YEPPER - March 2012 - Rotary District 9650 Youth Exchange

2011 – 2012 INBOUNDERS
Peter Rasmussen Denmark RC of Port Macquarie Sunrise
Iida Lappäpuska Finland RC of Uralla
Jonas Fure Lind Norway RC of Coffs Harbour South
Tova Roos Sweden RC of Wauchope
Xenia Artho Switzerland RC of Bellingen
Edwing Herrera Garcia Mexico RC of Tamworth-on-Peel
Silvia Pacheco Patifio Mexico RC of Taree on Manning
Eve Priyapat Thailand RC of Coonabarabran
Katharina Haslinger Austria RC of Coffs Harbour
Amelia Prawda Germany RC of Walcha
Helene Winklmayr Austria RC of Port Macquarie west
Noémie Lambert Belgium RC of Narrabri
Mao Ohira Japan RC of Taree North
Elisaberth De Halleux Belgium RC of Woolgoolga
Josela Carrassco Argentina RC of Gloucester
Ana Sardinha Brazil RC of Gunnedah West
Joao Costa Brazil RC of Forster on Wallis
Emilie Butler Canada RC of Nambucca Heads
Takashi Oura Japan RC of Coffs of Coffs Harbour
2012 OUTBOUNDERS
Joshua Crompton Norway RC of Armidale AM
Kyanah Goggin Sweden RC of Wauchope
Rachel Hall Denmark RC of Woolgoolga
Larissa Hannan Switzerland RC of Port Macquarie Sunrise
Gemma Turner Estonia RC of Tamworth West
Kara Harrison Mexico RC of Walcha
Paul Harrison Argentina RC of Woolgoolga
Madeleine Healy Canada RC of Taree on Manning
Megan Miller Brazil RC of Uralla
Courtney Krahe France RC of Port Macquarie Sunrise
Imogen Morrissey Germany RC of Coonabarabran
Alex Payne Belgium RC of Taree North
Caitlin Sheridan France RC of Laurieton
Phoebe Pye Austria RC of Port Macquarie West

March! The most amazing month of the year! Why? Rotary Safari!
On the 15th we started our 3½ week safari trip around Australia. District 9650 started in Port and then
we went past Sydney to pick up the district from Tasmania and straight to Canberra after to meet the
last district and spend the first night. These were the other “new” exchange students we were going to
spend 3 weeks with and make hopefully everlasting overseas friendships.
The highlights of the trip were of course Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef, but there was heeeeaps of
other amazing place’s to make up the trip. We got to climb Uluru which was absolutely amazing
especially thinking about that it’s closed 90% of the time.
My favorite place of the trip was Cairns though. I looooved the tropics and the reef, and I was very sad
to leave to head south.
When we eventually had to finish the trip and go home, everyone was very sad and some people were
crying. It is really sad to make so many friends, just to split up with all of them again soon after.
Hopefully I’ll get to see some of them again one day.
I felt terribly lonely being totally by myself the days after we got home, because I was used to being
around people 24/7, so I was really happy to see all my friends back home in Port after some days.
I've actually been super busy since I returned from the trip. Because we have two weeks of holidays just
as I came home, I fast found heaps of stuff to do.
Sunday I went to my friend Oscar's 18th birthday and it was sooo good, to see all my friend again after 3
½ weeks of traveling.
Monday I went to my friend Braeden’s house. He lives around. 30 k’s from Port on a "little property" 14
hectares. We drove out and picked up Cameron who also lives out there but 20 km. Kind of next to
Rolland’s Plains where Braeden lives and then we went home to Braeden. The first evening we just
chilled, ate heaps of chips and watched movies, but the day after we got up early and quite impulsively,
we decided to go on an adventure in the mountains 1 hours drive from Braedens house. It’s amazing
how you can just take your 4wd car into the mountains and the bush in Australia. There’s just so much
space!
We first drove up on top of a small mountain and from there we drove to a semi-­‐large waterfall Braeden
said we should see. To get to the waterfall we had to walk 1½ km. And there it was, with a small creek
we could swim in. It was really nice but the water was freaking cold! But but but .... From the foot of the
small waterfall we could see another waterfall much further up and we decided to get up there!
So we walked around and up the side of the small waterfall. It became a bit of a bush walk because we
had to go through the rainforest, large stones, and dense trees. We had to find the way our selves and
there was no trail to walk on. But after 45 minutes of hard work we were finally at the top of the small
waterfall, and there flowed a small river from the big waterfall, which was huge! much bigger than we
first thought.
It was really just totally awesome and a bit of an adventure we had gone on to, and there were no
people what so ever! Just rainforest, waterfalls and singing birds. We spent an hour at the waterfall, just
taking pictures and enjoying life! It was so amazing!
On the way home we decided to take a different route home, a 4wd route. There wasn’t much 4wd.

about it, but it was very nice to be in Braedens all-­‐wheel drive Honda, and it was super cool to drive
through the bush and around the mountains.
When we came back, Cameron went home and another of our friends (another Cameron) came instead.
He brought Dominoes pizza and then we spent the evening again, just chilling, listen to music and watch
movies, Sooo Chilll! I love it!
When I got back home again, I spent the day surfing which was so nice! First time in 3 weeks so I was
pretty keen to get in the water again.
Today I went with my friend Jordy, out horse riding on her property... It was so cool! Doing real Aussie
stuff. She has a 600 hectares large property.. As you do, when you live in Australia, casually. On the
property was a large river, horses, an ATV and lots of cows. So we rode around the property for around
an hour and I really enjoyed it. Australia is really such a great place!
Peter is hosted by the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise

Hello all my loves!
Hopefully everyone has recovered from the safari and settled in back their normal
exchange life. :)
I wrote my last report just before the big safari, so now I have to tell about it! The
whole three weeks were absolutely the best weeks of my whole year and probably my
whole life! The whole experience was so great! So anyway, for us the safari started from
Port Macquarie, where our district met and we travelled together down to Canberra. In
Canberra the whole safari group met and we spent the first night there. From Canberra
we started to head down to Melbourne, on the way we stayed in place called Bendigo
which was a gold mining town, and we visited an old mine, it was so interesting to see
how it all worked! When we got to Melbourne, it was the same weekend as the F1 race
was there, so the whole city was full of fans. We had one day free time in the city and
we spent it just going around and seeing a couple of places, such a nice day! From
Melbourne we went to see the Great Ocean Road and the 12 apostles, they were so
beautiful! Such an amazing view! After Melbourne and the 12 Apostles we were slowly
starting to head up to central Australia. The way there was so long, I couldn't believe
how long distances we drove! After many days driving in the bus we were finally on the
top of Uluru! It was such a great feeling when we got to the top, the climbing was so
exhausting and tiring, but when we finally got there it was so beautiful! We stayed in
Alice Springs a couple of nights and then we flew to tropical Cairns. Can't believe how
different it was, one and an half hours in the plane and we were in tropics, so humid
and different! In Cairns we went to see waterfalls and rainforests. The second day in
Cairns was one of the highlights of the whole trip, we went to see the Great Barrier
Reef! We had a day at the reef, scuba diving and snorkeling, it was so amazing!!! From
Cairns we went to Airlie Beach and there we did ocean rafting and visited Whitsunday
Islands. The beach what we saw there was like a paradise, I couldn't believe I was
there! So relaxing and a nice day. Next highlight of the trip was Byron Bay, which was
an awesome little surf town, full of hippies and surfers, the place was so great! So
chilled and cool! There we had a surfing lesson and free time in the town. From Byron
Bay we drove to Sydney, that was so long day in the bus! We had two nights in Sydney
and one day free time, it was the Good Friday so the whole city was shut, that was so
weird to see Sydney that empty! Anyway that was the whole safari roughly, the best
time ever!!!! Loved it!

G’day mates! What an amazing month, I don’t know where to start. The “rock to reef” tour with a
bus filled with other exchange student’s it was so awesome! I had the time of my life.
Our trip started in Port Macquarie with only students from 9650 on the bus, that soon changed
and we met friends we will have for life. At Sydney airport we picked up D9830 and in Canberra
we picked up D9710.
After a long trip we arrived in Bendigo which is an old mining town and we actually went down
one of the mines. After this we went to Melbourne which is a very big city and we had free time
to do shopping and that kind of stuff. After a couple of days we went to Coober Pedy and learned
heaps of stuff about Australian Opal. Curtin Springs and Ayers Rocks were next, climbing the
amazing Uluru/Ayers Rock and had a fantastic couple of days there.
At this stage of the tour we were all friends and enjoyed each other’s company, even after so
many hours on the bus we still managed to stay calm and have a friendly tone, not many were
grumpy.
Arriving in Cairns was a huge contrast from the very dry inland country. Wet rainforest and
ocean was something we haven’t seen in a while!
At Cairns we scuba dived and snorkeled around and in The Great Barrier Reef for a whole day.
After this we went and did even MORE snorkeling close to Whitsunday Island! The Whitehaven
Beach an incredible beach...
When we had been wet for a while it was time to drop in to one of the old beef farms in Australia.
At “The Old Station” I managed to whip myself on the back… that was pretty painful!
Sunshine coast and the theme park Dream World was a very joyful day. We all had heaps fun!
This was the “start of the end of the trip” heading down to Sydney we all realized that the dream
was about to end.
Cruising around Sydney and Bondi Beach was just wonderful and staying at the YHA we met
heaps of people and really had some good days together. Good leaders and crew made the
enjoyment even better!
I don’t regret a cent of the money that got spent on the Safari. Such an amazing adventure…
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR MAKING THIS THE BEST THREE WEEKS OF MY LIFE!
lots of love..
Jonas is hosted by the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour South

Hi!
This month has by far been the best of my nine months in Australia! I’ve done so much amazing stuff and I’ve met
so many awesome new people from all over the world!
This great month started the day before the safari when me and my three best friends from school went in to Port
Macquarie to have dinner since I was going away for five weeks and wouldn’t see them for so long. We went to
Hogs Breath where we had a great big dinner and afterwards we bought the largest ice-­‐creams I’ve ever seen and
walked down near the water. We played in a playground for a while and I don’t think I’ve laughed so much for a
long time!
The morning after I headed off to go on the amazing safari! I spent 24 wonderful days travelling around Australia
with exchange students from all over the world and it was just amazing!
During these 24 days we drove 10,000km in a bus, climbed Uluru, walked in Kings Canyon, slept under the stars,
shopped in Melbourne, shopped in Adelaide, scuba-­‐dived in the Great Barrier Reef, went to Dreamworld, flew in
a helicopter over the 12 apostles, rode on camels, held a olive python snake, slept underground, went in to a
goldmine and a opal mine, slept in a gaol, went ocean-­‐rafting in the Whitsundays, visited the Royal Flying Doctors,
slept in the Old Station, had surf lessons in Byron Bay, dressed the boys as girls, saw a didgeridoo show and swam
in a waterfall. We did so much in such a short time and now I think we’ve seen more of Australia than most of the
people who actually live here!
My favourite parts were: climbing Uluru, scuba-­‐diving in the Great Barrier Reef and ocean-­‐rafting in the
Whitsundays!
Uluru was one of the favourites because it was so massive! You really don’t realise how big it is until you’re
actually there! And because I’m scared of heights but I still made it all the way up!!
The scuba-­‐diving was just amazing! We spent the whole day on a boat in the ocean. If we weren’t diving or
snorkelling we were chilling in the sun on the boat. It was an awesome day!
The ocean-­‐rafting was probably my favourite, I think. We were out all day and we started off with some rafting
and then snorkelling again. The best part of the day though was the Whitehaven Beach! It was no doubt the
whitest beach I’ve ever seen and the water was so warm and nice! The weather was so good and I think everyone
loved just chilling there!
Everything we did during the trip was so good except saying goodbye… We’d only known each other for about
three weeks most of us, but we’d done so much together and been with each other day and night for 24 days so it
was really sad to say goodbye, especially since you know that you will probably never see some of these
wonderful persons again. Almost everyone cried and I don’t think anyone wanted the safari to end!
It’s now gone a week since we said goodbye and this week I’ve spent with my family who’s here from Sweden to
visit me! It is my Mum, my Dad, my sister, my brother and my boyfriend who are here and it is so good seeing
them again! It is a bit weird though because I can’t speak Swedish anymore, haha… I have to think about what I
say otherwise it just comes out in English!
During the week we’ve met all my host families, spent some time on the beach, looked around Wauchope and
now we’re in Cairns for a while!
I really can’t believe that the safari is already over and that my family are here already. Everything goes way to
fast! I’ve been in Australia for nine months today; my year is almost over…

Love Tova ♥
(ps. I don’t have any pictures on the computer yet since I haven’t been at home)
Tova is hosted by the Rotary Club of Wauchope

Before I start to write about last month, I want to tell you that I’m sitting here
with tracksuit pants, jumper and scarf and I’m still freezing (photo!)! Hello,
where is Australia’s warm, no hot weather?
Anyway I stop complaining because I had an absolutely amazing month!
Straight after the last Yepper was the District Conference in Inverell. I was
looking forward to meet the new exchangers and see my loved old ones again.
J�
On Thursday the 8 th of March I got picked up from School to go to Urunga. I
stayed the night with the McMahons and Emilie because we had to leave early in the morning the next day.
On Friday we picked up Sophie from Dorrigo, she will be my next host sister. J� Poor Kevin was in the car with
Emilie, Kate (Rebounder from Japan), Sophie (Rebounder from Belgium) an me for the whole way until Inverell.
And there I got picked up by my host Mum for the weekend. We just ate lunch together with her best friend and
then I went off with Edi, Jonas and Noémi sapphire seeking. J� Haha it was funny because it was a spontaneous
decision that I participate on this excursion I was a little bit wrong dressed, and so I got the one or other strange
look :P but I had too much fun to care about stuff like this. J�
I had a really lovely host family for this weekend and I want to say thank you to the Cambrells! They even took
Elisabeth, Helene and me with their youth group out for Inline skating in Glen Innes. J�
Yes, the rest of the conference was good but not really exciting.
I came home on Sunday and on Monday I went to Coffs Harbour with Emilie to say good bye to Tak…
It was sad to let him go…I was shivering and I felt like I had to go home, was a really weird feeling which didn’t
disappear until the next day…
It made *zish* and the SAFARI was already knocking on the door! I couldn’t realise it because it seemed for 8
months soooo far away and all of a sudden it is here.
So on Wednesday I went with my blue bag to James and Diana and we drove, with Emilie in the car, to Port
Macquarie. J� And we drove to our host families for the night. Wow, Iida, Emilie and I stood in this massive house
with sea view. Haha and had so much fun with the host parents and their visitors. We laughed and talked and
sang and just had a ball. J�
The next day we got up and went on SAFARI! J�
The following 24 days went unbelievably fast! We had such a great time with all the other exchange students!
And we also were so lucky; we hadn’t had rain through the 3 weeks. Boah and we drove 10’000 k’s!! From now on
everything in Europe will be “around the corner” for me!
I guess all the others will write about the Safari so I don’t really need to write lots about it but I tell you what my
highlight were.
It was Cairns, we spent the best three days up there and the diving in the Great Barrier Reef was sooo good!
These were my best dives ever. I swam with sea turtles and had the most amazing time under water! J�
On the last day it was difficult to say goodbye, especially to the people from D9650. They are like family and I’m
still not aware that I won’t see them for a “little” while…
Back at my host family’s place. J� It was nice to be at home for a minute and have a real bed instead of bed rolls
and not have to eat out of plastic cutlery. But after a little while I missed all the other 40 exchangers around me,
talking, playing songs, singing, laughing and just be noisy. Maybe you can call it safarisickness (instead of
homesickness)… Lucky it was Easter the next day and I got over it with eating chocolate Easter bunnies and Easter
eggs. It was a lovely Easter! J�
As soon as the public holidays were over, the work started. I helped my host family build a shed. J� Ha, I even
drove a Tractor. J�

Wow, I filled a page and I’ve only told you a little tiny bit of what happened this month. It was simply the best
month I’ve ever had! (The evidence for it are all the “!”marks in this report! ;))
We went to a Didgeridoo show and they asked
me if I could come on stage and perform :)
Haha this man thought he would fit in the photo with his red shirt :P
MARCH 2012
Xenia is hosted by the Rotary Club of Bellingen

Hello All,
11.5 WEEKS IN DENMARK!
Only yesterday was I talking with my host Dad about how it is normal for me now to live here although everything
is still making me so tired!
I didn’t think this month had been that big really but then I read back on my blog and I can tell you – it was bigger
than I thought!
A bit of confusion at the start of the month with some people making some quiet interesting statements such as
“Australia is in the United Kingdom, yeah?” and someone from Australia asking “Denmark is in Germany, isn’t it?”
– Great geography! Also at the start of March – my lovely Aussie friend Morgan visited for the weekend! Was so
great to have an Aussie here and to show her my home! J� I spent Saturday showing her around town and then
we went to watch my host brother play football – his team isn’t the best, although maybe the best at throwing
tantrums?!
Thanks for staying Morgan!
Just school, school and school and then the following weekend I began with no plans in particular apart from a
Birthday dinner. A girl in my class turned 18 and she invited all the girls in our class to her house for dinner – so
lovely! I was then invited to my last host family’s house for Afternoon Tea on Saturday and then on Sunday I went
to a lady in my Rotary Clubs for Afternoon Tea also – one of her sons is in my class. Turned into a lovely weekend
J�
The next weekend – especially the 17 th of March – was so amazing and special! My host family decided to take me
to Germany for the day! Why Germany? Well, why not! My host Mum grew up in the North of Germany –
Schleswig and Flensburg. So odd for me that it was so simple to get there. Catch a ferry for an hour, drive for an
hour, than you’re in Schleswig J�
First stop was my host Mum’s parents’ graveyard – so meaningful, so peaceful, very beautiful place. Then we
parked the car and took a walk around seeing the old Fisherman’s Harbor – eating sausages at a German butcher
(it’s a family tradition for them!) – Then to the most amazing church I have ever seen! The Dome – nearly a
thousand years! So amazing J� Next stop – Flensburg! And might I add – driving on the Autobahn – so scary! In
Flensburg we walked the streets – did some shopping, saw another protest, Anti-­‐Nazi this time and walked
around the harbor J� OHHHHH, to pass time in the car – I learnt the Danish version of “Tie Me Kangaroo Down
Sport” – SO MUCH FUN! :D
Then a boy in my class turned 18 so I went to his birthday party – so very crazy indeed! I didn’t stay for as long as
everyone else – just long enough to have fun before everyone got annoying! As a class we all put in money and
bought him a PS3 and his reaction was so amazing! He was very very grateful! :D Also my host Mum went away
with work for a week to Jordan and she had a great time J�
Mor (Mum) returned from Jordan on Saturday the 31 st of March and dada! The next day was my birthday! Safe to
say it was an amazing day apart from the weather! :D Woken by the whole family + the cat + the next door
neighbour (my adopted brother – Asger) all came into my room with a zillion Danish flags, singing the birthday
song! Then I opened presents and then we went bowling in Svendborg!
When we came home we had Lagkage! (A Danish traditional birthday cake!) Specially made from my host Mum –
and it tasted delicious! Then followed by Mexican for dinner and a night on the sofa watching a Danish movie J�
The next day we went to an island off the coast of here called Ærø where my host Mum’s sister lives and had a
look around there. The island has about 5,000 people living on it and is about 40kms to drive around it! J� When

we came home from the Island my host aunty and her husband were here for dinner and then we went to the
Church for a concert which was amazing!
Yesterday for Good Friday I went to Odense with my little brother and my host Dad to watch a professional
football match! We watched Odense verse Horsens and what a match! My little host brother was Ball Boy for the
match and the weather was horrible! It rained majority of the time and the wind blew strong – the temperature
being about 3 degrees! Yes, I wore 5 layers of clothing and a blanket and was still cold! Discovered that I now
have a secret love for Football!
Hope all is well back home and you all have a safe and Happy Easter!
Vinker Farvel (wave goodbye!) J� fra Rachel J� x
Rachel is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Woolgoolga

It’s that time again!!! Yep that’s right my THIRD Yepper, I can’t believe it; it means time truly does fly when you’re
having fun!!! So I guess you’re wondering what I have been up to this month...
March a month of 31 days and my St Petersburg Russia Tour; yeah that’s right get jealous and excited!! So for
most our trip started on the 22 nd of this month, but being in Tartu, Estonia means we started a day early. Leaving
at 1.30pm Wednesday Chris, Nora and I set out on what was an amazing trip. At 4.15 the bus arrived in Tallinn
and from here we caught a taxi to the Ferry Port where we met with two other of the exchange students, Lillian
from Taiwan and Eduardo from Mexico. Later Raivo our youth exchange officer who would be accompanying us
across the border also met us there giving us back our passports with our Russian Visas in them.
At 6pm we had boarded the Ferry and on our way to Helsinki Finland where we would be staying the night. We
stayed in a hostel in Helsinki over night and the next morning we were at the bus stop by 9am for a 9.30 pickup.
We crossed the border and dealt with the slowest possible customs line I have ever met, at around 1pm where
we switched our clocks forward 2 hours (so it was really 3pm).
At 8pm we arrived at our hotel in St Petersburg, Hotel Azimut. (Personally I don’t recommend staying here :/ ) We
left our bags at the entrance and went and cued in a line for a buffet dinner. After dinner we were given our room
keys and found out who our roommate was. Once finding our rooms we found familiar faces to catch up with
before heading to bed after a long day of travelling.
Day 1: In Russia. We started our day with breakfast at 7am at the hotel for an 8.30 start. Upon boarding the bus
we were introduced to our guide for the next three days and told our agenda for the day. Stop one was the
hermitage Museum, a museum inside the Winter Palace founded by Catherine the Great. After marvelling in Awe
at the collection of art and the art of the building itself, we went to lunch in a small down town restaurant.
Following lunch was a visit to Kunstkamera, Peter the Great’s Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography.
Kunstkamera is a museum that requires a specific taste one where you need to enjoy looking at Foetuses and
other body elements such as lungs, veins and hands in Jars... As you may have guessed not a museum of my liking
however it did have other interesting aspects such as old telescopes and other artefacts which would have been
great to see but we did not get the chance.
In the evening was folklore, an amazing experience of traditional Russian songs and dancing. The show was very
up lifting full of energy and left everyone in amazement, with a break at half time we were presented with an
opportunity to buy trinkets, music DVD’s and other items as reminders of our time in St Petersburg. The Folklore
was a perfect ending to such an amazing day.
Day 2: Today we had breakfast at 7.30 and on the busses by 9. With first a plan of how our day would go. First on
the agenda was a guided tour around St. Petersburg stopping at popular attractions for photos. After our guided
tour was free time in St. Petersburg town centre and good bye to our tour guide. Tess and I paired up since we
had similar desires for our free time. We first started out by having lunch; Crepes were on the menu yum, yum
with caramelised apples. After lunch was a visit to the chocolate factory!! Where a little chocolate soccer player
was on the wish list :D and for those with corrupt minds and what not I mean literally CHOCOLATE!! :D
After our Chocolate factory was the search for typical Russian hats, traditional Russian scarfs a Russian newspaper
and Tea. In a quiet side street we found a shopping centre in which we found the most amazing little store with
numerous trinkets and treats where we brought our Russian hats and from the store next door traditional scarves
or shawls.
After free time it was back on the bus and back to the hotel. Here we had dinner and got ready for our night of
ballet, this meant nice skirts and blouses or dresses for the girls and suits for the boys. After the folklore we were
all in for the time of our lives well so at least we thought. On the way there we were given our entry tickets. We
took our seats and after the first performance most of us decided Ballet was not our thing. By the end of the
performance most of us were relieved and glade to be going back to the hotel.
Day 3: Home time. Today we were again up at 7am, breakfast at 7.30 and left the hotel by 8.30. Today before
going home we visited the Vyborg markets in Vyborg before crossing the border. Here I collected a few souvenirs
and presents for home. Crossing the border was probably the most difficult part of our day taking forever for

customs to process us. The bus trip home was long and laid back with every one tired. Upon arriving in Helsinki all
of us Estonian exchanges made our way to the Ferry port via taxi.
We had a two hour Ferry trip back to Tallinn with a buffet dinner and plenty to share with Ravio our Youth
exchange officer. When we arrived in Tallinn Chris, Nora and I all said a quick farewell to Eduardo and Lillian so we
could make the bus back to Tartu in time. We made the bus just in time where we tried to catch up on some sleep
for two hours. Arriving home at 1.30 after an amazing time in Russia it was good to be ‘home’.
Other than our Russian tour not a lot has happened this month other than my host parents going to Mexico for
two weeks to tour and see their youngest daughter who is also on exchange through Rotary.
My chocolate man :D!!
Peter the Great. Winter Palace (Hermitage Museum)
Roof
Of the
Hermitage
The Awesome little shop of trinkets and treats.
Standing on a Frozen River

My Russian Goodies.
Gemma is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Tamworth West

Hallo!
Mental note, start YEPPER earlier next month. I’m running late this month but that is mainly because
March has been hectic! It started with a Winter Holiday where I went to Sweden with the family for a
skiing trip in Arvidsjaur. After a while of coaching from Lars I was finally able to manage some of the hills
and really began to have fun. Following the trip to Sweden I flew to Oslo for Holmenkollen, a very big ski
championships that include cross country and ski hop events. Together with all the other exchange
students we sat at the finish line of the cross country event where luck would have it the winner and
national sporting hero of Norway: Marit Bjørgen walked past and we were able to talk to her and get
some photos. During our time in Oslo we visited the Nobel Peace Prize building, Oslo’s Opera House, a
museum about Norway and its involvement in the War, the Viking Ship Museum and The Maritime
Museum which unfortunately we didn’t get to spend very much time at but still all were really
interesting.
On the 31 st I travelled back to Sweden for another Ski trip this time for Påsker (Easter). Skiing at Galtis
was really good and for the last couple of days I was able to Ski leker (Ski Play) which is skiing off the
main hill through the trees and other obstacles which from experience, really hurt to run into. While we
were in Sweden we went and visited some family friends for coffee and cake, turned out they owned 4
snowmobiles so of course we had to try! In Norway it is illegal to drive snowmobiles around outside of
dedicated snowmobile tracks, however in Sweden your able to drive wherever you want even on the
roads. We drove to a large clear area which was relatively flat where we could play. 100km/h on a
snowmobile is one of the craziest and coldest things I have ever experienced!
After coming home from Sweden we left again this time further up north of Norway to Forfjord which is
close to Lars’ home town of Lødingen. We borrowed a house from a family friend however we spent
most of our time at Lars’ sisters house where I got to meet some of the extended family, including Truls’
cousin and her new daughter whose christening we were going to the following day. The christening
was nice, the church was very much the same as back home and I think the process is the same. After
the ceremony we went for dinner with the relatives and then coffee and cake with the friends of the
family.
Thinking about writing this report I thought I hadn’t done very much during March but it turns out after
going over everything it was actually a VERY busy month for me. Time, as I think every YEPPER ever
written states, is flying by!
That’s it from me for this month.
Vi Snakkes J�

On top of the Oslo Opera House
Josh is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Armidale AM
Above: Marit Bjørgen.
Below: Swedish Border. -­‐6 °C,
Just chilling in my shirt.

Hej!
March March March!!!! What to say about March…. Just joking… I have no clue how I’m going to keep
this YEPER under 2 pages J�
I spent the first weekend of March gardening at my host family’s house; we pruned all the fruit trees and
tidied up. I then managed to get sick and was home from school for 4 days… which wasn’t much fun L�.
On Saturday the 10 th my host parents Liza, Rikard and our next-door neighbours went to the Stockholm
Boat Show, It was great J� I got to see some really amazing yachts – VERY expensive too !!! I had been
to a boat show in Sydney before I left Australia, and the one thing they both have in common, is you have
to take your shoes off before you go on board. It was a lot easier to do this in Australia when I was
wearing thongs then here when I had big winter boots on.J� We drove home and I quickly finished
packing … then it was off to Åre for another Rotary Exchange Student Camp !!!! I had the BEST time J�
I got on the train to Åre at 9pm and we didn’t get to Åre until almost 11am the next morning!! I had heaps
of fun… most of the other exchange students were on the same train as me so we didn’t get any sleep!!!
J�
When we got to Åre we walked to our hotel and figured out our rooms. I ended up sharing a room with an
amazing Tasmanian girl called Anya. J� We then fixed our snow gear for the next day… I was
snowboarding so I got boots and a board and I was set to go!!! It was heaps of fun, the first two mornings
we had lessons and we could go and explore in the afternoon… Åre is the largest ski resort in Northern
Europe, It was great going snowboarding… I hope I can go a bit more this year J� After full days on the
slopes when we got back to the hotel we played pool, ping pong and just talked. J� I had such a great
time… this was one of the best weeks of my life!!!! Sadly though, like all good things it had to come to
an end… so on Thursday night we caught the train back home L� for this train trip I got a sleeper, which
looks just like the train carriages in Harry Potter 1… but the backs of the seats flip up so there are 6 beds
in the room at bed time!!! I was on the very top bunk, once I had been lying there for long enough and
decided that the bunk wasn’t going to fall down, I slept really well it didn’t break and I didn’t roll off J�
At school on Tuesdays I have a REALY long lunch break… it’s almost 3 hours J� so I have decided to
start swimming, I swam up and down the 25m pool for about an hour – it felt SO good! However, it takes
me longer to get dressed after my session then it takes for me to actually swim the laps!! Mainly because
you have to dry your hair before heading back to school or you run the risk of it freezing! (it happens a lot
more often than people think!)
The weekend of the 23 rd & 24 th I spent packing, as I was headed up, up, up, up, up into the arctic circle to
a city called ‘Kiruna’ for another Rotary camp.
Kiruna WOW!!! It was AMAZING!!! This was another REALLY long train trip I left at 4pm on Tuesday
and didn’t get there until 11 am on Wednesday. On the train though, we got the amazing opportunity to
see the Northern Lights!!!!
Once we arrived, we were split into four groups and we went on a ‘Town tour,’ had lunch and then
headed to the Beautiful Ice Hotel!!! Every year they make a new one, artists come and make sculptures
out of the ice J� It was amazing. After the Ice Hotel we went to a traditional Sami evening, we learnt
about shelters the Sami people used and we got to feed reindeer, then we had a traditional Sami dinner
(reindeer and potato – not Rudolph though!) J� On Thursday we went for a day trip to Narvik…
yes I went to Norway!!! It’s a beautiful place J� On the way to Norway we stopped at Arbisko a place lots
of people go to see the Northern Lights and the Midnight sun!!!! In Narvik we had lunch down on the
shipping wharfs then we went shopping. On the way home from Narvik we stopped at Riksgransan a
famous ski resort. We had a dinner where two girls sang a traditional Sami songs and we then all had to
sing our national anthems J� On Friday we split into two groups half the group went to the Iron-ore mine
and the other half went on a snowmobile tour J� my group did the snowmobile tour first!!! We were in
these carriages being towed by snowmobiles, we were going so fast, and the wind was biting into our

faces!!! We played some games and we all got to drive the snowmobiles!!!!!! I LOVED that!!! I would
love to take one home… too bad there is no snow in Bonny Hills to drive it on J� hahaha.
We then had lunch & switched activities. The Iron-ore mine was really interesting, in Australia most of
our mines are open pit mines, the mine in Kiruna didn’t use this technique it was all underground tunnels
J� That night the grade 1 tourism class held a games night for us J� that was so much fun!!!! My team the
Orange team won the night’s games J� we were awesome!!! J�
On Saturday we went tobogganing!!! Our amazing guides took us to this hill and let us loose J� It was the
funniest sight watching 40+ Exchange Students keneering down the hill!!!! There were some absolutely
AWSOME stacks!!!!!
When I got home Sunday afternoon it was time for me to move to my second host family - we loaded up
the car (and I mean loaded!!! I have a lot of stuff) and drove out to Loddby a village about 15-20 minuets
out of town, it’s a beautiful area. In my new host family, I have two host sisters and a host brother, but
only 1 of my host sisters lives at home. The family is really nice and I’m loving it out in Loddby. J�
Tomorrow is a public holiday (Good Friday) so tonight we are driving to their summer house to spend the
Easter holidays there J� so I’m looking forward to that.
Well that’s it for this month J�
Glad Påsk
(Happy Easter)
Kyanah is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Wauchope

In the past month I have had a few changes to my usual Swiss life one being
changing host families, scary but very excitingJ� I GOT MY OWN ROOM!
I now live in a family with 2 host brothers and no sisters something I’m not
used to but I like it, there is no fighting over make up or clothes and they are
less moody J�
I have two younger host brothers one is an exchange student as well his name
is Maxime, he is from the French speaking part of Switzerland and is 16 year
old. And my other host brother’s name is Gregory and is 15, he really is my
brother as he is already doing the annoying sibling things such as coming in my
room just as I’ve woke up and insisting of taking photo’s with his new huge
camera he got for his Confirmation service. This host family is different from
my last but I love this one as well!
School has slowly got better I’m not speaking a lot of the language though I
understand a lot, I think. I have made lots of friends most not in my grade
though I have made friends with people in my class. My closest friend in my
class is Luigi though now he has gone to Italy for 3 months to live and learn
the language, so I now hang with a mixture of everyone from my class. Some
lessons I sit with the boys and others I sit with the boys, it really only depends
of if there is a spare sit or if I’m early or only on time to the lessons.
I am starting to really love living in Switzerland, I don’t see everything in
Australia as so much better, now I just see it as different J�
Until next time, have a good Easter
Larissa.

Larissa is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise

March, the best month so far and also busy. In the beginning of the month I went for the first time to Port
Macquarie with my host family just for a weekend but the weather wasn’t very nice. In the next weekend
I went to Inverell for 3 days with David and Judith, they are from the same club as me. There I stayed in a
host family’s house, with they, I went to meetings and dinners where I met the others exchange students
for the first time. I loved it. After a half week I went to Port Macquarie again with John Sawyer and Eve,
the safari tour was nearly starting. That night Eve and me slept in a host family’s house. Then in the next
day, our ‘dad’ drove us to meet the other people and the bus. We traveled almost the whole day, and slept
in bunks at Canberra. Then we went to Bendigo – VIC. After that we went to Melbourne – VIC, where
we spent two nights, we played videogames and we had a free afternoon in the city, I was getting crazy
because everything is so nice there. The 4 th day of the Safari was in Warrnambool – VIC, we saw the
twelve apostles, this place is SO AMAZING, I did a tour in a helicopter and was awesome to see these
beautiful beaches, (the water there is freezing cold) in the night we watched a show about a boat that
disappeared in that place. Naracoorte – SA, we went to see the blue lake what is so beautiful, we went to
a bat cave in the night. Gladstone – SA, we feed kangaroos, we did a ghost tour and we slept in a real jail!
Coober Pedy - SA, we watched a movie about the Opal, we slept in a underground hotel (under the
mountain) and we walked around the city after dinner. Curtin Springs – NT, we did an activity asking and
answering questions to the other people, we slept without tents because then we could see lots of stars in
the sky. Ayers Rock Resort – NT, we went to the Uluru just to see it, we had a free time shopping in a
place next to there, in the afternoon we went back to the Uluru and I climbed, was so hard but the view is
awesome from the top. Kings Creek Station – NT, we went to a canyon, I did the short walk but some
people chosen the long one (3 hours), after dinner we did a very funny game, we had to dress up a boy
like a girl, the “boys” walked in front of us after done, answering some questions then 3 unknowing
Rotarians chosen the best, we slept without tents again. Alice Springs – NT, we rode camels in the
morning, they are a little bit scary, after lunch we went to a reptile zoo, where we could touch in snakes
and lizards, that was so nice! In the night we watched a concert of didgeridoo . Then we took a flight to
Cairns – QLD, where we spent 3 nights, we swam in waterfalls and in lakes, the water in Queensland is
so nice and warm, I dived twice in the great barrier reef and we did the snorkeling around the boat. Airlie
Beach – QLD, we did the ocean rafting, that is so awesome, we did the snorkeling around the boat again,
we had two hours in a beach (the sea is blue! So nice). Raglan – QLD, we stayed in a farm, we sang in a
karaoke night and I had just 54 mozzie bites. Coolum Beach – QLD, we went to the city, after we swam
in the beach. On the way to Byron Bay – NSW, we went to dreamworld, was awesome, I tried to go in the
more rides as possible, in the next day we had surf lessons, I was scared about a shark but when I forgot
about it I could stand in the board, that is SO nice, I am looking forward to a second surfing opportunity!
In the dinner all of my friends wrote something in my Brazilian flag.
In the next morning I had to go… I didn`t have time to hug everybody, I cried so so so much to say
goodbye, it was so sad because most of them are going back home in June and the next meeting is on
August L� well, now is already April, I have to save things for the next Yepper, so I just want to say that I
am glad because this was an awesome trip, my English has improved a lot, not completely but better, and
I had an so great experience, and having all of these people as my friends is wonderful. I really loved it J�
Ana..

Ana is hosted by the Rotary Club of Gunnedah West

Three months in Brazil already! I can’t think were the time has gone, well, school mostly. Brazilians
study so much, there all crazy! Most of the time, the language barrier is really annoying! Incredibly
annoying actually, But I’m kind of glad that I have an excuse for not understanding what the teachers are
teaching the class, because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t understand even if it was in English!
Not that much has happened this month, but I can understand a lot more Portuguese now, apart from
when my host parents get excited that I’m finally understanding what they’re talking about and they start
talking really fast. Yeah the best way to get out of that one is just nod your head and smile.
Now that school is getting closer to the year, all my friends have a lot of tests they have to study for,
which is boring for me, because I can’t study, even if I wanted to, which means most of the time I have
not very much to do. Hopefully that might get better as the year goes on and I meet more people.
My host Mum is a dentist, and since Criciuma is a small town, she knows almost everyone. She was
talking with this lady who said she had a grand daughter who would like to meet me, so one day, I was at
home after school and this girl turns up at the door, she spoke good English and was interesting (to say
the least) to talk to, she was telling me some really weird stories, things I’m not going to repeat in this
YEPPER for the sake of Rotary ;) haha. Anyway, I thought she was strange but I didn’t want to judge her.
A few days later she turns up here again and asked if I wanted to go to her house, I said yes, she was
mostly ok for the time I was at her house, she was alright once I just started ignoring all the weird things
she was saying, then when I said I had to go, she was like “Oh that’s ok, things are going to change this
year, the world is going to end.” When I talked to my host brother, it turns out she is actually crazy. So,
yes, I believe this year will be filled with all kinds of situations! :) Her grandmother isn’t much better
either, considering about 5 minutes ago she just barged into my host family’s apartment, while I was
home alone, asking if she could have some lemons. Yep, this is BRAZIL ;)
On Friday 30 th of March I went to Port Alegre for the weekend with my host parents to visit my host
brother Vitor, It’s about 3 hours from Criciuma, and I’m still terrified of Brazilians driving, in particular
my host dads! Port Alegre is so beautiful! There are so many pretty buildings and new things to see,
unfortunately I didn’t get to see much of the city because we were just there to make sure everything was
going ok with Vitor’s apartment that is getting built and Valcides drives way to fast, but from what I did
see, it’s a really nice city. Although there are a lot of homeless people, which was really sad to see, I can’t
even begin to imagine how they can sleep at night and the mornings are freezing! There were a few
homeless people living near the hotel we stayed at, they had a bed built from old trolleys, a tarp and a few
blankets for the older people and the others just slept on a blanket on the ground, it was really sad, and to
tell you the truth, I felt soooooo guilty sleeping in that 4 star hotel with all my nice blankets and bed!
Apart from those few things, not much has happened this month; I joined a hip hop dance class with my
friend Fernanda, It’s from the streets of America apparently, so, just picture Step up, and then a clumsy
Megan and Fernanda dancing around in the middle of it and you pretty much have it! :D It’s really fun
anyway!
Easter was nice, they have 2 days holiday before the weekend, which is pretty much sent just eating great
big lunches with family and friends, they don’t go all out like some countries, but it was kind of like an
Australian Easter, 4 times over. On Easter Sunday, I received a huge big Easter egg! I didn’t expect it. I
gave my host parents and the house maid an Easter egg each, Lu, the house maid was really excited and
wouldn’t stop hugging me every chance she got!
Next YEPPER I hope I have better things to tell you, like how I’m almost a Boss at speaking Portuguese
and that I’m going somewhere amazing for a week!
I hope all you amazing out bounders are starting to have an amazing time and that Paul’s leg gets better!
Haha :D

Lots of love from Brazil!
Megan
Cricuima ^ on the way to Port Alegre
Port Alegre
Favela- Portuguese word for slum, these are houses
just made of bits of old wood and tin. There on the out skirts of all big cities in Brazil.

Megan is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Uralla

Hello everyone!!!
Wow what a month this one has been, so full of things to do. Early on in the month our Rotary district
took a weeks' trip to New York, New York! It was so awesome! We set out from Fredericton and
travelled on a bus to the Canadian-American border where it took about an hour for everyone to go
through immigration. Once through we travelled to Sturbridge in Massachusetts and stayed overnight
before our final long haul into the Big Apple! It was so cool once we got there, we were in America!!!
The week was jam packed. We had a tour through Central Park and saw the John Lennon memorial and
many statues, a bus tour which took us all though the different sections of the city, and a walking tour of
the theatre district and surrounding areas (our tour guide for this made us talk more like a New Yorker
and had us saying 'I want a dog!' if we wanted a hotdog). We had the chance to go see musicals (I saw
Jersey Boys and Rock of Ages (both are amazing)) and the singing cowboy who performs in his undies.
And let’s not forget the amount of shopping there was to do! My friend Rika spent over $200 on clothing.
Other things we did included visiting Ground Zero, Top of the Rock (it gives amazing views of the
Empire State building) and we even took a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty! Unfortunately all good
things must come to an end (oh I also found another Australian who was working in a comic book store)
and after about a week we were back in Canada (it took us maybe 5-10 minutes to make it through
immigration).
Later on in the month the snow was starting to melt and one of the members of the Rotary Club took me
out to see how maple syrup is collected and made. It was a really cool and informative trip. I thought
there was only one type of maple tree (the one whose leaf is on the flag) but there are many different
types. Unfortunately for us you need below freezing nights followed by warm days for the syrup to run up
the trees and we had had warm-ish nights and the day we visited it was snowing/raining so there was
hardly any run but we did get to do syrup-on-snow. Syrup-on-snow is amazing, you line up some snow in
a trough and pour maple syrup into it. Then you take a paddle pop stick and twirl the maple syrup around
it. It's so sugary and good!
A weekend or so ago, Hampton put on an event for April 1st. People could sign up as a team and they
were given photos. From the photos they had to figure out where in Hampton the photo was taken, go
there and take a photo of yourself there. Marie-Christine and I came in first even though we were both
new to Hampton! We nearly didn’t win as there was a bridge that neither of us knew about hiding in the
back of a park. It was also with Marie that we saw the school's musical production, Honk!, which we had
both helped out on with set painting. It was really cool seeing the kids from my school up on stage, they
were all so good especially the girl who played the part of the cat.
I cannot wait for what next month could bring!
Maddy

Madeleine is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Taree on Manning

Nearly three months in Mexico already, that means only 9 months left? There’s still so
much to see and do and learn!
The main thing of March was to trip organised by Rotary to ‘El Tajin’. El Tajin is an
archaeological site which includes temples and pyramids. The trip was the first chance I
had to meet all the other exchange students in the district, and they are all so lovely!
And naturally Brazilians outnumbered everyone else. Friday after the 8 hour trip to
Tuxpan was spent in a Rotarians house with everyone catching up, and me meeting
everyone. Being the only newbie in the district, they forgot to assign me a host family to
stay with, so I was all alone, which wasn’t very nice. Later that night, everyone was
taken to a bar for dinner. We spent the night dancing and singing different songs from
all the different countries, and of course Ai Se Eu Te Pego!
Saturday everyone travelled out to the site ‘El Tajin’. As soon as we stepped off the bus
in the ‘car park’ we were swarmed by locals trying to sell us anything and everything,
food, hats, and souvenirs. We watched a group of men dressed in bright traditional
clothing dance and climb to the top of a really high post, before tying rope around
their ankles and hanging down being spun around while another man sat on top
singing and playing a drum. I don’t think I explained that very well but it was interesting
to watch! Along with a guide we entered the archaeological site to see and learn
about the pyramids and temples. The other exchangers had to translate everything for
me so I could understand. But this was the first time I had seen anything like this, massive
handmade structures from thousands of years ago. It was so amazing! But in true
exchange style we took photos of everything, running round with our flags and being
asked to have photos with the friendly tourists.
That night we all met again at a restaurant with the rotary club of Tuxpan. After dinner
there were dancers performing a traditional dance from Veracruz. The women wore
tradition dresses and I think the best way to describe it is if you cross salsa with tap
dancing.
Sunday morning I had another long bus trip home, which wasn’t helped by a 2 hour
delay because the bus broke down.
April has started with Easter and two weeks holidays, so I think it’s going to be a good
month!
Nos Vemos,
Kara!

Kara is sponsored by the Rotary
Club of Walcha

This was the best month of my exchange hands down. Of course the Safari Tour! What a great time I had.
We started in Port Macquarie where we met all the exchange student from our district. Then from there
we drove to Sydney and met all the ones from the district in Tasmania. We then went to our
accommodation in Canberra and met the exchange students from that district. We were 39 all together. It
didn’t even take us one day until we were all really good friends. One of the first things we did was to go
in the underground mines in Bendigo. It was the first time I went in a gold mine before. We even had a
chance to try to find gold in mud and water. It was so hard! I couldn’t do it but the tour guide had no
troubles with it. That night it was our first night in tents. Our guide and awesome bus driver thought us
how to pull our tents up. It was pretty easy but you couldn’t do it alone. I was happy to be paired with an
other French Canadian; Elodie! We spoke French the whole night and laughed quite a bit. We had just
enough sleep for the next day…in Melbourne. YAY! I was happy to spend a bit of time in a city. We
went in the markets and I bought some souvenirs for friends and family. Then we took a little train that
went around the city and went to the SkyDeck. It was a really tall building where you could see the whole
city! I was a bit scared but I got over it. Me and Silvia we went to DFO. It was cool but we ran out of time
and got late back to the coach! The next day we went to the Twelve Apostles where I went on a very
expensive helicopter ride! We have a place in New-Brunswick called Hopewell Rocks and it really
looked alike! Except the ones in Australia were way bigger. On the same week we went in bat caves. We
couldn’t really see them in the dark but they had a night camera and we could clearly see them on the tv
screen. I can’t remember how much bats there was but I know it was a scary amount! The next day when
we got to Gladstone we stayed in an old jail. How scary! We even had to sleep in cells. I hasn’t really
keen on that but it ended up being not too bad! The jail keeper took us around the jail at night and it was
so scary. He had so many scary stories to tell! Had to walk in the dark alone down where the empty cells
where. I didn’t do it I was way too scared. Next was Coober Pedy where a lot of opal mines is and we
even got a demonstration! I bought Opal earring afterwards and that night we slept underground. The next
day ULURU ! I was keen on that. We went to Kata Tjuta in the morning took some pictures. For lunch
we went in the little tourist town in Uluru and had lunch. After lunch we went to Ayer’s rock to climb it!
It was so difficult. I ran out of water and I wasn’t even half way. I think the sun was reflecting on the rock
cause I felt like I was almost cooking on that rock. When we got to the top we took a break and took a lot
of pictures. Going down was even more difficult! I tried to slide down on my shoes and I completely
ruined them. We then went to the look out and saw the rock along with the sunset. There was so many
people at that lookout it was shocking. The next day we went to Kings Canyon where we had an other
climb. I think that climb was even worst than Uluru cause it wasn’t as steep but it was longer and we
couldn’t really take long breaks. That night we had a drag show with all the boys and it was sooo funny!
Of course Jonas won the contest ;) but I reckon Tom and Hjalte were the funniest. We then went to Alice
Springs and had a didgeridoo show. It was pretty cool and at the end he even let us try it. It was harder
than I thought it would be but I figured it out after a while. The next day we had free time in Alice where
we did a bit of shopping and then took the plane to Cairns. When we got there it was fascinating how
much humidity there was compared to the center. We went in the pool right away, had dinner and went to
bed. We had the day in the Great Barrier Reef. I got really seasick and I wasn’t sure how long I would
last. I didn’t vomit but I was feeling not well at all. I had a dive and I snorkeled for the rest of the time. I
saw a turtle and a lot of fishes. The next day was probably one of my favorites. We went water rafting in
the Witsundays and went to Whitehaven beach. That beach was amazing. The sand was made of silicone
and coral and minerals so it wasn’t really sand. The water was clear blue. A couple days after we went to
the Gold Coast and we only went to Dreamworld. Im a bit scared of rides so I didn’t go in many but there

were a couple shops and other things to do. It was a hot day and everybody had a lot of fun. The next two
days were in Byron Bay. My favorite place in Australia. By the time we got there it was almost dinner so
we went on the beach and got fish and chips. The next day we had surf lessons in the morning and then
free time. It was a really good day the surf was good and shopped. The next day was in the bus all day. I
was so bored but I tried to sleep and we watched movies. The next day we had free time in Sydney. It was
good Friday so most of the stuff was closed. The markets were open and I spent way too much money.
The next day we had to say goodbye to our new friends and go back home. A really sad day.
39 exchange students, 24 days, 10 000 Ks in a bus, 1 country !
It was all worth it at the end. I would do it again if I could. EMILIEJ�
Emelie is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Nambucca Heads

G'day mates!!
This is my last yepper in my exchange life. Actually my exchange life has already finished so I returned
back to my house, Japan. And I'm spending time with my national family again. It's going to be great. My
family is happy that they spending time with me again. I'm happy too but just I can't believe there are not
Australian things around me. It's making me missing Australian so much. But I can't back to Australia
now. Of course I'll come back to Australia but I'm not sure when I come back to there. I hope it's going to
be coming soon!!
Anyway I really want to say "Thank You" to everyone who has supported me and contacted me
whenever. I think my exchange life wouldn't be completed without them so I really appreciating
everyone.
I was developed than ever me by this exchange life and this exchange life gave me my new life and
friendship among my new friends also gave me a big brave. I'm really happy I went to Australia as an
exchange student, stayed there for a year and met my a lot of friends. I have many memories of that year
they are such an amazing. I'll never forget them and my friends forever. I reckon I want to keep catching
with my friends. And I hope we'll see each other in the future. I'm really looking forward to coming that
day.
Thank You Australia
Thank you my friends
Thank you my sponsor and host rotary club
Thank you my host families and my family
See you later :)
~A lot of love from Takashi Oura, Japanese(Tac)~
END

Tak is hosted by the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour

Hi everybody
March was an amazing month. We had the conference in Inverell and I met all the other exchange
students from this district there. I stayed with Edwing in a farm, was pretty cool. We stayed at the
conference all day and they had a lot of good speakers. At night we went to a BBQ with all the exchange
students, was awesome!
Sunday we walked in with our country flags, was a little embarrassing, but was nice.
We also had the safari!!!
The Safari was amazing, we did so many things that I never imagine I would do. I will talk about the
things that I liked most because if I talk about everything I will need 5 or 6 pages haha.
One of the things that I loved was the helicopter ride, most of the exchange students did and totally worth
it. We did the ride in the twelve apostles, was so good, my first time in a helicopter and with an amazing
view, was just awesome!
One day we slept in an abandoned jail, was really different. At night we had a ghost tour, was really
funny to see all se girls freaking out with the noises =D. The man who was a guard of the prison took us
to this ghost tour and also told a lot about the history of the jail, how the system worked, was really
interesting!
One of the most exciting day of my life was when we went to see Ayers Rock, this rock is just massive.
Climbing it was really cool, took us about 3 hours and when you get to the top you have this awesome
view of everything, you can literally see everything.
In the Great Barrier Reef we went diving, was beautiful. Was my first time diving so I was really excited,
we had instructions about what to do in some circumstances and then we went diving in groups of four. In
the first stop we dived for 15 minutes and snorkeled the rest of the time, in the second one we dived for
almost 30 minutes!! I saw clown fishes, turtles, starfishes and a lot more. Was a great experience that I
hope I can do it again someday.
Another awesome day was when we went to learn how to surf, I loved. At the beginning was a little bit
hard, but after a while became easy, we stayed in the water for 1 hour and a half, but I think wasn’t
enough haha, I could do that all day.
And just to finish I think that the best thing on the safari was to meet all the other exchange students and
spent this awesome time with the new ones that I met but also with the ones from my district. Everyone is
awesome and I wish I could spend more time with all!
Until the next yepper!! JoaoJ�

Joao is hosted by the Rotary Club of Forster on Wallis

Hey Mate!
Wow, I think that the time is not a good friend with me, cause now that I think about
it, I´ve been here in Australia for nearly 8 months. The time flies, doesn’t it?
So this Yepper is going to be about SAFARI! I have to admit that it was the best trip
ever, I did so many things, and I visited many places and the most important thing: I
made new friends!
The Safari began the 15 of March; all of us were so excited about this adventure!
We left Port Macquarie early in the morning, we started driving down to Newcastle to
pick a few stuff and then we left Newcastle and we arrived at Sydney Airport. I was
so excited to meet the group of Exchange Students from Tasmania (D9830). Since I
had a little space here, I will just tell you the most important and things that I really
enjoyed.
As soon as everybody was on the coach, we started to get each other while the
coach was taking us to Canberra. We arrived there around 5, and it was the time to
meet more Exchange Students! We were all together and happy, such a good
feeling. It was time to say hi to everybody, in that moment is when I realized that the
Safari started. That night I shared room with Hjalte and Frederik (Fried Chicken).
The day after we woke up early and as soon as we could, we jump in the coach and
start driving to Bendigo. We arrived there and had a bit of fun in the pool. Then we
had beautiful dinner: pumpkin soup J� I have to say that the food that Wendy cooked
was awesome, not only this day, every single day of the Safari. Thanks Wendy for
keeping us well fed.
Next morning we visited a Gold Mine in Bendigo. A lady talked to us and showed us
how the things were back when the miners use to work there every day, it was
interesting tour down there. We finished the tour in the mine and then we left
Bendigo, but before getting into the bus I saw a few cars, some Bentleys and Rolls
Royce. We arrived in Melbourne around lunchtime, so we set up camp and then we
had lunch. After doing that we went for a drive around the city, wow! I love it; I saw a
few Ferrari and many cool buildings. When we came back we jumped in the pool
(we always did that on Safari)
Next day we had free time in Melbourne and I decided to walk around the city with
the boys, it was so much fun. We walked in town, we saw many cool buildings, and

we took some photos and also had awesome sushi! We went to the tallest building
in Melbourne, wow! I could see everything from there.
After having a good time in Melbourne, we had to drive some kilometres. We were
driving on the Great Ocean Road, such a beautiful part of the world! We stopped in
the Twelve Apostles and could get into a helicopter and fly around that amazing
view. It was totally worth it. As soon as everybody who paid had his or her respective
flight around the Twelve (now Eleven) Apostles, we start driving again, now this time
we were going to Warrnambool. We had the chance to watch a sound and light
show about a ship that had an accident many years ago.
The next day we started driving to Naracoorte, we could see some vineyards along
the road. We were organized in rooms this day, and then we went out and chilled
under the sun. After dinner we went for a short walk and also to see the Bat cave.
Next morning was an early rise, so we started going up a bit more. This time we
were going to Gladstone, a small town. This night we stayed in a Gaol, and Tony
(host) took us for a walk around the jail and we hear a few stories. A copper visited
as well, and he talked about his job and some interesting stuff.
This day we started going north towards the hearth of Australia, and now I could
really see how different the view is there. We arrived at Coober Pedy. This place is
so different! Everything is underground, even the church. We had an opal
demonstration, I bought a gift for my mum J� I’m such a good boy!
Today we went further north; actually we were “close” to Alice Springs. We stayed in
the middle of nowhere. That night we slept under the stars, wow! It was amazing; I
could see pretty much everything. I will never forget how beautiful the sky was that
night.
This day was the one that we were waiting, cause we had the chance to go to Uluru.
It was really amazing. Only when you get there you understand why the Aboriginal
people protect this place, not just because it is really sacred and special, also
because it’s absolutely beautiful. We had the chance to climb it, but I decided that I
wasn’t do it, I was a bit scared and also I did it for respect the decision of the Anangu
people, instead of climbing the rock, I went for a walk around it with Paul, Cheryl,
Doug and Catherina.
I had an amazing day in Uluru, but it wasn’t over, next day we went to Kings Creek
Station, we set up camp and then we went to Kings Canyon. The walk in that place
was incredible, and the views were awesome! I had so much fun, unlucky me, my
short and shoes broke while I was walking. After that nice walk, we went back to
camp. The tour leaders had a surprise for the boys, today we were going to be drag
queens! Hahaha it was so fun, all the girls were excited with that. It took a bit of time
to get all the boys looking like girls. Some of the “girls”, like Tim, looked so feminine.
That night was so fun. Unlucky for me I didn’t win the contest, the winner was Jonas,
and he looked so feminine, like a 50-year-old-rich-lady.

The next 2 days we spent the time in Alice Springs, but before heading to that town,
we had a camel ride! It was so much fun and a bit painful for the boys. After that
painful but cool camel ride, we head to Alice Springs. We set up camp and Doug told
us the rules about this Caravan Park. Then we had to go to town to have a reptile
demonstration, I had the chance to touch a snake, a blue tongue and a goanna. It
was really interesting, I was a bit sad about leaving that place, cause those animals
were really pretty! Anyways, life goes on and we have to travel! This night we went
to the “Didgeridoo Show”. The performance was so good; I really enjoy this kind of
shows. I tried to play the Didgeridoo but it is really difficult. Next day we had free
time in Alice Springs, so I had the chance to buy some Aboriginal Art for my dad, I
got one, I reckon he will love it! We finished with out free time in town; we went back
to camp and then off to the airport, to catch out flight to Cairns! As soon as got off
the plane I felt the humidity, and I really felt like at home (my city back home
“Veracruz” is really humid)
Today we had an amazing day in Cairns, we went to Millaa Millaa falls, and also we
had a walk and a swim in many beautiful places! Paul (the bus driver) was so nice
and cool; he showed us so many cool places!
After a cool day outside Cairns, we went to the Great Barrier Reef! I just have to say
this: OMG! It is beautiful! I really loved it, and the girl who took me down to the Reef
was beautiful and cool. I will never ever forget this day! It was totally worth it, I paid
55 dollars but I reckon that those 55 dollars are the best buy that I’ve ever done
before.
I had an amazing time in Cairns. It was wicked! So we left Cairns and we started
going down to Airlie Beach, we set up camp and we had a short time free before
going to bed. Next morning we went Ocean Rafting, it was wicked! The boat was
really fast! We also visited Whitehaven Beach; it was really beautiful, but not as
beautiful as the beaches in Mexico.
Today we drove to The Old Station, a lovely lady talked with us, she told us a bit of
history about the area. We had homemade damper and whip cracking. The night
was really good, and then we had KARAOKE! it was really fun J� after that fun night,
I had a good sleep! At the morning we left early, we had to drive for a while to finally
get to Coolum Beach. It is a lovely spot! At night we chilled at the beach, with some
music.
This morning we had to wake up early, but I wasn’t tired at all, actually I was keen
because we were going to Dreamworld! I tried to get on every “scary” rides, I had a
good day with the boys. so after having a cool day in Dreamworld, we head south to
Byron Bay, so we said good bye to Queensland L� that night we had fish and chips!
Yummy!

Next day at Byron Bay we had Surf lessons! I already had some before, but that time
I couldn’t catch a wave by myself or stand up, and now I did it! It was so FUN and I
felt like a pro J� now I can say to my brother that I could do it.
Early morning again! And also we said good-bye to Byron Bay, we head south to
Sydney, a long drive, isn’t it? We were on the bus for nearly 10 hours! We arrived at
Sydney before dinner.
Next day was our last day together L� we had a tour around the city. We saw many
cool places! Around lunchtime we had free time, so I met my friend Edgar and his
family. At dinner we had our last dinner together, it was so fun and I was happy to be
there with everybody.
So the Safari finished, I want to say thank you to our tour leaders, they were very
comprehensive with us at all times. Also thanks to Wendy and Bob for cooking the
most awesome meals and Doug: you are a top bloke! And also thanks to everybody,
you guys are so cool; you already have a spot in my hearth. I´ll miss you heaps, but I
know that we will meet again in the future.
Regards Edwing………..
Helicopter ride with Corentin Five star accommodation!
With the boys and Silvia in Melbourne

Uluru! Sydney!
With Gio waiting for the sunset in Uluru
Edwing is hosted by the Rotary Club of Tamworth-on-Peel

Hi!! This is my second yepper and I´m so happy to write it because everything is going
perfectly here! I´m really enjoying my second month of exchange, I like the school
subjects and teachers, I have met a lot of different people every day and I had also been
travelling a lot.
I was at the district conference on March 9th and it was simply awesome! I loved to meet
all of the exchange students, they´re all very nice and it was good to know about their
experience in Australia and know more about them too! It was very nice to meet my host
family during the conference too and Kate (from Coffs Harbour) who was hosted in the
same house of me. I felt really comfortable with them, I still talk with my host sister, and
I´m going to Kate´s house in a couple of weeks to stay in her place for some days during
the holidays.
The school is going very well, I made friends and I actually can understand better the
teachers. I had a music excursion to the Opera house and a Biology excursion to Diamond
beach, they were incredible! I learned a lot about both places and it was great to travel
with some school friends.
I went to Sydney with my host mother to spend a weekend visiting the zoo, the aquarium,
meeting three of my host brothers and sister and doing some shopping. It was very funny,
and I love animals so I found very interesting to know different animal species which I
never saw before!
I met a girl from Argentina, Valeria, who have been living in Newcastle for seven years
and she invited me to spend some days in her house during the holidays too. And also, a
girl from Gloucester, who was an exchange student to Argentina 18 years ago, invited me
and my host parents last weekend to a barbecue.
Next Friday I´m going to central coast with my host mother to spend Easter, and next
Monday I´m going to change my family. I have met my second host parents a couple of
times before, and my host sister is with me at school and I get on very well with all of
them. Although I´ll miss too much my actual host family, I think I´m going to have a good
time with them too!
I was cooking Empanadas (Argentinean food) and short cake with a school friend last
weekend. Everything was yummy, my host parents and she really like and it was also very
funny to cook with her!
That´s all for now, I´m still very happy and I´m enjoying each thing I do!! Hope you are
all having a good time!
Josela

Josela is hosted by the Rotary Club of Gloucester

Hello hello everybody!!!!!
What a month!!!! Was awesome!! The best 3 weeks of my year J� we went on safari
‘Rock to Reef’ and it was amazing! I actually can’t believe that it is over L� I really
miss to seen everybodys faces around in the morning… but I don’t really miss
sleeping in tents haha. When we were at Lake Keepit and Thales and Romi were
talking about safari was like a really far away dream and after 7 months of wait was
almost here. First my safari bag, when I received it I jumped around all the house
pretty happy and my host brother was asking what was going on hahaha was so
funny. The next day I started packing!! And I don’t
really like packing but I was so excited :D anyway
when I entered the bus I started to yell and cry when I
saw the others J� then after a few hours we picked up
the district from Tasmania at the Sydney airport and
they didn’t see us at the first time and we were like…
Hey guys we are here! Hahaha was so excited because
we were meeting all this new people and you wanted
to do it all of them at the same time and then the guys from Canberra, the first
night they gave us our journeys, where we could read the activity for each day and
the places that we were going to visit, also they gave us our red safari t-shirt and
we had time to introduce ourselves to the others. And that’s how our adventured
started!!!
My first time in Melbourne J� was really fun!
Beautiful city and really clean, a lot of the buildings
where pretty amazing designs and I love that sore
of things because I’m thinking in study architect,
and we went to the markets and to the eureka
tower where you could see all Melbourne, the view
of the city was awesome!! And stayed there for
a long time actually haha.. and the everything was good except for the fact that
Emilie and me decided to go to DEFO, the way up there was good, but not the way
back haha we caught the normal train that goes all around the city and I promise
that we were there at 3.15 and we should me back at 4.00 so was all good!! But
the train decided to change bus drivers at that time, so we were at the half of the
way by 4.10, Diana called us and she was pretty angry at us so we left the train
and we had to run like 9 blocks to get there. Was epic
We still traveling someday we woke up at 5.30!! and the bus wasn’t the most comfy
place to sleep to be honest haha anyway. I loved it every day we did something
different, just spend time with good friends made me so
happy J� and every day you were closer, more like a big
family J�
Then another good day was Uluru!!!! We slept under the
stars the night before, I haven’t do that before, was like a
dream all the stars that you could see, I was next to

Helene and we talked like for 2 hours about our families was so cute! The next
morning we woke up at 5.30 again and when we went to Uluru the climb was
closed!!! I was so disappointed, but we were taking some pictures and we went to
set up the camp waiting for the afternoon because maybe would be open. And Yes
it was! Our bus driver was telling us that was one of the most dangerous things
that you could in Australia and I didn’t believe him till we get there. Was so scary
the first bit, was really inclined, was a good effort, but when we were on the top was a great
view and you feels so good to being there with your friends. After this day we went to Alice
Springs and then we flew to Cairns, we went to a 3 different waterfalls and went for a swim was
a long day and our bus driver that days was pretty funny!! Haha
The next day we were on a boat that went to the Great Barrier Reef!!! We went scuba diving
and snorkeling was A W E S O ME!!! We saw turtles and Nemos!! Was A W E S O M E all
the colours that you could see in the coral!!! I was loving my life so much that day I just wanted
to stay there forever hahaha but I couldn’t anyway
the next day we went to Airlie beach… was I think the
best day!!! We went rafting around the ocean and
through the islands, one of the best view in one of them!
and then went to White heaven beach… the sand was
so white!!! Was like been in heaven… so
beautiful!!!! And we went snorkeling there as well …
all the colours and the fishes just amazing.
Another good day was when we went to Dream World!!
Was so much fun all the roller-coaster, was so much
fun! And I saw this guy from my same city in Mexico but he is living in New Zealand and he was
on holidays with his family, how little the world is!!. That day our bus driver drove us to Byron
Bay!! And the next day we had surfing lessons J� and I just
have to say that I love Byron Bay it’s a beautiful town I really
like the surfing style and all that sort of thing!.
The next day we went to Sydney, our last day. We had time to
hang around and I was with
Peter and Helene was so
cute I really love all my
friends. At the end of the day
we had a birthday and
farewell dinner because
was Astrid’s birthday, was so cute and sad at the same
time because was our last night all together, the next day
the Tasmania’s district left really early in the morning
and like 1 hour later us, was really sad I was crying L�
but at the end u just have to say thank you to
everybody because was one of the best experiences of my life and I will never forget you and
that we can keep in touch.
Was sad the first morning that I woke up and I didn’t have to see all their pretty faces around
and that it was over, all this time waiting and it’s over, but I have now 3 months left in Australia
and I have to enjoy them :D and at the same time I am pretty excited to see my family and
friends again but I don’t want leave haha it’s so weird haha any way that was my yepper for this
months J� and hope to see you all at one point before you leave.
XO
Silvia
Silvia is hosted by the Rotary Club of Taree on Manning

Hi everyone !
This month has been pretty much the same for everybody and no doubt it was the best ever !
We've all been waiting for this and it's already fnished... Where has the time gone ?
For me March began with the hosting of the GSE team in Narrabri. We hosted a girl at home for a
couple of nights. Their presentation at the Rotary meeting was pretty good, it was nice having
them. Then it was already the district conference at Inverell. I had to pack everything because I
wasn't going home before the safari!
I went there with some rotarians of my club and the GSE team. There I found Xenia, Edwing and
Jonas and we went to the sapphire tour. We found some and could keep them ! It was good to
catch up with everyone. I staid in a family with Sophie, who just came back from Belgium. The
BBQ the first night was nice, good to see everyone again ! And then, well, we just sat and
listended to the speeches and stuff.
After the conference I went to Wauchope, at my host grandparents' place to be closer to Port. I
spent 3 days with them and it was already the Safari !!It was so nice to meet the guys from the
other districts, and the safari's been Amazing ! Even if the first part was mostly driving, the Great
Ocean Road was beautiful and it was interesting to see the centre and how people live there, in
the middle of nowhere... The time in Melbourne was good too and I wish we had more time in
Adelaide.. Coober Pedy was so weird ! Can't see anyone there... Then we were there : Uluru, Kata
Tjuta... The rock was bigger than I expected and the park so beautiful ! We went to see Kata Tjuta
in the morning because the climb was closed ; too strong wind, everybody thought we wouldn't
be able to go at all... But when we came back after lunch it was opened ! We were so excited...
Some people went for the walk around it, I wish I could have done both ! I went for the climb. It
was so hard but totally worth it !
The next day was Kings Canyon. Just magnificent again. The view, the height was impressive. It's
strange how these rocks pop up in the middle of this endlessly flat land. The walk was nice, we
felt a little bit like in Arizona, or the pictures I know of it... That evening we dressed up the boys
on the theme 'Priscilla queen of the desert'. It was so fun, everybody did an awesome job ! On the
way to Alice we stopped to ride camels ! It was kinda scary but really cool. The didgeridoo show
we saw in town was amazing, I love this instrument ! I found Alice Springs itself a bit weird too,
it's so lost, I really wouldn't like to live in the middle of nowhere like that... We also went to see
the Flying Doctors, what these guys do is truely amazing.
Next destination : Cairns ! The change of air when we got out of the plane was shocking : from
the total dryness of the centre to the humidity of the tropical climate. I reckon the days we had in
Cairns were some of the best ! We had a tiny bit of rain in the rain forest but not much really,
swam in a volcanic crater and waterfalls, it was just magical and the guide was really good ! No
time to get bored with him, even in the bus. The next day was on the boat to see the Great barrier
reef. We've been so lucky with the weather : first sunny day they had seen for a while, just for us !

We went snorkelling and diving. It was the first time I dived and it was so amazing ! I went for
the second dive, swam with a turtle... the fishes and corals were so awesome.
For me that wasn't the best though, the best was the next day, at the Whitsundays ! The rafting
was so fun, the ocean not as rough as the day before and the islands just amazing. We went
snorkeling again and the coral and fish was even more colourful than in Cairns, it was wonderful
really. And then... Whiteheaven Beach. The name says it all. That was one of the best days of my
life !
Everything we did in Queensland was amazing really. The night at the Old Station was awesome
too. The 'late' curfew was made inevitable by the karaoke, the landscape was beautiful and the
reception perfect.
I could see a friend I hadn't seen for ages in Coolum and we had a really good time. I'd missed
water out in the centre ! The ocean is so good.. Then we went to Dreamworld, a really fun day
again ! And it wasn't finished yet, with the surf in Byron Bay. I had never surfed before so it was
really cool but so hard ! I could stand up a few times so it was good. I love Byron bay, everybody
looks happy and relax ! We had fish and chips on the head land at night and staid a little bit on the
beach. Some girls started talking with two british guys chilling on the beach with their guitars and
they sang songs for us it was so nice !
We had one more driving day before our last stop, Sydney. I don't know what is so amazing about
Bondi Beach but it was quite funny to see all these fit people running around, guys working out...
We did a 'photo shot' tour on the bus to see the famous places and then had the afternoon free in
town. We went out for dinner for our last night and spent the evening signing shirts and flags ;
time to say goodbye already !
The tour's been truely amazing and now, well, life came back to normal... I stayed in Wauchope
for Easter, got some chocolate. Then came home to find a parcel from 'home home', more
chocolate (but better!).
At least we have the holidays to sleep (I still woke up at 5 the three days following the safari -_-
) .. and eat chocolate.
See you next month ! Cheers
Noémie

Noémie is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Narrabri

Hi everyone J� how are yez since the end of the safari ? I miss you all so bad… !
March was one of the most beautiful months of my exchange as the safari was one of course… There are
so many things to tell, so many memories that are gonna stay forever in my mind, so many paradisiacal
landscapes and dreaming places that I’m never gonna forget, and lifetime friendships! It’s all over now
but the safari left something deep inside us that’s never going to leave.
It all started on the 15 th of March when we hopped on the Terra Australia bus to start our long “rock to
reef trip”. We met the students from the Canberra district and Tasmania and got time to know every
single person better during the long driving days that were planned. We went from Canberra to Bendigo
and its gold mines, to Melbourne the shopping capital and the Victoria markets, on the wonderful great
ocean road where we wondered the 12 apostles to Warnambool, from there to Naracoorte, then to the
goal of Gladstone, to the opal mines of Cooper Pedy, to Uluru (Ayres Rock), to the canyon of Kings
Creek station, to Alice, flying to cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, to the Heaven Islands of the
Whitsundays, to a cattle property in Raglan, to Coolum beach and Byron, ant we finished in Sydney!
I loved all this places! But the most impressive ones for me were the 12 Apostles were I enjoyed a
helicopter flight to have a closer look to this massive rocks sticking out of the water, the lakes and
waterfalls of Cairns, the beaches of Whitehaven Island and Byron Bay!
The safari gave us the possibility to try all different new things like camel riding, helicopter flights and so
on. We also got the chance to climb Uluru which was hard at the beginning but worth it once you arrive at
the top!
Our accommodation was mainly in tents, tough we got to sleep a few times in bunks or in underground
like in Cooper Pedy. Because of the beautiful weather that we had ( it never rained), We got the chance to
sleep twice under the stars of the outback, and god knows how many there are over there!
We were mainly travelling by bus, we caught the plane once tough, and we pulled the kitchen at the back
of our coach in a little track that our cooks Wendy and bob had organized. We travelled about 10 000 km
by bus on the whole trip, that seems such a huge distance for a European like me!
The only bad thing is that the time travelled to fast on that trip! And even more during the year!
Kings Creek Canyon

Great Ocean Road Lake in Cairns
Elisabeth is hosted by the Rotary Club of Woolgoolga

What a lovely time I had…
I still can’t believe how quick time flies. Last month we had our district conference in Inverell. The
weekend was good. Me, Elisabeth and Xenia stayed together with a family. They took us roller skating
and we had a nice time. The conference was mainly for Rotarians, but there were some interesting
speakers. It was good to see all my friends again and I had to carry the Austrian flag at the beginning of
the ceremony. On the 12 th of March I had my speech about Austria and me at my Rotary Club. They all
liked it a lot and I think I could distinguish well how different my life is here compared to Austria. On the
15 th of March we finally got to go on our big SAFARI trip. We got up early to start our tour at the
Doughnut outside of Port Macquarie. We drove down to Canberra and met up with the students of
districts 9830 and 9710. We got on well together from the first minute. We made our way to Melbourne
on the next day and stopped in Bendigo to visit an underground mine. We had 2 nights in Melbourne and
we went shopping of course and also up Eureka tower to have an amazing view over the city. We could
even see very small the formula1 race in a fair distance because it was on the same day. We made our
way down to Warnambool and the Great Ocean Road. We were quite a few who flew with a helicopter
over the 12 Apostles. It was a magical moment for me and I still remember the picturesque scenery. We
went to a lightshow at night which was very special. After that our bus driver Doug took us up north to
Coober Pedy. We slept underground and had a tour through an underground house and I couldn’t believe,
that most of the people in this town lived like that. Curtain Springs was our next destination which meant
a whole day in the bus. Doug said: We go straight ahead and take the next road on the left…..in a few
hundred k’s! haha
We slept under the stars this night which was very special. Without the pollution of a city we could see
the milky way and much more stars than usual. It was quite special. The next day was THE BIG DAY,
we finally got to see Uluru. We were even able to climb it. “It is gonna be the most dangerous thing you
gonna do in Australia” – Doug said. But it was worth it. Me and Silvia made our way slowly up with
heaps of breaks. It was a hot day and hell yes it was steep.
But on top we all felt so proud and happy and we also had a magnificent view. We stopped at Kata Tjuta
and made our way to Kings Canyon. We watched the Australian movie “Priscilla Queen of the desert”
because it is all about the outback. We went on the beautiful 6 km walk around the canyon. At night we
were allowed to dress the boys up as girls like the transvestites in the movie. It was a hell lot of a fun for
us all J�
Alice Springs was our next stop and we went to a didgeridoo show on our first night. I really enjoyed that
and on the second day we had some free time in the town. I bought an aboriginal artwork which I’m
really happy with. We went by plane to Cairns and we couldn’t believe the difference between the
drought in the outback and the humidity in the tropics. We got to swim in the Milla Milla falls and go
scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. It was an unforgettable experience. The Whitsunday Islands and
Whitehaven Beach were my favourite places. We went ocean rafting and snorkelling. We were listening
to loud party music which made the trip so enjoyable.
We headed down the coast to Coolum Beach where we spent a night. The next day was another Highlight
-> DREAMWORLD. Me and Silvia had great fun the whole day going on rollercoasters and we bought a
funny hat. Next stop Was Byron Bay, which was another place I really loved. We went surfing, I bought
an ukulele and let put feathers in my hair. It is a chilled place and everyone is just happy. We spent the
last 2 nights in Sydney, which we really enjoyed as well. We did a bit of sightseeing but mainly had a
relaxing time. I made so many friends on this trip and I will never forget them. I can easily say: those 3
weeks were the best of my whole exchange year. I want to thank everyone who made this time so
precious and enjoyable for me. I am running out of space that’s why I can’t even talk about all the little

details. J� I spent the time of my life with the loveliest people and I hope I get to see all of them again in
my life, doesn’t matter in which country or part of the world

March Yepper, Alex Payne
Well, yet again, I have had quite an eventful month- but I guess why would I come halfway around the
world if I didn’t want them. I returned to my pre-teens for an afternoon, visited the President of Rotary
International- the real head-honcho- jumped out of trees with Rotary and I’m finishing up my time with
my first host family.
This month held my host-brother’s 9 th birthday, so we went bowling with 9 of his friends. It was really
cute. Some of them would fall down on the ground after every bowl, becoming really melodramatic, then
we would all cheer loudly every time somebody knocked some pins down. I was quite taken-aback by
how supportive all the kids were, because it normally isn’t like that in Australia, or so I’ve experienced.
One of the friends was actually pretty good- he was tiny, and couldn’t put much power on his shots, but
he had excellent accuracy, so achieved a very healthy final score. Every time that I went up to bowl, the
kids would start chanting “A-lex, A-lex”- again really cute. The most adorable moment, however, was
after we finished bowling, and were eating cake. A song came on that they learn the dance to at school,
and they all got up and performed- c’etait tres mignon!!
So, yeah, I’m finally getting a firm grasp on French, with all the different conjugations of verbs, etc. For
all that don’t know, there are different words for the same verb depending on who you are talking about,
i.e. you, me, us, him, them, etc. Then there are another six forms for past tense, etc. Even native speakers
hate it. But, as I said, I am getting my head around all, and am having intelligent conversations, and am
beginning to calculate and think in French, even if the thinking is not always completely natural.
On Thursday the 22 nd , there was a conference for all of Belgium, because the President of Rotary
International was visiting from India. All the exchange students were there (over 200), and we spent all
morning preparing for the 10 or 15 minutes we were actually involved. I got to carry the flag for
Australia!! J� Most of the day was just hanging out with the other students, passing around pins to go on
our rotary jackets, and then after we had finished our duty we watched Hunger Games- it was too “luvvyduvvy”
for me, but it was ok. I had a really good day overall, although that’s usually the case when other
exchange students are around.
The following Sunday, ex-exchange students from Belgium organised a day at and “Adventure Parc”-
which was essentially a series of obstacles courses in trees. At the end of some were flying foxes, and so
we jumped out of trees with rotary. There was also some netting that we had to make our way across that
was softer than my bed. Again, the best part of the day was just talking with the other students, though,
and I still meet new people each time we get together en-masse. On this particular day I met someone
who actually lives 20-30 minutes from me, so that was a pleasant surprise. A Rotary student who went to
Perth last year apparently tricked an Aussie student that he was also Australian, because of his accent, but
I didn’t think that it was consistently Australian, so I don’t know how the authentic student thought so.
Apparently to convince her of the truth, the Rotary student had to pull out his Belgian identity card.
Earlier this month I gave a presentation on Australia in English class, and gave them an opportunity to
taste vegemite- it didn’t go down very well, but it was very funny to watch. I think one or two people
liked it, but the other faces were priceless- One of the P.E. teachers tried some at lunchtime, and then he
ran off and was apparently retching in the bathroom- I don’t know if it is true or not, but no other teacher
tried it after that.
I have already reached the quarter mark of my exchange, which seems impossible to believe, but it means
that my time with my first host family has come to an end. I change tomorrow, the 31 st March. I am quite
sad about that, because I have become quite close with them, but I guess it’s also the start of life with a
new family. Their house is just down the road from my school, so I can sleep in longer, and won’t have to
wait for a bus to take me home, so that will be better for me.

My next Yepper will deal with my trip to Spain with Rotary, on which I leave in two days time, so until
then…
Alex
Me and an American friend, Ben,
at the Adventure Parc
Alex is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Taree North

March 2012
This past month I’ve found myself really settling into life here in Germany.
School is getting easier. I can understand a decent amount of the lesson and when I can’t understand, I
can usually follow what is going on. It is strange to not know the words and yet understand their meaning.
I participated in two more exams and can now successfully find my way around the school without
getting lost. Everyone is generally friendly with me and I have begun to make friends.
On the 16 th was the Muck-Up Day for the 13 th Class and nobody in the school had to go to the first two
periods. They had something like a small party in the school hall and got two male teachers to get up in
front of everyone and dance to “Moulin Rouge”. It was so cute! One of the teachers was really short and
the other really tall and they worked out a little dance together and they were so wiggly. It was hilarious!
The following weekend was the Abiball (the Formal) and I went and helped out. I got to dress up and join
in on the celebrations and it was lots of fun!
On the 17 th I visited Mainz with my host family. We went to the markets in the square and visited the
Dom. On the 19 th I went to Mainz again and met up with some of the exchange students. I ate an amazing
ice cream and we spent the afternoon hanging out by the Rhein.
This month I also got to know my town a bit better. On the 25 th my host mum and I visited the
Felsenkirche. This is an adorable church which was built into the side of a cliff face overlooking the town
in the middle of the 11 th Century. The legend is that two brothers fell in love with the same woman and
one of them won her heart. Out of jealousy, the scorned brother pushed his sibling out of their castle onto
the rocks below. As punishment for his deed, the scorned brother was ordered to build a shrine in honour
of his dead brother. Racked with guilt, the scorned brother did this dutifully and built, with his bare
hands, a church into the side of the cliff face where his brother so tragically met his death. When he was
finished, a spring burst from the rocks in the cliff. This spring still runs today.
After visiting the Felsenkirche, my host mum and I went for a 9km walk. It was really good and the
weather was really nice and warm. I actually got a bit sunburnt!
On the 30 th my host mum, sisters and I visited the “Weierschliefe” cutting mill. Idar-Oberstein is
renowned for gemstones and the Weierschleife is a museum dedicated to showing how people used to
carve and shape the stones which were found in Idar-Oberstein. They would lie flat on their bellies and
hold the tiny stones up against a rotating stone well over which ran water. A man showed gave a
demonstration and it was really cool! Unfortunately, though, my camera was flat so I couldn’t take any
photos! We also visited the mines in the Steinkaulenberg where they found the gemstones.
That evening, we went to the movies and watched The Hunger Games. I could understand pretty much
everything which surprised me a lot and I felt really proud of myself.
On the 3 rd I travelled into Bayern to Würzburg to visit a friend from the language camp for a couple of
days. Würzburg is a really beautiful city! We visited the Residence, sat in the square people-watching and
eating sausages, hung out on the Altebrücke eating ice cream and walked through vineyards to the
Marienberg atop a hill overlooking the city. The Marienberg is where scenes from The Three Musketeers
were filmed and inside, in the museum, were pictures of Würzburg during different periods of time. There
were photos which were taken during the Nazi reign where Nazi propaganda hung in the street and it was
so weird to think that we had walked down those same streets just earlier that day.
Despite, having such a wonderful time this past month, it didn’t come without its lows.
In my host family I have two younger siblings and sometimes they can be really full on and at home I

only have older siblings whom I don’t even live with most of the time. So of course, I began to miss my
brothers and sisters back home a lot.
Also, there are times when I feel frustrated with the language because I won’t feel like I’m getting any
better or I’ll make silly mistakes or I can’t say something I want to or my host sisters will laugh at how I
pronounce or say something and it’s just like, gahhh!
But, overall, the good times have most definitely out-weighed the bad and this month finished on a really,
really good note: I saw a squirrel! It was little and red with a big bushy tail and pointy, fluffy ears!
Finally, I have seen a squirrel! Things don’t get much better than that…
Until next time,
Imogen J�
IDAR-OBERSTEIN MINE
Main
z
Würzbur
g

Imogen is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Coonabarabran

Oo la la! What a month it has been! I shall start with the holidays. I did various things including; eat
snails for the first time – chewy and very garlicy! Went to the local art museum, took pictures of
Montargis at night, played golf in the rain with a 16yr old nearly pro golfer – when they told me I’d be
playing golf one afternoon I thought it would just be hit and giggle! Oh how wrong I was! And went to
Chateau Fountainbleu – one of the most amazing Chateau’s I have seen! So well kept and everything is so
ornate and extravagant.
I enjoy giving vegemite to my French friends and seeing their reactions when I say yes I eat that for
breakfast… went to an Irish Rock Concert on St Patrick’s day where it is probably the only place you will
find a 30 something bald French man head banging with a piccolo in his hand…Got 11/32 in a history
exam, pretty chuffed about that! And have Saturday morning class’ of French Literature! I also find it
very strange that they think playing Frisbee for 2hrs a week equates at “sport” and they don’t know what
netball is :/ But life started to get really awesome from the 24 th of March… District conference.
The District 1720 Rotary Conference in Abbey Fontevraud was where I met everyone in my district for
the first time. In the conference there was an hour where I listened to – though not really understanding -
a little old ex military French man with a WICKED comb over talk for about an hour on how he thinks
Europe should become one country and the nations be states like in the USA. When I was told this was
what I had been sitting through for the past hour I was genuinely surprised! I also met a man who had
once owned a French Restaurant in Port in the 80’s! – small world! Over the weekend I stayed at my
councillor’s house- as she took me to the conference- and on Saturday night her two children took me out.
I was very surprised when upon entering the venue at 11.30pm! There were small children running
around/falling asleep where there was a bar and a DJ! No age restrictions on who could come in and
where you could be just on who could physically buy alcohol! The next day she took me to a chocolate
fair! Everything imaginable was made in chocolate- t’was heaven!
The following weekend was the best weekend of my life (so far!) was Annecy!!!! 30 th March – 1 st April.
This is where EVERY rotary exchange student in France came together for a weekend of shenanigans and
awesomeness in the beautiful city of Annecy near the Swiss border. It started with a TGV ride from Paris
to Annecy with the other students in my distinct. – Love, love, LOVE these people!! We took a bus with
another district to one of the two hotels that were housing over 400 rotary kids where we dumped our
stuff and got ready for that night. We bussed to the other hotel and started to meet everyone else.
Argentinean’s are seriously crazy when they all get together all you can here is singing and dancing! –
Actually really jealous! Of course there was the whole “Auzzie Auzzie Auzzie” thing going on but
nothing equated to the South Americans! Flags used as capes were generally the way you identified who
was from where. That night we had a “Discoteque” basically a massive dance party – with no alcohol,
and everyone was just going up to one another introducing each other swapping pins and business cards
and having a good time.
The night ended at 12pm (their equivalent of about 10pm). The next morning I had my first bowl of
cereal in about seven weeks! SO GOOD! My district - 1720 - had grey shirts to identify each other with,
personally I think it was a better choice then a red or blue scarf, or a fluro yellow cap! We went to the
conference area and listened to people talk about Annecy’s bid for winter Olympics 2018, and a Japanese
exchange student talked about the nuclear crisis in Japan last year. Apparently it was a very moving
speech, but seeing as I’ve only been here a month and a half I had no idea what she was saying L� We

then had a picnic and walked to the boats that would take us on a tour of the lake and to the centre of
town where we would have a group photo and took a turn around the park. Back to the boats to the
convention centre for dinner and night time festivities. Each district did a skit or a dance. This was
followed by dinner and another disco with proper DJ’s! Such a great night – finishing at 2am! Sunday
morning was saying goodbye to awesome new friends and a TVG ride back to our various locations. Best
weekend EVER! Met so many totally awesome people from all around the world. Had withdrawls for a
week afterwards!
And this weekend is Easter, spent in St George Di Didonne. Sunday I went to church – by myself as my
family isn’t religious. Mass in French was certainly an experience. After a lunch of cooked muscles on
chips we rode 5k’s to Royan, walked around and ate ice-cream and had strawberry and chocolate crepes
for dinner. Ah so good! Monday we went to Rochefort where they are building a replica of the boat
l’Hermione.
The bulk of the ships interior and deck was painted red – not to lok pretty but because of the amount of
battles they got into and so you wouldn’t be able to tell boat from blood… Interesting idea. And a Rope
museum… Fun times Till next month!!! Courtney Krahe
Courtney is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise

Hello! So my other Yeppers have been fails! So here’s everything in one big chunk! I will
first add my first two months then add a new section for March, here goes. :)
Austria, exchange, finally! pre-January seemed to drag on for months, and I thought the
time would never come when I had to say goodbye to all my family and friends... But, of
course, when the 1st of January finally rolled around, the time flew unbelievably, I’m now
realising little things I should have done, like checked my bags to make sure I had
clothes I wanted! Oh well, just leaves more room for shopping!
Which brings me to my second day in Austria, I was exhausted and jetlagged, however
found time to shop, which was excellent, a bit bigger than Port Macquarie, which is
always nice! After settling in for the weekend I was off to school, my subjects included;
German, French, History, Geography, Religion, Physics, Chemistry, Psychology, Maths,
Gym and of course English! Since then I have managed to drop a few needless classes
like French and Chemistry, which enables me to get a bit of a sleep in a day a week,
which is nice! It’s also practical as I don’t see myself being so talented as to learn a
language within a language! ha! So, I had school for 2 weeks, got into the routine of
understanding nothing, finished 3 books but made some friends, both involved in the
Exchange Program and from school.
On the 5th of Feb I headed to Altmünster, in the Salzkammergut region of Austria, east
of Salzburg (the Sound of Music country!), the area is also characterised by many
beautiful lakes and also the magnificent Traunstein, as in my picture above! At the
language camp I met my fellow inbounds for the year, 27 Australians, a handful of both
Brazilians and Argentinians (lovely people) and of course 3 kiwi girls, whom i also
adore:)
Anyway we had 12 days of Deutsch-lernen und Sprachen! But German grammar is very
complicated, so there was a whole lot of that thrown in also!
We also got the opportunity to travel to Salzburg on the Sunday, which was fantastic, I
visited both Mozart’s residence and birth place. The whole day was lovely, and as
always, cold, but not toooo bad!

After Language Camp finished I went to my 4th host families house as we had a week’s
break from school. It was a good opportunity to get to know them, although I did miss my
first host family quite a bit, having spent 3 weeks away! My host mother in the 4th family
is an actress, so I had the opportunity to watch her perform in an Oscar Wilde play, the
Ideal Husband, I didn’t understand a great deal, but however I still enjoyed it! Since
Language Camp etc I have just been settling back into normal life, which includes me
getting up at 6am, which is not always so fun! But I am enjoying every day! I am proud to
say I haven’t yet been homesick, but that’s not to say I’m not missing my family a great
deal! I love them and I talk to them quite a lot, but it doesn’t affect my life in Austria, so I
see it to be fine:) I admit I am a little shy when it comes to speaking German, I use a few
words frequently, but not a lot more than that. However, I have organised with another
Australian inbound to begin a second language course, which I'm really hoping will be
beneficial, one of the August inbounds attended the same course, and it had made a
significant difference to their learning, so we thought we would give it a try!
Tomorrow I go to take a test to determine what level class I am placed in so on and so
forth, but I am eager to begin!
My Plans for the next month include my German course, unfortunately that is going to be
interrupted from the word go, as it commences on the 15th of March and I have Ski
Camp with Rotary on the 19th-24th! I know, hard life right! But I’m sure I will somehow
work it out!
Oh well, I guess time will tell! I’m just excited about everything to come!
Auf Widersehen! Tschüs! Bis Bald! Alles Gut, Phoebe!

MARCH:
March has been a great month! I attended a ski camp with about 80 other exchange students
from all over Austria and we went to Schladming..Which getting there was an experience in
itself! We managed to turn a 4 or so hour train trip into a 9 hour one!! At least we got to see a
new part of Austria! :) Anyway we had 4 mornings of lessons and 6 days of skiing in total, it was
a very fun experience and I loved it.. Ski Camp was also nice as I got to meet a lot of the
‘Oldies’ , ( the August group) ..

I have recently just gotten back from Munich with my host sister and Mother, it was lovely to
spend time with them as I am soon moving to my second family, although I am excited I am also
nervous and extremely sad to leave my first family as we have such a strong and natural
connection and I really love them! Other than ski camp and Munich life has been continuing as
normal, with school and hanging with friends, and now easter! We have just had a weeks break
from school and it was a nice refreshing change:) Not too much to report this month :) I have
included some ski camp photos, the scenery is just amazing!
My
Amazing
host
parents!!
^^
Bye for
now:)
Phoebe!!
Phoebe is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie West

This month has gone by in a flash! I can’t talk about everything so I will talk about my highlights.
Annecy. It was an event held in France where every exchange student within the country was in the same
room, basically. I had an awesome time, hanging out with new people, and those from my own district.
Though it was incredibly painful to know that Switzerland was 10 minutes away and we couldn’t go…. I
was also featured on both French and British national television. How awesome is that? Met the Minister
of Defence , who was involved in that case which the terrorist/serial killer in Toulouse earlier this month.
Found out that my class in going to New York in Jan or Feb (fingers crossed that I will be able to
go)…oh, and I started school! Day 1, I spent the day with the host brother, Thomas (18), getting to know
the place, Day 2 I had an entire group of friends. I’ve been to the Rotary Club a few times, they are all
really nice, laid-back guys. My host family has been trying to convince me that my language has
improved – but I think they are fairly optimistic. I also saw one of the largest Navy ports in France which
was epic. I went to a football match and was waved at, and cheered by the French team. Why? Because
Matt Giteau is an Australian and I was waving an Australian flag. If you want to see any more photos –
just look at my Facebook.
-­‐ Caitlin, France

Caitlin is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Laurieton

Hey hey!
I have just experienced the best time of my exchange year, SAFARI! It’s hard to describe how
great it was. I enjoyed nearly every second of it, met the most beautiful people, made new friendships,
seen half of Australia and and and… If I could I would go back straight away, don’t even care about
setting up tents every night and putting them down in the morning… But before that we had a little pretaste
at the Inverell District conference. It was lovely to catch up with everyone in our district, meet the
newbies and get excited for safari J� So a few days later I was already on my way to Port to depart in the
next morning and drive down to Sydney to pick up the Tassie’s. Afterwards we drove to Canberra to meet
the others. Bendigo, Melbourne, Warrnambool, Naracoorte, Gladstone, Coober Pedy, Curtin Springs,
Ayers Rock, Kings Creek, Alice Springs, Cairns, Airlie Beach, Raglan, Coolum Beach, Byron Bay and
Sydney in 24 days with 38 other students. I’ve never seen so much in such a short amount of time. I loved
Melbourne, sitting in the pool with everyone, playing on the guitar or ukulele, singing… I loved Great
Ocean Road where we took a helicopter ride, I loved the beach at Warrnambool, the gaol at Gladstone,
the opal at Coober Pedy… The landscape was so different to what I was used to. It wasn’t all flat though
like I thought because of the rain, but all the trees were soo terribly short and the ground was red. We
would drive for hours and would have maybe one curve on our road. And nothing surrounding us... When
we got to Uluru, so excited about seeing it, it was shut so we couldn’t climb it… They reopened it in the
afternoon though so we all went and it was so amazing! Very exhausting but the feeling when you’re on
top is hard to describe… In Alice Springs we experienced true Aboriginal culture, bought souvenirs and
went to a really great didgeridoo show. From all the dry and hot weather we flew into Cairns, the tropics.
The feeling when you get off the plane after 1.5h and you feel like you’re in a greenhouse…! The time in
Cairns was amazing. We stayed at a really cool place with a pool where we took a swim every day and
real beds so it was luxury compared to the tents! We went out to the rainforest, had a swim in the Millaa
Millaa Falls which was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced. It was so beautiful being
behind the falls and when you look up you see the water flowing behind you! The next day we went
diving at the Great Barrier Reef and I think I don’t have to emphasize how great that was… The whole
day on the boat seeing “Finding Nemo” live! On the next day we went ocean rafting at Airlie Beach
between the Whitsunday Islands. It was probably the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen. The white sand,
the tropic islands, incredibly blue water… and snorkelling, having lunch and a swim in the bluest water
you’ve ever seen, ocean rafting with music and your friends, how much better can it get? After that we
went on a property in Raglan, felt so much like home in Australia since I lived on farms. It was very
pretty and we had a great night there, singing karaoke and dancing with everyone, it was great! We drove
down to Dreamworld on the next day which was pretty cool, then to Byron Bay. It is an awesome place
and I really enjoyed it! The beach is beautiful, we went surfing which was heaps fun and the atmosphere
is unique. And then safari was nearly over… we went to Sydney for two nights which was really nice
since I love it, we went shopping and just enjoyed walking in the city J� The last night was the hardest
night in my whole exchange… saying goodbye to everyone was heartbreaking! I never cried that much
during those 8 months. It was even more terrible saying goodbye to my own district because I wasn’t sure
whether I would even see them… I love you guys so so so much and I really hope we will catch up some
time, somewhere in the world. Thanks to Rotary and the company for giving me this experience. It was
one of the best in my life and unforgettable!!!
Lots and lots of love, Amelia

Amelia is hosted by the Rotary Club of Walcha

Hi everyone!
What an eventful month the last one was! District Conference, Safari my change to my last host family
and an awesome holiday on Fraser Island, there is certainly a lot to tell you about!
The 21 days of Safari where incredible! We were 39 exchange Students out of three Districts and
everyone contributed to the uniqueness of the trip!
At this point I want to say thank you to our “fearless” leaders James and Diana, the Tasmanian
counsellors Cheryl and Paul who made the trip special, our cook Wendy (who was certainly giving us too
much to eat ) and our bus driver Doug.
It is really difficult to sum up everything we did, but I will try my best.
We went to a gold mine in Bendigo, I bought a new bag at the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne and
we had a stunning helicopter flight over the Twelve Apostles. It was the first helicopter flight in my life
and I really enjoyed it!
We had a nightly ghost tour in an old prison and spent the night there. The Gladstone prison was shot
down a long time ago and the old warden was telling us stories about babies being borne and suicides
being committed, I admit it, I had goose bumps at the end. We went to the Opal town Coober Pedy and
slept underground. We slept twice outside under the stars in the middle of the Australian Outback, so we
could see the Southern Cross as we were drifting away into the world of dreams.
One of the Highlights of the trip was surely climbing Uluru. When we went to Uluṟu-Kata-Tjuṯa-
Nationalpark in the morning, the climb was closed due to the strong winds at the summit, which was
really disappointing news. But we were lucky and we were allowed to climb it after lunch (Dorritos for
lunch that day). Even though the Aboriginal ask tourists to respect their religion and therefore not climb
the Rock as it is a sacred place for them, I decided to do it. It seemed to me to be a once in a lifetime
opportunity and I am really glad I did it! It was an unbelievable feeling reaching the top and hugging all
the other exchange students up there! This afternoon is surely one I will never forget!
After a walk through the Kings Canyon, dressing up our boys as “Priscilla Queens of the Desert”, riding a
Camel and getting really close to massive snakes during the reptile demonstration we had a didgeridoo
concert. We visited the Royal Flying Doctors Service and then we were already on our way to the Coast.
We luckily flew from Alice Springs to Cairns which saved us a couple hours on the coach, we certainly
spent a lot of time in this bus. And I was really glad to be close to the ocean again!
I have already been in Cairns with my first host family and I have loved it and so it was this time! It was
really amazing! We saw in Lake Eacham which was formed by a volcanic eruption and we got to see the
Milla Milla falls. I am sure everyone has seen the Herbal Essence shampoo ad where the girl flings her
hair back in front of a stunning waterfall. Well, the ad was produced at the Milla Milla falls so we all had
to give it a try. We all loved Paul who was our tour guide for the day and provided us with lots of
chocolate and funny games, so we didn’t complain about his smelly tour bus.

We went snorkelling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef and then continued out trip past the Big
Gumboot to the Whitsundays. We spent an awesome day on the Whitsunday passage including ocean
rafting (no, that has nothing to do with rafting, it is more like speed boat driving :D) and snorkelling. We
sunbathed at Whitehaven Beach then continued our journey south.
I got off the coach in
my host town Coffs
Harbour as the tour
was proceeding
from Byron Bay to
Sydney.
Instead of going
down to Sydney I
went to on a
holiday north with my
4 th host family. We went to Fraser Island, the biggest sand island in
the world! And there was a lot of sand! :D The
different colours ranged from white to yellow, from orange to red, from grey to black. It was stunning!
We had a really good time and shared our camp involuntarily with wild dingoes, which was a bit scary at
night time.
The songs “Paradise” from Coldplay and “Don´t worry, be happy” made sure that we would start every
morning with a big smile. We went swimming in inland fresh water lakes, went for walks, and we were
sliding down the massive sand dunes on body boards. And of course we had a lot sausage sangers! They
were really yummy!
After a week we left the Island and we went to the Sunshine Coast. We went to Australia Zoo,
Dreamworld and Outback Spectacular and I really enjoyed myself!
And there is still one week of holidays left!
Lots of love,
Katharina.
Katharina is hosted by the Rotary Club of Coffs Harbour