s what it was like!!
Sydney….Baby….yeah!!!
Although the trip so far had been amazing this was the piste de resistance!! This was for some people what Australia was all about and they weren’t disappointed. The youth hostel was in the heart of the city next to China town! The kids were left to their own devices and were told that if they did do anything illegal, we didn’t wanna know!!! Only joking of course!! Some of the kids were chosen to visit the Children’s cancer ward, which was one of the most rewarding yet upsetting experiences of their lives! It gave them the chance to put things into perspective and understand just how lucky they all were to be given this opportunity with the Joshua Foundation.
Thousands of pounds were spent in the many boutiques and surf shops around Sydney as well as in the infamous scubar pub just below the youth hostel!! We had to literally drag some of them home kicking and screaming, especially the night they got to spend dancing on the bar. I must admit, I did get everyone started on that idea so blame me! The next and final day was the visit to the Jewish museum, which was a very worthwhile trip! We spoke to a man who had experienced the horrors of the holocaust so we could understand the true plight of what these people went through!! I think Kleenex doubled in sales that day!
So then it was time to say our goodbyes and look forward to our flight home!! With bags bulging at the seams with all the pressies, and trousers pinching, after all the tim tam bars (best things ever), we were finally ready to go back home! The flight home seemed to last forever but before too long we were back at Colston Hall where the families eagerly awaited the safe return of their child!! So that was that, we as team leaders successfully managed to take the group out to Oz, have tonnes of fun in between and return them home safely!! Phew!! Never again!!!