New Zealand reciprocal tour

 

The Reciprocal Tour is an exchange programme between the NSW RSL Youth Club Members and Members of RSA of New Zealand every second year. The two countries are linked by a common heritage in ANZAC Day.

 

PRIDE – PATIENCE – RESPECT – INTEGRITY – DIGNITY & ETHICS

 

The Tour Party consists of 30 Youth Club members and 3 Officials, Tour Manager, Assistant Manager and Chaperone. Tour lasts approximately 14 days and is organised by the Reciprocal Tour Committee of Youth Council. Selection of ambassadors is very strict and deep consideration is given to the choice of Youth Club members, who are chosen for the tour.

 

It is the aim of the Tour programme to forge a common bond of heritage, to set ideas and to build new and everlasting friendships. It broadens their outlook and strengthens youth and Youth Clubs in each country.

 

 

 

 

 

To The Youth Club Committee,

 

We would like to say thanks for the opportunity to participate in the NSW RSL New Zealand  Reciprocal Tour. It was a great chance for us to represent both Australia and the Youth Club in the ANZAC Day celebrations. We had a wonderful time and made great friends with people on our tour, as well as previous tour members from New Zealand.

 

We have been asked to present the Youth Club with some small gifts from a few RSA’s we visited with special thanks for our involvement.

 

We are happy to host billets for the next New Zealand Reciprocal Tour Group to Australia.

 

Regards, Lauren Cheung, Helen Eade, Alanah Guy and Tian Sisak

 

 

 

 

After being at the Youth Club long enough to have the opportunity to participate in the New Zealand Reciprocal Tour, I was very excited to spend two weeks with 30 new friends from other RSL Youth Clubs.

 

After spending one Sunday of each month rehearsing, we had perfected our  concert that we performed at over 12 RSA’s in Auckland (RSA is the equivalent of RSL). As part of our tour we visited many fun, exciting and even educational places around Auckland. We stayed at several places including a Surf Club in Piha, where Deadly Surf is filmed, Camp Maynard, as well as being billeted out to members of the RSA clubs.

 

One of the many highlights of the tour was definitely our trip to Parakai Hot Pools, where although we were rugged up outside the pools, inside the water was about 39 degrees! We had a great time relaxing as well as using up all our energy going down the slides. We were provided with a BBQ lunch and then it was straight back to the slides.

 

Although we had many memorable days, Anzac Day was without doubt the best by far. We attended a dawn service at East Coast Bays, where we marched with great pride as people noticed “the Aussie kids”. As we sang along proudly to the National Anthems, we all realised the real reason we were there, to represent Australia and keep the Anzac spirit alive.

 

I would just like to thank the Youth Club Committee for the opportunity to go to New Zealand and to represent my Youth Club.

 

Lauren Cheung

 

 

 

 

As I write this letter I’m finding it hard to hold back the tears as I have truly had the best time of my life & made some amazing friends. These friendships are now worth the world to me.

 

I have so many amazing memories that it is hard to narrow it down. One great memory would have to be our all girls sleepover at Phia Surf Club. After the best food on tour at the Phia RSA we returned to the surf club for our concert, it was small & cosy with just a few locals. The boys were then sent to the backpacker’s hostel & the girls kicked off their shoes & had a dance party. We sang karaoke & danced the night away. Everyone was so tired that night that no-one stirred when the alarms went off. It was by far the funniest night we had on the tour.

 

The Howick Historical Village & Hoani Waititi Marae were very interesting & educational. I am glad that we got to experience both Maori & English cultures in New Zealand.

 

The best & most moving experience in New Zealand was participating in the  ANZAC Day dawn service. It brought tears to my eyes. I felt so much pride when we marched in the parade holding Australian flags. The way people clapped for us, recognised us & yelled out “Go Aussies” was truly unforgettable.

 

As you may have heard I truly didn’t want to come home. I was having too much fun. The only things I don’t think I’m going to miss are roast dinners & having to match my outfits to our blue uniform tour jacket.

 

I gained over 30 new friends. I had fantastic cultural experiences & a chance to be an independent young woman, but the many, many memories will last me a lifetime.

 

I am no longer just a young person, but an Australian ambassador for RSL Youth clubs, my country & my family. This trip has given me confidence, inspiration, courage & pride that I hope to pass on to younger members of CHP RSL Youth Club.

 

I hope many other young people & their families consider not only being involved & volunteering for youth club community activities but also consider billeting & being hospitable to members from the New Zealand Reciprocal tour when they visit next year as it truly is a rewarding experience.

 

Alanah Guy

New Zealand can only be described in two words: absolute paradise!

 

On the 18th of April myself, and three other members of Canterbury  Hurlstone Park RSL Youth Club departed from Sydney for an experience of a lifetime. We toured Auckland for two whole weeks and saw breathtaking views of the ocean, monstrous mountains, religious tribal houses, and were privileged to meet many friendly New Zealanders with accents that I fell i n love with. 

 

I conquered fears in New Zealand; I achieved personal goals and set new ones.  My time in New Zealand was an opportunity where I was given the chance to share my love of dancing, and was proud to do so with retired ex – servicemen. 

 

That cold morning on the 25th of April I walked tall with my tour group as the true meaning of ANZAC surrounded me.  I watched young cadets march proudly closely after one another ignoring the cold winds.  I listened as the story of the ANZAC was told to the  hundreds of people interested to hear it, and stood in silence when the familiar trumpet sounded.  It gave me an empowering feeling of unity.  I was stunned at the calmness I felt at that moment.  The whole world seemed to stop to listen.

 

This was my favourite part of the New Zealand tour.  That day on the 25th of April I will always remember.  Above the zoo trip, above the museum, above the many hours of shopping we were given, I enjoyed ANZAC day best. 

 

The friendships I made in New Zealand, however, are valuable treasures that will stay with me forever.  It didn’t matter where I was, it was who I was with; and that’s what made my trip to New Zealand all the more special.

 

I wasn’t leaving my family behind, in a way I was taking a new family with me.

 

 

Tian Sisak

 



The 2009 trip to New Zealand was the best experience that I have ever had. During this tour I was able to do so many things that I have never done before. I really enjoyed the whole trip, the most memorable part was when I was able to hold the Australian flag at the dawn service at the East Coast Bay RSA. I felt so proud to be an Australian. I also had a lot of fun collecting donations for Poppy Day. I enjoyed staying at Camp Maynard with all the other members on tour it was a lot of fun and it was a chance to get even closer as friends to   everyone, by the end of the trip we all felt like family. It was a great experience to stay with the New Zealand families, I learnt a lot about the New Lynn area. My billet, Lee took me to a dormant volcano that was really deep, she also pointed out all the other volcanoes around and told me facts about their harbour bridge and their city tower.

 

I was lucky to see some very exciting and interesting acts done by the other members of the tour. Some of my favourite performances were the ballroom dancers, the tap dancers, the handstand bar act and the instrumental acts. I really enjoyed the performances because I was able to know what it's like to perform in front of many people, it was a great experience.

 

I really enjoyed doing the activities such as the Hot Pools at Parakai, which a lot of fun, there were two water slides and everyone would try and go down them at the same time and when we got to the bottom everyone piled up on top of each other. I had so much fun. The Auckland museum was interesting, my favourite part was the marae displays they were fascinating and there was a traditional canoe that was about 10 metres long, it was incredible. The Auckland Zoo was very exciting, near the Orangutan exhibit they had some               souvenirs and facts about them, they also had some samples of the Orangutans hair. When they got it out to show me we put it up against my hair and it was the same colour! It was really interesting to see the historic village at Howick, I felt I learnt a lot about how the schools were run back in those days. I really enjoyed doing the performances, even though I made a few mistakes I just kept on going and I still had fun. I really enjoyed all the exercise that we did, for  instance, the nature walk at Camp Maynard, they also had a confidence course. I really enjoyed the Global Cafe in Henderson which was a cafe/night club for people aged 14 to 25 and it was a drug and alcohol free place, they have live gigs, recording studios, art studios and a computer room, I was very impressed.

 

I will remember everything that I did on this trip for the rest of my life, and I will be talking about it with the other members of the 2009 tour for a long time. I made life long friends on the tour and memories that will never fade. The  people on this trip were so nice and very supportive. Thank you so much for the great opportunity.

 

Helen Eade