Tuesday: Touring and evening show

Tuesday was for Touring. Destinations included, Australia Zoo, Green Mountain / O’Reilly’s MT Tamborine, and Byron Bay. We went of a cruise on the Tweed river and a visit to a farm / tourist attraction specializing in a rain forest experience. During the cruise staff on the boat throw scraps over the side to attract wildlife. The photograph shows one of the pelicans that turned up for a free feed


Tuesday night contained one of the highlights of the week. I can understand people saying that they would never go to the Gold Coast because it is crass and overly commercial – and of cause it is. But if you are ever in the vicinity of the Gold Coast make a point of going to the Outback Spectacular. The show is set in an enclosed arena that seats 1000 people. It is an audio visual extravaganza of music, poetry, and horseman ship. The basic premise is that two outback cattle and sheep stations meet together for friendly competition. The audience is divided into two groups each supporting one of the stations. Audience members sit at long benches and when you arrive a salad entree is on waiting ready to be consumed. Part of the way through the show the cast settle down to a barbie which is the que for the secondary piece of culinary magic for the week. From no where waiters appeared and all 1000 members of the audience were given a meal within 10 minutes. It would be interesting to observe the kitchens as the 1000 steaks were prepared to be timed for the right point in the show.

The show finishes with its famous finale - with all the riders carrying Australian flags. Many people are particularly affected by this part of the show. Unfortunately I always feel uneasy with flag waving. Excessive patriotism and veneration for "Old Glory" is one of the traits of Americans that leave many of us cold. This paragraph might annoy some readers, I might write a post expanding on it some time.