APOLOGIES
I would like to apologise for the absence of a March newsletter . Your Editor was out of action for a while. Silly accident. Better now. This is why this newsletter is a little early for April !!
EXCHANGE OFFER IN GREECE
I have a request from a lady who is offering an exchange home in Greece. She says that she is unable to find an exchange in Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown, Nelson or Picton.
John & I find this hard to believe as we have visited her town of Naplion in Southern Greece. For us it was a dream holiday and we would go back but she wants an exchange in the South Island. Surely one of you would like to take her up.
Conatct Laura Aridjis BE403881 (a Belgian member)
LATE RENEWALS
This months membership renewals coincide with the publication deadline for the next book. We seem to have problems contacting some of you and maybe you are away. If you do want to renew your membership AND be in the next HomeLink Directory, you have just 12 hours until the deadline. The link is near the top of this Newsletter
No pressure but we do like to hear from you at renewal time and then we know the appropriate place to file your records. John & I are getting old and easily confused !!!!
RUGBY WORLD CUP
HomeLink New Zealand will be starting a register for the Rugby World cup soon. This will give those of you living in one of the cities where matches are to be played an opportunity to join HomeLink and exchange homes with Rugby supporters from around the world. This is one time when a straight swap in Europe is no problem. They come to here in the winter and you enjoy the warm weather, in Europe (or where ever) Our Register will be advertised by Organisers in the countries concerned. A great opportunity.
HOSPITALITY IS GREAT IN AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND!
(We recently received this lovely email from HomeLink Canada. One of their HomeLinkers has just discovered the wonders of Australia and New Zealand .. and, HomeLink's Hospitality Offered exchange option that made it all possible)
Take a bow all those concerned.
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Last September, October and November we were able to do home exchanges in Australia and New Zealand. We spent three weeks in Australia with a lady who accommodated us with very short notice. We stayed with Nona from Sept 9th to the 23rd of Sept. We then travelled the Great Ocean Road staying in motels and hospitality accommodations. We stayed two nights with a wonderful couple in Anglesea (Helen and Ron). We left there and travelled to Melbourne where we stayed with Jo, just outside the city, who offered hospitality accommodation.
We left Melbourne to fly to Christchurch where we were picked up at the airport by Pauline and John, another hospitality offered accommodation. We had a home exchange with Brian and Joy in Blenheim, from their home we travelled to the southern part of the South Island where we stayed in homes where hospitality was offered. On the first of November we moved to the North Island where we had another home exchange with Barbara and Pat for the month, this home was situated near the tip of the North Island. We again pursued Hospitality Offered, and travelled south. We were away from our home away from home for two weeks. We met so many wonderful people and saw so much more of their awesome country.
The places we stayed for a night or two and sometimes three were Twizel and Queenstown, on the South Island. On the North Island the places we stayed were Hamilton, Hastings, Greytown, Rotorua, Tauranga, Turangi, and Tairua. These people were all retired empty nesters with spare rooms that were not in use, we always had a spare bathroom. Twice we stayed in cottages that were separate from the family home. We went to see the scenery and found the most wonderful people on the planet.
The people of these countries made our trip the trip of a lifetime.
I would like to suggest that we in Canada should offer more hospitality exchanges and hospitality offered on our listings. I think it would only enhance their travels, also we would meet wonderful people. If people visiting Canada are in a remote area it would help them to travel around our great country. We would also be able suggest some of the areas that are not tourist travelled but are beautiful and interesting to see.
Carole Marshall
(HomeLink Canada)
ARE YOU GOING TO ITALY ?
HomeLinkers annual Get-Together in Italy
If you have an exchange in Italy around mid-May 2009, maybe you'd like to join with HomeLink Coordinator for Italy, Annalisa Pujatti, and many other Italian HomeLinkers, in her famous annual member's Get-Together?
Last year's event was held in Rome, with over 100 HomeLinkers attending. This year, the Get-Together will be held in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed city of Ferrara. It's a true Renaissance gem in Northern Italy, not far from Venice.
Can you imagine a traditional Italian community feast, attended by many fellow HomeLinkers, all sharing not only the great HomeLink spirit, but also the famous Italian passion for La Dolce Vita? John & I went to the Rome meeting last year
Please contact us if you would like to attend. We will gladly put you in touch with Annalisa's son, Giovanni, who is organising all of this year's festivities.