Glen Innes
With so many activities packed into this incredible experience, the team sometimes finds it difficult to spend time on a computer!! The readers of this blog now include family and friends from a number of countries, and many of the new friends we've met here in Australia are following our adventures. Thank you to you all for your patience in waiting for the newest chapter in our stories.
We last left you with a brief summary of the changeover from the Grafton to Glen Innes Rotarians - Washpool National Park brought us some great memories, the chance to hike through a bit of bush, and leeches. (We'll refrain from posting pictures of the injuries.)
After a quiet evening at home with our host families, the next morning the team was off to another round of vocational visits. Larry, our resident "copper," was fortunate to observe some of the exercises taking place in Glen Innes that week for the national fire service. Mariel and Jennifer visited local schools, including the TAFE (very similar to a community college). Kristen got to visit the National Parks and Wildlife office. Our host Rotarians had done a great job setting up experiences for us to apply to our professions back home!
Our vocational visits were followed by an afternoon of learning about the past and present of Glen Innes. A traditional lunch at the Crofter's Cottage, on the grounds of Glen Innes' Standing Stones, was an opportunity to ask many questions about this town's Celtic heritage.
Off to the wool-sorting facility, where we learned about the new science now being applied to a long-standing agricultural tradition (shearing sheep for wool).
To add to an already full day, we then visited the Glen Innes Heritage House, a local museum that had been converted from the old hospital. For such a small town, this museum was packed with great information and history of the area, and we were given the VIP treatment during our introduction and Q & A with the mayor. (Sidenote: we are finding the Australian traditions of morning and afternoon tea to be quite enjoyable, though we are beginning to discuss diet plans for when we return home!)
That night, the Glen Innes Rotary Club held a lovely dinner for us, where we made our presentation, and were the recipients of a lovely presentation as well. Larry had been asking around for tips on finding R.M. Williams boots (a very Aussie footwear) at a reasonable price, so one of our hosts (Dutchy) graciously found him "half used boots for half price!" We suspect the boots are quite a bit more than half used, but the gesture was a great one and Larry continues to wear them.
The next day, Saturday, brought about an experience we'd wondered about ever since seeing it on the schedule a few months ago. "Fossicking?" we asked ourselves and each other....what could "fossicking" be? As it turns out, this is simply a term for an activity very similar to panning for gold. In this part of Australia, sapphires are fairly commonly found in streams and creeks, so there is much fun to be had in sifting through buckets of dirt, searching for that telltale blue gleam.
After a day of fossicking, a bush walk (thankfully, no leeches this time), and some time to enjoy each others' company, we headed off for another evening with our host families. The club and families let us enjoy a "lie in" the next morning (Aussie for "let's sleep in") before the team headed off to our rest day at a local motel.
We are very grateful to District 9460, the Glen Innes Rotary Club, District 5510, and everyone else who helped make our rest day on Sunday possible. We did indeed emerge well "rested."
Monday morning, we visited a cattle sale in Glen Innes - a first for all of the team members, although we come from a state with a strong history in cattle ranching - then made our way to a winery about an hour away for lunch with (as Jennifer liked to refer to him) "An-gel-O!" This team certainly embraces new experiences, among them the chance to snack on merlot grapes!
Our lunch at the Balladean Winery marked the handover to the Warwick (pronounced "war-ick") Sunrise Rotary Club, and again we found ourselves saying goodbye to a fantastic group of hosts. A common question during these goodbyes is becoming, "Will we see you at the District Conference?" and given the frequency with which the answer is "Yes!", the conference in Yamba (in a few short days!) promises to be a reunion of many friends we've met so far.
Next stop: Warwick....stay tuned!
We last left you with a brief summary of the changeover from the Grafton to Glen Innes Rotarians - Washpool National Park brought us some great memories, the chance to hike through a bit of bush, and leeches. (We'll refrain from posting pictures of the injuries.)
After a quiet evening at home with our host families, the next morning the team was off to another round of vocational visits. Larry, our resident "copper," was fortunate to observe some of the exercises taking place in Glen Innes that week for the national fire service. Mariel and Jennifer visited local schools, including the TAFE (very similar to a community college). Kristen got to visit the National Parks and Wildlife office. Our host Rotarians had done a great job setting up experiences for us to apply to our professions back home!
Our vocational visits were followed by an afternoon of learning about the past and present of Glen Innes. A traditional lunch at the Crofter's Cottage, on the grounds of Glen Innes' Standing Stones, was an opportunity to ask many questions about this town's Celtic heritage.
Off to the wool-sorting facility, where we learned about the new science now being applied to a long-standing agricultural tradition (shearing sheep for wool).
To add to an already full day, we then visited the Glen Innes Heritage House, a local museum that had been converted from the old hospital. For such a small town, this museum was packed with great information and history of the area, and we were given the VIP treatment during our introduction and Q & A with the mayor. (Sidenote: we are finding the Australian traditions of morning and afternoon tea to be quite enjoyable, though we are beginning to discuss diet plans for when we return home!)
That night, the Glen Innes Rotary Club held a lovely dinner for us, where we made our presentation, and were the recipients of a lovely presentation as well. Larry had been asking around for tips on finding R.M. Williams boots (a very Aussie footwear) at a reasonable price, so one of our hosts (Dutchy) graciously found him "half used boots for half price!" We suspect the boots are quite a bit more than half used, but the gesture was a great one and Larry continues to wear them.
The next day, Saturday, brought about an experience we'd wondered about ever since seeing it on the schedule a few months ago. "Fossicking?" we asked ourselves and each other....what could "fossicking" be? As it turns out, this is simply a term for an activity very similar to panning for gold. In this part of Australia, sapphires are fairly commonly found in streams and creeks, so there is much fun to be had in sifting through buckets of dirt, searching for that telltale blue gleam.
After a day of fossicking, a bush walk (thankfully, no leeches this time), and some time to enjoy each others' company, we headed off for another evening with our host families. The club and families let us enjoy a "lie in" the next morning (Aussie for "let's sleep in") before the team headed off to our rest day at a local motel.
We are very grateful to District 9460, the Glen Innes Rotary Club, District 5510, and everyone else who helped make our rest day on Sunday possible. We did indeed emerge well "rested."
Monday morning, we visited a cattle sale in Glen Innes - a first for all of the team members, although we come from a state with a strong history in cattle ranching - then made our way to a winery about an hour away for lunch with (as Jennifer liked to refer to him) "An-gel-O!" This team certainly embraces new experiences, among them the chance to snack on merlot grapes!
Our lunch at the Balladean Winery marked the handover to the Warwick (pronounced "war-ick") Sunrise Rotary Club, and again we found ourselves saying goodbye to a fantastic group of hosts. A common question during these goodbyes is becoming, "Will we see you at the District Conference?" and given the frequency with which the answer is "Yes!", the conference in Yamba (in a few short days!) promises to be a reunion of many friends we've met so far.
Next stop: Warwick....stay tuned!
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