Subsequent Study Tours

I was not a member of the travelling party in 2011. Majors David and Vyvyenne Noakes were delegates on the tour and assisted Wilfred as co-leaders. At the time I was Education Officer on the training college staff and David and Vyvyenne were Training Principal and Senior Training Officer, respectively. It made sense that we could not all be away at the same time.

I was pleased that David and Vyvyenne had the opportunity to participate in the tour and I did all I could to help, in any way, with preparations. My only direct involvement was to stalk as many delegates as I could on Facebook so that I could enjoy the journey once again, albeit vicariously!

The tour group was the largest yet (25 delegates plus Wilfred) and followed the same route as 2010, including visiting Thyatira in preference to Smyrna. The only significant change was the use of a new guide in mainland Greece, Georgia Papadopoulou. I needed to chat to Wilfred about a work related matter during the tour and he was glowing in his praise of Georgia and the value she was to the tour.

In Turkey, Ahmet was fully prepared for a second visit to Alexandria Troas and insisted on an early start to the day so that they would be able to visit Assos as well.

As in previous years I was able to assist by conducting a post-tour feedback survey. Once again, the overwhelming response was one of gratitude for a wonderful experience. Two sentiments expressed repeatedly in comments were how wonderfully the Bible had come alive and the real sense of being valued as an officer.

At that time, it was suggested that David and I would assist Wilfred, as co-leaders, in alternate years going forward. At least I had 2012 to look forward to!

By 2012 change was afoot. Wilfred and Margaret had officially retired in 2011 and we had been moved from Booth College of Mission to Midland Division headquarters.

This was to be Wilfred's last tour and for the first time, as part of Wilfred's swansong, Margaret was included as a delegate. I was to assist but was asked to take more of a lead role, in preparation for taking over in 2013.

The only change to the itinerary was that, this time, we would make the effort to get to Izmir (Smyrna) and meet up with the Kiwi contact, with whom we had failed to make contact in 2010. The agora of Smyrna turned out to be a more interesting site than Thyatira and, with the added bonus of meeting fellow New Zealanders with some connection to The Salvation Army, the stop was destined to become a permanent addition to the itinerary.

New Zealand is almost as far from the Mediterranean world as anywhere on earth, making travel to biblical sites a relatively expensive proposition. So, whenever official travel takes you to Europe, it's only sensible to make the most of the opportunity!!

In the lead up to this tour I had spent many evening hours of internet research hatching a plan to visit sites associated with Paul's first missionary journey, at the conclusion of the official tour. Unfortunately, I was required back in New Zealand for the Midland Division Officers' Fellowship: I had a little over one week (including long haul travel back to NZ) to make the journey that probably took Paul and Barnabas a couple of years. Of course, I had air travel and motor vehicles on my side. Could it be done?

See here for an account of my first solo journey in the footsteps of St Paul.

Although it was in doubt for a time, due to a change of appointment, I was privileged to lead the 2013 tour along with my wife, Suzanne.

The group that travelled that year was the largest yet, with 26 participants in addition to us as leaders. This made for some interesting dynamics. I would later recommend capping the number of participants at 22 to make things more manageable.

The only changes to the basic itinerary were the timing and location of the rest day and the return route from Patmos to Piraeus.

We decided to move the rest day more towards the middle of the tour, opting to try Alexandroupolis. This was at least partly because the hotel we had always used was very pleasant and had a swimming pool. It would be an ideal place to rest and reflect. The hotel is a little out of town but the coach driver offered to run in to the port area, drop people off and bring anybody back who was at the coach at the designated time. Many of the group took the opportunity to spend a few relaxed hours exploring the city of Alexandroupolis. There was the possibility of a day trip, by ferry, from Alexandroupolis to Samothrace. The fact that I didn't make the journey on that occasion suggests that my desire to visit every Pauline site had not really hardened by then.

Ferry routes change from year to year around the Greek islands and on this occasion our return to Piraeus had to be via Samos and required an overnight stay. This gave us all another half day of rest and relaxation. Some of the group hired scooters or motorcycles to tour the island. Suzanne and I took a ride back over the hill, past Pythagorion, to visit the archaeological site of Samos. This was probably one of the visits that helped to fuel my desire to see every Pauline site.

Following the tour Suzanne and I made a brief visit to Israel. The story of that personal journey is told here.

There was no officer study tour in 2014. Instead, Wilfred and Margaret marketed and hosted a 'private tour', open to fully paying customers. The territory added one active officer to the delegation and one retired officer couple also participated.

The Salvation Army celebrated 150 years of operation with an international congress in London in 2015. Originally, the plan was to mount a study tour and then have the delegates continue to the international congress. However, a change of territorial leadership resulted in a change of priorities and the 2015 tour was cancelled.

I had high hopes that we would be asked to lead a tour in 2016. However, I had been appointed to the International College for Officers later that year and it was considered inappropriate for me to be absent from the territory for the study tour as well. Wilfred and Margaret came off the bench to lead the 2016 tour with the expectation that we would resume leadership in 2017.

As it turned out Suzanne and I transferred to the South Africa Territory for a three year term (2017-2019) and, at my suggestion, the leadership of the tour went back to David and Vyvyenne Noakes. Jenny Carey provided assistance in 2018. In 2019 we undertook a private journey from South Africa and managed to intersect with the party from New Zealand at Kavala/Philippi. See here.

From 2016, also at my suggestion, delegates from Fiji and Tonga began to be included.

We returned to New Zealand at the end of 2019, just in time for the global COVID-19 pandemic! As of May 2022, planning for the next tour is yet to commence!