Trips To Australia
2009 Koalas Trip
Woohoo!!! We all finally arrived at Heathrow airport on the 30 June 2009 to set off to Singapore and then on to Oz. There were lots of tired eyes before we even set foot onto an aircraft. Everyone was tired, but the journey began with the Koalas!!!!
In Singapore, we stayed at the Robertson Quay Hotel. The group enjoyed the roof top pool in particular, which was an ideal setting for the group to bond and to make firm friends.
Moving onto Wollongong, the YHA was an ideal setting for our experience. The location was good and had all the relevant facilities that the group required, such as the internet and a TV. The staff was very helpful and friendly and was happy to order a couple of pizzas in when the partying got too much!! On one night in Wollongong, we were able to take a short walk to the local Mexican restaurant, which was brilliant. Again, the staff were very helpful – even helpful on playing a couple of pranks on the boys, such as the cinnamon eating contest – which was very amusing.
From our fun and mischievous time in Wollongong, we then moved onto our more serious task in hand – helping to do some conservation work!! The Koalas were very excited about the 4 hour bus journey from Wollongong to Tidbinbilla, which was about 40 minute drive from Canberra. On arrival, we were shocked to learn that we had the whole education centre to ourselves, as well as the table tennis equipment!
The dorms were very clean and spacious, although they were quite cold, along with the showers!! The cold showers made sure that we were wide awake every morning! We were lucky enough to share the area with wild emu’s, kangaroos and wallabies, along with the beautifully coloured parrots that were flying around. We were even lucky (or unlucky!) enough to spot a Funnel Web Spider and experience a Python around our necks for those who dared!!
Our conservation work was very rewarding. The Koalas were split into smaller teams. Each did a number of different tasks throughout the week. The majority of hard work went into planting about 700 trees around the educational centre and the surrounding area, as well as cutting back bushes in certain locations, to ensure that bush fires are controlled within the Tidbinbilla Nature reserve.
Throughout the week, the CVA leaders were on hand to answer any queries and to show the group different areas of the reserve. The CVA leaders were extremely helpful and bonded with the Koalas. They were able to teach us the skills required to complete the conservation work, as well as showing us some cooking skills along the way too!!
In the evenings the Koalas had to occupy themselves, as we were quite away from anywhere, where we could spend our money! This gave us the perfect opportunity to get to know each other very well and of course the usual pranks were played, which kept us all entertained and on our toes!! The group was all keen to participate in the cooking and each cooking group came up trumps every evening with a lovely dinner, some of whom were very proud of their efforts!! All in all, a very successful week was had by everyone!
From Tidbinbilla, we eventually headed towards our final destination of Sydney. The YHA Central that we stayed in was lovely. It was close to all the amenities and had all the facilities that we needed.
Our first night in Sydney was the Tower Meal. The group all headed out, all dressed up and with anticipation of tasting the delights of the Australian cuisine. The food along with the views was amazing and everyone was in the party mood!! There were a few sore heads the next morning over breakfast!!
A real highlight was for all the group whilst in Sydney was the Sydney Bridge Climb. It was an experience that most people will not forget and the views were breathtaking. The climb was about 3 ½ hours long, but everyone agreed that it was worth the effort!!
One night, the YHA arranged for Stuart “the pizza man” to come and cook pizza for us. We even had free soft drinks! The staff were very helpful and friendly and always made sure that we had our room keys when we came back from a night out!
Also a real highlight was visit to the Jewish museum. The group was able to learn about the terrible years of the Second World War, the Holocaust and subsequently the fall of Hitler. This along with the visit to the Children’s Memorial was a very moving experience, which some of the group were deeply saddened by. This was a truly inspirational day!!
Our next visit was the Iconic Sydney Opera House. This world class venue would be the place of all the pictures that the group wanted to take! The Koalas were very excited about the fact they received a corked hat for the pictures, and that they were able to keep them!
Our last night in Sydney was spent having dinner as one large group on a river cruise boat, cruising around Darling Harbour and Circular Quay. The views, once again were breathtaking and the experience was great. It was a chance for the whole group to start saying their goodbyes and exchange each other’s email addresses and telephone numbers.
It was a long old journey back to the UK. Stopping in Singapore airport for a very long 9 hours, but incredibly, it seemed to go quite quickly as the majority of the Koalas slept at the airport. On arrival into the UK, everyone was very sad to be leaving each other. But with the help of a particular social networking website; no doubt a reunion will be on the cards before we know it!
What a trip!!! What a dream and what a fantastic group……
Best Wishes
Kerry & Richard x