Day 12 - ANZAC Day

During the night the group was playing all sorts of card games to keep us occupied during the evening, with the Royal Australian Navy Band and The Gregory Terrace - All Hallows Gallipoli Choir singing and playing many songs through-out the night at different times. Then after most of us had at least a couple of hours sleep we were woken up at 4 am to roll up our sleeping bags and solar blankets. We all stood up and waited for the Dawn Service to commence. The service was well planned and everything was going well with the bag pipes playing, and the catafalque party marched in until their was an outburst by a Turkish man which was dealt by the police that were there. After that, the rest of the Dawn Service continued, with the laying of many wreaths by dignitaries the national anthems for Turkey, New Zealand and Australia were played and the ceremony was soon over. We then got ready for our 3.5 km walk up to Lone Pine. Mr Croft and Tyler however would continue walking another 3 kms to Chunuk Bair for the New Zealand memorial. Once we got to Lone Pine it was a mad rush for Kyah, Megan, Harrison and Jake to get into their formal uniform because they had the honour of laying the wreath on behalf of the school. The rest of the group went and sat up in the grand stand and waited for the service to commence. The Lone Pine service had a good atmosphere with the stands being filled with six thousand Australians, it was good to hear so many other Australian accents! After the minute silence and the national anthems were performed we then got to lay the wreath and pay our respects. Meanwhile, Mr Croft and Tyler nearly missed out on going inside the service at Chunuk Bair, when they got told they couldn't fit anyone else in and would have to sit outside and watch the service on a big screen. Mr Croft used his charm on the officials, telling them that they had their suits inside and were there to lay a wreath. The officials then let them in calling them VIP's and they got to sit up the front with all the important people. During the Dawn Service and the Chunuk Bair service, two Maori girls sung a traditional Karanga (Maori call to gathering). After the ceremonies were finished we then had to wait in the sun for four hours for the bus to come. After the bus finaly got to Lone Pine, we all had to jump in as quickly as possible because Tyler and Mr Croft were at Chunuk Bair waiting in their formal uniforms, sweating it out due to the heat, for the same amount of time that the rest of the group spent at Lone Pine. All of the ceremonies were very memorable and worth the time spent waiting all of Wednesday night and Thursday morning. This is a experience we are all very privileged to be a part of and we will never forget it. We will now enjoy a night's rest in a comfortable bed and regain much of the sleep we missed last night.

By Kyah and Luke

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com

Day 11

After arriving in Cannakale yesterday we had an early breakfast where we wished Mr Washbourne a Happy Birthday then continued packing all the necessary items for camping at Gallipoli that night. We caught the ferry across back into Europe, docking at Ecebat. We boarded the bus and began our journey towards Anzac Cove, driving all the way through to the New Zealand War Memorial, Chunuk Bair, where Mr Croft organised to lay a wreath with Tyler at the service tomorrow.  From here we started our eight kilometre walk down to ANZAC Cove.  After Braydee took a fall on Artillery Road and injured her knee, we stopped at Shell Green Cemetery for lunch.  Here we admired the surrounding view of the peninsular and learned the story of the Albert and Roy Facey, and about the book that Albert wrote, detailing his experiences during the Gallipoli campaign. The book is called "A Fortunate Life". We continued our trek down the hill, where further down we stopped in at Beach Cemetery. Here we visited the grave of John Simpson who is well known by the story of 'Simpson and his Donkey.'  We then continued down the road where the line for the ANZAC Day Dawn Ceremony had already begun to form. This was at 2:30pm, and we began a long wait, which lasted many hours, to secure a good spot to camp out for the night. During the wait some of the students were filmed kicking the footy by the 7 News Network.  Finally at 6 p.m we were all clear to enter and after passing through security, we made a mad dash to grab the best spot possible. With all of our sleeping bags laid out closely, we all rugged up for a night of entertainment, reflection and historical importance. We are now eagerly awaiting the ANZAC Dawn Service which should prove to be an incredibly moving experience.

By Emily and Liam

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com

Day 10

It was an early start this morning, waking at 2am for a 3:00am departure from the hotel. Frank (our bus driver) drove us to the Brussels airport, for a 7:50am take off, with some people being more energetic then others whilst we were waiting around (Megan). Some people chose to sleep on our 3 hour flight, while others enjoyed the comfort of the free movies. We landed in Istanbul, and then had a two hour wait through customs, with Fraser trying to get his grenade through. It was worth it in the end, but we still had a long trip to the hotel ahead of us. Two hours into the drive, we had a food and toilet break, which included our first encounter of having to pay to go to the toilet. Our new tour guide, Hakan, was very informative about explaining his country and its cultural events. It took five hours to arrive at the Cannakale port, where we were able to explore the dock, and experience the locals trying to sell us their cheap goods. We waited to board the ferry that takes us between the European side of Cannakale and the Asian side. We drove the bus onto the ferry, for a fifteen minute ride across the sea, where many of us went up stairs to look out over the ferry and enjoy the view. We son arrived at our hotel, The Grand ANZAC Hotel, where we settled into our rooms before heading to dinner down stairs. The whole trip was funny, with Braydee making herself an easy target for jokes. It was early night to bed for everyone, with a big days tomorrow at ANZAC Cove and our camp out.

By Kate and Harrison

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com

Day 9 Photos

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com

Day 9 - Rest Day

With our first sleep-in of the tour, we headed out for breakfast at about half past nine. After meeting back at the hotel later in the morning, we left to visit the "In Flanders Fields" museum, in Clothe Hall. It was unlike any museum we had visited previously, and supplied us with many interesting photos and facts. The way in which it was presented, with interactive and audio visual displays, was a very modern way of presenting the information. This was surprising, as it was in such an old and historical building.

We spent the rest of the day touring the town of Ypres, exploring the chocolate shops, waffle shops, chocolate shops, souvenir shops and chocolate shops. Needless to say that by dinner time, very few of us wanted a lot to eat! We have also been trying to figure out ways of fitting everything into our suitcases! We have bumped into lots of Australians in the past couple of days, and it is always good to hear Aussie accents!

Mothers you will all be very happy to hear that we found the local laundromat, and have swamped it in washing, as we are preparing to start fresh in a new country.

Mr Washbourne and Mr Bylund decided to spend their last day in Belgium playing golf, and in the last hole of the game, Mr Bylund scored his first ever hole-in-one!!!

For anyone interested in animal welfare, our tour guide Colin Gillard recommends the Safari Park Volunteer Initiative, located in Thailand. The owner is unable to care for the animals properly, and is asking for volunteers to help build new enclosures and assist in the daily care of the animals. The help of volunteers is essential for the well being of these animals.
For anyone interested in helping out by a donation or volunteer work please visit the website at www.safarivolunteer.com or visit their Facebook page.

After dinner we said a huge thank you to our guide Colin for all the help that he has given us over the past week. The knowledge that he has passed on to us will never be forgotten, and his passion for WWI history and the preservation of the battlefields will hopefully be replicated by us in the future.
We also said thank you to our bus driver Frank tonight. Unlike his English, his driving was fantastic!!!! It is sad to be saying goodbye, but as we do a new chapter of our journey begins.

We rise at 2 am tomorrow morning, for an early flight to Instanbul, Turkey.

By Courtney S and Braydee

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com