Greeting everyone.

Well this blogging stuff is hard work.  I had every intention of writing at least 3-4 blogs while I was ACTUALLY IN Australia, but alas, I am home now with only one to my credit.  SO… Here is what I’ll do.  I am going to be as concise as possible and try to summarize my impressions of OZ for all to see.  This will hopefully allow me to not have to spend 30 minutes talking to every person I see for the next 3 weeks, explaining every detail of the trip. (not that I don’t cherish every moment I have with each of you….????….) So, in no particular order, Here We Go.

Australia has the longest straight stretch of road in the world , this was most obviously not the road that we took to Hotham Mountain Resort on our way to the Competition that we entered.  The trip from our cozy home at Bimblegumbie to Hotham was supposed to take us about 4 hours (or 3.5 if we drive fast we thought).  Well wouldn’t you know it, we found a way to make it into a 6.5 hour drive.  Pretty amazing stuff hey!?!  We were following one of the other coaches along a rural road (following the route that we had all agreed upon I might add) when the lead car took an unexpected turn.  Maele (our navigator at the time) says “that’s not the right way, oh well, I guess he knows where he is going” WRONG!!!  After about 1.5 hours of going the wrong way we stop to water the flowers and the coach checks our map…  His words here…  “oh F*$%”  turns out we are now too far to go back so we might as well continue on the way we are going.  Back to the straight road point now.  The road we ended up taking had about 1 million corners, along the side of a mountain.  And we are talking about hard 90 degree corners and swithbacks galore. Not to mention the fact that we are in a major hurry now to get to the training session (that we thought we would have plenty of time to make it to) and thus the drivers are being very liberal with their use of the gas and the brake.  I am sitting in the back seat with Mike Robertson, just wondering which of us is going to puke first, kind of hoping it is me as I know if I’m not first, I’m sure to be a very close second.  But Hurrah Hurrah, we made it through.  Got stopped by a movie film crew that was shooting a scene on the road, but still made it in time to catch the end of the training session.

Now the roads in and around Sydney, they are something special.  The Harbour Bridge is amazing, both during the day and at night.  The harbour tunnel is an incredible feat in itself.  There are so many tunnels under Sydney.  It is awesome for easing traffic patterns and creating quick ways to get around.  We discussed how great it would be to have the tunnels in Vancouver, but can you imagine the problems that building them would create all over Vancouver.  Just ask the poor shop owners along Cambie what they think of the Skytrain tunnel???  But the Roads in Sydney do come with a great price.  There are Toll Booths everywhere.  Pretty much ever off ramp from the Main Highway had a toll booth, and the Highway had one itself, as did the tunnel, and the bridge, etc,etc.

Our route from the Airport to the Hotel the first day ws quite eventful.  I was in a car with the Quebecois athletes of our team as we left the airport.  They decided to take a short cut ( I know, that never works out…. and it didn’t).  As we get to the spot on the map where our new road intersects with the road we need, there is no on-ramp, just an overpass.  So, to draw you a picture, here I am, stuffed in the back of an SUV, loaded with gear, in a new (and beautiful) city, Lost, driving on the Left side of the road with a Right hand Drive vehicle, with 3 over-tired athletes who are only speaking French.  I felt a little helpless. We finall get on the road we want, and we come up to our first toll booth.  First Frank (one of the Quebs) drives up to the booth on the left side of the truck and we all wonder why noone is there to take our money. DOH everything is backwards here.  We all laugh and pull up to the window on the right… CASH ONLY.. well do you think anyone has cash?? NOPE. What does the toll booth dude say??  ” you don’t have any cash?? …….. Don’t worry about it, you will pay next time I am sure”  What a nice guy.  So then on the way down the main highway from Sydney to Jyndabyne the next day we totally blow right by the major toll booth, I am sure that there is a bill coming in the mail anyday now for that one.

A few quick athlete stories.

One day we had meat pies for lunch. They did not agree with one of the Male athletes, lets call him Rob F.  We get about half way up the lift and he shouts out “I GOTTA GO!” Yeah yeah sure we all say, and he starts flipping out ( I am laughing hysterically as I type this). He is trying to jump off the chair, seriously. He tells me “GET OUTA MY WAY OR I AM GOING TO CRAP ON YOU!!!”  We manage to talk him through it and as we crest the top of the lift he bolts for the nearest rock.  Lucky it is a vey foggy day or he would have been sharing with everyone what he had for lunch.  He uses our only map as TP, and we spend the next hour trying to find where the course is.  Maybe you find this as funny as we did, or maybe you had to be there, but it was the closest I have ever been to seeing someone crap their pants right beside me.  It was very very very funny.

Another one of our nightly rituals was to go for an ice bath in Lake Jindabyne each evening after the gym .  Brrr it was cold.  These special times turned out to be very eventful indeed. First there was the time that Simon decided to get the other SUV stuck on the other side of the lake (all the way up to the frame).  So after freezing ourselves for 10 mins in the lake we were so lucky to get to try to push him out, unsuccessfully.  Simon and Frank had to get another guy to pull them out with a tow cable.

On another of these ice tub occasions, we had ourselves a great laugh.  One of the athletes, lets call this guy R Fagan, decides to get changed in the driverside doorway while another athlete (female) is sitting in the passenger seat.  His towel slips and falls down, she looks over at exactly the right moment (yeah right you weren’t trying to sneak a peak Maelle) and bursts in to spontaneous and boisterous laughter.  Mike and I start crying with laughter in the back seat, and Mr. Fagan breaks out his best George Costanza impression and claims that the water was “REALLY REALLY COLD”  We all laughed for about 3 days and it was quite the running joke for the rest of the trip.  Mike and I offered to show ours to prove that it really was cold, and Rob continually could be heard saying “I’ll show you it right now to prove that it’s not small!!!”   Hahahahaha  Very Good times.

Have I mentioned how expensive things are there??? not that I eat them, but Chocolate bars (the regular size) were on SPECIAL for the great deal of 2 for $4.  and a bottle of coke (again I don’t consume this) was $3 for 600 ml.  It is incredible how much money we spent on food, when we really only had to pay for about half of our meals.  At the Beautiful Girls (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgMT_IUHX9Q) concert that we went to the drinks were $10. I was the DD, but noone else could afford to drink too much so we all went home sober.  The concert was great though, only about 500 people in a small venue.  Very cool.

Back to the flight there… Very pleasant.  We took off about 2 hours late, at 2AM.  I watched a movie and then slept.  Pretty civilised really.  Then we land.  The tell us to remain in our seats while they spray the plane with a pestacide.  I’m thinking ‘thats wierd, they spray the outside of the plane?’ NOPE, they spray the inside of the plane.  But “don’t worry” they tell us, “it isn’t harmful to human beings”.  Yeah right, until the studies come out in 20 years that it was Asbestos!!!  So then an anouncement comes on that states that anyone found carrying food in their luggage can be charged $66,000 and up to 10 years in Jail”  I can hear Julie now: “sorry Jake and Kate, Daddy insn’t coming home until you are in highschool because he had a bag full of Cliff Bars and supplements for the Athletes.  As I am walking up to the checkout (past the MANY signs that say “NO MEDICATIONS”), I get commandeered over to the X-ray machine (just a routine, random check I am assured).  First question they ask as my bag comes through the machine?  “Do you have any pills or drugs in your bag sir?” UHHHH?!?!  Well I had the entire first aid kit, and the vitamin C and D pills plus a tonne of cough medication in case anyone got sick.  Now I am about to crap my pants.  She asks me to open one of the front pockets.  I turns out to be the pocket with only 1 bag of Vitamin C and D.  They are in plastic baggies, with “Vitamin C” and “Vitamin D” written on them in Sharpie (the brand most used by your local dealer I am sure).  “What are these she asks?”  “Vitamins, just like it says there” I reply.  “Oh she says, this must be what we saw on the x-ray………………………….OK, Have a nice Day”  I pack up in a hurry and bolt (calmly though, don’t want to draw more attention).  All I can think is I am glad they didn’t ask me about the 1000 or so other pills I had in little plastic bottles labeled with Sharpy.

So, it is late, I am still a little Jet-lagged, and I must sign off.  I am sure that I will remember many more tidbits, but hopefully I will get the chance to share them with you all in person.  Stop by, gimme a call or shoot me an email.  I would love to chat.

I sign off with a endorsment that anyone who gets the opportunity to travel to Australia should jump at it.  It is a beautiful place. Especially Sydney, which Anthony says (and “Bloody Oath” I think I agree with him) might be his favorite city in the world.

G'Day Mates

Nate

Random Pics

The Opera House                Sydney Harbour Bridge

Beautiful Beaches              What do they sell there???