Club Activities
WELLINGTON CLUB FRIENDSHIP FORCE CALENDAR 2010
Upcoming Events
- Sunday September 12th
Time Cinema 191 Sutherland Road, Lyall Bay.
Time 1.30 for 2pm.
Cost $16 - Afternoon tea included.
Programme, old documentaries, cartoons, newsreels, etc.
Send cheque to 20A Avalon Crescent, Lower Hutt, but make cheque out to Friendship Force. Contact Erica 5674 568 or Jeanette 801 9679 if you need transport.
- Sunday Nov 7 Xmas lunch Gear Homestead.
- Sunday Dec 5 AGM - Parrot & Jigger 3pm
Inward Exchanges:
Perth: September 30 to October 7, 2010 with Wed Oct 6 being the Farewell Dinner
Brasov: Wednesday 17th November – Wednesday 24th November. Tues Nov 23 - Farewell Dinner
Nut & Bolts Day
Jenny and I attended the Sanson Nuts & Bolts Day last Sunday, (lower North Island Clubs). A welcome morning tea following by a promotion of exchanges and introductions from the various clubs present – New Plymouth, Hawera, Manuawatu, Horowhenua, Kapiti, Wellington, Wairarapa & Napier. Most clubs were well represented with a total of about 140 people.
After lunch we were entertained with fun and games sorry Jenny & I didn’t manage to win the Nuts & Bolts trophy. General FF matters were discussed in the afternoon – Legacy fund, reason why exchanges need to be planned so far ahead, private people asking for FF hosting, the increase in fees proposed by Atlanta amongst other matters.
It is now Wellingtons turn to host the event next year as we are the only club in this area not yet to do so.
Monday 2 August Wairarapa Friendship Force Club visited Wellington for the day. The weather wasn’t too bad, given the forecast, but the sun came out and we were able to enjoy time together walking through the botanical gardens, having lunch at the Skyline (unfortunately the meal was not be recommended, but the views are great!), visiting the Cable Car Museum, Weka Cave and finishing at the City and Sea Museum.
We heard from the Wairarapa Club that they had an enjoyable day, the bonus being able to do all the travel courtesy Gold Card. We were glad to have the opportunity to host friends from over the hill for the day as we frequently take clubs we are hosting to the Wairarapa. We will be joining with them again for lunch and a farm visit during the Perth exchange on 4 October.
Thanks to Graham and Jenny for organising the programme.
Report of exchange to Thailand and Indonesia April 2010
Unfortunately there was only a small group of 12 intrepid travellers on this exchange but we all had a very interesting time and a unique experience of two cultures that are very different from New Zealand. We travelled first to Lamphun in Northern Thailand and saw no sign of the problems that were occurring in Bangkok at the time. The main problem that we faced was the >40 degree heat! This was somewhat alleviated by the fact that our trip co-incided with the Sokhran festival (Buddhist New Year), during which large quantities of water are thrown. We joined a procession one afternoon and, as foreigners, rapidly became targets. This was delightfully cooling until some people added ice to the water they threw over you! We found the Thai people to be incredibly friendly and wonderful hosts.
After an interesting four day excursion to Chaing Rai and the Golden Triangle it was time to move on to our second week of hosting. Whereas Thailand is very much a Buddhist country, Indonesia is definitely Moslem. However, we found the people very open in both countries. Yogyakarta, abbreviated to Jogja, is a very old city with a long and interesting history. It has been the capital of Indonesia and is still the cultural and educational capital. It is also very interesting geologically, being a very seismically active area which boasts an active volcano and which experienced a major earthquake only 4 years ago. We were able to visit a school that had been rebuilt after this. We were fortunate to be able to visit two major temples near the city, one Buddhist and one Hindu, both dating back over 1200 years. The Hindu one, Prambanan, was still undergoing reconstruction after major earthquake damage.
We were made very welcome by both clubs that we visited and learned a lot about their cities and their culture. Exchanges are what Friendship Force is all about and I hope that more of you will be able to join our next exchange to North America next year.
MATIU/SOMES ISLAND – MARCH 2010
A glorious Wellington day and Kapiti Friendship Force joined in celebrating World Friendship Day on an Island in the Wellington Harbour. Sun hats and sun screen were certainly needed as we were guided around the Island by DOC rangers.
Facilities have been recently opened and we had an interesting tour through the quarantine buildings and the sleeping quarters of the detainees held on the Island during World War II. We were surprised to learn that the male detainees were NZ citizens but because of their country of origin (Italy, Germany and Japan) were held captive on the Island.
With community effort over 30,000 native trees have been planted and the island is returning to its natural beauty with every increasing insect, reptile and bird life.
A great day beginning and ending with a harbour cruise.
