Skepticism quickly turned to surprise as the 7 lucky winners of Team Player's Off-track in the Outback contest were stunned to learn that they were about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime: Australia's East Coast.
While some details were made available, the lucky winners had no clue what was awaiting them across the world with drivers Pat Carpentier and Alex Tagliani. The group gathered in Los Angeles where winners, members of the media and Team Player's met up at LAX to get on the 14-hour ride from Qantas to Sydney.
Despite the painful experience of being confined in an airplane for 14 hours and not partaking in any mile-high activities, we were in Sydney before you could say G'day.
take my breath
After settling down and grabbing lunch with Alex and Pat, our well-organized and enchanting hospitality team led us to the Sydney Harbor Bridge for a thrilling ride and scenic view. It did not take long for the group to fall in love with the breathtaking 360-degree view of the city. And if this was not enough, our sweet and charming guide Tanya sure did the trick.The sun was passionately kissing our faces, the wind was searing through our clothes and we loved each and every second of it. Sydney is amazing for many reasons, one of them being that every view of the landscape shows the city's elegance. While I would not encourage this to everyone with vertigo, the bridge climb actually alleviated some of my fear of heights.
more than foster's
The first beer to wet our palate was the Tasmanian James Boag, setting the bar high from the get-go. As the "one beer" turned into a half dozen, we got on the bus again to hit the restaurant: a great concept, the patrons could choose their own meat and grill them on the barbecue. Not bad, but make sure your sense of timing does not get eroded with the alcohol.In the Southern Hemisphere, the water may indeed turn in the opposite direction than it does in the Northern Hemisphere, but when it comes to alcohol, the effects are similar.
The next day, we set off to the famous Bondi Beach, home of the beach volleyball games at Sydney. Incidentally, Olympians Julien Prosser and Lee Zahner had to twist our arms to get us to play with them (yeah right).
Some played volleyball while others tried to play with our other hosts, the enthralling Samantha and Davina. The local gals were busy serving us beer and making sure that the Aussie sun would not be too unbearable. In the meantime, Julian and Lee set us up and we spiked the ball on the warm and white sand. Well, tried to anyway.
saltwater burns the eyes
Over by the water, car drivers Alex and Pat were busy being kids, playing with the shuffleboards... once the Victoria Bitters had pickled our livers, we knew it was time for a swim. If all of this was not enough, then maybe running down Hail Marys (we brought our football from North America) from Tagliani was enough to bring a smile to this journalist's face (as if I was frowning before...). Before we knew it, the day was over and the roaring sound of Harleys captured our attention.off to cairns
Closer to the equator, the weather was warmer and vegetation wilder in Cairns. We played with koalas, fed crocodiles, flirted with emus, talked to dingoes, and gazed at pythons over at Hartley's Crocodile Farm before making it to our hotel.While the first hotel was nothing short of perfect, our hotel at neighboring Port Douglas was out of this world. Nothing could have prepared the group for the heavenly hospitality and luscious largesse of our second stop.
Packed with lagoons, a beach, a chapel, a golf course, and a poolside bar, we knew that our time at this "shindig" would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Supper saw a continuation of fine food accompanied by a bevy of beverages. Off the coast of the Pacific, we were served a sublime Barramundi alongside coconut rice, drowned in a river of Chardonnay, of course.
The ensuing morning was, how can I put it... rough. But life was great and we trekked our way to the Quicksmart boat where we were about to embark on a ride towards one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Great Barrier Reef is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful areas you will ever see in your life. The group was fortunate enough to spend a day at the Reef to explore the marine life and vegetation, via snorkeling and scuba diving.
As the sun was starting to take its toll on us, the adventure continued in Port Douglas that night at Portofino's restaurant with more wine; Shiraz I believe. Considering that I was, at least technically, on duty, I had to try the kangaroo on the menu for the sake of our readers.
The dark meat was quite gamy with a sweet taste -- verdict? Good to have once, but no need to fly overseas exclusively for it. That night the drinks were flowing, and the specter of drunken tourists singing karaoke was looming large.
another day comes
Our streak of great weather continued, as we were getting ready to hit the Outback. I must admit that my idea of the Outback was a desert-like place. In fact, we never ventured off so deep into the mainland, but no one was complaining as we flew to a farm courtesy of choppers.The evening was delightful: whip crackers nearly decapitated us while boomerangs attacked us with an aerial onslaught. As the festivities continued, we were served a gargantuan supper, while Aborigine dancers entertained us and a Bush band serenaded us... well sort of.
As the sun set and we began to get ready to make it back to our hotel, a distinctive humming sound was awaiting us. As we headed back to our wonderful hotel to pack for our flight to Brisbane, it dawned on us that it was time to leave just as we had finally familiarized ourselves with the hotel.
The (really) early flight out of Cairns was not as bad as one would expect. But despite the (really) early landing in Brisbane, no one seemed to mind. After all, we were finally one hour North of the Gold Coast, home to Surfers Paradise where the Honda Indy would be raced just hours later.
Surfers Paradise... ah yes. The best way to describe Surfers to North Americans is by meshing Miami's South Beach all year long with a dash of New Orleans' Mardi Gras on Indy weekend.
Picture Surfers as the offspring of South Beach and Mardi Gras; the former as its mother (by virtue of the great weather, the nice coastline, the energy, and the scantily clad women) and the latter as its father. The only catch is that the father rolls into town once a year, undoing decades worth of feminist movements' work worldwide.
Either Gloria Steinem has never heard of Surfers Paradise or she felt that she could never cut it here... whatever the reason, Surfers was a highlight of the trip, to put it mildly.
it's raining, it's pouring
Our first day at Surfers was a rainy one, but no one seemed to care since the forecast was looking excellent for the race weekend. The weekend is already a blur, much like the blur of 200-mile-an-hour cars passing you by.Before hitting the clubs, we set off to Hard Rock Caf. An amazing parade suddenly emerged and hit the pavement as we threw back some chicken and lamb (although most of us were full from the appetizers), washed it down with strawberry daiquiris and Carlton Lager beers, another quality offering.
from beer to babes
Despite our lofty expectations for Aussie babes, we soon realized that while babes down under definitely have their charm, they are, when things are said and done, regular women. Not all of them look like Elle, Kylie, Natalie, and Danni (not even the two babes who pleaded with us to take them to the race the next day). Well...But Surfers is another world. Imagine walking down the street and noticing that all the men are staring, no, gawking at you. But you quickly realize that they are probably not staring at you, but at the two 6-feet tall babes with floss bikinis behind you.
curtains close
As the race weekend was coming to a close, we could not believe that here we were across the world. But this feeling would soon come to an end, as the next day was to mark our return to Sydney for a last day before the long and daunting journey to North America.Minutes before the race was to start, the lucky winners took a lap in the pace cars to get a bird's eye view of the test that the drivers would have to pass momentarily. In fact, Aussie Golden swimmer Ian Thorpe took the first lap in the pace car.
As the race ended and the patrons flooded the streets, one could not help but look up to the sky. Was it a bird, a plane, oh no, it was two women flashing one another at the request of the drunken crowd.
back to sydney
When we landed in Sydney, we were expecting our conventional bus, but seeing how the party planners were anything but conventional, we were greeted with 1950's style Cadillacs at the airport to take us to the harbor. If you thought heads turned in America when a '57 Cadillac rolls by, imagine people's reaction when the classic cars would stroll down the streets of Sydney.As we set off to the harbor, the need for speed was emphasized again as harbor water jets were waiting for us. A stroke of genius (more like common sense) prompted me to remove my wallet, passport and camera right before embarking on the jet... good thing because upon our return, we looked like poster boys for a Depends commercial.
By now, we headed back to the hotel and sat outside to dry up a bit and enjoy another James Boag, the first beer we had in Sydney almost 10 days before.
it's your world
Knowing that the sun was about to set on our journey that night, we headed out to Wolfie's Bar & Grill along the pier for one last meal, knowing very well that everyone involved in this Off-track in the Outback adventure would never view traveling the same way.Thank you Team Player's for the best adventure of my life. You definitely made everyone involved feel like it is indeed our world.
Resources:
Australia Travel Guide
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