Jim Bacon:Yosemite Sam meets the Tasmanian Devil

Trip Start Mar 09, 2008
1
11
Trip End Apr 11, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow
Where I stayed
Home stays in Hobart and Kingston Beach
(Hobart hotels)

Flag of Australia  ,
Sunday, March 16, 2008

We're here!  After a 13.5 hour flight we arrived in Sydney on Tuesday morning around 6:30 in the morning local time.  We took the scenic train around the airport, just to see the sight really, we wanted to jump-start the trip.  Finally, we arrived where we started at the international terminal and grabbed our bags.  Carol had to arm wrestle two bushmen just to get her seeds in the country, she won handily.  Finally, we jumped our puddle-hopper over to Tassie arriving in Hobart around 10:30 local time.

We were greeted by our hosts.  A good bunch.  Had a scare though, Brian's bag didn't turn up at the baggage claim.  Came through later though.  From the airport we loaded up in cars and headed out to have lunch and meet up with host families.  I think every one of us went for the driver's side door thinking it was the passenger seat, our hosts had a laugh.  Still trying to get used to being on the wrong side of the road! 

We got settled into our homestays and had a day off to kick the jet-lag.  Thursday and Friday were vocational days for us.  Poor Brian's been hit with the most rigorous and exhausting schedule, but he's getting through.  The rest of us have been taking our time and enjoying our visits. 

Gave our first presentation on Friday night at the Parliament House.  We learned that Jim Bacon was a popular and reveared political figure in Tasmania until he died in 2004 from lung cancer.  It's made for some interesting conversation and Jim was the subject of a lot of jokes at our first club meeting.  Nevertheless, the presentation went well.  We panicked for not having the right plug and cable, Carol turns up, takes one look, and points out the proper adapter.  There's a reason she's the team leader!

So our presentation went off finally without a hitch and we came to the end of our first homestay.  We switched to the Kingston Rotary Club on Saturday after a morning at the Salamanca Market - a weekly farmer market near the waterfront. 
Slideshow Print this entry