Sisters travel to Australia, reunite with brother
Staff reporter
It was a reunion that was 20 years in the making.
Elora Robinson of Marion and her sister, Donna McCallum of Manhattan traveled to Australia March 14 to see their brother Jim Zickefoose.
Gone for 31 days and traveling more than 17,000 miles, Elora said she had never been on vacation of that length before.
"I went to Australia in 1985 for two weeks to see Jim," she said, but had to return to go back to work.
Now retired from Marion National Bank after more than 40 years in the banking business, Elora has more time on her hands to do the things she enjoys such as traveling.
Elora and Donna flew from Kansas City International Airport to Honolulu and spent two days. They then flew to Sydney, Australia — a 10 1/2-hour flight.
Jim and wife Lesley met the sisters at the airport. The family spent five days in Sydney before returning to the Zickefooses' home in Young, New South Wales, 200 miles from Sydney.
While in Sydney, Elora said the season was the end of summer and beginning of fall.
"Beautiful flowers were everywhere," she said.
Wildlife also was in abundance with pelicans lined up on sand bars, waiting for scraps to be thrown in the water by fishermen cleaning their fish.
"Sunsets were incredible," Elora said, as were the scenes on the beaches.
On March 26, Jim and Lesley's daughter Karen got married in Young.
"Jim gave a 15-minute speech before the couple cut the cake," said Elora, which is the tradition in Australia.
A band played at the wedding dance. The keyboard player for the band also played at Jim and Lesley's wedding.
Jim is an Elmdale High School and Emporia State University graduate, and a Vietnam veteran. While on R&R in Australia, he fell in love with the country and wanted to return.
Through a government program, Jim was able to teach for two years in an Australian school, met his wife, and has been there ever since.
"Jim has been in Australia since 1972 and sounds like an Aussie to me," she said, "but Aussies say he has an accent."
Elora met Jim and Lesley's 19-year-old son Ryan for the first time.
"That was such a treat," said Elora.
Following her niece's wedding, Elora and Donna flew to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and traveled by bus to Sunshine Coast. Her brother and sister-in-law met them there the next day.
The family stayed at a beach condominium at Noosa, a popular tourist attraction.
"We walked through the Noosa National Park daily," said Elora. "We were told we would see wild koala bears but we never did."
At night, the wildlife would be right outside their windows.
"Parrots would land in bushes outside our windows," she said.
The travelers flew to Auckland, New Zealand, April 11 and spent a couple of days before returning home.
"We didn't see any of the outback," Elora said. "We were more interested in seeing our brother and his family and doing things with them."
Elora observed major differences between the U.S. and Australia. One of them was Australia's sport of rugby which is football in the U.S.
"Players do not wear any pads or helmets," she said. "And there are no time outs during the games. I think our players might get winded if they tried to do that."
Otherwise, the sport is similar.
Another difference is how Aussies are more uninhibited than Americans.
"At my niece's wedding dance, there weren't any people sitting around. Everybody was dancing," she said. In general, Aussies were friendly and accommodating to tourists.
Jim plans to visit his family in the U.S. when he retires, said Elora.
"I sure hope it's not another 20 years before he does."
