FFBR's Domestic Exchange
to Sacramento, California
August 27 - September 3, 2013
Exchange Director Morena Cazedessus
to Sacramento, California
August 27 - September 3, 2013
Exchange Director Morena Cazedessus
Photos of the Sacramento Exchange
Gold Rush Days
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FFBR's Exchange to New Zealand!
"KIWIs CAN FLY"
April 9 - May 6, 2013
Ten members of Friendship Force of Baton Rouge traveled to Auckland, New Zealand for a one week exchange and another two members joined them for another one week exchange in Hawera, New Zealand during the month of April. Nine members continued on to an optional 8 day tour of the South Island.
Arriving on April 12 at 6am in the morning were Thornton Cofield, Barbara Wittkopf, Karen Pharis, Keith Corkern, Morena Cazedessus, Vera Martin, Rose Wooden, Jeanne George, and Darwin and Linda Knochenmus. We were welcomed by the Exchange Director, Des, and his wife, Elwyn and all of us were bundled up for our trip to meet our hosts for the week. Our day started 13 hours earlier in Los Angeles and didn't stop with our touchdown in Auckland. Seven days of visiting such attractions as the Maritime Museum where the 1995 America's Cup Winner NZL32 sailing yacht is displayed and eating fresh seafood at Auckland's famed fish market started the week. All of us had a chance to "tramp" down through the rain forest to KiteKite Falls which has six fall levels on the west coast of New Zealand. We later toured Waiheke Island, famous for its vineyards, which is just one of the 50 islands that comprise New Zealand. Complementing the many informal dinners and receipt swapping we managed a visit to the 1,000 acre Gibbs Farm which is an open air sculpture park featuring 20 large sculptures by international artists.
On April 19 and after our farewell party and saying goodbye to our new friends and gaining two additional Baton Rouge members Richard and Sue Phillips we spent three days immersing ourselves in the Maori culture and seeing the Maori sights of New Zealand. We enjoyed a traditional "Hangi" feast replete with Maori entertainment at the Mitai Village and later we visited the Agrodome Sheep Show, the Waitmoto caves and saw the famous "glowworms". It was then off to another interesting week of home visiting at Hawera located in South Taranaki. Friendship Force of Hawera members had visited Baton Rouge in 2010 and we were returning to visit them.
We met with Mayor Ross Dunlop of South Taranaki our first day for a short presentation and morning tea where Thornton Cofield presented Mayor Dunlop with an Honorary Mayor's Certificate from Baton Rouge Mayor-President Melvin "Kip" Holden. From then on we experienced "up close" the working of dairy farming, New Zealand style, as well as sheep farming and all of us were given the chance to shear a sheep which none of us did. We did visit the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust Park which was described by our guide as the closest example to a real life Jurassic Park we will experience. The park is designed as a protected area where native wildlife and especially the endangered Kiwi are being reintroduced and protected from all predators. We had our farewell dinner at the Senior Citizen's Center where we were entertained by the Hawera Reptoire Society with an original play written by one of its members and the Baton Rouge Friendship Force provided our traditional entertainment.
The next morning our members said their goodbyes to our friends and Jeanne George and Darwin and Linda Knochenmus left the group to continue their own journey and Thornton Cofield, Barbara Wittkopf, Morena Cazedesssus, Karen Pharis, Vera Martin, Rose Wooden, Keith Corkern, and Richard and Sue Phillips embarked on a 8 day tour of the South Island of New Zealand.
On the South Island of New Zealand our group's first experience was visiting the International Antarctic Centre. Early the next day we boarded the TranzAlpine Rail Road from Christchurch to Greymouth, reported to be one of the top rail experiences in the world. Later that day we hiked up to the Fox Glacier, reported to be only one of the over 300 glaciers in New Zealand. Our next stop further south was Queenstown where we took the vintage steamship, "TSS Earnslaw" on a cruise of Lake Wakatipu and saw a very interesting sheep show and had a nice dinner at Walter Peak High Country Farm.
Later in the week we took a luncheon nature cruise on the Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, the largest park in New Zealand where we spotted a family of seals, saw no whales, but did see numerous waterfalls. We finished our journey to the South Island with a visit to the Church of the Good Shepherd which honors the early settlers of MacKenzie Country. There is also an monument to the Border Collie sheepdogs who were so instrumental in settling the South Island by providing aid to the sheep farmer in controlling his sheep. We did not see much of Cook Mountain due to the cloud cover and threat of snow.
Our tour of the South Island ended with Friendship Force of Christchurch inviting us to a farewell dinner in our honor. Once again we ended our three segment of our journey with food, singing, and companionship. The nine of us boarded our planes the next day and we were back in Los Angeles the same day. We were back home by May 7.
Exchange Directors for the New Zealand Exchange were Thornton Cofield and Barbara Wittkopf assisted by Karen Pharis.
May 26, 2013
Arriving on April 12 at 6am in the morning were Thornton Cofield, Barbara Wittkopf, Karen Pharis, Keith Corkern, Morena Cazedessus, Vera Martin, Rose Wooden, Jeanne George, and Darwin and Linda Knochenmus. We were welcomed by the Exchange Director, Des, and his wife, Elwyn and all of us were bundled up for our trip to meet our hosts for the week. Our day started 13 hours earlier in Los Angeles and didn't stop with our touchdown in Auckland. Seven days of visiting such attractions as the Maritime Museum where the 1995 America's Cup Winner NZL32 sailing yacht is displayed and eating fresh seafood at Auckland's famed fish market started the week. All of us had a chance to "tramp" down through the rain forest to KiteKite Falls which has six fall levels on the west coast of New Zealand. We later toured Waiheke Island, famous for its vineyards, which is just one of the 50 islands that comprise New Zealand. Complementing the many informal dinners and receipt swapping we managed a visit to the 1,000 acre Gibbs Farm which is an open air sculpture park featuring 20 large sculptures by international artists.
On April 19 and after our farewell party and saying goodbye to our new friends and gaining two additional Baton Rouge members Richard and Sue Phillips we spent three days immersing ourselves in the Maori culture and seeing the Maori sights of New Zealand. We enjoyed a traditional "Hangi" feast replete with Maori entertainment at the Mitai Village and later we visited the Agrodome Sheep Show, the Waitmoto caves and saw the famous "glowworms". It was then off to another interesting week of home visiting at Hawera located in South Taranaki. Friendship Force of Hawera members had visited Baton Rouge in 2010 and we were returning to visit them.
We met with Mayor Ross Dunlop of South Taranaki our first day for a short presentation and morning tea where Thornton Cofield presented Mayor Dunlop with an Honorary Mayor's Certificate from Baton Rouge Mayor-President Melvin "Kip" Holden. From then on we experienced "up close" the working of dairy farming, New Zealand style, as well as sheep farming and all of us were given the chance to shear a sheep which none of us did. We did visit the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust Park which was described by our guide as the closest example to a real life Jurassic Park we will experience. The park is designed as a protected area where native wildlife and especially the endangered Kiwi are being reintroduced and protected from all predators. We had our farewell dinner at the Senior Citizen's Center where we were entertained by the Hawera Reptoire Society with an original play written by one of its members and the Baton Rouge Friendship Force provided our traditional entertainment.
The next morning our members said their goodbyes to our friends and Jeanne George and Darwin and Linda Knochenmus left the group to continue their own journey and Thornton Cofield, Barbara Wittkopf, Morena Cazedesssus, Karen Pharis, Vera Martin, Rose Wooden, Keith Corkern, and Richard and Sue Phillips embarked on a 8 day tour of the South Island of New Zealand.
On the South Island of New Zealand our group's first experience was visiting the International Antarctic Centre. Early the next day we boarded the TranzAlpine Rail Road from Christchurch to Greymouth, reported to be one of the top rail experiences in the world. Later that day we hiked up to the Fox Glacier, reported to be only one of the over 300 glaciers in New Zealand. Our next stop further south was Queenstown where we took the vintage steamship, "TSS Earnslaw" on a cruise of Lake Wakatipu and saw a very interesting sheep show and had a nice dinner at Walter Peak High Country Farm.
Later in the week we took a luncheon nature cruise on the Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, the largest park in New Zealand where we spotted a family of seals, saw no whales, but did see numerous waterfalls. We finished our journey to the South Island with a visit to the Church of the Good Shepherd which honors the early settlers of MacKenzie Country. There is also an monument to the Border Collie sheepdogs who were so instrumental in settling the South Island by providing aid to the sheep farmer in controlling his sheep. We did not see much of Cook Mountain due to the cloud cover and threat of snow.
Our tour of the South Island ended with Friendship Force of Christchurch inviting us to a farewell dinner in our honor. Once again we ended our three segment of our journey with food, singing, and companionship. The nine of us boarded our planes the next day and we were back in Los Angeles the same day. We were back home by May 7.
Exchange Directors for the New Zealand Exchange were Thornton Cofield and Barbara Wittkopf assisted by Karen Pharis.
May 26, 2013