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April 1, Recap

Thu, 02 Apr 2015 02:43:02 GMT

April 1
Although our official trip was over yesterday, many have stayed on in Melbourne to enjoy the many sights and the beautiful warm weather. Our hotel could not have been more centrally located. Just a few steps from the door is a restaurant alley with 10-12 establishments, most with outside tables and chairs. It is a very lively place most of the day and into the evening.
Reflecting back on our time in Australia, we have experienced a variety of weather. We started our first exchange in a wind and rain storm and arrived in Melbourne on a balmy, still, autumn day. While acknowledging the weather for proper clothing, it certainly did not hamper our activity.
I find it really difficult to single out the best experiences, as so many were memorable. As always, the time spent with the members of the host clubs was the most rewarding. In the Blue Mountains the spectacular scenery was the star attraction. Every day's activity was an outdoor adventure for the most part.
Our short time in Adelaide was only enough to give our ambassadors a taste of all the delights the city has to offer.
The Blue Lake and the surrounding volcanic geology stood out in Mount Gambier. For an area with seemingly not much to offer, we were pleasantly surprised by these "country folk." The mayor's reception and media coverage greatly contributed to our enjoyment of the visit.
While we had our physical ailments during the trip, requiring 3 emergency room visits and a doctor visit, most were able to fully participate in each day's activities. Precautionary measures contained a cold bug to 2 members. The host EDs did not fare so well. Geoff in the Blue Mountains suffered an attack of salmonella, sidelining him for a couple of days; and Doreen in Mount Gambier was hospitalised throughout our visit.
Once again we ate our way through the exchanges with brekkie and lunch, and morning, afternoon and evening tea. We learned a whole other English language. Helen's lively word games and creative song writing, with our singing, along with Richard's observations, regaled both clubs at our farewell evenings. Many enjoyed our rambunctious behaviour, I reckon.

Overall it was a great experience.

Last day

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:45:34 GMT

Many of our group are departing today, Patty & Sheila early this morning, others staying on an extra 1-3 days in Melbourne. This city has so much to do and see. Helen & Pat did a self tour of St. Paul's Cathedral, a Gothic Church that will remind you of a Harry Potter movie. We also visited the Immigration Museum, a wonderful museum, that explores Australian history and current efforts of inclusiveness. We still have 2 more days here for the Botanical Gardens, Old Melbourne Goal, Lane Art that includes decorative walls and dumpsters don't call it graffiti. Pat M

Great Ocean Road Last Day/Port Campbell to Melbourne

Mon, 30 Mar 2015 18:17:55 GMT

We began our journey at 6:30 a.m. for the final day on The Great Ocean Road. First stopped at Maits Rest for a walk on the Rainforest Boardwalk where we saw tall fern trees, some hundreds of years old. Next stopped at the Kennett River Car Park where our guide, Flick, gave some of us sunflower seeds to attract birds to eat out of our hands. Soon a Lorakeet landed on her hand, then a King Parrot landed in the hands of P.J., Sheila and me! Also saw some koalas in the trees. We didn't want to leave, but had to get on our way. Had a brief photo stop at The Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch to honor the WWI returned soldiers who virtually carved their way through the mountains with picks and shovels to create this road. Road construction delayed us a bit for the final stretch to Melbourne which caused a bit of angst for 12 of us who were scheduled for the Little Penguin tour on Phillip Island leaving at 3:00 p.m. We made it with minutes to spare and had a great time seeing the world's smallest penguins make their way to shore to return to their burrows. Our bus driver first toured the island where we saw numerous swamp wallabies and Cape Barren geese. He also clued us on the following terms: garbo = garbage men; servo = service station; ambo = ambulance; brekki = breakfast; McDonalds = Macker (so, brekki at Macker = breakfast at McDonalds) and eski = Eskimo cooler. Great memories of great beaches along beautiful blue water and, of course, the gorgeous birds.

Great Ocean Road

Sun, 29 Mar 2015 21:54:38 GMT

Sapphire seas, turquoise surf, monoliths rising in the distance, stunning vistas AND the weather "fined up". All this was capped with pizza dinner and champagne toasts to the Twelelve Apostles. Not a day these 18 ambassadors will soon forget.

Mt. Gambier to Warnambool

Sun, 29 Mar 2015 05:00:00 GMT

Today, Saturday, we met at the Lady Nelson Ctr. to say a warm goodbye to our terrific Mt. Gambier hosts and new friends. We then boarded the Truely Tribal bus for our 3 day tour of the Great Ocean Road. Our driver, Flick, loaded our luggage in the trailer, and also brought a box of apples, pears and mandies (mandarins) for snacks for us. She gave us some background on Truely Tribal Tours which she owns with a partner, and also narrated about some of the countryside as she drove.

We stopped at Cape Bridgewater to see the seal colony. We hiked down a bluff to the dock where Daniel was ready with life jackets for us. We went in 2 groups into his red zodiac boat and had a fast, bumpy ride hitting the swells of the Southern Ocean but stayed fairly close to the cliffs. We saw Australian and New Zealand seals swimming, playing and showing off for us.

When both groups had hiked back up the cliff, Flick provided a picnic lunch for us.Then off to Tower Hill Conservation area where we walked around in this protected area to see koala's, emu's and later an echidna beside the road. On to Warnambool, to our very nice motel. We got settled in, then we walked to the Saltwater Bistro for a terrific dinner at the RSL (Retired Servicemens League). After that we went to an outdoor show which depicted a shipwreck. It was a nice day full of different views and experiences.

Our last day in Mount Gambier

Fri, 27 Mar 2015 21:00:06 GMT

Friday, March 27 was our free day in Mt. Gambier. Ray, Larry, Susan, and I spent the day together with Ross and Karen McGregor, our hosts. We started the day with the very informative Lady Nelson museum. It was 10 am when we got into the car and when we turned on the radio, we heard Marty being interviewed! She and the Mt. Gambier ED Lynn were chatting with the local ABC radio person. ABC is Australian Broadcasting Corp. and is equivalent to our NPR. Marty was very good, both interesting and composed. Good job Marty! Then we drove a short distance to the Umpherston Sinkhole which is a deep open limestone cave which has had a beautiful garden planted in it, with the sides and bottom covered in cascading greenery and a small park in the center. Then, after watching the city's video about volcanoes, which was really well done, we all went out to the Coonawarra wine region for some very enjoyable wine tasting at Wynn's vineyards. We came home via Penola and walked through the very old original cottages on Petticoat Lane. We learned about one family, the Sharans, who built and lived in them, raising 15 children there. We ended the day with all of our friends at the farewell dinner. We learned that many of us went to see the tree carvings that day. The food was great, we entertained them and had lots of fun, but it was very hard to say good bye after a wonderful week with the Mount Gambier FF club.

Penola and surrounds

Fri, 27 Mar 2015 04:10:47 GMT

The day was cold and windy with periods of sunshine and rain showers. We travelled about 50 km (32 mi) by multi-car caravan to the city of Penola information center and local museum, at the Coonawara wine district (considered the NEW best red wine region of South Australia -- confirmed later at dinner with a Majella cabernet/shiraz "The Musician", shared with our delightful hosts). The day was filled with visiting a private Tractor Museum, the city Train Station museum, and art galleries: a "lino" print artist, a glass artist, and well-known family of painters. We were provided with a beautiful luncheon at the Fire Brigade Station by the women's auxiliary. The evening was left open and many members took their hosts to dinner.

Glenelg River and other experiences

Thu, 26 Mar 2015 06:48:17 GMT

We woke up this morning to our pictures in the local newspaper, The Border Watch. Friendship Force received a full page of our activities, the mayoral reception and some history of Friendship Force. Bob and Marty actually made the front page too from a photo op earlier planting the Golden Celebration Rose in the Friendship Force Garden.

A cruise up and down the Glenelg River was the mornings activity. We cruised from South Australia into Victoria back and forth. The Captain of the boat provided us with a narrative of the history of the river, some interesting statistics and described the "shacks" along the river and the rules governing their usage, which does differ some between the two States. They stay within families and must be removed when the last person within a family "moves on". Families generally can not live in these for any length of time, but certainly can enjoy the fishing and comradeship that goes along with a waters edge view. The boat owners provided us with a lovely lunch, tea and desserts, of course!

We were then free to tour on our own with our hosts and sightsee the area. Of particular interest was Piccaninnie Ponds where the water bubbles up from underground continually and eventually flows into the sea. The sand is fine and extremely soft - Nothing like any of ours at home. We then continued on to Port McDonnell for a lovely dinner at our hosts beach home. There are not enough words to describe this unusual, creative and magnificent home. We dined on a glass table top that had been placed on top of a 20 foot sail boat in the middle of the room. This boat had been sailed competitively by their son and was now no longer sea worthy. The chairs around it made the entire scene look like the railing around the boat. The table seats easily 18 and more could be added. The dinner of course was superb as our hostess is an excellent chef! Gail and Dick Bird and their hosts joined us and provided the entrée of Cray fish, (lobster) as a special treat. The entire meal was thoroughly enjoyed by all. A wonderful evening.

(Written by Bob Ghiglieri's personal Executive Secretary)

Tuesday, March 24

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 10:30:18 GMT

We started the day at the Tantanoola Caves, which are situated halfway between Millicent and Mount Gambier. Although much smaller than the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains, the cavern is quite large and has a beautiful array of stalactites, stalagmites, columns and shawls. These are all formed from mineralised pink and brown limestone called dolomite, quite awe-inspiring.

Our next stop was in the town of Millicent at its museum. We were given a printed layout of the living history museum to guide our way through on our own. The exhibits included a locomotive, many wagons and horse drawn vehicles of the period (mid 1800s mostly) and the implements used at the time. A Maritime Room described many shipwrecks of the era, especially the "Geltwood", wrecked in 1876 with artifacts found as late as the 1980s along the beaches. The Helen Hughes clothing collection showed how fashions changed through the decades of the 1800s and 1900s, very interesting.

After a somewhat wet and cold, but welcome, outdoor picnic provided by our hosts, we were on our own with our individual hosts to drive on for some sightseeing. Patty and I with our hostess Leonie, drove through the pretty town of Southend and on th Bridgeport. After a coffee at a local cafe, we enjoyed watching the waves, gulls and boats floating on the sea.

Then we returned home to Leonie's farmhouse, where she had to feed her "crooks" (chickens). Later we to Leonie to dinner at the Western Tavern where the food was excellent, including the home-cooked vegetables.

Sheila Bruton

(Helen, Linda, Ken and I went 4-wheeling with the Mellor's hosts to Lake George. Quite an experience! We saw hundreds of black swans where the fresh water comes bubbling up into the coastal lake. At times the shoreline was totally black with their bodies. -Marty)

Welcome to Mt. Gambier

Mon, 23 Mar 2015 11:51:38 GMT

This afternoon we were officially welcomed to South Australia's second largest city. Mayor Andrew Lee helped plant a rose in the Friendship Force Garden to commemorate our visit. The mayor, in his fur trimmed red robe joined our ED, Marty McKnew in some comments about our respective cities. We then took a seriesof photos with the mayor in the council chambers. Afternoon tea capped the event. Earlier in the day we toured Blue Lake, famous for its vibrant color and its location in the crater of a volcano. It is also the source of the area's drinking water. Our visit also included a beautiful older building that contained modern equipment to monitor and pump the water.

From Adelaide to Mount Gambier

Mon, 23 Mar 2015 02:51:09 GMT

Getting from Adelaide to Mount Gambier took eight hours, but our energetic guide/driver, Flick, of Truely Tribal Tours made it an interesting day. Our first stop was for wine tasting at the Bremerton Winery. They offered a variety of wines, and the balmy weather added to our enjoyment. At Wellington we crossed the Murray River on a ferry, giving us a chance to walk onto the ferry and see the river up close. Along the way the landscape changed from rolling hills to flat rangeland peppered with sheep, goats, and cattle. We had our picnic lunch on the shore of Lake Albert. We even made a brief photo stop at The Big Lobster, a roadside oddity 17 meters high, weighing four tons. On our arrival at Mount Gambier the club members welcomed us and took us to the Masonic Hall for a potluck dinner an a really warm welcome. I was glad to once again see the two club members I had met on the Semester at Sea Baltic cruise last May.

Day_8

Sun, 22 Mar 2015 22:32:00 GMT

March 21 Blog Entry - Ray Missman

Today we were all released on good behavior upon the City of Adelaide.
PJ and I took the electric train in to town with our host Sue RobillIard. We happened to get in the same train car as Bob and Pat Gigliari so we toured Adelaide together.
We saw the Adelaide Oval (very modern but with the famous old Victorian era scoreboard), the casino, the Market, Rundle Mall (pedestrian street, lots of buskers - one being filmed for evening news).
We then walked over to the 150-year-old Botanical Garden and ate lunch at the outdoor cafe. A Pacific Black Duck clearly could not read the sign "DO NOT FEED THE DUCKS" - because he stuck his head up between my legs to beg for food.
We finished our walkabout with a guided tour of the South Australia Museum: fossils from 3.5 billion years ago, almost the very earliest life on earth. Then Aboriginal culture, canoes, boomerangs... Opalized dinosaur skeleton, and a cloud chamber making cosmic rays visible - the Universe talking to us.

We all met in the evening with the Adelaide Club at the Royal Hotel - good food and good visiting.

Day 7

Sat, 21 Mar 2015 06:55:06 GMT

Today we left our new great friends, wonderful scenery, and continuous food in the Blue Mountains. We returned to Sydney and caught a two hour plus flight to Adelaide. The check in went smoothly as did transit through security except got those of us that have acquired some metal in their joints. The Adelaide hosts were waiting with signs so the match ups were easy and we all took off in different directions to make new friends and and have new experiences.

Real Day 7, March 19

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 13:13:46 GMT

today was a free day, so people did a variety of activities. The schedule item was the Darwin walk at Wentworth Falls some people did that walk while others participated in other hikes or went shopping. The following is my day:

We started the day with a leasurely breakfast, the laundry was then done so it could dry on the line during the day. Our goal for the day was to attend sites in the Lithgow area as a possible future a day trip for another exchange. First we visited at historic Presbyterian Church in Bowenfels. We then went into Lithgow to see the Hoskinn Memorial church and its beautiful grounds. Our next stop was small homes used by the Welsh miners at the vale of Clwydd. The site of the original steelworks in Australia was next. Part of the old blast furnace building is there with several signs explaining its history. We stopped at the pagoda sandstone outcroppings and took a short hike. After a stop at the post office and the chemist in Lithgow, we returned home for lunch. Following lunch it was back to nature and Hassan Walls Reserve at Bracey Lookout with expansive views and vistas of the area.

Packing for a Friday flight was the next tas. Items were placed in suitcases and weighed on scales.

The day ended with the farewell dinner at the grand new hotel in Wentworth Falls. Dinner was a choice of chicken or salmon with a desert of cheesecake or chocolate mousse. Each ED gave a talk about our week together. After dessert Richard Bird gave some comparisons of Australia and America. We then had two teams play a game making five letter words with five cards each containing two letters. The players had to arrange themselves in order as the Bigfoot story was read by Helen Flach. We each received a card with a photo of ourselves with our hosts and another whole group photo. The evening ended with a whole group holding hands in a circle of peace and singing.

By Nancy Sillwell

Day 6

Fri, 20 Mar 2015 00:57:43 GMT

This morning we met at Geoff's house to begin our activities. I had a day host from Sydney named Elizabeth Murray. We drove to Evans Lookout to observe a panoramic view. This was a new sight for me as it was a different valley. Some of the Sacramento Group took a walking tour from Evans's Lookout to our next stop at Garret's Leap. The entire group took a lot of photos of the mountains and Grose Valley. We returned to Blackheath Village to enjoy a coffee with our hosts. It was good to get to know these new friends. The coffee shop was an old movie theatre renovated with the lobby decorated with old movie posters around the walls. The auditorium was converted to an antique mall that we enjoyed browsing. We arrived at Anvil Rock and enjoyed the spectacular view. Again some of our group walked to a wind eroded cave. Our lunch at the Megalong tearooms was a nice respite. We ate in the shade with a cool breeze and within sight of grazing sheep.

Then we continued to a wine tasting. This was a disappointment to me. It appeared to be very disorganised and I found out the wine was bottled elsewhere. A delicious potluck dinner at our host's house with about 40 guests finished off the day with good food and conversation. Another outstanding day for the exchange.

By Cathy Ignatin

Day 5

Wed, 18 Mar 2015 10:57:37 GMT

Not green beer, but stalactites, stalagmites, columns, shawls, corals, and helictites. These were the words of the day on March 17 when we visited the magnificent Jenolan caves, the oldest dated show caves in the world. Following morning tea after our arrival at the caves, we took a self-guided tour of the majestic open caverns and passed by a beautiful blue lake surrounded by lush foliage. After a hearty lunch provided by our hosts, they guided us on a tour of the Orient Cave, one of the ten or eleven caves open for tours. We were treated with another delight when we stopped at Jenolan Cottages on our way back home to be entertained by a mob of kangaroos feeding in a field near a playground. Once "home" I found that my gracious host had replenished my chocolates, Elsa is well, happy, and waiting for her next find while my chocolates are securely stashed away.

Day 4

Tue, 17 Mar 2015 15:00:00 GMT

Monday, March 16: We had wonderful fall weather for our visit to Scenic World. We rode on the Scenic Railway, "the steepest passenger train in the world" & the Scenic Skyway, "the highest cable car in AU." Riding a gondola across the valley gave us a great view of The Three Sisters and Katoomba Falls.

Some of us enjoyed smoked salmon when we stopped for lunch in Katoomba. Then onto the Blue Mountain Culture Center where we were amazed at the outstanding interpretive exhibit of the Blue Mountains. From there we visited the art gallery adjoining their beautiful new library. A stop at Echo point for a group photo finished off our afternoon.

Many of us opted to have dinner at The Alex Hotel in Leura..Audrey brought home a doggy bag of leftovers, but when we entered the house and found that Elsa (the dog) had eaten all of Audrey's chocolates (a special gift from our host), she decided not to share the doggy bag.

Day 3

Mon, 16 Mar 2015 11:57:11 GMT

Day 3
The day was diverse with traveling along the ridge top of the Blue Mountains from the start at Hawkesbury Lookout to Tanglin Lodge Alpaca farm to the historic Ebenezer Church and ending, as a group, at the town of Windsor. We enjoyed a Devonshire tea with the alpaca hosts and a lunch of salads and BBQed (prize-winning) sausages provided by community members at Ebenezer. We were educated on the history of the man-made waterways far below the starting point Lookout, the detailed life of husbandry of the alpacas, and the amazing story of vision for a church and school in Australia by eight British families and their success in achieving it in 1809.
A day of cool weather, partly sunny skies, wonderful vistas, and interesting history.

Richard Bird

Gail@gailbird.com

Day 2 Brunch!

Sat, 14 Mar 2015 08:18:35 GMT

Our club members and home hosts were distributed amongst five (5) of the Blue Mountains Club members homes for a fabulous brunch. While each home may have served slightly different foods, each of us raved about the wonderful spread provided by the brunch hosts. Mimosa's seemed to be the common thread to start off what turned out to be about a 4 hour eating frenzy, wonderful conversation and getting to know other members of the Blue Mountain Club. Of course Friendship Force traditions were discussed and our club members were very impressed with this brunch activity; it will take the place of home hosted dinners this week and several of us think we would like to initiate a brunch activity in our upcoming exchanges.

We then each left the brunch homes and branched out on our own with our hosts. Reports back from the Ambassadors found them in multiple locations during the day.

a. A group visited the area of the intended picnic area of yesterday rainout

b. Several made visits to areas where we could look out onto the magnificent valleys and see the truly Blue Mountains.

c. Bird Watching and picture taking of course is a must.

d. Hiking was in order for one or two.

e. Stopping for tea of course!

f. Hydro Majestic, Medlow Bath upgrade and remodel, and were able to also observe a local wedding with a view of the Blue Mountains!

g. Botanical garden visit

h. Shopping! of course!

I. Church and then washing clothes

J. Wild Animal Park

A wonderful day and more to come!

Blue Mountains Arrival

Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:29:30 GMT

This Friday the Thirteenth was a lucky day for us.

Before ten o'clock, as rainfall peppered us in Sydney, we were on the bus to the Blue Mountains, accompanied by Colleen McCombie, president of the Blue Mountains Friendship Force club.

Plan A was to enjoy a welcome barbecue at the Wentworth Falls Lake. However, Mother Nature had other plans for us, and the continued rainfall compelled a switch to Plan B: a luncheon at the lovely home of ED Geoff Whitwell and Harry Baker. The Blue Mountains FF members quickly shifted gears to set up a delighful lunch, followed by a fascinating presentation by David Newton, an Aboriginal speaker, who shared some of Aboriginal language, history, customs, and--best of all-- the dance of his people. An introduction to the first peoples of Australia made this first day of our Australian visit one that will be hard to top.

Adventures in Australia

Tue, 10 Mar 2015 07:12:08 GMT

Today our hosts drove us down the South Coast to a parasailing park. Will post a few photos as soon as we figure out how! Also drove around expensive homes near their street, all over 1-3 million. Lots of vendors at parasailing park anxious for customers, but not us. Marty connected with a distant relative while we walked a very well done botanical gardens. Enjoying a quiet evening at home with our hosts. Actually not so quiet as we enjoy our host's company, pampering and Australian wines!

First day in Sydney

Mon, 09 Mar 2015 09:41:53 GMT

Perfect day in Sydney today. harbor cruise, Opera House tour, Queen Victoria Shopping Center. Many Americans on Harbor cruise, from Road Scholar. Efficient train travel and city bus too. Bob and Russ attend "Australian football" or Rugby league.

Australia Bound

Sat, 07 Mar 2015 04:30:30 GMT

Pat and Bob Ghiglieri and I are on our way. Spending one night in Honolulu, waiting for the fireworks on Waikiki Beach. On to Sydney tomorrow.

Australia Exchange

Mon, 16 Feb 2015 16:53:50 GMT

Our final planning meeting is over and soon we are off to the land of OZ for our great adventure. Our first meet up is March 13 10:00 AM at the Old Sydney Holiday Inn at the Rocks. Wear your club shirts.

Austalia blog

Mon, 12 Jan 2015 04:15:01 GMT

Welcome to the Australia exchange blog. Sacramento is traveling to The Blue Mountains, Adelaide and Mount Gambier Australia in March. Watch for more information.