The Dombeya Scholarship
Dombeya Scholarship 2009- Ntando in Australia, Part 5
My journey has come to an end here at Margaret River and Voyager Estate. I don't even know where to begin in terms of gratitude with regard to the hospitality I have received here. I have learnt so much and have been challenged on so many aspects but most of all I would like to thank the Voyager staff overall for their patience towards me in every way possible. They explained to me the simplest of things with no complaints, and so well that even a special person (slow - thinker!) like me got it. Thank you!
With such an experience at Voyager the Dombeya Scholarshipis definitely achieving its goal in educating recent graduates with little or no experience in wine making. I couldn't have asked for a better place to have come to learn. I feel so blessed to have spent my time here!
The winery team, you guys were truly awesome, for everything, including the transport to and from work. Your wine making experience amazed me it encouraged me to want to learn more and more as I was such a hungry student for knowledge and experience. Again all your patience towards me didn't go unnoticed. I am so grateful.
The viticulture team, everybody was just priceless. I was almost willing to trade the winery.
The most important people I will not forget to thank is the kitchen – restaurant staff for preparing our meals they were absolutely delicious. You guys did an amazing job considering it's never easy to cook for a lot of people and please them at the same time.
To the Wright family words are not enough to thank you, the extent you went to, to make this an incredible experience as it was. The level of organisation you went to is remarkable. I have never really experienced anything like it to be honest. From months (last year November, yes 2008) before I arrived I received my accommodation arrangements. A few days before I arrived I was told where to go, what to do, and was given contact details of everybody I was to be in contact with.
When I arrived here there was a timetable of when and who was picking me up at what time. I never once felt lost or missed home (sorry mommy). They made me a part of their family and that generosity is also transferred to their staff. When they came down from Perth to Margaret River which is 3 hours apart we'd always catch up. I could go on, with all the things they did for me but I would run out of space to write. With that said, Thank you so much for every single thing you did for me, I hope you never get tired of your kindness to others. I know I wasn't the first nor am the last but, I sure felt special through it all. I felt at home through out. And I couldn't have asked for a better family other than Voyager and the Shepherdson's.
I spent a day at cellar door today (Thursday the 26th of March) did the tastings and tried to balance the tills. I have to say by the end of the day I developed an appreciation for the hard work that goes into selling the wines and the people skills involved. I had initially anticipated I was just going to stand there and look pretty in hope of snatching my billionaire future husband, but instead I was surprised I really had to work!
If you didn't know like me, well, there's a lot of hard work put into selling the wines, otherwise all that hard work of making them would go to waste. It's really the most important part of the whole process.
I must say I had a wonderful experience in all aspects possible! Thank you.
Click here to go to Dombeya Wines website.