From Iceland to Hobart, Film School in Sydney, an Irishman in Grafton and more

I'm a bit behind in posting my latest reports so I'll combine 2 weeks of visitors in this one. They were again a very varied and interesting bunch.

I met a lady and her daughter and 2 children from Iceland. I think these are the first visitors I've come across from Iceland. Actually she was an ethnic Thai living in Iceland and was here to spend time with her Icelandic husband who spends much of each year working in Hobart, Tasmania. It was their first trip to Australia and they only visited Tasmania. Our conversation included a mix of England, Icelandic (daughter to mother) and some Thai language.

One Swedish guy that I chatted to was in Sydney to attend a Film School course. The course was good but his comment about the film 'Australia' wasn't - 'the worst film he has ever seen'. This movie has certainly received very mixed reactions from the 'very enjoyable' through to that of this Swedish visitor.

Spending a few days in Sydney on their way to New Zealand to work were a couple of different US visitors. The first was a young couple who were going to spend 5 months in religious related work in Tauranga on the New Zealand North Island. The other was an older couple from Alaska who were off to Christchurch where the husband was to take up a University lecturer position in Mathematics.

Also on the way to New Zealand was a very friendly Catholic priest from Christchurch who had spent time bushwalking in the Blue Mountains and attending a religious retreat in Sydney.

Other visitors of note included the following:-

* A young Irish guy who had been working on construction equipment in Jindabyne and Grafton, NSW. He was going home for a short break and then back here to work for another year.

* An Aussie guy and his family heading back to Illinois, USA where he has his own business selling hand made soaps and other products.

* A 40's NZ couple who had visited family and friends in Mullavey, Bathurst and Moree - all in country NSW.

* A Swiss businessman travelling on a South African passport. He spent one week in Sydney and was off to China and Japan, also on business.

* An Irish couple who were here to visit their son who was working in Dunsborough, WA. They also visited Central Australia, Cairns and Sydney.

* A friendly young French girl who studied Sociology for one semsester at Sydney University and in her Uni breaks, backpacked around much of the country. Her accommodation included camping, hostels and sleeping in cars.

Bondi For A Day And School In Hobart

I did a shorter shift this week at the airport so didn't get to chat to as many visitors as normal but still came across quite an interesting and varied bunch.

There was lovely older Scottish lady travelling home on Qantas who had been here to visit relatives in Cessnock in the Hunter Valley and also sampled and bought wine at 2 wineries. She said that they had been living in Australia now for 45 years and loved the Hunter Valley area.

I chatted to a guy from the Netherlands who was just in transit for the day from NZ. He went to see friends in Bondi and also spent some time at the beach, all within the space of the few hours that he had here. There was also a group of 3 English guys who had just spent 5 days in Sydney after coming from NZ. This included a very big last night in town from which I think they were still suffering!!

Another fellow from the Netherlands that I met had been here training crane operators that work over water in Newcastle Harbour. Others I talked to included a young Irish woman living in Singapore and a Thai male in Sydney for just 2 days on business.

The youngest traveller I came across was a young Thai student- around 15 or 16 years old - who is studying at High School in Hobart. He was travelling alone back home to Bangkok for a family visit. What a contrast it would be between home in huge, chaotic, bustling Bangkok and the much quieter and peaceful surrounds of Tasmania.

Till next week.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse