Premier's ANZAC Student Tour

We found ourselves on a bus to the Portianou cemetery along with 10 Greek school children early this morning. The cemetery was quiet and peaceful with a calm backdrop of mountainous farmhouses. Surrounded by ancient pine trees, the group were given flowers to lay at some of the graves. In the cemetery are many graves of Australian and New Zealanders from the shores of Gallipoli. We also found the graves of some of the 11 Batt. of WW1. We all found the messages from families left on the gravestones distressing. Reading the messages from loved ones brought to life the tragedy of Gallipoli.

After a short bus ride practising our Greek with our new friends, we arrived at Poliochni, an archaeological site of an ancient Greek city. The Greek students taught us much about the site as we wandered though the ruins, briefly stopping to throw a few euros into an ancient ground-well. Spending such quality time with Greek students highlighted how a bond forged in war can continue in times of peace.

We stopped at the beach at Miranis, the capital of Lemnos, for lunch. It was a beautiful setting on the boardwalk of one of Lemnos' fine beaches. While eating our lunch of traditional local cuisine, local fishermen brought in their catch while others swam amongst the warm calm waters.

After a quick swim back at the hotel, we assembled at the cemetery at Mudros and partook in the official annual Lemnos ANZAC ceremony in remembrance of all the nations that took part in the war. The opportunity to witness the traditional religious Greek ceremony taught us all about the strong importance of religion to the Greeks.

The Lemnos Mayor then gave us a presentation of the history behind Gallipoli (in Greek), while we all frantically tried to keep up with our English translation of the speech. A series of traditional dances were then performed with music and costume as we all clapped along.

A reception dinner held by the Sub-Prefect of Lemnos, Theodoros Baveas, with the Greek students followed at the hotel with delicious examples of Greek cuisine.

We departed the hotel at Kalambaka at 8am for the last leg of our classical tour of Greece.

The main stop was the visit to the monasteries of Meteora. The monasteries were used as a religious retreat in AD 985 and continue that same function to this very day.

The term Meteora means suspended rocks, and right up to the 1920s, the only way of reaching the monasteries was by ladders and ropes. It is unknown how the first hermits reached the tops of the pinnacles but it is likely that they hammered pegs into tiny gaps in the rocks and hauled building materials to the summits.

The monasteries looked spectacular, perched up on tall, steep rocks. We thought this view was enough to take our breath away, but what came next left us asphyxiated.

We climbed a few hundred steps, with most of us girls complaining about the pain in our legs (a reminder of our walk across the Samaria Gorge), and the girls had to wear skirts out of respect for the monks, but once we finally managed to get to the top, we were treated to our reward. the view was amazing!

What I found most enthralling was the church at the monastery. For the short time we spent in it, all beliefs were forgotten or even intensified as we gazed with awe at the frescos on the walls.

Eventually we returned to the bus for a 6 hour trip back to Athens.

It was a day that I think all of us can say was spiritually enriching. As the days count down, we reluctantly wait for the tour to draw a close.

Another early morning and a giant Greek breakfast greets us as our tour guide shepherds us onto the bus after a quick kick of the footy in the Amalia hotel gardens.

It is our bus driver George's 'name day' and this is celebrated as we travel to the temple of Apollo in Delphi . A 'name day' is not a birthday but the Saint's day after which a person is named. St George's Day fell during Greek Orthodox Holy Week and so it was being celebrated on the day after Easter.

The temple of Apollo in Delphi is a mass of ruins strewn across the side of a giant mountain.

We slowly make our way up to the temple honouring Apollo and where the Oracle of Delphi made prophecies for the ancient Greeks.

Val Dowling (teacher, Corrigin DHS), Rhys Vallance (Northam SHS ) and I being loyal Fremantle Dockers fans, asked the Oracle if Freo would win the grand final this year. Though no one believes us, I could have sworn the Oracle was telling me they would! Our tour guide told us how the Oracle's prophecies were always well 'guarded' and 'politically correct' so we will have to wait and see.

We also visited the museum which exhibited all the artefacts archaeologists had found at the site of the Temple of Apollo .

We then travelled by bus to Kalambaka and Meteora and passed the Thermopylae line, where Australian soldiers had formed three defensive lines against German attacks in 1941.

We stopped at a small British War Cemetery from World War 1. As we travelled through the area, Phil White, our tour leader, read extracts from a book tracing the steps of the Australian soldiers more than 60 years ago through the very terrain we were crossing. It was emotional to think that Australians had fought and died in the area we were passing through.

We arrived in Kalambaka some hours later and took a quick look through the town. Kalambaka is a Turkish word meaning pretty town. One realised why the town had retained its Turkish name. It was indeed very pretty, with al fresco cafes and fountains and strange looking rocky mountains in the background. On top of one of these high rocks was a monastery which we would visit the next day.

After dinner the teachers read us poems which they had composed about each of the students. They were part humourous and part complimentary and then we each nominated highlights of the trip.

This brought up some deep emotions about the ANZAC ceremonies as well as some nice, funny and moving moments.

Today we had the first and only day of R & R on the tour. The reason being it was Easter Sunday according to the Greek Orthodox Church. Our tour guide told us that about 97 per cent of the Greek population belongs to the Orthodox Church.

All the shops in Delphi were closed, some for the morning, some through the day. Delphi is a small picturesque town situated in the hills overlooking the Sea of Olive trees. It is a joy to wake up to a postcard view from the balcony.

In the morning we re-enacted the Greek Easter tradition in which people take red coloured hard-boiled eggs and hit them against each other until one of the eggs break. The competition by the hotel pool was intense and finally we had a winner - Elliot Smith from Esperance Senior High School.

We walked through the town and had a look at how a traditional Greek Easter was celebrated. At the front of the hotel some men were roasting lambs on a spit. It reminded me of a scene from the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and our cameras went into overdrive. We guessed it was probably for our lunch. Later we found out that it was indeed our lunch being prepared.

At 6pm we had a short walk into the town centre where we were greeted by traditional music, dance, food and costume. It was a free-for-all traditional Greek Easter party and we were invited to join in by the locals.

We all played soccer with some of the locals and watched the teenage boys light their fireworks.

The evening ended at 9:30pm as we sat in our common room and told yarns and family stories. All in all a very relaxed and restful day in which we got to experience a lot of Greek tradition and culture.

Today was one of the most informative and enjoyable days on the tour so far. We started out quite early, and moved straight out to the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, the complex where the ancient Olympics were held.

We first visited the museum and got to see some of the statues that were excavated when the site was found, the most fantastic of these being an almost untouched statue of the god Hermes, which was awe inspiring.

Next, we moved to the outside part of the sanctuary and got to see the ruins of the gymnasium, living quarters for athletes and another small building dedicated to Zeus' wife Hera. The best part of this was getting to enter the ancient Greek Olympic Stadium, which we entered in style. We pulled out a Western Australian flag and walked in singing the Australian National Anthem, just as if we were a team entering the modern Olympics. There was a tour guide from New Zealand whose tour was near the entrance and as we entered she said to her group "Never mind, they're just crazy Australians!" We ran a race on the original track used by the ancient Olympians.

We finally left for Delphi, which was significant because it was the last line of defence in Greece and it had a very strong (almost exclusive), Australian presence. We got to see the beautiful Greek scenery as we settled down in Delphi and tomorrow we will be having a day of rest because it is the Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday.

The tour has taken on a new flavour. From Athens we are heading to Delphi where our Anzac soldiers fought in 1941. On our journey up to Delphi we are lucky enough to have the opportunity to take a tour of both Classical and Ancient Greece. Our first stop for the day was the Ancient Theatre of Epidavros. It was absolutely amazing to stand on a stage that was built in the 4 th Century with a capacity of 14 000.

The theatre itself is renowned for its brilliant acoustics and from the centre of the stage a penny dropping can be heard throughout the theatre. The tour group decided that we should test out these famous acoustics for ourselves. We made our way down to the centre of the theatre and sang, "We Are Australian". Jeremy and I were lucky enough to do a duet at the Theatre of Epidavros as well. We sang, "Ain't No Mountain" and it was an experience I know I will never forget. The rest of the tour group cheered us on and it was definitely not the last of the singing for the day. Later the National Anthem was sung at the Beehive Tomb at the site of the ancient Mycenae civilisation.

From Epidavros we packed into the bus and headed to Mycenae. Mycenae was an ancient Greek civilisation and for 400 years was the most powerful civilisation of Greece and the surrounding areas. Mycenae was the home of King Agamemnon who led the Greeks into the legendary Trojan War. The ruins of Mycenae stand between Mt Agios Ilias and Mt Zara and present the most incredible views of the surrounding countryside. Just standing among these ruins and trying to picture the story of Agamemnon coming home from the war to be betrayed by his wife and her lover sends goose bumps up my arms.

The tour of Classical and Ancient Greece has allowed us to understand the cradle of the modern world. For us to tour Greece and absorb her history allows us to build our own personal bonds with this amazing country, as well as strengthen the ties between our nations. From our tour we have learnt not just about Greece but also about our own nation. The NoMay of Crete said the memorable words to us that Greece gave the world democracy and we as Australians, through our soldiers, gave it back to them in 1941.

Having had a long and eventful day yesterday, we finally had the opportunity of sleeping in a bit this morning! With the morning free to explore Chania, we enjoyed looking at the historic surroundings. After getting back to the hotel, packing our belongings, we headed downstairs and bid farewell to the beautiful and petite hotel overlooking the harbour. We were off to Souda Bay for our last ANZAC service on the island of Crete .

We arrived at the Commonwealth War Cemetery which contained the graves of the 190 Australians and over 400 New Zealanders. The service was solemn just like all the other services we had been to but this one was attended by over 150 Australian and New Zealanders who were part of a Veterans tour group. In addition there was a Greek Honour Guard and Naval Band present.

Pride abounded as we sang our national anthem and paid respect to those that had had sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Crete. Eight of the Anzac student group were involved in the wreath laying formalities and many of the veterans present spoke to us afterwards about how proud they were of us as young Australians. It was quite an overwhelming experience!

Following the service, we took a walk around the Australian section of the cemetery and laid poppies on some of the headstones. All the while, we reflected what it must have been like for the families to have lost someone fighting overseas. Fort many of these families it would have been impossible to visit the graves of their loved ones and yet here we are - what an honour.

Our next stop was to visit the grave of well known Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, who was a proud Cretan. It was then to the airport for the flight to Athens where we would start our second part of the ANZAC Student Tour and bid our farewells to Dr Geoff Gallop and the Opposition Leader Matt Birney.

Today we awoke for a 6:30 departure to Samaria Gorge. The scenery on the way was absolutely breath-taking and it made the hills around my home of Northam look a little less spectacular.

I am not sure that any of us at this point appreciated how far 15.7 kilometres was nor the nature of the terrain. As we walked, ran or stumbled through the gorge, we were all amazed at the stunning beauty that was hidden within the huge walls of rock.

Along the way we commented on the significance of the walk in context of our trip - this was the same path that the Australian soldiers had taken in 1941 on their retreat from the north of Crete to the south of the island. One could only imagine what that would have been like without kit or even shoes! Our group travelled with Red Cross paramedics, local officials set up a rest stop (complete with refreshments and food) at the half way point and we walked a well signposted route.

At the end of the walk we were all quite tired and though there were a few scrapes and bruises, there were no serious injuries. Clearly the trek was an opportunity not to be missed.

At the end of the six-hour trek we arrived at the village of Agia Roumeli and had a quick dip in the Libyan Sea. The beach was starkly different to the ones in Australia. It was pebbled on the shore and there was no white sand at all and the water was amazingly cold as all the water from the winter snow melted into this beach area. However, the water was as clear as crystal and it was stunning. It looked incredibly inviting and only a few resisted. Not even Premier Geoff Gallop who did the trek with us, could stay away from the water.

We then sat down to another lunch. This time it was with the Mayor of Sfakia. It was again a delicious lunch and we had many seafood delicacies because it was Holy Week according to the Greek Orthodox Church and it is traditional to eat seafood on the week leading up to Easter Sunday.

At 4.30pm we boarded the ferry to Sfakia for another ANZAC ceremony - with another reception following this. Sfakia is the village where as many as 12,000 Commonwealth soldiers, many of them Australian, waited to be evacuated to awaiting ships - it is a narrow piece of land butting up to mountains and one could only imagine the scene those many years ago. The bus trip back to our hotel was enjoyable as four of the students recited their speeches on the bus - significant as we were taking the reverse direction of the road where many of the soldiers in 1941 had taken south. A welcome early night as we didn't go out for dinner, electing to have ham and cheese sandwiches back at the hotel. We will be leaving Crete tomorrow and returning to Athens.

We have been travelling on the bus non-stop today. Our first stop was the Hellenic Australian Memorial Park at Rethymno, for an ANZAC service. Whilst there, we met some Greek students and we exchanged gifts with them. Our second stop was another ANZAC service, this time at a memorial at Stavromenos.

It was then time for at lunch hosted by the NoMay (Premier) of Rethymno, Mr. George Papadakis. The food simply kept flowing, dish after dish, and we were soon full to bursting.

With our hunger satiated, the NoMay gave words of thanks and appreciation to our Premier and the Australian delegation, as representatives of the bond that had been forged between Australia and Greece during World War II. Gifts were exchanged, more words expressing sentiment and promises of continued friendship, with a Greek dignitary summing it up wonderfully: "We are so close, that when I heard your national anthem, I was confused, because I thought it was ours."

We then headed off for the last ANZAC service of the day, held at Prevali. After the service held by a picturesque sea, we were granted a tour of the nearby monastery. There, we met up with more Greek school students, and we spent a very memorable time exchanging gifts, addresses and native slang.

Following dinner at the Hungry Lion restaurant, around the corner from our quaint but pretty hotel, we had a sort of goodbye and presentation 'ceremony' literally on the steps of our hotel. It was our chance to say thank you to those who had done all the ground work for this marvellous experience.

Today is ANZAC Day. This morning we met up with Premier Dr Geoff Gallop and Opposition leader, Mr Matt Birney before heading to the Phaeleron War Cemetery for the ANZAC Day service. The service saw each and every student involved in the handing out of wreaths to the ambassadors of the different "Allied" nations.

Our patriotism was brought out with the playing of the Last Post and our national anthem as we reflected on those young Australians who fought and lost their lives fighting to protect Greece and many other nations throughout the world.

After laying poppies at the graves of fallen soldiers we travelled to the Hellenic Military Officers Club for a reception lunch where we had the opportunity to rub shoulders with the numerous ambassadors who were present at the commemorative ceremony.

The attendance of so many representatives from many different countries around the world really reflected the respect and gratefulness of other countries for the contributions and sacrifices that Australians and New Zealander's have made in the many fields of human conflict.

We then travelled back to our hotel to prepare for our flight to Crete. Our departure from mainland Greece coincides with the Australian withdrawal in 1941 from the mainland to the island of Crete.

After quickly settling in to our small but picturesque waterside hotel, we walked along the 400 year old waterfront to a traditional Cretan restaurant for dinner with the Premier and the rest of the Western Australian Government Party.

Today was the king of sight seeing days. We visited some sights we had visited yesterday, but this time we had the aid of a tour guide. Yesterday was just curiosity. Today was an intricate lesson in Greek history and culture.

Our tour guide's name was Nina, and her depth of knowledge about Ancient Greece was absolutely extraordinary. We first visited the site of the 1896 Olympic stadium. There were no seats but marble galleries. Incredibly the stadium could seat sixty-thousand people - which is more than Subiaco Oval. This becomes quite unbelievable when you see how comparatively small the stadium is! How do they all fit we all wondered?

On the bus trip to the Acropolis Nina told us about all the ancient sights such as Hadrian's Wall. On arrival at the Acropolis, Nina explained the significant archaeological sites -the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena and the Theatre of Dionysus. We all grew to appreciate the Greek culture and were amazed at some of the structures that were built. For example once there was a nine metre statue of Athenia, made of ivory and pure gold. Unfortunately we can no longer see the statue but the picture is enough to realise how incredible this would have looked.

We then walked through the museum underneath the Acropolis. It was filled with sculptures. It was particularly fascinating to see the way that the methods of moulding statues have evolved over time. Many of the statues would have taken more than six years to sculpt, such was their intricacy. Some sculptures were so detailed that you could actually see the outlines of the bones and veins in the men and animals.

We then headed off to the National Archaeological Museum which was filled with exhibits even from pre historic times. Ancient Greek script, pottery, jewellery and signet rings were just a few of the many items that we were able to see and learn about.

After the museum it was my job to take over the tour guide's microphone in the bus and to say goodbye and a big thank you to Nina and the driver on behalf of the group.

We couldn't have asked for a better or more knowledgeable tour guide. The part that impressed me the most was that she took questions from all of us and never once flinched. She always had an answer or an explanation to our questions and queries.

As I write this dairy, we prepare for tomorrow's ANZAC Day ceremony (ironing clothes and polishing shoes) and await the arrival of Premier Dr Geoff Gallop later tonight.

We counted down the months until our departure. Then it became weeks, then days, then hours, and finally the plane took off. From that moment on we were counting down the hours until we would finally arrive in Athens, measuring time in movies and meals. And now, after 29 hours of travelling we've arrived in a place that amazes us all.

We have tried our hand at some Greek phrases, some of us more successfully than others, and first night up we tried a selection of Greek food, all approved! The initial experiences included an exploration of street-side shops and a first ride on the underground rail (Metro). But at the end of the day, everybody was thankful and relieved to go to bed. First night over, but the adventure had only just begun.

Next morning we left with expectant faces to make the initial journey to the Acropolis. WOW! Everyone was fascinated by the history and the architecture and we were all soaking up the culture and the sun. The views from the top of the hill were incredible and our cameras were working overtime. After much exploring of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena and the Theatre of Dionysus, we made our way to the market place or square known as the Plaka. Most of the shop attendants in the area speak English, and when they discover we are Australian they exclaim "Ah, G'day mate!"

With wallets a little lighter from the souvenir gathering (from traditional Greek hats to necklaces with your own name inscribed in Greek!) we gathered for lunch. What else but souvlaki! After lunch some of the boys kicked the footy around in the square opposite the huge Athens Cathedral (Greek Orthodox). The oblong ball seemed alien to the soccer crazy locals who stood on and watched.

We then made our way to the flea markets. A successful day was finished with a good Greek dinner at a restaurant frequented by locals. There's one thing for sure, the excitement has got the better of the tiredness. And why not, we are all making the most of everything; this really is the opportunity of a lifetime!