2011 - New Kitten

Our new kitty cat added excitement to our day! We haven't decided on his name - but probably it will be "Scooter" because he scoots around the house - but it could be "Bleu" because he is a blue-gray Persian or it could be "Bleu-Scoot"!

At any rate, born 3/25/11,  he is now almost 7 months old.
 
Call or email to sign-up for your very own photo-shoot with the new kid in the house!

Homeward Bound

A total of four flights, two hotel stays, and two car trips transported us from Gold Coast to Punta Gorda. We flew the Smoochy Maroochy  to Sydney; the flight routine but the plane name memorable.  

American Friendship Force with some of the Tweed Valley hosts

Farewell to our Friendship Force Friends and to Australia

Diane and Joanne on the Tweed

All our Friendship Force friends cruised down the Tweed River on our last day here.  It was fun seeing the area from our favorite view - aboard a boat!  The Captain peppered the journey with interesting facts and stories about the area.  When we disembarked at the Village of Tumbulgum, we enjoyed a farewell lunch with the group. 

We didn't want the day to end, so Jim drove us to the Art Gallery to check out the local works.  It was sad to say "good-bye" to our Charlotte friends - but it helped that we agreed to stay in touch.  We returned to the Larkins for a fun evening BBQ of roast kangaroo, lamb chops and sausages.  It was their grand-daughter, Miranda's, 7th Birthday.  We got a taste of what it is to be a grand-parent - there was lots of birthday excitement opening the presents (Miranda got a drum set!!) - wow, that noise got our attention - and it was fun trying on her fake hair!  

This morning Helen & Jim drove us to the airport.  We had tears in our eyes hugging them goodbye.  We hope they will visit us in Florida - if not, we will try to see them when we return to Australia.  We've decided we have to come back.  There is more to see!  We'd like to take the train from Adelaide to Darwin with stops at Alice Springs and Ayer's Rock - and also visit Perth and the quaint town of Broome. 

We are in Syndey tonight and our plane leaves tomorrow afternoon.  We have a 14-hour flight to Los Angeles, a 3-hour layover, and then a flight across the country to Newark.  We'll spend the night there and then head off to Ft Myers where Bill will pick us up on Monday afternoon.

This adventure was just wonderful.  We highly recommend visiting Australia.  The people are THE BEST and adding the 2-week Friendship Force "home exchange" experience made it so special.  We'll never forget the kindness of the Casterton and Tweed Valley Groups.

We'd like to conclude our adventure with this Friendship Force Pledge that says it all about international travel:

As a member of Friendship Force, I recognize that I can make a difference.


I recognize that I have a mission.  That mission is to be a friend to the people of the world.


As I embark upon this adventure, I know that through my example to my own fellow citizens and the people of other nations, the course of Friendship, Love and Peace will be furthered.


I Can Make A Difference!

Friendship Force International

See you back in Florida....

Coolangatta - the Southern Gold Coast

Light House at Byron Bay

We've been delighted to stay in this magical Australian region called the Tweed.   It's spring here and we've been surprised to see some Florida-type foliage, i.e., the purple Jackaranda trees blooming.  Millions of years ago an ancient "shield" volcano,  erupted and as a result, a huge caldera formed that is the largest in the southern hemisphere.  In the center is Mt. Warning, which can be seen from just about anywhere in the area.  There is a flat fertile region of land where sugarcane is the major crop along with other fruits and vegetables.  Then, there are amazing rainforests that are World Heritage sites.  To top that off, there are tracks of highlands radiating out to give breathtaking views along with magnificent beaches with white sand.

We're so glad that the Friendship Force had a second home stay arranged for us in this magnificent area that is not always known to tourists.  The week has flown by with activities arranged for us daily. 

The Southern Gold Coast extends south from Coolangatta on the Queensland border beyond Byron Bay, the most eastern point in Australia. Helen drove us down where we visited a famous lighthouse and trecked down a gorgeous beachside trail with breathtaking views.  Yesterday, the highlight was a visit to Flaeys Fauna Park with lunch at the Currumbin Surf Club that overlooked the beach. 

It's interesting to see how important surfing and live guarding/saving is to the Australians.  They really stress safe water activities to their children and we saw many school groups having classes along the beach.  All the children have summer uniforms consisting of shorts and shirts with colors of their schools - and they are issued hats which must be worn in the sunshine. 

We were also surprised at how many people enjoy the sport of lawn bowling.  We were told that it is quite different from the Italian game of bocci ball.   There are lots of lawn bowling centers around with fancy clubs attached to them.  Everyone seems to be having a super time!

Tomorrow, we are scheduled for a boat trip on the Tweed River.  Never a dull moment for us!

Tweed Valley

,

Our hosts, Jim & Helen Larkin

We were met at the Gold Coast Airport by a delegation from the Tweed Valley Friendship Force at 8 p.m. on Saturday.  Our hosts, (see picture) Helen and Jim Larkin, drove us to their home in the hills of Terranora,  overlooking  a gorgeous coastal skyline.  They are lovely people, both retired, who are parents of 5 grown children (all sons!) and have 8 grandchildren and 3 step-grandchildren.  Since we've been here, there has been a whirlwind of activity.  Today, we toured, Natural Bridge, a world-heritage site in a gorgeous rainforest with a picnic of hot tea and pastries. 



Richard in the Tweed Valley



 Then, we rode to a farm in the valley for a lunch of prawns (AKA shrimp), chicken, crab, salads with lots of wine.  We stood in the bed of Doug's Ute (Farm Utility Truck) as he drove up and over the hilly acreage - a fabulous time.  Pictures to follow someday!

Great Ocean Road

After saying goodbye to our Casterton Friendship Force friends, we piled into a Kia van and drove down to the Great Ocean Road.  On the way we stopped at Wannon Falls for a look and at a Penshurst Tea Room dating back to 1864 for lunch.

Along the Great Ocean Road we stopped to view the cliffs  including the Tweleve Apostles.

  

We turned off the Ocean Road late in the day headed for a lighthouse that turned out to be closed by the time we arrived. However, driving along forested lane deep in the Otway National Forest we encountered  Koalas munching Eucalyptus leaves.

We stopped at Apollo Bay for the night before proceeding to the Mellbourne Airport for our flight to the Gold Coast the next day.

A Surprising Day

Wow - what a day!  This was supposed to be a "free" relaxing day, but it turned out to be such fun.

Our hosts decided to take us to visit Sue who runs a "boutique winnery" for lunch and a few sips of her cabernet sauvignon "Wando Lodge" label.  Then it was off for tea since no day here is complete without "a cuppa" tea and lots of delish desserts.  As we were getting ready to leave, one of the Aussies named Ken decided to invite us for a flight on his Cessna plane to Hamilton.  We said sure "no worries" - we would go and before we knew it, we were driven to the local airport.  We helped him push the 4-seater plane out of the shed and took off into the blue sky over the green farmland. 

It turned out that Ken just wanted to go for a spin to get some airplane fuel.  We landed and helped him fill up the 2 tanks and off we were!  We viewed a gorgeous waterfall over one of the rivers from the air and on the way back, buzzed the Mayor's house in Casterton. 

If that wasn't enough, the Casterton hosts were concerned that we had not seen enough kangaroos and wallabys "in the wild" bushland that surrounds their community.  So off we went!  We visited one of their friends, Tony, who owns a lot of land (they call the fields "paddocks").  Tony told us that we would have to wait until dusk for the  best chance to see the most animals.  So after some more wine, he loaded us into his 4-wheeler and off we went.  First, he took us to see some of his "Highlander" cattle.  They were gorgeous long haired creatures with horns. 

Next, he unlocked the gates of his paddocks and we cruised over uneven land over 4 foot thistle patches (that looked like spiney grass) in seach of "roos."  For some reason, the kangaroos were hiding.  After many paddocks, we spotted 3 huge Moms with Joeys in their pouches.  As we headed home, we saw quite a few more.  Tony drove the vehicle with one hand, while he shone a huge spotlight with the other.  As we were commenting on his driving prowness, oops, he got stuck in a bog.  He stepped out and sunk up to his ankles in the muck and headed back to his home to get a chain to pull us out.  No worries - again!   We were free with a great story to tell.  We went back for more wine and cuppas!   What a fun day!  It will be sad to leave this Casterton Bunch.  We feel like we've made so many friends.  These folks have gone over the top in hosting us and making us part of their community!

A Trip to Portland

After breakfast, Joanne and I hiked over the Glenelg River, just a few blocks from our B&B located on Clarke Street, to the pickup point for our mini bus ride to Portland.  John Carmichael, our sheep shearer, now turned into our bus driver for this trip to the largest town in the area.  I rode up front to get the best view of Glenelg Shire scenery and, hopefully, a kangaroo or two.   With sheep and cattle dotting its rolling green paddocks and red gum trees lining the roads, the shire is a beautiful part of Australia.  We passed through forests of blue gums and pines where kangaroos hide during the day.  Right on cue a small wallaby hopped across the roadside!


 Our host, Bruce Cross, wanted us to visit Portland since it is the seat of government of Glenelg Shire and is an interesting coastal city. We were so surprised when he greeted us in full Mayorial Dress (see picture above! double click to make them larger) and provided an overview of Australian politics.  It's interesting that only 3% of tax revenue is distributed to local government for all the road intrastructure and social service agencies. He explained that in his role of Mayor, he and Council also set the budget (this past year it was $40 million) and expenditures are under review by the federal government.  

Bruce was able to arrange for a special tour of a gannet colony.  These rare colorful sea birds have only recently established a colony on the Australian coast and visiting is allowed by special permission. We were able to get a close up view and meet the 2 dogs that guard them day and night from preditors like foxes that could harm them and destroy their nests. 

It was interesting to see a huge American-owned Alcoa aluminum operation in the town that provides substantial revenue to the area.  There is a large market for aluminum ignots that are shipped over to China for further processing.  Portland is not only a beautiful beach town, but also a major port for shipping the aluminum, timber (mostly red gum and pine chips) and other products to China and Malaysia.

Bruce showed us huge cannons that were built in the late 1800s to defend the coast against a threat from Russia.  I was amazed because I always thought Australia was too far away to be threatened by a country such as Russia!


It's surprising how grateful they still are to the U.S. I guess we were never told in our own American history how involved Australia was in World War II. It seems that all their men were in Europe and Great Britain refused to let them come back to defend their own country. I was told yesterday "the Japanese would have cooked their bacon" if it wasn't for the U.S. who sent their submarines and troops over here to save them from Japanese attack. Apparently, many Japanese subs were all over their coasts and even in Sydney Harbor.

Sheep on the Farm

Kelpies worked the sheep forcing them into a holding pens. From the pen the dogs encouraged the sheep to move down a narrow lane to a gate where sheep and lambs were sorted, lambs to the left; sheep to the right.
Earlier John, a local fatmer, sheared a sheep for us.  I have videos!  

After the sheep work, we hopped in the back of the fire truck for a ride around the farm.  BBQ & beer followed the truck ride. On the way to the farm we spotted emus in the Blue Gums.  On the way back we visited a nursery and planted a Friendship Force tree.  Much more to tell about this great day.      


Photos

Australia Bush Country - Casterton, Victoria

After a pleasant 5 hour train and bus journey, we were picked up in a town called Hamilton by members of the Casterton Friendship Force Club.  They drove us 20 minutes to the town center where 20 club members greeted us with gifts of tiny koala bears.

Our friends, Sue and Rob Linehan, introduced us to Friendship Force (FF) about a year ago.  The Southwest Florida Group is made up of ~100 members who are predominately located in Fort Myers, a 30-minute drive from our town of Punta Gorda.  FF formed in the mid 1970's by US President Jimmy Carter who wanted to promote world  peace and understanding. Today approximately 60 world countries on 6 different continents are involved with the group.  The group promotes world understanding by welcoming FF members into their  home to experience firsthand how they live.  This is called a "home exchange (AKA home stay)."  In our case, we joined a group from Charlotte, N.C. who were going to Australia.  Our first home stay location is Casterton in the Aust state of Victoria followed by a homestay in the Tweed Valley on the Gold Coast for the second week.

After our rousing welcome, we were guests of honor at a dinner at their local hospital.  We were touched when they presented us with an Australian flag and other gifts. 

Our home hosts, Janet and Bruce Cross, are prominent in their community.  Bruce is the Mayor of the Shire of Glenelg and has many responsibilities for the roads and community service organizations.  They renovated a property close to town into a Bed & Breakfast, where we are staying.

The past few days have been a whirlwind of activities.  Some of the highlights have been visiting the Carmichael Sheep Farm where we were guests at a tea, touring the local vineyards that are famous for their red wines, visiting the town of Penola (home of Australia's first saint), and having dinner at the Pub in the Shrub! 

Richard will be posting pictures soon.  Some Pictures from trip to Penola in state of South Ausltralia.  More to come.