RSPCA 2012 Gold Coast Million Paws Walk

Today I volunteered at the Royal Society for Protection Against Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Gold Coast Million Paws Walk. The fundraising walk continues to be one of Queensland’s most popular outdoor events for animal lovers and their dogs. This year the event location had to be changed to Doug Jennings Park, The Spit, as the event outgrew the previous location.

All semester long I have been working on an Event Promotion Plan and a Sponsorship Proposal for my Event Marketing and Sponsorship class on the RSPCA 2012 Gold Coast Million Paws Walk. I chose to focus my projects on this event, since I strongly believe in the cause. As the event date was getting closer, I was feeling more and more of a connection to the event. I finally decided that I needed to be involved in some way or another so I offered to volunteer (and I am so happy that I did)!


I showed up early (7:30am) to help out. I stuffed show bags for attendees for a while and then once people started showing up, I moved on to selling raffle tickets. I had a lot of fun doing this as it allowed me to walk around the whole event to see what was going on and it also allowed me the opportunity to mingle with people and with their dogs :) People were really receptive to buying tickets and the RSPCA staff was impressed with how many tickets we sold! We were even able to be on stage as they announced the raffle prize winners.


A lot of fun and exciting things were going on at the event - they has numerous food trucks, market stalls of merchandise and pet products, a live concert, and contests such as "best dressed" and "owner and dog look-a-like". They has a designated area for agility, and they were also spray painting paw prints on any dogs that were interested. They also had some reptiles and a couple of farm animals present!


All different breeds of dogs were there, of all different sizes and colors. I saw a lot of Border Collies and Siberian Huskies, which made me miss Ziggy and Sasha (and Laila too) even more than I already do!
(Since I am mentioning my puppies, why not take an opportunity to show how cute they are!)

The weather was absolutely beautiful! We couldn't have asked for a nicer day for this event. Fun was had by all - dogs and people. I had a great time and with record attendance numbers, the event was a huge success! I was even asked to return as a volunteer for next year's walk (too bad I won't be here any more). Volunteers were presented with a certificate of appreciation at the end of the day, which was really nice of them to do.

Sydney

This past Wednesday (4/25/12) was ANZAC Day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) in Australia, which is a public holiday, which meant no school. Since I only have classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, this meant my school week consisted of only one day and my weekend consisted of six.. so what better time to take advantage of another travel opportunity :) With this time off, Autumn and I traveled to Sydney!

We flew out of the Gold Coast Wednesday morning and arrived just a short time after in Sydney :)

First thing Thursday morning we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge! We had set our minds on doing it when planning our trip. I was a bit nervous, since I have a slight fear of heights, but I wasn’t going to let that keep me from the experience. The whole encounter took about three hours, with briefings, gearing up, practice climbs, and such. We were on the bridge itself for a total of about two hours. We were guided along the outer arch of the Bridge on catwalks and ladders all the way to the peak. Making it to the top felt amazing - it was so beautiful, and we had perfect weather. We had 360 degree views of Sydney, including the Sydney Opera House, the Blue Mountains, and the Harbour city surrounds. It was an absolutely amazing experience, and I am so glad that I did it!

We spent the rest of the day walking around the area where the Bridge and the Opera House are. Autumn and I toured the Opera House ourselves, and then simply walked around for the rest of the day, exploring what Sydney had to offer.

Friday morning we went to Paddy’s Market and journeyed our way through isles and isles of varied products, from fruits and vegetables to clothing and jewelry.


Our next outing was to Bondi Beach, one of the world’s most famous beaches. There is a popular Coastal Walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach that we decided to explore. The walk is a combination of beaches, parks, and spectacular views. It is considered one of the “hidden gems” of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. The walk starts at Bondi, passes Tamarama Beach and Bronte Beach, and ends at Coogee. This was certainly the part of Sydney that I most underestimated, simply because I didn’t know much about it. This walk blew me away. It was so beautiful, and again we had perfect weather, making for a great day. We leisurely strolled along this path, taking in the scenic views. This area captivated me, and I left relaxed with memories of sun, surf, and sand.

Later that night we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out at a fancy restaurant right on the Darling Harbour. The atmosphere at this area was pretty cool, as restaurants, bars, and clubs are all centered around the Harbour. It was beautiful with the city lit up over the Harbour.

Saturday we started our day by going to the Chinese Garden of Friendship. It was like stepping into Asia, as we experienced the natural beauty, architecture, and culture of one of the only Chinese gardens outside of Asia.

We also took a train ride through the Royal Botanic Gardens to check that off of our to do list. It was a quick and easy way to see the whole area, while relieving our feet from all of the walking that we had been doing :)

After walking around the areas of The Rocks and Circular Quay a bit more, we decided to catch a ferry to Manly Beach. Again, I totally underestimated how beautiful this area was. It was similar to the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee, where we walked along the path taking in how beautiful the views were and enjoying the weather.

On the ferry ride back to the city, we timed it perfectly to catch the sunset over the Bridge and Opera House. It was incredibly beautiful and absolutely breathtaking.

We had a great time in Sydney, and I am glad that I was able to explore another city in Australia.

For more pictures, check out my Facebook page.