RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (December 4, 2007)--Twenty-one alumni and friends of Arkansas Tech University recently traveled ‘Down Under’ to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji for a 19-day tour of the South Pacific.
The Arkansas Tech Alumni and Friends Travel Group has traveled everywhere from Alaska to Italy over the years, with upcoming trips planned to the Netherlands, Canada’s Atlantic Coast and South Carolina. The group will also take a train excursion through the Colorado Rockies in July 2008.
The group’s latest trip began on Sept. 6 in Melbourne, Australia. After viewing Melbourne’s World War II shrines, the group traveled to Phillip Island where they saw the world’s largest colony of Little Penguins. Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef were next on the tour along with a sky rail excursion over the rain forest canopy.
The group then took in Australia’s capitol city, Sydney. They viewed an opal mining demonstration and went to the Sydney Opera House. Travelers were also able to interact with native Australian animals such as the koala bear, kangaroo and wombat at Koala Park.
New Zealand was the next destination for the Tech travelers. Here they went to the country’s most famous national park, Mt. Cook, and then Milford Sound. In Queenstown, they went on the Safari of the Rings tour, which highlighted locations where the “Lord of the Rings” movies were filmed.
In Christchurch, the group enjoyed a traditional New Zealand meal prepared in the home of a local family. A visit to a sheep farm concluded their stay in New Zealand.
The island of Fiji was the Tech tourists’ final stop. Most of the group elected to take the Orchid Tour and visit a Fijian village. At the village, the travelers visited with area residents in their homes, purchased many local crafts and visited the John Wesley Methodist Church.
Moseley, who led the tour group, said there were many aspects of the trip that made it memorable.
“It was a trip of a lifetime because of the beautiful scenery in New Zealand, the wildlife and Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the wonderful people of Fiji,” said Moseley.
For more information about the Arkansas Tech Alumni and Friends Travel Group, call Dana Moseley at (479) 964-0532.
