16 members attended the March group meeting to hear Andrea Stevenson and Brian Vial give an interesting and informative account of their visits to Papua New Guinea. Thank you Andrea and Brian!

The next meeting on 7th May will hear Neville Gibb give a talk on Germany and/or Venice.
I have Bill Paris on standby for a talk in the second semester but volunteers are always welcome. Please contact me if you are interested.

Ray O’Shannessy

Armchair Travelling will have two sessions this Semester; Tuesday 5th March and Tuesday 7th May. 

The March session will be addressed by Brian Vial and Andrea Stevenson on the topic of the Papua New Guinea travels.    This will be the first occasion we have touched on the subject of New Guinea and should be of immense interest.
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I am looking for a topic for the May session and will be grateful if anybody can assist.


Ray O’Shannessy

Armchair Traveller in November provided an extraordinarily interesting presentation by Wendy Sturgess on her recent trip to South America, Argentina, the Falkland Islands and Antartica, with the penguins and seals being the main attraction.  ​

Ray O'Shannessy followed up with a DVD of mountains and fjords of Norway. 

Although numbers were few a keen interest was shown in continuing the course next year.

​Tentatively we look forward to sessions in the afternoon of the first Tuesday on the months of March and May in the first semester.
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Ray O’Shannessy

Wende has had a busy year travelling but is returning to Benalla just in time to present to us at 10 am on Tuesday 20 November.  All welcome!

With members beginning to return from their travels we are looking forward to hearing their tales at the Tuesday 18 September and Tuesday 20 November of Armchair Traveller.  If you would like to present, please contact Ray O’Shannessy on 5762 1559.  All welcome.
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Ray O’Shannessy

We met as planned on May 15, and saw video of the finish of one of Gwen and Rup’s inland 4WD safari across the “Gunbarrel Highway” and part of the Canning Stock route in West Australia. We also marvelled at what occurs when it rains in the usual desert landscape.

We then had a glimpse of the opposite landscape when Marg showed us some of grandeur of Antarctica from the air from aboard a Qantas Jet.

We next meet as scheduled on Tuesday July 17.

With a number away on winter holidays, the program has yet to be finalised – any volunteers?

​John Avery

​​Armchair travellers met for the first time in 2018 on March 20.  After a planning session looking at possibilities for the remaining 4 sessions for 2018, Rupe  and Gwen Cheetham showed us video of the first part of their 4WD journey through the centre of Australia but we did not quite make it far past Uluru to the Gunbarrel Highway section in Western Australia. We hope to resume that trip at our next session on May 15.  Jan Andrews then completed her group  walking tour through some of the lovely country tracks in the south of England, much of it in Dartmouth.

Next May we also plan to revisit Antarctica with Marg Law, and Jan will again take us walking, this time in New Zealand.

John Avery

We resume our travels at 10.00am on Tuesday March 20 at the U3A room.  Jan will complete her group travel in rural UK.  We hope also to do some bush-bashing in outback Australia with Rupe and Gwen. 

With 8 new members and 12 continuing from last year we hope for a lively year.  However we desperately need more volunteers to tell us about their travels. 

If you do not have slide shows, DVD, or PowerPoint presentations to support your story don’t be put off.  Just contact me on 0418 576 155 and I will help by working out some visual support
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John Avery

Two sessions of Armchair Traveller have been scheduled for March and May in Semester 1.  With U3A Benalla's new Travel Club active during 2018, there will be even more opportunities for the sharing of travel tales!  

Our next Armchair Traveller is on Tuesday November 21 at 10:00 am.
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John Avery

Judy Perry entertained us with 90 minutes of DVDs of her recent cruise on the Sun Princess to the islands of Papua New Guinea. There was much entertaining by the village people dancing and singing, and many markets where crafts and food was sold. The woodwork products were generally of high quality and Judy had purchased some which she had on show. Many of the men seemed to chew the betel nut which was obvious from their red tongues and mouths. Judy highly recommended the trip as the people are still so friendly and welcoming and seemed to enjoy life.
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Jane Parris

Yes, the timetable for Semester 2 left September 19 out, but it is on! Reina and I are apologies, but Bill Parris, backed up by Rupe Cheetham, has agreed to act as Convenor.

Armchair Traveller for September 19 will be a colourful presentation on Papua New Guinea of a recent visit by Judy Perry.

The video features a dramatic journey around many of the islands. It covers: the dances, music and festivals of the Trobriand Islands, interviews with local village schools and a commentary on their subsistence lifestyle, WW2 history of the Battle for Milne Bay, The Battle for Rabaul including its tunnels, wrecks and War Memorials and the volcanic destruction of Rabaul after the 1994 eruption as well as a visit to the volcanology centre. Also a brief look at Honiara, the Solomon Islands capital, and the Folkloric Festival.

There is something of interest for everyone in this presentation

​John Avery 

We meet again on Tuesday July 18 in our new room at the Senior Citizens’-- please enter thru the side door under the carport.  Jan will take us hiking thru the Maples – Fall (Autumn for us aussie speakers) – Ontario, Quebec Vermont, New Hampshire.  We will have also have a 4WD trek in the Simpson Desert in outback Australia with Gwen & Rupe.

Note that no meeting has been scheduled for September in the Semester 2 timetable.  Our most likely presenters will all, co-incidentally, be visiting Canada/USA, and possibly having a first-hand viewing of the lovely scenes which Jan will show us in July.
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If there are any volunteers to take us for a journey on September 19, please contact John (0418576155 or 57621818) and we can re-schedule the session.

We met with a good attendance on May 16.  First presentation was a video of a 4WD visit to Cape York Peninsula from Rupe and Gwen.  It was a trip not for the faint-hearted, in about 2008, mostly on the old telegraph road.  Lots of creek crossings and mud, but fascinating and colourful despite some technological glitches. 

Jan followed with a PowerPoint presentation of a group back-packer trip to Italy several years ago. 

​Thanks Rupe and Jan, much enjoyed.

We don’t meet again until Tuesday July 18, with the program yet to be finalised.  Watch this space!

​We meet again at 10.00 am on Tuesday May 16.  The program is yet to be finalised but it is hoped to include at least one of Jan’s backpacker journeys.

We met for the first time for 2017 in March to cruise with Reina and John around Cape Horn in South America.  Starting in Santiago, Chile, the cruise went south from Valparaiso around the southern tip, then east to the Falklands Island.  It finished in Buenos Aires after 14 days smooth sailing through what is often some of the roughest seas in the world.  Much of the Chilean side was in the more sheltered but beautiful fiords protected by west Chilean islands.  After two days in Buenos Aires our flight back to Santiago went over the spectacular and rugged Andes in lovely sunny weather.
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The rest of the session was devoted to planning the remaining four sessions scheduled for 2017.  Journeys which have been promised include back-packing land trips in Italy and Canada; 4-wheel driving in outback Australia; Cruising to Antarctic; train in U3A.  Lots of happy touring.

The first meeting of Armchair Traveller for 2017 will be held in W4 on Tuesday 21st March.   John and Reina will take you on a cruise from Valparaiso (Chile) around Cape Horn, to Buenos Aires (Argentina) with a brief visit to the Falkland Islands.  With 22 enrolled we hope for a lively planning session for the remaining four sessions in 2017.
 

​In September we cruised to the Greek islands with Reina and John.  Visits to the islands of Sanatori and Symi were especially spectacular.
 
We meet again on Tuesday 15th November, when Jan will take us back packing in Italy, but from the comfort of our W4 armchairs. One of our members offered us a video of a helicopter ride – Please contact John to confirm time and place.
 
We would like our participants to come prepared to tell us of some of their special experiences whilst travelling in Australia or overseas. 

• What was funny
• What went wrong
• What coincidences occurred
• What was scary

 
We need to share your experiences at our last meeting in 2016, or next year if you are keen to continue. 

The next place to float our magic armchairs when we meet on Tuesday September 20 at 10.00 am till noon has yet to be confirmed but we expect it will include a cruise to Croatia and the Greek mainland and islands.  Bring along any souvenirs of Mediterranean cruising that you can find.                

John Avery

We met on July 19 and were taken on a journey through Myanmar (Burma) made by Terry in 2015. Apart from some spectacular scenery, particularly the world’s second longest rail viaduct (it was huge and high!), we also learnt much about Burmese culture.
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Please note that we meet again in two months on Tuesday 20th September as the timetable has left this date off by mistake. The program is to be decided when possible presenters return from their travels and winter sun retreats.

The next meeting of Armchair Traveller is scheduled for Tuesday 19th July at 10 am in W4.  
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​John & Reina were travelling so Bill & Jane Parris together with Jan Andrews provided the travellers’ tales for our May meeting.
 
Bill and Jane entertained us with their personalised tour of Taiwan, South Korea and Japan where they were either part of a small group or traveling by themselves with a guide.  They had the bad luck to travel in the aftermath of a typhoon in Taiwan and the rain seemed to be shadowing their every move.  Marj Law wanted to know if they had webbed feet!
 
Jan showed us some beautiful scenery from the Austrian Alps and then surpassed it with photos of the Australian High Plains country in summer with a focus on Australian wildflowers.
 
A superb session from our travellers.                                           

The next meeting of Armchair Traveller will be held on Tuesday 17th May at 10am in W4.  Jane and Bill will talk to us about a trip which included visits to Japan and South Korea.  Jane will also take us on nature walks in several countries.
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