29 February

Hello everyone, I am Aisha. I will tell you about our day in Bunbury. First we woke up early because we had to be ready at 6.50 am. We ate breakfast at a lovely place.



Then we went to the Dolphin Discovery Centre. It was at the Koombana Bay. When we arrived there our guide came and told us there was a dolphin just at the shore. She gave us 10 minutes to look at the dolphin. After that we had to put on a wetsuit. We all had some trouble putting it on ann we all thought we looked ridiculous. During our time on the boat a lot of us became seasick. Even Liam and Maaike had to vomit. Then we had to put on our goggles. It was finally time to go in the sea. Swimming with dolphins wasn’t that successful, but we did spot some dolphins with their calves. It was really beautiful to see the mother and the calf swim together.



Afterwards, we saw some fish in an aquarium , we even saw Nemo and Dory!


After that we had some free time to explore the town. Some people went shopping and bought some souvenirs. At 6 pm we all went to the Marlston lookout. There were a lot of steps. It was also very windy. But when we were at the top, we had a very beautiful view. We all took many pictures.












When we came down, there was a surprise. Darcy came! Darcy is a friend of ours from Collie senior high. He accompanied us at dinner. We all had fun. After dinner we all went to our rooms. So this was our last day in Bunbury. It was a really fun day and also a sunny day.

Goodnight everyone!

28 February

Hey everyone. I’m Gwerne - as you probably all know by now... and I will tell you about our day today. So first I woke up to get dressed and go to school where we all gathered. We said goodbye to the people who have now become close friends, and for that reason a lot of us cried. The goodbye wasn’t without tears!! So we’ve decided we will come back in two years to visit our friends :)))

  After the goodbyes we went to Bunbury, but first we had a few stops. One at a coal mine in Collie and one at Wellington dam, where we had a beautiful view!



We also had a stop at Black Diamond, which is a lake.


We ate at the Bunbury Wildlife Park where we also saw a lot of cool animals.

Our final stop before going to the hotel was the beach. We all really wanted to go for a swim, because there finally was some sun. It was awesome!!
As you all can see, we had a pretty nice and busy day! In half an hour we are going to eat and then visit Bunbury's war memorial. Then for tonight, I think we will just relax a bit at the hotel. Goodnight everyone!

27 February

Hello!

Today, I'm the lucky student who is going to tell you more about our day. My name is Isaline and I've been sleeping at Ankia's house. We woke up to the smell of a delicious breakfast but had to eat it fast because we had to be at school by 8:30. We all went to the administration office where we had to sign in before starting our real day at Collie. When everybody was together, we listened to a little speech from Mr Croft. After that we all went to one of the new classrooms for a media lesson. We learned more about short films there. The next class that we had was English. We watched the beginning of the movie : The black balloon.

After that, the teacher gave us some time to talk some more with our Collie friends. I was really happy to meet some people for the first time, after talking to them for months through social media.

But we had a big day and couldn't stay for long. We changed into more comfortable clothes. We went to Collie river where we were met by Joe, who talked about the spirits of the river and sang in Aboriginal language. He also taught us to first throw some sand in the river before we go in, so that the spirit of the river knows we're coming.

The first activity of my group was kayaking, while the other group went mountainbiking. Of course, I was the only one from my group who fell into the water. After about an hour we returned and had a real sausage sizzle. Then my group went mountainbiking, during which we got the chance to see how beautiful Collie is. Even though it was a road with many ups and downs, we all enjoyed it. When we arrived back at the river, it was really warm so some students went back into the water to cool down. After that we went home. I think that everybody was happy to take a good shower.

 

At 5 pm we met up at the war memorial. A surprise was waiting for me: my friend Liam was there. I can't say how happy I was to see him again after so many months. We held a ceremony with war veterans, Collie teachers and students and their families. It was very emotional to remember the wars, the soldiers and their sacrifices.

When the ceremony was finished we all went to RSL (Returned Service League) where we had a barbecue. It was nice to take some time to chill and eat a great meal with our friends and their families. We were also really lucky because we received many gifts. Every student got a shirt from Collie Senior High School and a beautiful pen with a poppy. But it started to be late and the moment to say goodnight arrived. I cried a bit when we had to leave our Australian friends. I hope that we will see each other again.

26 February

Hi, I’m Axana and I’m going to talk to you about what I did with my host family. First I met Rachel, Sophie's mom and we talked about a lot of things, we then went to the neighbour’s kangaroo with Sophie’s brother and her mother, I got to feed and pet the kangaroo, it was awesome! We went for a little walk in the woods and then we drove of to the city centre and rode to Wellington dam and the coalmines. I had a great time with the family and I really enjoy my stay with them.

Hey, We're Lendl and Liam and we're going to tell you about what we did with the Croft family yesterday. First we put our stuff in our rooms and then we fed the cows, the chickens and the dogs. Liam drove a motorcycle around Mr Croft's land, but I was too scared. After that, we got ready for dinner: home-grown steak on the barbeque. It was delicious! After dinner we went for a walk in the woods and it was so dark. It was so nice and we love the stay here!




Hey I’m Gwerne. Yesterday we got to meet our host families and it was pretty awesome. Besides the fact that they had overlooked the exact date that I was coming and didn't expect me yet... but they were very sweet and caring! I first unpacked and then we went to a friend and after that we went to the shop to get some typical australian food (which I can bring home with me to Belgium ). After that we ordered fish & chips, delicious!!! And then me and Caithlyn just sat outside and talked for a while. It was very nice! I am really enjoying my stay here with them!



Me and isaline were both hosted by Ankia and her family, they are very nice. We also hung out with Gwerne (and her host) and with Liam and Lendl (with their host). Later that night we watched a movie and it was very nice. 



Fien and I (Jasmine) are staying with Temilee's family and they are so nice. We went to Stockton Lake and had a picknick with cake and chips. They let us taste Lammingtons and TimTams (those are Australian snacks). Later that night we went back to Stockton Lake and we went swimming in the blue water and even jumped off a cliff. We love our stay with them!





I am Maaike, I slept at Brianah's. The first thing we did was a game, cluedo and I won. We also went to the supermarket and there we bought some typical Australian snacks that I definitely had to try and they were tasty. While we were eating the snacks we watched a movie. We also played games on the Wii and after that Brianah's mother made pasta for us and she had made a dessert that I had never eaten but it was super tasty. Brianah and her family are super friendly it is very nice to stay here and definitely a nice experience.

I am Aisha. I slept at Grace's. First we went gown shopping, because Grace has an upcoming ball. Then we went shopping together which was really nice. Her house is 45 minutes away from town. On the way home I saw 2 kangaroos which I found exciting. When we got home we were making jokes and I taught them some words in Dutch. They live on a farm, so they have sheep, 2 dogs, a cat and an alpaca. The alpaca didn’t really like me but I think he was cute. The next morning we went to feed the sheep, I was really scared because they were stepping on my toes. Then I went to school with the schoolbus together with Grace and her sister, which was a new experience for me. The food that her mom made was really delicious. I really appreciate it that I could get the chance to stay with a host family. I made new friends. I really hope I’ll see them again.

25 February

Hi everyone

I’m Axana and I’m going to tell you what we did today. It was a great day with a great and, for some, healthy breakfast.


After our breakfast we went on the road for our first stop: Albany’s historic whaling station. The view was beautiful. We went on a tour about the whale hunting and how they made oil from the whales. Our guide was very passionate when she was talking and she explained everything so well. Some of the images were not a pretty sight. It was a very interesting tour and I liked it a lot.

The second stop was a war memorial in Denmark were I got to read my poem and the pledge. We ate something and got into our bus. 

After a drive we stopped at the Valley of the giant tree top walk. We walked on a bridge in between the trees. We had a beautiful view and we were all very proud of Isaline who walked on the bridge even with her fear of heights. After we walked in between the trees, we went for a little walk on the ground and we were trying to spot for quokkas but we couldn’t spot one. Not even with Liam calling for them.
  

Now we’re in our hotel celebrating Lendl’s birthday and we’re all enjoying our night.

Good night.

 

22-24 February 2020

Hello everybody, We are Lendl and Illissia and we're going to tell you about the start of our trip. The flights were long and boring sometimes but we could watch some good movies on the plane. The food wasn't that good but not bad either. After more than 24 hours, we got here.

After we slept a couple of hours we got into our bus and drove 5 hours from Perth to Albany.

First thing we did when we got here was go to the National ANZAC Centre. We learned more about the Australians and New-Zealanders who served in the First and Second World War. We each got a soldier and got to know his story, and whether he survived or died during the war. 

We also went to the War Memorial after this tour, where we got to read our poems and remember the fallen soldiers.
We got to our hotel and got to shower and get ready for dinner. We went to a restaurant where most of us ate pizza and me (Lendl) and Liam ate a steak. We just got back to the hotel and we're planning on going to sleep. It was a fun day and we enjoyed everything. Good night!