Back home, but still Tassie-dreamin'

With our whirl-wind last days in Tasmania, return travel across the globe, and being thrust back into real life, it has been tough to find the time or words to put together an appropriate wrap-up post for our GSE adventure.  Certainly first and foremost, we want to thank our wonderful host Rotarians and new friends in Tasmania who invested so much time, energy, and enthusiasm in our GSE program.  It was truly amazing.  We also want to thank all Rotarians who support Foundation programs like GSE and make these global experiences possible.  And, of course, our deepest gratitude to Jill Zachary, GSE Coordinator for District 5580 and past GSE'er herself, and the entire GSE committee for your passion for GSE!

Ever since my first GSE experience as a team member to Sweden in 2000, I had hoped to one day lead a GSE team.  So to be selected to be part of Team Tasmania was a dream come true.  But I could not have hoped for or even imagined the five amazing individuals that would be also selected to travel to Tasmania.  Kathryn, Heather, Angil, Ashley, and Siobhan, I can't thank you enough for the grace, professionalism, enthusiasm, and spirit in which you represented Rotary, District 5580, and our team.

Although separated by great distances, we've already managed to "get together".  Via Skype, we were able to reunite and celebrate a couple of birthdays as well.  We all look forward to our continued new friendship.

Skype session screen-shot, July 9th

In addition to sharing a recap of our exchange with our local clubs, we look forward to our post-trip presentation at the next District Conference.  Look out Bemidji!  Team Tasmania will be back in April 2013!



Telecommunications Tassie-style

Our visit to Tasmania came at a time of great change and excitement concerning their broadband and telecommunications infrastructure.  The government is well underway on an aggressive $40 billion plan to provide broadband telecommunications to 100% of all Australia (12 Mb down/1 Mb up minimum for you techies).  The National Broadband Network (NBN) as it is called has aims to reach the entire country through fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite technologies by 2015!

I've had the wonderful opportunity to see NBN through many lenses while here.  I've spent very informative and full days with NBN themselves, with Telstra, the country's largest current provider of telecommunications who as you would expect has an interesting relationship with NBN, with Aurora Energy, whose telecommunications division drove some of the initial NBN launches.

Although there are a variety of opinions about spending $40B+ of taxpayer funds on such a project, there is no doubt that when completed, this will certainly set Australia apart from other large nations its size in terms of broadband capabilities.

Tasman Island Boat Cruise and Port Arthur Historical Convict Site

Today was fabulous!  We had an early start this morning to make it to the Tasman Island Cruise on time, but I think we all agree that it was definitely worth it!  Below are some of the picture highlights...

Then it was off to Port Arthur Historical Convict Site.  In the 1800's, the English shipped most of thier convicts to Tasmania, then known as "Van Diemen's Land".  The convicts ended up at Port Arthur for things like stealing a carrot or stealing a loaf of bread...pretty harmless crimes.  The convicts were stripped of all thier possesions, given a number and stuck in a cell.  They were not allowed to communicate to any other prisoner and were only able to talk to an officer when spoken to and were not allowed to use thier name, only thier number.  The only noises they heard most days were chains clanking and keys swinging from side to side as the general walked around the facility.  Some were required to do very hard, manual labor while in prison, and others were in solitary confinement for weeks on end or beaten up to 100 times a day.  The intellegent prisoners or perhaps those who had skills prior to enprisonment, left Port Arthur with skills in shoe-making or as a blacksmith, but it seems that this was the exception to the rule.  We couldn't help but pick up on the sadness and eirie feeling that surounded the entire grounds.  Even the trees seemed to weap for the prisoners who perished at Port Arthur, who no doubt were treated unfaily for their "crimes" and sentenced to years in prison.  Good, bad or ugly, the history of Port Arthur is still significant and should be told, as not to be repeated in future generations.  We would have loved to spend a bit more time at Port Arthur exploring all the buildings and reading the history, but perhaps we'll have to make another trip back.  Below are a couple of the beautiful pictures that encompass the Port Arthur Convict Site.

Yacht photos & video

Hollybank Treetops Adventure

A little catch-up from our zip line adventure from last Monday.  Hard to describe what it is like zipping along 30 meters up in the canopy of a giant gum tree forest and across a river.  A fantastic day for all!

Yachts & back to Hobart

We have spent the last 2 nights aboard yachts! We did some fantastic sight seeing with seals being the highlight. 12 foot waves were pretty fun too! There were 3 boats total that we were on and had some wonderful get others each night with fabulous meals, prepared by one of our wonderful hosts. Thanks again Jenny! We departed the yachts early this morning, earlier for some than others due to anchor issues, but no worries, we're all safe & sound. After some much needed showers, we headed to Parliment House, which is the government offices for a tour and a wonderful lunch. After that, we went to Incat, which is a ship building manufacturer. We had the opportunity to see a couple ships enduring the final touches of the manufacturing process. We all found this to be really interesting having just this morning departed yachts. It was a great informational activity. We were told that the only female bathrooms at Incat were under lock & key, so after a much needed bathroom stop, the team headed to meet our new hosts at the Hobart Rotary Club. Tomorrow bring the much anticipated Salamanca Market, which apparently is somewhat silimar to a farmer's market on steroids. We're all very excited to pick up any last minute gifts and souvenirs for our loved ones back home. Then it's off to MONA, which is the largest privately owned art collection in Tassie. The owner made his money gambling and this is his way of giving back to the community. We've been told by many different people to "go with an open mind". We'll let you know what they mean by that after we experience it. Tomorrow night we have a get together and modified short presentation to the Hobart club members with a dinner and socializing at Rotarian Sue Hickey's home. The people we have met and the places we've been are simply amazing. Reality is starting to sink in that we have less than a week left in this wonderful place. We definitely learn new things every day, however I have a feeling that this process will not fully sink in until after we return back home. It has been and will continue to be amazing...simply amazing. Our sincere thank you to everyone that has helped to make this experience possible.

Update from Launceston

After a wonderful mid-tour break at the beach, we have all settled in to our newest home in Launceston for a short 2-night stay.
We all enjoyed a vocational day today that had me over at the University of Tasmania's Simulation Centre where I learned a great deal and had an opportunity to toss around some best practices and new ideas with the manager of the centre. I look forward to sharing all of this great information with my colleagues back at Lakehead in Thunder Bay!!
We are off to a GSE alumni gathering this evening where we will have a chance to connect and share stories with the other GSE teams from, and visiting, Tasmania.
Tomorrow a.m. we are off on our 2 day/ 2 night yacht adventure (with the Rotary Club of Spring Bay) up the East Coast. We have been looking forward to this since we first received our itinerary. We hope to catch some fish and enjoy more views and peaceful ocean waves out at sea.
After that it is back down to Hobart!
Each day brings new people, new adventure, new lessons, and new inspiration!
As always, we are enjoying today and looking forward to tomorrow:)

Weekend update

We are back in Launceston after our midterm break at a "shack" on Greensbeach.  We have discovered a shack is an Aussie term for camp or cabin and is not actually a shack. We were at a beautiful beach house right on the ocean that belongs to  the GSE Coordinator for Launceston Central District (Thank you Felicity)! Nobody went hungry or froze either thanks to Angil's fire starting skills and Kathryn's hobby of being a gourmet chef. We spent the weekend relaxing, hiking, watching the Australian version of the voice etc. Some of us also went swimming but it was pretty cold and a long walk down with the tide being low.

Crepes with raspberries for breakfast

walking on Greensbeach

Today we went ziplining at Hollybank Tree Tops. It was amazing! Photos of that to follow. We also got to do more hiking in the afternoon.

Tomorrow we have another vocational day and I'm looking forward to visiting the Aged Care Assessment Team and inpatient rehab unit. 

Roughing it on midterm break

Winery Tour & Lunch at an internationally acclaimed golf course

We started off the day at Tamar Ridge Winery, which was recently bought by an Australian winery.  They had fabulous wines.  I think they would have been even better a little later in the day as we started the tour at 10am.  But you know what they say, you can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.   Just kidding, we didn't drink all day. :)  However, we had a packed day and had to start early in order to get it all in. 

Then we went on to Bay of Fires Winery, named after a Bay on the East Coast of Tasmania.  After the wineries, it was on to an internationally accaimed golf course called BarnBougle which is ranked number 29th in the world.  Not bad when you consider how many gold courses there are!  We had lunch and picked up some gifts for the golf lovers in our lives. 

Tomorrow should be an eventful day as well.  In the morning, we are touring the Australian Maritime Muesem and then it's on to the Queen Victoria Muesum and Art Gallery.  A walk to a Gorge follws lunch and then we're having a get together at Angil's host family's house. 

Friday brings our mid-tour break and we're all very much looking forward to relaxing at Green's Beach.  We hear it's pretty remote and the internet situation hasn't been confirmed yet, so we'll see when we get there.  Either way, relaxing with some good friends on a beautiful beach will be absolutely amazing.

Some pictures from our time in Northern Tasmania

 Cradle Mountain

Hike around Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain

Port Sorell - beach day

Aussie Rules Football - Go Hawks!!

Tamoo joining the cause 

(Devils are suffering from a cancerous facial tumour that is threatening the species. Extensive research and breeding programs are underway to save the Tasmanian Devil)

The team in Penguin (town name), located in the Northwest of Tasmania

Mole Creek Caves

Update on the last 2 days

Yesterday, we had a "free day" and we all did different things.  Angil and I went with my host mom, Avis to do some shopping.  Angil needed another suitcase because her's was 21 pounds overweight when she flew into Tasmania, resulting in some unwanted extra baggage charges.  The new case should allieviate that.  We also wanted to pick up some genuine Huon Pine items.  Huon Pine is only found in the Huon Valley region in Tasmania and no longer can be cut down.  Only the fallen Huon Pine trees can be used, making it very rare.  Our wonderful tour guide Avis took us to the best spot in Tassie in our opinion.  The store we went to had everything you could imagine made out of all different types of Tasmania woods.  We both stocked up on gifts.

Then, Avis took us to the Cherry Shed for lunch. The Cherry Shed grows heaps of cherries, makes all sorts of wines, liquors, jams, sauces, etc and they also have a fabulous restaurant attached.  We tried the signature cherry ice cream and I kid you not - it was absolutely the best ice cream I have ever had in my entire life!  Then we met up with Kathryn and her host Rockie, who were all golfing with my host dad, Peter.  We sat in the clubhouse and chatted it up for a bit.  Peter and Avis took me to the historical lighthouse in Devonport for a photo op and Kathryn and Rockie showed up! 

Later than night, we had a presentation at the Devonport Rotary Club, which is an all male club, although there were several women there that evening to view our presentation.  We think it might have been our best presentation yet.  I won a bottle of wine in their raffle that I plan on saving for our mid-tour break.  However, I also got fined for not being up to par on my Australian slang terms.  All in good fun.

Today, we all had vocational days.  I went to The Advoate Newspaper.  Kathryn, Heather and Siobhan went to Mercy Hospital.  Gary went to Telstra, which is Tasmania's main tele-communications provider.  Angil went to Meercroft & Karingal Nursing Home and Harvest Moon.

Tomorrow, we're headed to an Australian Football game, which is wildly different from American football.  The best way I can decribe it is a mix between our football and soccer - no padding, just fit men wearing tight shorts running all over the field.  Should be a fun time :)  Tomorrow night we have a get-together with our team and all the hosts at Siobhan's host family's house.  It should be a another fabulous day in Tassie!

First time touching the ocean

Post from Angil: I traveled three-quarters of a way around the world to touch the ocean at Shearwater, Tasmania, on Freer Beach. Beautiful day enjoying an afternoon at the ocean with my GSE team.

Latrobe and Cradle Mountain

The team is in Latrobe still, a small town surrounded by farm land. I am staying with Malcom and Mavis who have their own farm. I have attached a view from their front patio. If you look closely you can see the Ocean. 

Today the team drove to Cradle Mountain for a 7.5km hike around Dove Lake. It was beautiful. It was great to get out and get some excursive after all the food we had yesterday! The hike was definitely one of the many highlights so far. Believe it or not it was too cold to go swimming...even for our team's standards. 

Can you find us in the photo below? 

Update from Kathryn

After a full day of food adventures, I came home to the 3500 sq ft farmhouse I am staying in at present, to enjoy snacks in the "pub"- just one of the many rooms in this sprawling residence- followed by spaghetti bologonese with the most delicious Boundary Shiraz from Clare Valley region in Southern AUS. What a lovely way to wrap up a day! My host parents are spoiling me (as all host parents do) and my host dad drove me home in the TAS police cruiser (he is a policeman).  He is taking me golfing in Davenport on Thursday with another officer and the sargent, so I will be sure to be on my best behaviour!!
I will be rising at 7 am to help tend to the cattle and sheep on the farm before heading up Cradle Mountain with the girls (and Gary!) and our local friends/ guides.
The good news is we all have plenty of "reserve"nutrients after today, so should we enjoy the view and wish to camp out for a few days, or weeks, on the mountain top, we will be just fine...
Earlier today we also got to cuddle with a friendly and sleepy wombat- that was great.
The tasmanian devils feeding on some roadkill was a memorable experience- the audio was more disturbing than the visual, but again, we shall spare you the video footage for now, but it will surely be coming to a screen near you very soon!

An Eventful Day in Northern Tasmania

Today we went to Sheffield and saw some beautiful murals that the town copied from a Canadian town to enhance the tourism in the area.  Our Canadian teammates were proud of that :)

We also went to a wildlife park and got to see the wallabies in prime mating season.  I'll spare the x-rated wallaby pictures and video, but trust me, they're HILARIOUS!  bow-chica-bow-wow! I'm not sure if we have any underaged blog viewers, but we'll email them to you if you ask.  I (Ashley) also got a leech stuck onto both my ankles and now have an authentic leech bite souvenir to take back home with me.  I thought leeches only lived in and near lakes, but was horribly mistaken.

We went to this WONDERFUL raspberry farm/restaurant where they grown heaps (as the Australians would say) of raspberries and had lunch there.  We all tried something different, but most of their food and drinks have some sort of raspberry component.  We couldn't go to a raspberry place and not have dessert, so we shared a raspberry crepe with homemade raspberry ice cream and a chocolate raspberry mud pie.

We also went to Ashgrove Cheese where they are similar in that they milk their own cows, make milk and cheese.  Apparently their cheese is even exported to Wisconsin and if it's good enough for the cheese-heads, it's certainly good enough for us!  We had some samples and they was delicious!  There has already been talk of stocking up on it prior to our mid-term break.

Next, we went to Anvers Chocolates where they make everything you could ever imagine out of chocolate.  They claim to make the best hot chocolate in the world and i think we all agree that they are telling the truth there!  Fabulous hot chocolate!  They have cinnamon, Aztec spice, vanilla and traditional hot chocolates.

What a wonderful day!  Although with all that food and sampling, our walk at Cradle Mountain tomorrow is something we're looking forward to.

District 9830 Conference begins!

The team with District Governor Peter Murfett.

Gary with DG Peter Murfett and wife Colleen.

Official conference opening by the Honorable Peter Underwood, Governor of Tasmania

More conference activities tomorrow and the team's presentation!

Bonorong Wildlife Park

                      Ashley and Siobhan feeding some very enthusiastic wallabies

                              Wombat - who knew they were such quick little guys.

                                         Tasmanian devil ... Tamoo's Mother??

             Heather & "Bert" the Koala, we all crossed this one off of our bucket list today

                                          Kathryn and her Wallaby friends

Gary getting a close up  

                               
                                                          Angil and "Bert"