Rotary
Friendship Exchange to Australia
By
Josey Jacobsen
Hart
and I returned home to Wyoming after spending an incredible three weeks in New
South Wales, Australia, during March and April this year. Neither of us had
been "down under" before, so when Hart read about this opportunity in
a Rotary newsletter last fall he felt we shouldn't pass it up.
We
and twelve other folks from District #5440 (Wyoming and Northern Colorado) flew
to Sydney on March 11. First we
had a fun two and a half days seeing the sights, attending plays at the
world-famous Sydney Opera House and visiting the Taronga Zoo (see photo). Then we took a short flight up to Coffs
Harbor, along the northeastern coast of NSW, where we were met by our first of
eight host families. What a great
bunch of people we met everywhere we went!
In
the first three coastal communities we visited, we were treated to walks and
even camel rides (see other photo) along pristine beaches, dolphin-watching
boat rides, and seeing koalas and feeding wallabies at a wildlife
preserve. Across the Great
Dividing Mountain Range we visited cattle, sheep and cotton-growing areas.
Easter
weekend found us in the outback town of Lightning Ridge, famous for its black
opal mining. Some in our group
took advantage of the opal shopping while the rest of us enjoyed soaking in the
hot artesian "bore baths" under the stars.
Aussies
have a great tradition of morning and afternoon teas, which seemed like two
extra meals to us. In each town we
visited we were treated (and fed) royally!
They
say that the best part of visiting a country is meeting its people. On our
Rotary Friendship Exchange we not only met them, but also stayed in their
homes, met their family and friends, and experienced their everyday life. We'd recommend it to every
Rotarian!
On
our last night in Armidale we had our final glimpse of the Southern Cross
constellation in the backyard of our hosts. We decided right then that we have to go back someday.
This
spring a group of Australians from district #9650 visited our Rotary district
and attended the district conference in Steamboat Springs, Colo., in early
June.
Those
traveling to Australia included Bill and Nancy Muldoon, Craig, Co; Connie and
Roger Harbert, Greeley, CO; Omnia El Hakim, Raju Jairam, and Mark and Pat Korb,
Fort Collins, CO; Vealess and Jenny Hudspeth, Cheyenne, WY; Dennis Lower and
Les Crawford, Casper, WY; and Hart and Josey Jacobsen, Lander, WY.
