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Experience Letters
Dear Joanna and Dan
I hope you remember George Thomas who was with you in the middle of February. I am sure you do!!!
I am writing to let you know how he has been getting along.
He enjoyed his week with you, and found the training challenging. He found the first few weeks at Tiree very arduous as it was so alien from anything he had encounted before. There was only the station manager and his wife and George. He said it was such hard work and he missed the luxuries of home. He was quite shocked to find that he had to share the shower with frogs.
Having said all of that he quickly settled down and tackled many tasks, one of which was to dozer a 5 mile fence-line so that the government could come along and erect a new one. He was 20 miles from the homestead and he found that quite a strange working environment.
His many experiences have included watching Blue his boss, (called blue because he is a redhead?) real name Bruce, kill a kangaroo for dog meat and also taking three shots at a cow for meat for the table.
After four weeks on his own a young man who was on a government scheme arrived and so George the had some company of his own age. They then also began to muster. This was what George had waited for he was so enthralled by mustering and probably would have stayed longer if time had allowed.
On his last night, they all finished early and had a few beers. George was sad to leave. He said that Blue and Liz were very nice people and that Blue was a very kind boss. George summed up his time at 'Tiree' when he said that he had fallen on his feet there and that it would be a place that he would remember all of his life.
He has since travelled to Cairns and done all of the activities there: - sky-diving, white-water rafting and scuba diving. He then flew to Darwin and did Kakadu (on the advice of Blue) from there to Alice Springs and did the 'tour' and then took a McCafertys bus to Adelaide (a tad risky I felt, baggage wise - you may remember that they lost and found his bag twice). He is currently is in Melbourne. He has met up with a couple of Swedish lads and they are travelling together as far as Sydney.
George is flying home on 14th June from Brisbane and will have done a complete half circle of Australia by then. He will probably be quite a different person when we meet him at the airport. Not too different we hope just a little more worldly-wise.
When George set out on this adventure, of course Gareth and I were very dubious about the way things would turn out. We were bolstered up by the fact that he had the visitoz scheme at the back of him. We were pleased that you were happy to talk to us about George when we 'phoned and the help that you gave to him regarding his travel arrangements etc.
We have been approached by some of our friends whose children have heard of what George has done a wish to know more. We have given them all the information which George had and have been very happy to endorse what George has done.
If you ever need a as a recommendation please feel free to give mine. I will be very happy to talk to any parent or young person who is thinking of travelling in this way.
Whilst writing could you possibly throw some light on how George can apply to have a tax refund as he is not sure what rate he should have paid?
Gareth and I wish you continued success with Visitoz.
Very best wishes,
Jackie and Gareth Thomas