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Australia Fair 2012, Walkabout

Bushcamp: Friday 11th May from 7 pm
Fair: Saterday 12th May from 10 am -5 pm

Location:
Helicon MBO Velp
Larensteinselaan 26b
6882 CT Velp

Fee: 10 euro p.p.
(Fee is a donation to the good causes of the foundation)
Children until 12 years: free

Pets are not allowed
The location is wheelchair accessible

LATEST NEWS

Online auction of special vouchers Are you visiting Australia or New Zealand this coming year? Then treat yourself to luxury accommodation at a four-star resort at a very appealing rate. Or get a cheap Greyhound trip from Sydney to Cairns. Some of our sponsors have made vouchers available (details below), which we will sell by online (email) auction. All proceeds will go to our charities, of course. Initially, the auction is just for Australia Fair fans and visitors to our website. So, make a bid today to try obtain one or more of these vouchers! We have listed the amounts that we would like the bidding for each item to start on. Contenders will be advised when they have been outbid, so they can come back with a better offer. We will accept bids until the end of the Australia Fair weekend (23:59 h on 13 May 2012). Each item will then go to the highest bidder, except when that highest bid is below the reserve we have set. Because the proceeds are for charity, we feel we can’t sell the vouchers for less than a certain minimum. If the best offer is below that minimum amount, the item will go on sale at public internet auction sites. How to bid: You can make an offer by mailing our Secretary, Astrid Esders, through the following direct link a.esders@australiafair.nl. Make sure the code, preferably with brief description of the item, the number of items and the amount of your bid are clearly indicated. In addition, you can make a bid in person during the Australia Fair. Items you can make a bid on:

AFGR1 : Greyhound Mini Traveller Passes for the route Cairns<>Sydney Details: The two Greyhound Mini Traveller Passes for the route Cairns<>Sydney are valid until 31 March 2013. Travel on each pass can start in Cairns OR Sydney and you can hop on and off wherever you like along the way. The pass is valid for 90 days from departure. Travel is only allowed in one direction, no backtracking allowed. Value: AUD 367 (295 euro) per pass. Bidding starts at 50 euro per pass or 100 euro for both. Made available by Greyhound Australia. More information at www.greyhound.com.au

AFBLV2: 7 nights accommodation at Broad Leaf Villas, a 4-star resort on Norfolk Island Details: Norfolk Island is one of Australia’s external territories, situated in the Pacific Ocean about 1600 km north-east of Sydney between New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is about 8 km long and 5 km wide. Broad Leaf Villas is a family-run, eco-friendly resort in this subtropical paradise. The voucher is good for not only a 7-night stay for 2 persons at one of the Superior One Bedroom Villas, but also car hire, a half-day tour of the island and return airport transfer. Note that airfare to and from the island is not included! Air New Zealand offers direct flights (2 to 2"½" h) from Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland. Value: the voucher represents a value of AUD 550 (435 euro) per person. Bidding starts at 100 euro. Made available by Broad Leaf Villas. You can visit them at the Australia Fair 2012. More information at www.broadleafvillas.com

AFDGH3: 2 nights at the 4-star Desert Gardens Hotel near Uluru Details: This voucher is good for a 2-night stay in a Standard Room (2 p) at the Desert Gardens Hotel near Uluru (Ayers Rock) along with return transport from the Ayers Rock Airport and free use of the resort taxi/shuttle. The offer also includes a reduced rate for extra nights added and is valid until 12 May 2013. Value: AUD 556 (440 euro) per person. Bidding starts at 100 euro. Made available by Voyages Ayers Rock Resort. More information at: www.ayersrockresort.com.au/desert

AFJUCY4: 2 weeks rental of a JUCY Grande Nissan El Grand(Aus) or JUCY Cabana (NZ) campervan The JUCY Grande Nissan El Grand 4 Berth is the newest member of the Jucy fleet. The Jucy Grande has all the modern features of home including a fridge, kitchen set, sink and water tank, gas cooker, DVD player and has two comfortable double beds to sleep 4 people. The voucher is also redeemable for 2 weeks campervan rental in New Zealand. However, because the Grande model is not available there, Jucy offers a Cabana campervan. This has the same features except only 2 seats and one double bed. Note that insurance is not included! Also, the offer is not valid for the period 15 December 2012 to 15 January 2013. Value Grande: 1000 AUD (800 euro). Bidding starts at 200 euro. Value Cabana: 650 NZD (400 euro). Bidding starts at 100 euro. Please indicate your intended destination (Aus or NZ) when you make a bid. Made available by Jucy World Camperverhuur. You can visit them at Australia Fair 2012. More information at www.jucy.com.au and www.jucy.co.nz

 

REGISTRATION FOR BUSH CAMP AUSTRALIA FAIR OPEN NOW The Australia Fair 2012 will start Friday evening 11 May with a bush camp. In Australia bush camping would be spending the night with minimal to no facilities in the middle of nowhere, cooking outdoors and drinking billy tea by the camp fire, listening to the night sounds of the bush before falling asleep under the stars in your swag or sleeping bag. You do your business in a self-made hole in the ground and wash up and brush your teeth with water from a canteen. For those of us who have been there, it is an unforgettable experience. You wake up to the piercing laugh of the kookaburra as the sun rises over the bush. At a safe distance among the trees are a few eager kangaroos waiting for breakfast crumbs. As the sun rises the bush becomes alive again and erupts into a cacophony of bird sounds. For Australia lovers that is the supreme way of waking up Down Under! We can’t bring the Australian bush to The Netherlands, more’s the pity. However, some elements of bush camping will indeed be there at the Australia Fair Bush Camp that starts Friday evening around 19:00 h (7 p.m.) at the far end of the Helicon grounds. The idea is for participants to spend the night in their own tent or, for those who don’t have one, a large communal sleeping shelter. There is a limited number (8) of camper sites available. The tentative programme is as follows. Upon arrival participants are received with a wellcome beverage. Around 20:00 h (8 p.m.) there is a BBQ by the camp fire. Didgeridoo players, including Michiel Teijgeler and members of the Swag Camp Group, will provide a fitting musical background. The programme may get an original Australian addition but we can’t be specific until we have full confirmation. Facilities are restricted (a single toilet) and primitive; after all, it’s a bush camp! Pricing Taking part in the bush camp costs 35 euro per person; due to some programme items, participants have to be at least 12 y old. Included in this price are: - camping - BBQ - the evening programme - Aussie brekkie - admission to the Australia Fair on Saturday 12 May Registration for the bush camp is open now. You can apply for a registration form by mailing our secretary, Astrid Esders: a.esders@australiafair.nl. Attention: the number of places is limited! Participation is not guaranteed until after registration and payment.

The Australia Fair Experience On Saturday 12 May the traditional Australia Fair, with stalls, presentations and activities, will be held. This year the aim will be for visitors to get more actively involved and “experience” the Australia Fair, i.e., to participate in as many events as possible. Our list of planned activities includes: various workshops, a mountain biking tour, a climbing-wall, discovery of edible plants, horseback-riding, golf, bowls, cricket and Aussie Rules Football. Furthermore, there will be sheep-herding with Working Kelpies; not only a show, but visitors may also test their own skill at commanding the dogs. If possible, we’ll have a sheep-shearing demonstration as well. In line with our aim, the arrangement of stalls will be slightly modified: there’ll be more café-like corners for visitors to chat with stallholders and each other. About the theme “Walkabout” is an Australian Aboriginal cultural tradition. It is when young males (usually when coming of age) would leave their people to undergo a long journey through the wilderness. They would cross the continent in the footprints (“songlines”) of their ancestors. The “walkabout” was meant for gaining experience, and gathering stories and knowledge about their own culture and traditions. Often they would visit other Aboriginal clans and families living far away. The duration of a “walkabout” was not predetermined; some would return after 3 to 6 months, others after a much longer period. Since the arrival of Europeans, Aborigines have used the term “walkabout” also in a more general sense for when they disappear into the bush for a while in order to escape western influences and live in a more traditional manner.

Location:
The school is situated on the estate Larenstein and is a perfect location to  organise not just indoor, but also outdoor activities. The building has three floors with a feeling of openness through the extensive use of glass. The Australia Fair will use the entire ground floor, the classrooms on the first floor and the theatre room on the second floor (lifts are available). Apart from this an enormous outside area with endless possibilities is available too. A large free car park is almost at the front door.

Helicon besides making the location available to the Australia Fair Foundation, has students from the Eco & Wildlife department will be involved with the organising and implementation of this event. They will be involved in organising different activities, support and all sorts of odd jobs. These activities will be part of their studies.

Helicon Velp
Larensteinselaan 26b
6882 CT Velp

Route
You can reach the location by public transport: bus- and train- stations are within walking distance. Parking is free.
Click here for the directions.