The Koalas left Heathrow on Wednesday 14^th July with 25 team members from the Midlands, Wales and the South West of England and 3 team leaders. They flew to Hong Kong where they had a 10 hour stopover which allowed them a chance to spend the afternoon and evening experiencing Ocean Park (a theme park) and a tour around the town of Stanley.

They then flew to Melbourne where they stayed in the Queensberry Youth Hostel. They visited the oncology ward at the Royal Children’s Hospital taking gifts for the children and went on a trip on the “Puffing Billy”. There was some free time to explore Melbourne itself. After this they went to Shiloh Ranch to begin their conservation work. Some spent their week at the Royal Botanic Garden Cranbourne, one of Victoria’s most precious areas of native bushland. The gardens are home to thriving bird and animal life, including several rare and endangered species. During the week they were involved with tree planting and also visited Phillip Island Nature Reserve, an important habitat for little penguin colonies and koalas. The rest of the Koalas went to the Bass Coast, Victoria, working on the Powlett River Project which involved planting trees on land in the Powlett catchment and tributaries. The project aims are to increase biodiversity, provide habitat for native animals, and reduce erosion around the Powlett River and tributaries. They also visited the Phillip Island Nature Reserve.

The Koalas then flew to Sydney on the 23^rd where they met up with the Wallabies, Dingoes and Possums who had flown out from Heathrow on the 21^st. There were 20 team members in both the Wallabies and Dingoes and 17 in the Possums. They were accompanied by 6 team leaders. All the teams spent five days together; they climbed the Harbour bridge, visited the Jewish museum, took a Harbour cruise, went to Bondi beach and went on a day trip to the Blue Mountains. Some team members unfortunately came down with gastroenteritis and a couple of the Plymouth girls managed to get mumps. However, on the evening of the 27^th July all team members and team leaders were fit and enjoyed a party at the Hard Rock Café.

The Koalas flew off to Hong Kong the next morning to begin their journey home, the Possums flew to Brisbane, the Wallabies and Dingoes to Melbourne. The Koalas stayed overnight in Kowloon, Hong Kong and took a junk boat trip and a tram ride to the Peak.

The Wallabies and Dingoes spent a couple of days in Melbourne similar to the Koalas but unfortunately, due to the risk of infection after the gastroenteritis, only representatives were able to go to the hospital. All gifts were taken and will be distributed over a period of time. Both groups then went to Camp Aginda, Halls Gap to begin their conservation work. The Dingoes’ conservation work took place in the Grampians National Park, Victoria. The park is an important flora and fauna sanctuary and features many significant Aboriginal rock art sites. Conservation work involved assisting local conservation groups with weed removal, tree planting and track maintenance. The Wallabies went to Shiloh Ranch and did their conservation work in Cranbourne Botanical Gardens. They did a similar week’s work to the Koalas and also visited the Phillip Island Nature Reserve.

The Possums spent a couple of days in Brisbane and visited the oncology ward at the Royal Children’s Hospital. They went to Steve Irwin’s zoo and stopped at a theme park on their way to Lismore Caravan Park where they stayed whilst undertaking their conservation work. The project location was Imogen Farm, a private sanctuary that borders the Whian Whian State Forest, situated on the southern slopes of the Mount Warning volcano. It is an important habitat for at least 50 birds and animals, which are considered endangered or vulnerable. Conservation project activities involved restoring the riparian zone along branch creek to allow for rainforest regeneration.

The Wallabies, Dingoes and Possums then flew from their respective conservation areas and met up in Hong Kong on the 5^_th August. They also stopped over in Kowloon before arriving back in the UK on the morning of the 7^_th August.