OZ '06, DAY 12: Zoo more than tourist trap

Steve Irwin's nature park gets it right
in fine tribute to late 'Crocodile Hunter'

BEERWAH, Queensland, Wednesday, Dec. 20 — The day at the Australia Zoo turned out to be a much better excursion than I had anticipated. Crikey, it was fun!

OZ '06, DAY 11: Surfing, then best meal ever?

Gorgeous day on Coolum Beach
upstaged by dining at Augello's

SUNSHINE COAST, Queensland, Tuesday, Dec. 19 — The agenda included three main activities, and all turned out brilliant.

First, we piled four people and a surf board into Sarah and Duane's cool little Holden Astra hatchback, a relatively easy process as it turned out, and took the short drive up the coast to Coolum Beach.

The morning was glorious. Deb got situated on the sand and said, "I could do this all day."

Alas, we forgot the camera — again!

Sarah and Duane took the board out into the rolling surf. To the untrained eye, the waves seemed to be consistently 2-3 feet high, with the occasional swell to 4-5 feet. It looked perfect for beginning surfers.

Despite living near the beach most of their lives, the kids had never learned to surf, and both had the goal of "getting up" for the first time this day. Sarah came the closest, riding several waves on her knees and nearly standing a couple times. Duane had more success paddling out farther, but failed to catch a big wave.

As for me, think floundering whale. I just wanted to ride one wave while prone, but even that was a challenge. The biggest problem was my swimsuit kept falling off as I tried to hop up onto the board! I did manage to ride one, and immediately called it quits.

Next on the docket — massages. While Sarah and Duane went for a bike workout with their trainer, Deb and I visited Dynamic Massage in Mooloolaba — which is pronounced Moo-loola-ba, said as fast possible. I drew laughs pronouncing each syllable, Moo-Loo-LA-ba.

After climbing Mount Coolum the previous day, we needed to be worked over, and Jackie at Dynamic gave us great one-hour massages. We plan to go back before we leave to get loosened up for the flights home.

The great day ended on a high note. The four of us drove back to Mooloolaba to meet the parents for dinner. It was Sharon and John Kenyon's 25th wedding anniversary, and Roz and Steve Smith joined us at Augello's Ristorante and Pizzeria overlooking the beach.

Yep ... forgot the camera again!

I'll try not to exaggerate too much … so I'll simply say it may have been the best restaurant meal I've ever had!

Augello's has won a number of Australian National Pizza Championships, and if they held a world competition, they'd be a contender. Spectacular pies!

I had an "Amanti de Carni" (meat lovers) pizza, which had "bbq sauce, cheese, marinated lamb, italian sausages, bacon, salami and ham." Incredible!

Debbie had a chef's special — crab meat lasagne. It was good beyond comprehension! And Roz's chicken cacciatore risotto might have been the best dish on the table.

We're going back, for sure.

• Shocker: Surfing is a lot harder than it looks. Sarah and Duane are both good athletes and very fit, but it's a challenge for them to maneuver the board around in the waves and attempt to ride. A lummox like me has no chance.

• Aussie oddities: It turns out a summer day without cricket is like a day without baseball. I found myself missing the game on "telly," and I look forward to the resumption of the Ashes series on Boxing Day, Dec. 26.

OZ '06, DAY 3: Bummin' it on Bondi Beach

Time for casual strolls in sand,
through historic neighborhoods

SYDNEY, New South Wales, Monday, Dec. 11 — The disk jockey called the weather "stinking hot," but you wouldn't have thought that while standing on the cliffs above Bondi Beach.

Bondi — pronounced Bon-Dye — is the wide crescent of shimmering sand southeast of Sydney, and the ocean breezes there made it feel like a perfect day.

Joined by our Australian hosts, Sarah Kenyon and Duane Smith, Debbie and I spent our third day down under at the beach, and then strolling a 19th Century neighborhood.

While the mercury in central Sydney hit 36 degrees Celsius — nearly 92 Fahrenheit — we enjoyed ourselves walking in the sand, on the rocky cliffs above Bondi and along the beach road packed with tourist shops.

After Sarah and Duane headed for the airport to catch their flight back to Queensland, we drove into neighborhoods ringing downtown, and checked out some very well preserved row houses from the 1870s and '80s, most of which were no more than 15 feet wide.

The narrow streets and tiny lots harkened back to a time when life's scale was indeed human. Do we really need our excesses in housing and transportation?





• Shocker: Topless sunbathers abound on Bondi Beach. The dreaded overweight-guy-in-Speedo was there, too.

• Aussie oddities: Coins here generally get smaller the more they are worth, save for the 50-cent piece, which is the largest. The $2 coin is the smallest. There are no pennies. Paper currency is all the same height, but colors and widths vary.

OZ '06, DAY 2: Worship service or rock concert?

Hillsong Church goes overboard
with raucous Sunday performance

BAULKHAM HILLS, New South Wales, Sunday, Dec. 10 — Before we left for Australia, our pastor at Grace Fellowship in Orlando, Mike Adkins, suggested that we try to visit Hillsong Church. "Their worship is something special," he said.

We were happy to discover that Hillsong was just a few kilometers from our hotel, so Deb and I got up early to make it to the 8:45 a.m. service.

Road signs pointed not to a church, but to the "Hillsong Convention Center," and the 3,000-seat facility was more arena than house of worship. There were dozens of enthusiastic young people waving traffic into the parking lots nestled between the "old" 1,500-seat church, a brand new chapel and an ice skating rink. To call it a campus wouldn't do justice to the setting … it's more like an Olympic village.

Coffee vendors selling Gloria Jean's brews were set up in front of the main entrance, but we arrived just as they were closing, so I don't know if the coffee was free or for sale.

Once inside, you walk straight into the "Hillsong Resource Center," a polite name for a huge concourse concession stand. DVDs, CDs, Bibles, books, trinkets and other "resources" were displayed on racks and tables, waiting for the faithful to make a purchase.

My guess is the coffee wasn't free.

The worship opened with a multimedia avalanche. A nine-piece band, a 30-member choir, and seven featured singers took to the wide stage under three projection screens that would do Jumbotron proud.

It was loud, it was electric, and the flock loved it (about two-thirds of the house was full). People were on their feet, literally jumping in praise of Jesus. No one sat down during the opening 20 minutes of music.

While impressive, the sheer intensity of the performance took me out of the moment … I was much more comfortable attending Mass in the back of the 2004 U.S Open press tent at Olympia Fields.

After the raucous overture, the service turned into a giant marketing opportunity, with junior pastors pushing tickets to the "Christmas Spectacular," encouraging women to sign up for the "Colour 2007" conference, and hawking a new DVD featuring kids music. Then came the call for tithes and offerings.

Too much. Over the top. And bad timing. Frankly, it was crassly commercial.

Pastor Brian Houston took the stage and began working the crowd 37 minutes into the proceedings — I know, because a giant digital clock at the back of the main floor was keeping time.

Maybe I had already become detached, but there was nothing special about the man or his message. He rushed through a few scripture verses — "Try to keep up with me if you're taking notes" — and bounced around from point to random point in his sermon on loyalty.

He did convince me of one thing — I will remain loyal to my church.

Give me Grace Fellowship's talented and tasteful worship band, Mike Adkins' insightful sermons, a chance to really listen to — and keep up with — the Word of God, and free coffee and doughnuts every single Sunday.

But I have to admit … an ice rink is pretty cool!

• • • • •



Later that day, we headed into downtown Sydney with our hosts, Sarah Kenyon and Duane Smith, and Sarah's parents, Sharon and John Kenyon. We roamed the street market in an area called "The Rocks," saw the Harbour Bridge and the world-famous Opera House, and did a little shopping.

• Shocker: Highway tolls here are crazy — it cost us $8.80 to go to church ($6.86 U.S.)! I'll never complain about 50 or 75 cents on the East-West Expressway again.

• Aussie oddities: You get assigned seats at the movies. … "Curb" is spelled "kerb." … Hungry Jacks restaurants are owned by Burger King and serve Whoppers.

OZ '06, DAY 1: Trip down under kicks off

Sydney welcomes travelers
— after 19 hours in planes

SYDNEY, New South Wales, Saturday, Dec. 9 — It took almost exactly 24 hours for Debbie and me to leave our house in Windermere and arrive in Australia.

We left home at 4 p.m. for a 5:55 p.m. flight to Los Angeles (two hours total). The flight from Orlando to L.A. was just over five hours, then we had a two-hour layover (nine and a half hours total). Then the flight to Sydney was just under 14-1/2 hours.

Wow … was that long!

We were in business class on the Delta flight to L.A., but endured coach on the long leg. (Many thanks to Margaret Hartmann, who was able to upgrade us from "Economy" to "Economy Plus" on the United flight … that got us a little more leg room.)

Deb was able to sleep a lot, but I struggle to get more than a few winks. I watched three movies — "Lady in the Water" (which was awful!), "The Night Listener" (not too bad), and "The Illusionist" (pretty good).

Once on the ground, we rented a car and bought a cell phone — a "mo-bile" in Aussie speak — and drove straight to Oatlands Golf Club to watch our host, Sarah Kenyon, play in the New South Wales Women's Open.

While there, we also saw Sarah Kemp, Katy Jarochowicz and Tamara Beckett, who have all stayed with us over the years.

• Shocker: I've driven on the "wrong" side of the road before, in Scotland and Ireland, and I can handle it pretty well. But over here the turn-signal stalk is on the right side of the steering column — I've been turning on the windshield wipers every time I try to signal!

• Aussie oddities: We left on Dec. 7 and arrived on Dec. 9. So, where exactly did Dec. 8 go? … Since it's summer in Australia, they are on Daylight Savings time in New South Wales, but standard time in Queensland. While in Sydney we're 16 hours ahead of Orlando time; once we get to Queensland on Wednesday, Dec. 13, it'll be 15 hours ahead.