Friendship Force Varel in the „Outback”

The ambassadors from Friendship Force Varel gained only an insight of a very beautiful, enormously huge country and a continent full of contrasts during their 4 1/2 week exchange to Australia from October 28th until November 28th 2008.

One has to get accustomed to the immense distances as the territory of just West Australia is larger than Germany, Great Britain and Japan together.

Brisbane and Tweed Valley

The hosts from the Friendship Force Club Tweed Valley welcomed their guests from Varel at the Brisbane Airport and drove with them into the night to Tweed Valley for more than 1 1/2 hours.

Locations carrying names like Murrwillumbah or Toowoomba in this ever green landscape indicate the relationship to their natives, the Aborigines.

Cairns

The Barrier Reef that extends over 2000 km is already a breathtaking impression when looking at it from the airplane and it is totally overwhelming when viewing this at least partly untouched piece of nature from a close distance and from under water.

Sydney

The Olympic City 2000 is called one of the most beautiful cities of the world with its scenery determined by the Opera and the Harbourbridge. To cross the worldwide known bridge is a must for every visitor to Sidney, as it was for the group from Varel.

The Red Center

The Kings Canyon, located half way between Ayers Rock and Alice Springs nearly proved the travel group’s undoing due to heavy rain which in a short time flooded Kings Creek the only passage to their hotel.

The Alice Springs based „Royal Flying Doctor Service“provides medical service to patients spread of hundreds of thousands square-kilometres. The students of the “School of the Air” get to know their teachers and class mates mainly via their PC as the next door school friend lives 1500 km apart on a solitary cow station.

Perth

At this place the visitors from Varel were hosted by the local Friendship Force Cub. This town with over a million inhabitants is correctly regarded as a real contrast to Sidney. The port of Freemantle became an Eldorado for friends of all water sports after Australia has won the „America Cup“.

The delegation from Varel was welcomed very sincerely by the town’s young female Mayor, Lisa Scafifidi. They handed over the Crest of Varel along with the letter from the Mayor of Varel Gerd-Christian Wagner was and accepted a present from Perth to Varel.

Christmas Flair at the Singapore Airport		Sleeping bats at Uki, Tweed Valley		A parade of hats at the Farewell Party Tweed Valley
The Great Barrier Reef at Cairns		Javelin throwing demonstration		Friendship Force Varel Ambassadors at Sydney
A Red Wine at the Red Rock (Uluru)		What’s missing in a good friendship?		Reception by the female Mayor Mrs. Lisa Scaffidi at Perth
Spectacular Lightshow on Sentosa Island

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