Kookaburras, koalas and carving it up: Macksville’s most recent arrivals are getting the dinky-di experience and the shire’s hospitality.
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Four exchange students have touched down in the Nambucca Valley for a slice of Aussie life, courtesy of the Macksville Lions Club.
The girls are being hosted for the next three weeks and hail from Canada, Hungary, Italy and Brazil.
The club is also sponsoring local girl Brittany Williams who leaves on Friday for her month-long exchange to Denmark.
All four newcomers are keen to meet residents and try out their new vocabulary.
“I want to wish everyone a ‘G’Day Mate’,” Italian Martina Cordaro said.
The girls are impressed by what they have experienced so far of Australian culture, and are particularly taken with the birdlife.
“We wake to the sounds of kookaburras every morning and when we’re having breakfast the birds all come to join,” Canadian Rachel Russo said.
Hungarian Lili Piller said her highlight so far was feeding a kookaburra yesterday, while for Brazilian Raissa Passos it was her first taste of fish and chips.
They waxed lyrical about Nambucca’s natural beauty and mused on how different everything here is to their home countries.
“The biggest difference I’ve found so far is how much space you have in Australia. In Italy everything is small and close together, even the houses,” Martina said.
“It’s true, in Hungary the houses are attached, here they are all separated and each one has its own garden. It’s really nice,” Lili said.
“Plus Australia is such a new country that everything is nice and works really well,” Martina said.
The girls are looking forward to surfing tomorrow and visiting the koala hospital next week.
Other Mid North Coast highlights for them will be a visit to a banana farm, South West Rocks, the rainforests at Dorrigo, and Port Macquarie.
Lions Clubs in the girls’ respective countries have sponsored their trips out to Australia.
But they were all grateful for the hospitality of the Macksville Lions Club and impressed by the impact the club has on community life here in the shire.
“They’re doing a lot of things, they seem very influential,” Raissa said.
Martina is enjoying herself so much here in Nambucca that she is dreading going home.
“I’m going to remember this as one of the best experiences of my life,” she said.
Mel Leigh Dee
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
