The New Zealand Team had a wonderful time and were extremely well looked after. We enjoyed meeting Rotarians from a wide range of interests. However, we believe visits to a Rotary Club where there is a full programme in place is very difficult for both parties. It is unnecessary for every club to host the Friendship Exchange guests, especially if they are not hosting.
The main highlights of our trip were;
At Nanaimo, five clubs were invited to join the meeting and meet our Team. We learnt how Nanaimo had changed their meeting structure to two formal meetings a month. Our visit to Cathedral Cove, Port Alberni and dinner at the Dinghy Pot Pub were all appreciated.
In Victoria we all liked the waterfront especially the water taxis’ Ballet. The salmon barbeque was enjoyed as we appreciated the time and effort put into this event, and of course we all had a great time at the beautiful Buchart Gardens and again appreciated our picnic lunch. A lovely city.
Our hosts of Port Angeles met us off the ferry and took us up to Hurricane Ridge. The drive up was as stunning as the views from the top. We also enjoyed the walk to the dismantling of the Elwha River Dam and consequent re establishment of the beach and surrounds.
We did enjoy the Poulsbo Rotary Meeting and the young Rotoract members who were very keen to help with projects. A good tour of the destroyer “Turner Joy” was also a good outing for those that went. Dinner at home with hosts and our team was also a highlight. Our day in Seattle was great. We loved the glass exhibition, the waterfront and market. Our farewell by the young “Scandinavians” was also appreciated.
Olympia also had a hosts and guests dinner which was most enjoyable. The history of Puget Sound and Tumwater Fall Park was great. Seeing the waterfalls and the fish ladder, especially with the salmon running was also interesting. The tour of the State Capital and Temple of Justice was extremely well done. Those that visited Wolf Haven thoroughly appreciated the special treatment and those that visited the Children’s Museum were most impressed.
To sum up the whole trip, we noticed that Rotarians were well represented as elected representatives on local council and state Government. Also the above mentioned organizations had a generous number of their officials as Rotarians. A very good cross section of the community were members. However, it was the people we all met. Getting to know the people in our own team was a bonus, but our marvellous hosts and people we met through Rotary throughout Vancouver Island and Washington State, was the major highlight of the whole trip.
Many thanks to the organisers for making this such a memorable happy time.