Farewell to Niseko
Well it has been nothing short of a fantastic week, however, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Today we said farewell to Niseko – an amazing part of the world which has given us all memories that will last a lifetime.
A slightly later start to the day was appreciated by everyone and this was followed by a clean-up of the rooms, some shopping and then a short presentation to our lodge hosts. We were fortunate to have a souvenir store next door to our lodge which ensured that everyone had the opportunity to pick up a small bit of memorabilia before heading home.
The trip home was always going to be a long one. Two hours on the bus, two hours on a domestic flight and then another nine and a half hours on the flight into Sydney. Unsurprisingly, each of these legs was pretty quiet as boys slept and no doubt dreamt of the incredible experiences that they had had during the previous week. I don’t think that the sleeping was limited to just the boys and it seemed that most of our group had the week catch up with them. It really is wonderful to see a group of 33 boys exhausted … the result of getting out on the slopes for seven days straight and have the time of their life!
The trip itself actually provided some amazing sights. In particular, the scenery on the bus trip from Niseko to Sapporo was nothing short of beautiful. The lakes along the road were a sight to see and if you check out the photos in the gallery for Day 9 you will see what I am talking about.
Our reception in Sydney was warm – in more ways than one way. Walking into the humidity of Sydney was a little strange and a sudden wake-up call from a superb week which many could only have dreamt of. There is no doubt that it is always nice to be home … having said that … I don’t think there would be a boy or staff member in our group who wouldn’t head back to Niseko tomorrow if the opportunity arose. It was an awesome experience which has armed all the boys with many great memories and stories.
Photo 1: Jacob Boyd-Skinner (Year 12) presents a card and gift to our hosts Miwa and Mako.
Photo 2: Dom Maurici (Year 8), Clinton Slater (Year 11), Sean Fagan (Year 10), James Costigan (Year 10), Alex Bellato (Year 11) and Kieran Tate (Year 10) prepare for the bus trip.
Photo 3: The amazing view on our trip back to Sapporo.
