I went on a trip to Australia from Jan.13th to 22nd. I have to say the trip was absolutely fantastic and the weather was wonderful! It was certainly hot but only in the daytime and not nearly as humid as I expected. It felt more comfortable than Tokyo in summer. I stayed at the home of Mr. Keith Lovell who came to Japan two years ago to judge Airedales in our championship show. Keith and his wife Trish were really hospitable to me while I was there even though they were so busy. As a matter of fact, their Welsh puppies were born the day before I arrived and a litter of Airedale puppies was born while I was there. On top of this, they were expecting some other Airedaler guests from the US the day after I left.

Keith's house is surrounded by farmland and is only ten minutes by car from the beautiful town of Warragul. His property is enormous and has several large kennels, as well as several side-by-side kennel runs, orchard, vegetable garden and even farm with four rams. Keith usually keeps one or two dogs in the house. Abba who was mated recently was in the house during my stay. A Welsh puppy, Wonder had been placed in the garden next to the kitchen to help her to get used to being with people. Keith was more than willing to show his Airedales one by one at my request. At first sight , they seemed hyperactive, but actually they were really obedient.

As well as Visiting the other Airedalers, and going to two dog shows, I also played golf which was a totally unexpected event and visited the penguin parade which was one of the highlights of the trip. We also went to Healesville, and the Yarra Valley wine producing region, and had a lot of wonderful Australian food, Keith and Trish gave me so many marvelous and rare opportunities and I enjoyed them all. To my surprise, I realized at the end of my trip that I had driven 2,374 kilometers in their car during my stay.

Mrs.Glenys Cochrane and Keith held a BBQ party for me on the first day of my stay and many Victoria Airedale Club members attended. We arrived at Glenys's house, went out in the backyard and her four Airedales ran up and welcomed us. The two adults were so cheerful, friendly and well trained, and the two puppies were so cute! They were like typical puppies you can find anywhere. They were excited and tried to jump at me. There is a law banning docking in Australia, so their tails were long and undocked! I felt a little strange as that was unusual for me.

Other members were beginning to gather and everyone got stuck into preparing the BBQ. Before I left Japan, I heard the BBQ party would be held at the poolside. To tell the truth I could not decide whether to take swimming wear with me or not. But I clearly figured out that I didn't need it. There was a pleasant, cool breeze blowing. It didn't seem like a summer evening. It was my first time to meet most of the people there except Keith and Trish but whenever Airedalers from anywhere in the world get to know, they immediately become friends. I talked about my dogs and showed the pictures. And then we talked about Airedales in Japan and Australia, our club, training and things like that. There was a lot of food on the BBQ and way too much dessert! They were so good; especially I liked the pavlova which was the national dessert in Australia.
Although it had grown dark before we knew it, our chat continued in the living room. Finally we left her house and by the time we arrived at Keith's house it was almost midnight.