By Ray Bowyer
Margie and I had the opportunity in October to travel to Australia. The purpose of the trip was to attend the Friendship Force International Conference in Gold Coast.

We stopped overnight in Los Angeles both going and coming to visit family and to break up the long trip. The travel from Los Angeles to Gold Coast took 19 hours. We found out that Gold Coast is an actual place name, in addition to being the identifier of a region. It is on the east coast of Australia, about 430 miles north of Sydney. The conference hotel was the Surfer’s Paradise Marriott in the city of Gold Coast.

Margie and Ray Bowyer on the water near Gold Coast.

We weren’t sure what we expected Gold Coast to look like, but definitely not what it turned out to be. Gold Coast must have 40 or more buildings at least 30 stories tall. One of the buildings is the tallest residential structure in the world (there are taller office buildings). The beach and water are beautiful. An interesting difference from beaches we were used to is that the life guards stay in elevated structures well back from the water, rather than being up close to the water.

The conference took place over four days—October 2 through 5. There were sessions on club leadership, on how to run better exchanges (both outgoing and incoming), and on how to establish a club website, among others. We found the conference sessions informative and useful.

An Outback Experience
A highlight of the conference was the entertainment chosen for one evening, called the Outback Extravaganza. We were provided bus transportation to the event, which included a dinner and a presentation on some of the skills necessary to operate a “station”, as the Australian ranches are called. There were riding, roping, horseback races, and other events. Everyone who attended was provided with an Australian outback hat, which we were able to carry all the way back home.

At the final session of the conference, awards for outstanding performance were given. The Aichi, Japan, club received the award for outstanding Friendship Force Club. A member of the Dallas, Texas, club and a member of the Slovakia club were given awards for outstanding individual performance.

Our Home-Stay
After the conference, attendees were offered the opportunity of a home-stay with members of four nearby Friendship Force clubs. We were assigned to a very pleasant couple who were members of the Brisbane Friendship Force club. The host shared our interest in sailing, and it was fun to get the viewpoint of residents of another country. Every evening, we would watch the television news to see how far the Australian stock market had fallen, and every morning we would log in to the internet to see how far the New York Stock Exchange had fallen.

Australian Hospitality
Here are some of the activities planned by the Brisbane club during the exchange:

• Visiting a large koala preserve to see koalas and kangaroos in near-natural settings.
• Visiting a tropical rain forest, including a picnic arranged by the club.
• Visiting the Queenstand Museum (Gold Coast and Brisbane are in the state of Queensland)
• Two dinners in homes put on by the club. One of the dinners was in the room where the Brisbane club holds their regular meetings.
• A round trip on one of the ferries that provides local transportation for the people of Brisbane.

There was one free evening, during which we took our hosts to dinner in a beautiful restaurant right beside the Brisbane River.

Our Post-Conference Tour
After the home-stay, we took advantage of a post-conference tour which had been arranged by the conference organizers, along with 11 other attendees. We first flew from Brisbane to Cairns, which is farther north on the Australian east coast. The first day, the tour group took the scenic train ride from Cairns to Kurunda, returning on the aerial tramway. That day also included a show of traditional Aborigine culture, including an opportunity to throw a spear and a boomerang.

The next day, the group boarded a sailing catamaran for a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. I was able to do some SCUBA diving, Margie did some snorkeling, and together we went in the semi-submersible submarine, all of which provided opportunities to view the abundant sea life and coral of the reef.

Ayers Rock

The Bowyers at Ayers Rock, in the center of Australia.

The following day, the group flew to Ayers Rock, in the center of Australia. We were able to see the rock at sunrise and at sunset. The second evening at Ayers Rock, the program included a beautiful candlelight dinner under the stars. After enjoying traditional Australian food (including emu, crocodile, and kangaroo), we had a presentation by an astronomer on the constellations of the southern sky, including pointing them out.

I have a niece in Sydney, so we left the group when the plane arrived in Sydney, to have a visit with the niece, her husband, and their ten-month-old son. The first day, we enjoyed a tour of downtown Sydney, including visiting the maritime museum. The second day was spent on the beach right beside my niece’s home, enjoying the water and the sand.

The return flight from Sydney to Los Angeles was 13 hours by a constant clock, but -5 hours by the calendar and the clock—departing Sydney at 11:20 a.m. and arriving in Los Angeles at 6:40 a.m. the same day.