Here's to the nights we won't remember and the friends we will never forget

Goodbye is not a fun word.

We've learned that over the last few days. It is currently Monday morning for us, and we've had to say goodbye to so many friends and people who we now think of as family.

District 9550 conference was 'fantastic'! We had our final presentation in Australia, and it was a blast! We treated the Rotarians to a song about our time here, a few words about our experiences and a slideshow (to be posted soon!) that brought back great memories.

Townsville sunrise also had a hand in making the Conference trip so memorable. As we wrapped up our presentation we were accosted by Pirates and held for ransom - more than $3000 for Foundation!

We are about to board our flight for home, not looking forward to leaving but definitely looking forward to seeing our friends and family! See you all soon! No worries, mate!

Andrew

Andrew on the Great Barrier Reef

Well we are in our final week, with the trip culminating in Cairns, with the District Conference. It has been an incredible journey, filled with so many moments of awe and inspiration. We were in the world heritage site rain forest yesterday and today we had an excellent round of vocational visits. This afternoon we visited an exporter of tropical fish. A huge array of fish legally collected from the reef destined for large aquariums and pet shops around the world. It was fantastic to see so many fish up close and understand how they make the journey from Australia to other parts of the world withing 36 hours.

Hope you enjoy a few of the photos recently taken in and around Townsville, Mission Beach, Atherton and Port Douglas....

Kathy

Going Up the Coast to Cairns

We departed Townsville this morning for Ingham, having stopped along the way for a beautiful taste of tropical ice creams. It is getting noticeably more humid as we get deeper into the tropical rainforest. We are now in sugar cane country and today had a look at the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere (5 km) which conveys the sugar from the mill to the receiving ships. A beautiful beach area that once again has warning signs of crocodiles. Tonight we join the Ingham Rotary clubs for a BBQ. We have enjoyed many of these Aussie traditions during our stay. Tomorrow we head north to Tully and Mission Beach. Got to go, the BBQ is heating up.

Paradise found!! Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island Just Pulls You In!

As usual, the Rotarians who greeted us on 'Maggie Island' were extremely hospitable and treated us to a BBQ of chicken, steak, sausages, lots of salads, beer, and wine.

Later on in the evening we slipped away to an open air bar on the beach where we danced, drank, star gazed, and fell in love . . . with the island.

Our entire team returned with big smiles after a cruise around the island with John and Annette on their 58' catamaran.  Our one and only stop was in Florence Bay where we snorkeled and had a delicious lunch of cold ham, chicken, salad, and prawns.  Chad managed to assume the captains position at the helm to guide us through the shallows and reefs while everyone else lazed around and worked on their tans and snapped pictures.  There are lots of pictures to follow and more detailed updates about our time in Townsville.