I have added a lot of new friends and followers from Australia to my posts recently. For those folks and anyone else, I’ll explain what the purpose of my Trackchaser Reports is. It’s pretty simple really. I’m hoping people find my racing and travel adventures interesting, entertaining and informative…especially this one from Australia. You can find more than 1,500 Trackchaser Reports from the 86 countries where I have seen racing on my website at www.randylewis.org. My reviews are both about the racing and the touring and the logistics of it all. Most of the time I’m touring or traveling much more than I am at the racetrack. My reports reflect that as well.
I might mention this. I was coming to the Australian continent for the 11th time. Some of those visits were to see Australia the country only. Some were to visit New Zealand the country only and some of the trips were to see both Australia and New Zealand. Ten of my eleven trips to Australia included some racing. One of the trips was for our family to visit our daughter Kristy when she was living in Sydney with a student abroad program offered by UCLA.
Oh yes! I have videos from the Australian tracks I visited during Part 1 of my Australian adventure. You might be especially interested in the video from the Lismore Speedway. This video includes my at the track interview with the Lismore commentator as well as all of the friendly Aussies I met at the track. Of course, just click the links.
Lismore Speedway...Lismore, New South Wales, Australia – Lifetime track #2,850. Also thanks to Taylor Swift for joining in on the video!
So…without further adieu welcome to all and let’s get started!
A couple of weeks ago when I trackchased down in Texas I thought that I had wrapped up my trackchasing season for 2022. Not true! Just a couple of days ago I thought it might be nice to try to go to Australia for my 10th trackchasing trip down under. I did a little research and that trip become a reality. The entire adventure was planned with just a few days’ lead time.
Did you know it’s a 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Australia? For this trip, I would be flying from LAX to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Brisbane’s time zone is 18 hours ahead of our Pacific time zone in Los Angeles.
This meant that if I left Los Angeles at 9 p.m. (which I did), I would land in Brisbane TWO DAYS later. That’s right. I left Los Angeles at 9 p.m. on December 23 and arrived in Brisbane at 5 a.m. Brisbane time on Christmas day, December 25.
December 23, 2022.
I didn’t much like leaving Carol at home for Christmas morning. However, just a couple of days ago we returned from a six-day trip to New York City. I figured that was her and our “Christmas”. Luckily, I have a wife who is very understanding about my addiction to trackchasing. Very lucky indeed.
I had some great help in making this trip to Australia a success. I am friends with Bob Leyden who used to be the track commentator at Archerfield Speedway, one of the premier tracks in Australia. In 2012 I did an “at the track” interview with Bob. He and I have stayed in touch over the years. Thank you Bob for all of your help. I really appreciate it.
Before I could say goodbye to Carol she and I had to have dinner at the newly opened In-N-Out Burgers in our hometown of San Clemente, California. After finishing our last bites at In-N-Out, we exchanged our “pleasantries” in the parking lot. She drove home and I drove to the airport.
My flight on Qantas Airlines was what I would call uneventful. Have you ever been on an airplane for 15 hours? I once flew from Johannesburg, South Africa to Atlanta, Georgia. That itinerary has a flight time of 16 hours and 50 minutes.
Did you know that the longest commercially scheduled flight time is from Singapore to New York? That’s an 18-hour and 50-minute airline journey. What’s the secret to surviving such a long flight? It’s pretty simple for me. I just get on the plane, sit in my seat and get off when the plane lands. Everyone gets a chance to choose their own reaction to the circumstances they encounter!
I was lucky to be seated in an economy seat on the “two-seat side”. I had the aisle seat and the window seat was open which was helpful. I only got up from my seat twice during the entire 15-hour flight, and that was simply to use the facilities.
December 25, 2022.
Merry Christmas!
I landed at the Brisbane airport and clearing customs was easy. In advance of the trip, I secured my electronic Australian travel visa. That’s all done online and costs $20 Australian. I got my visa at the very last minute. Last minute? Yes, the night before my trip was to begin. I did worry for a moment that they might not process things in time for me to take the flight. They did. What did that tell me? Don’t worry about things!
Right now, it takes $0.67 in U.S. currency to buy one Australian dollar. Essentially that means that everything I see in Australian prices is being discounted by 33% for Americans. Australian prices are higher for just about everything compared to what you might see in the United States. However, after the 33% discount is applied the prices are fairly comparable between the two countries. By the way, Australia does not have a “dollar bill” in its currency. They do have a one-dollar Australian coin.
As mentioned, I landed at 5 a.m. I didn’t want to get my rental car until 9 a.m. Why wait? I would be returning my car by 9 a.m. in four days. There was no reason to pick up my car before 9 a.m. and incur an extra day’s rental car expense. I was renting from Budget Rental Car.
I spent some of my time charging my electronic equipment. No one wants a cell phone or laptop or anything else that doesn’t have juice. It was easy to do that in the Brisbane airport while I waited to get my rental car.
I am attempting to walk a minimum of 4 miles every day for one year. If I can make it to March 2, I will have accomplished this goal.
My goal with my walking is to walk at least four miles each day from midnight to midnight California time. With the Australian time zones I would be encountering the time difference from my home base in California would be 16-19 hours. This meant my “walking day” would run from 7 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Australia in the most extreme case. I know. It’s kind of complicated, isn’t it? Nevertheless, I was on the case.
Budget gave me a nice Suburu Liberty brand rental car. This was a full-sized four-door car. It was a right-side drive car! That meant I would be driving on the left side of the road in Australia.
The nice thing about my rental car was that my iPhone and my Google Maps GPS would work well with Apple’s CarPlay. This allowed me to see directions on the video screen of the car and get an audio explanation of what I needed to be doing as I drove in Australia.
In case you didn’t recall motorists in Australia drive on the left side of the road. I was amazed to find that 42% of the population in the world drives on the left side of the road. I would have guessed that number was much smaller.
During my trackchasing travels, mainly in the United Kingdom and Australia, I have driven tens of thousands of miles on the left side of the road. Carol and I have a saying that goes like this. “Lefts are easy; rights are scary”. I do have to pay special attention when I am making a right-hand turn when I’m driving on the left side of the road.
I might also mention that crossing the street as a pedestrian is even trickier than driving a car on the left side of the road in Australia. I never really got a good handle on that. Before crossing the street I would look both ways about seven times and if no cars were coming I would close my eyes and go for it. I’m told Winston Churchill was severely injured crossing the street after being confused with the direction of the oncoming traffic.
Coming into this trip I have seen racing at 45 different tracks on the Australian continent. This includes tracks in all six Australian states and both north and south New Zealand. When I began planning this trip, I had to take those 45 tracks off my “Australian map”. As most know my trackchasing hobby is all about seeing racing at tracks for the very first time.
When it’s winter in the United States it’s summer in Australia. When I left the U.S. winter storms were hitting the Midwest and east heavily. In southern California where I live the average high temperature all year ranges from 67-77 degrees Fahrenheit. We don’t have “winter” as most Americans think of winter.
During my Australian track research, I discovered that a lot of tracks take off from racing during the Christmas holidays. Other tracks participate in “speed weeks” of sorts where one group of racers competes at a different track every night for a week or so. In Australia, December 26 is called Boxing Day. Boxing Day is probably the most popular holiday all year for tracks to hold a show. Unfortunately, I can only be in one location on Boxing Day!
I found enough tracks for me to see racing at five different locations during the 11 days I’ll be in Australia. I also took the time to record the race dates from the Australian tracks from January through May. You just never know. I might come over in the American springtime to see some more racing in Australia.
I’ll be staying at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in the south bank section of Brisbane for the next four nights. This will be a great hotel situated in a fantastic location.
When I checked in, I talked myself into an upgrade to a hotel suite. I am trained to negotiate. If you don’t ask you don’t get. Marriott always treats me very well. The prices of hotels in Australia are extremely reasonable.
Today I got a chance to meet the hotel owner. We talked for a while. Then she treated me to a delicious and creatively presented breakfast. She told me it was my “Christmas present” and there would be no charge. I thanked her very much and wished her the Merriest of Christmases.
Throughout my four days in this location, I would use the South Bank area to get my steps in. South Bank gets its name by being on the South Bank of the Brisbane River. All along this space, I had a great view of the Brisbane skyline.
I left Los Angeles on December 23 and arrived on December 25 into Australia. That’s two days with just one plane ride right there! At least on the way home, I plan to return on January 4 from Sydney, I will land early in the morning on January 4 in Los Angeles. All of this has to do with the fact that where I am visiting in Australia varies from being 16-19 hours ahead of the Pacific time zone in California.
I didn’t have anything specific to do today. The main plan was to get acclimated to driving on the left side of the road and being in a time zone that was a day ahead of where I just left.
Monday, December 26, 2022
Today is boxing day. In America, we would call today the day after Christmas. Boxing Day is a big thing in Australia. It’s one of the most popular days of the year for auto racing tracks to hold their events.
Do you know the origins of “Boxing Day”? Here’s how my Google search explained it. Boxing Day, in Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, holiday (December 26) on which servants, tradespeople, and the poor traditionally were presented with gifts. By the 21st century, it had become a day associated with shopping and sporting events.
I usually contact each track I plan to visit in advance of my arrival. First, I want to confirm they are racing. No one, especially me, wants to travel thousands of miles only to learn the track’s website or the Facebook page wasn’t current and the track is not having a race. Folks, that happens! I also want to figure out where the track is located and what time the racing starts. The responses I get back generally fall into three categories.
Sometimes I don’t get any feedback whatsoever. Crickets! In almost every case, if I still show up at a track that didn’t get back to me at all, their promotion just isn’t very good. There is a direct correlation between feedback from the track and the type of show a track like that offers.
Other tracks follow up with what I would call a “lukewarm” response about my attending their venue. I can never tell if I am hearing back from the promoter, or someone who has very little interest in the prosperity of the track.
At other times when I mention to a track, usually via Facebook Messenger but sometimes by email, that I am going to be attending their racing the track’s response is fantastic. They can’t wait for me to arrive and get a chance to meet and talk to someone who has seen racing at so many locations. When I show up at these tracks, more often than not, I will find that they run a very good program. Getting back to me in such a positive fashion is just one more part of what makes their racing operation a success.
Tonight, I would be trackchasing at the Lismore Speedway in New South Wales, Australia. Australia has six separate states and a territory. I’ve seen racing in every one of the Australian states. I was staying in Brisbane, which is in the state of Queensland. Tonight’s track was about two hours south of Brisbane in the state of New South Wales.
My advanced contact at the Lismore Speedway was a woman named Kim. Kim and her husband Mick Sauer are the promoters at the Lismore Speedway. They are new to promoting the track. Tonight was going to be only their third race since they took things over.
Kim was nice enough to offer me a complimentary ticket to tonight’s racing. They use electronic ticketing at Lismore. Kim sent me my ticket via Messenger and everything worked just fine for my entry tonight. Once I arrived, my number one mission was to meet Kim.
It was also interesting for me to see that I almost didn’t need a single Australian dollar in real currency. Everywhere I went they accepted ApplePay. I use my AppleWatch when I pay with ApplePay. Nothing could be easier.
I must tell you that when I arrived at the Lismore Speedway, I had a minor panic attack. Why? The surroundings looked to me far too much like a track in Australia, the Grafton Speedway, that I had already attended. Three or four times I have come back to a track after going through some challenging travel plans only to find out that I had already visited that race track sometime in the past. That’s a bad outcome for a trackchaser. Trackchasing is all about visiting a race track for the very first time. There is no “credit” for silly trackchasers who go back to a track a second time.
To try to confirm if I was either returning to the Grafton Speedway which somehow might now be called the Lismore Speedway I checked my website on my phone. I searched for “Grafton Speedway”.
The first photo that I saw from that post was a picture of my Grafton Speedway race ticket that said “Lismore Speedway”. This only exacerbated my panic attack. I read my report a little bit further from my visit in 2017. That visit to Grafton in ’17 was 450 tracks ago so you can understand the potential confusion.
From that post, I was reminded that both the Grafton Speedway and the Lismore Speedway were being promoted by the same people in 2017. This is why even though I visited the Grafton Speedway on that trip they gave me a ticket that said “Lismore Speedway”. I was majorly relieved to confirm that this would be my first-ever attempt to see racing in Lismore.
The ticket I received tonight gave me admission to the grandstand area of Lismore Speedway. I also wanted to go into the pits and check out what kinds of racing competitors I would be seeing this evening.
I thought I might just be able to “walk” into the pits with nobody noticing. Nope. A fellow by the name of Rick and his wife were guarding the pit entrance and would have none of that. I then dropped Kim’s name. Rick gave her a call. In a matter of no time, Kim showed up. She was as friendly of a person as she had been over Facebook Messenger.
Kim set me up a pit pass. If you’re ever been to a musical concert think of a racing pit pass as something similar to a backstage pass. Kim and I agreed to meet up again later in the program. Once I was in the pit area I could take pictures of the race cars and meet people in the pits.
Tonight’s main class was going to be the big block dirt modifieds, which are exactly the kinds of machines that are raced in the DIRT series in the American Northeast. They also had a group called “AMCA” which was identical to the IMCA modified racing series in our states. Rounding out the program were wingless sprint cars, street stocks, and a couple of classes for kids driving smaller four-cylinder powered sedans.
Tonight’s weather was picture-perfect. The temperature was in the low 80s and falling a degree or two every hour. The track and grounds were well-maintained. There were a couple of large covered grandstands, some smaller bleacher seating areas, and places where fans could either stand or sit in their own lawn chairs to watch the racing. Lots of tracks in Australia don’t have much in the way of formal seating. Fans bring their lawn chairs to watch the racing.
I was most impressed with the concession stand areas as well. They were located all around the track and offered a little bit of everything at reasonable prices. Remember, these prices were in Australian dollars. Converted to American money the prices were about one-third less.
The track’s pace car was unusual. I thought it looked like about a 1966 Ford Fairlane convertible. Nevertheless, it was probably an Australian model of some similarity. The white pace car rode around the track pacing the field…with a Christmas tree in the backseat! Folks, whenever I think I’ve seen it all…I am reminded I have not.
I did notice a second track located on the Lismore Showgrounds. This was an asphalt road course that looked to be in great shape. I never did get the chance to ask what this layout was used for. When I get the details I’ll let you know.
What was extra special about the Lismore Speedway was the large video screen that showed live racing action all night. These video screens are more popular in Australia than elsewhere. A large video screen at an American short track is nearly unheard of.
Car counts were excellent as well. I was told that around 100 cars were on hand. There were good fields in both modified divisions, as well as the wingless sprint cars. The headline event at the end of the evening would be a 40-lapper for the big block modifieds.
Grafton Speedway
Lismore Speedway
One of the reasons that I was initially concerned that the Lismore Speedway might also be the Grafton Speedway that I had seen five years ago was the tracks themselves at these two facilities were nearly identical. They are both virtually circular tracks and not oval-shaped. It seems odd to watch racing on a “circle track” even though that’s what oval tracks are sometimes called in the United States.
I was concerned about taking up too much of Kim’s time with her being the promoter. A promoter essentially works their butt off in advance of the race, during the race, and after the race. Promoting races is an extremely difficult job. I don’t think most fans, including me, have a full understanding of just how difficult, time-consuming, and challenging it is to be a race promoter. All of that can be said for being a race car owner, pit crew member, or driver as well.
Kim soon introduced me to one of her pals, Peta Souwer. Peta knows everybody and is the operator of Peta’s Pit Talk (this is the link to her FB page Peta’s Pit Talk). Peta interviews drivers, race car owners, and fans. She posts those interviews on her FB page.
Peta is a real go-getter. She is meeting people and renewing acquaintances, and getting her interviews constantly. Tonight, she would take the time to interview me in three different segments. I don’t know if she always does her interviews in segments but that’s how we handled our talk tonight.
Along the way, we met a father-son duo. These were two of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Rick and Andrew really enjoy their racing. Andrew is a special needs child and is super passionate about his racing. Andrew, in conjunction with Peta, has developed a special award for the best-appearing car at the track each night. At the interval, also known as the intermission, Andrew presents the award to a well-deserving driver.
During the interval, I was the “opening act” for Andrew’s best appearing car award. I met up with Josh the track commentator. We talked for a few minutes, and our interview was broadcast over the big-screen TV system. My favorite photo of the night was getting my picture taken with Andrew.
I watched the racing and took videos from all over the track’s circle. I finished up watching the 40-lap big block dirt modified race in front of one of the main grandstands. I noticed that virtually no one left early tonight. All the other seating areas were packed with race fans. Even the security guards added to the track’s ambiance!
When I met Kim the promoter later in the show, she told me the area had suffered a severe flood only nine months ago. She said the entire Lismore Speedway was underwater and just getting put back into shape. I’m sure that took a Herculean effort to get things right.
The racing was good tonight. The car counts and the quality of the racing cars were above average. However, it wasn’t the racing that made my evening tonight.
It was the people. Kim was an outstanding host and a great ambassador for race promoters everywhere. Getting hooked up with Peta was a real jewel for the evening. I loved my interview with her, and she introduced me to all kinds of people.
Rick and Andrew, the father-son combination, were just truly inspirational. Rick was a friendly guy and Andrew was just such a passionate student of the Lismore speedway auto racing game.
I talked to a lot of other people while watching the races tonight as well. I met the lady who is the primary sponsor of the Lismore Speedway, her granddaughter was racing in just her second-ever race on this evening. I talked to a lot of people in the pits and met a lot of drivers. Everyone was super nice, very knowledgeable about the sport, and willing to share what they knew with me.
The Lismore Speedway will go down as my 2,850th-lifetime track and my 46th track to see on the Australian continent. This was a special night. My experience with Lismore puts it easily in the top 5% of all the tracks that I have visited and that’s a special place to be.
After the races, my two-hour drive north back toward Brisbane was a true challenge. I was tired. I guess being a little bit worn out comes from flying for 15 hours from the states to Australia. Then when it was 10 p.m. this evening it was 4 a.m. yesterday in California. When you wrap your arms around that equation, it made for a challenging drive back to the hotel, especially at night and driving on the left side of the road.
I departed the track at a little past 10 p.m. local time. Of course, it was dark outside. I was amazed at how bad the headlights were on my rental car. Even the brights didn’t make things improve all that much. I wasn’t looking forward to all of the nighttime driving that I was planning to do in this Budget Rental Car Subaru Liberty.
It was only after about 20 minutes of driving that I figured out why the headlights were producing such poor illumination. I was wearing my sunglasses! Maybe that will tell you how tired and sort of out of it I was on the first full day of being in Australia.
Oh! One more thing. I think a $100 Australian bill fell out of my pocket at the track. This didn’t bother me much.
Earlier this year I found a €50 note just lying on the ground in Europe. A $100 Australian bill is worth about $67 in U.S. currency. Of course, I don’t ever like to lose money like that. However, I figure the person who found that money might be able to enjoy it themselves and make their Christmas just a little bit brighter. Karma is a beautiful thing.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
This morning, my walk included a visit to the Brisbane Historical Gardens. I’m kind of a fan of that kind of thing. Visiting a botanical garden helps me get my steps in and lets me see some beautiful scenery.
Today’s drive up to the Carina International Speedway in Alloway, Queensland was gonna take me the better part of five hours. Driving up wouldn’t be so bad. However, the drive home after the races was going to require a little bit of assistance from 5-Hour energy drink. I brought some from home just for occasions like this!
I did stop at a Puma gas station for my first fill-up in Australia. Gas was selling for $1.687 Australian per liter. That’s about $1.16 per liter U.S. As we all know there are 3.8 liters in a U.S. gallon of gasoline. That meant I was buying Australian gas for about $4.40 U.S. per gallon. As this is written the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. is $3.33/gallon. I have traveled to 13 countries to see racing this year. In every one of those countries, gas is more expensive than what it sells for in the U.S. Nevertheless, folks in the United States cry to the high heavens about the expense of their gasoline. Honestly, I don’t understand that.
It was going to be difficult to match last night’s above and beyond trackchasing experience at the Lismore Speedway. In point of fact, seeing the racing operation at Carina didn’t come very close to my experience at Lismore.
The Carina International Speedway is what I would call a country track. It’s sort of out in the middle of nowhere. Carina doesn’t have much in the way of facilities and tonight offered a smaller crowd.
I wasn’t all that impressed with the racing either. The track was probably a 1/3-mile banked dirt oval. I think they could’ve done a better job with the racing if the track was only half as big. They also ran three heat races for each of the cars in the field. Some of the heat races had as few as three cars in each event. What is the real purpose of that? I am not a big fan of time trials or heat races and certainly not three heats for every car.
I did enjoy the hotdogs and chips, a.k.a. French fries. I had chips at two different concession stands. The menu said “chips and gravy”. This isn’t gravy like you get at Thanksgiving. In Australia, gravy means BBQ sauce!
Tonight’s admission price for pensioners like myself was $25 Australian. That’s about $18 US, which isn’t terrible for a race program that includes the super sedans. The super sedans in Australia are one of my favorite classes and akin to what the late models would be in the U.S.
There was very little in the way of formal grandstands at Carina tonight. Fans brought their lawn chairs for the most part and sat from turn two around the track through turn four.
The pits were off-limits to the fans unless you were willing to pay $20 Australian. The lady who sold me my general admission ticket told me that to get a pit pass I had to go online and order it from the Australian Racing Council or some group like that for $20 Australian. I didn’t need to get into the pits that badly.
The highlight of the evening for me was meeting a fellow selling T-shirts and hats and other racing memorabilia from a concession trailer. I just happened to be walking by this guy’s trailer when I heard him calling my name, “Randy, Randy, Randy”.
It turned out that this was an Aussie by the name of Ryan Davis. Not only was Ryan running the souvenir concession stand tonight, but he is also the race promoter at Toowoomba in Charlton, Queensland. Ryan aka “Ryno” was one of the announcers at the Hi-Tech Oils Speedway when I went there on New Year’s Eve in 2017. He and his sidekick Bennie Bishop were two of the funniest and most entertaining commentators I had ever heard.
Ryan Davis is a Facebook friend of mine. He told me that he gets a kick out of the posts that I make about McDonald’s and electric vehicles. Thank you, Ryan!
Ryan and I spent several minutes talking to each other about the racing scene on a few different occasions tonight. He was nice enough to give me one of his Cush Branded racing T-shirts.
Ryan created the Cush clothing brand. “Cush” is short for “cushion”. Race fans know that sprint cars lean on the “cushion” when they race through the turns on a dirt track. I was able to reciprocate and give Ryan one of my “World’s #1 Trackchasing” T-shirts as well. I think we will both wear our shirts proudly.
The racing highlight for me was easily the vintage car class that showed up tonight. They had nearly a dozen competitors. These cars were mainly from the 50s and 60s, a period that I might have enjoyed the very most. One of the cars looked exactly like a Plymouth Valiant (above). The car probably has a different badge in Australia. I couldn’t ever recall seeing a Plymouth Valiant race in the past.
Another thing I liked about my experience at the Carina location is that at intermission they allowed the fans to go into the pit area. That made me extra glad that I hadn’t paid $20 Australian for a pit pass. Once in the pits, I took pictures of all of the best-looking vintage racers and super sedans.
I spent nearly 10 hours driving up to and back from the Carina International Speedway. That was a long walk for a short slide as they say.
Nevertheless, I did put lifetime track #2,851 safely in the books. I met a nice guy in Ryan Harris and saw some really good-looking vintage race cars. This all saved the trackchasing day for me.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
There would be no auto racing for me today. One of the better tracks where I’ve seen racing in Australia was having a show tonight. That was the Gympie Speedway. However, I decided it might be better to explore some of the local Brisbane attractions that make a return trip to Gympie.
On just about 30 minutes notice, I discovered that I could take a river cruise up and down the Brisbane River for an hour and a half. That sounded like fun. I gave them a call but they were full.
However, I didn’t give up. I asked the fellow if he might be able to add “just one more”. He could. If you don’t ask you don’t get, right? I always ask. Of course, you have to ask in the right way. In a few minutes, I was hopping on board and cruising up and down the Brisbane River. Brisbane has an impressive skyline. They have a major multi-billion casino being built on the waterfront. I enjoyed seeing the million-dollar riverfront homes where the view dictated their value.
Our modest seaside cottage back in San Clemente, California has a full ocean view. My realtor always said, “All money flows to the sea”. I believe that to be a true statement.
When my cruise was finished, I checked Yelp so I could find a good ethnic restaurant where I might have lunch. I selected an Indian restaurant and walked about a mile and a half to get there. However, when I arrived, it was not to be found, at least by me. I gave them a call. A recording told me the phone number was no longer active. I believe these folks, despite their heavy-duty rating on Yelp, were out of business!
By the way, for this trip, I was using the AT&T International calling plan. For ten bucks a day, U.S. I can call anywhere in Australia or the U.S. for free. My AT&T cellular connection on these foreign trips is most valuable for its GPS capabilities.
I settled for a Chinese restaurant and sat down to a steaming large, hot plate of Chinese sausage fried rice. The food was authentic. It was all good.
When I finished eating, I discovered that I was now a long way from my hotel. No problem. I love walking and seeing the sights as I walk. This helped me get my four miles in for the day as well.
As I walked along, as well as when I was driving, I saw homes that might have been 100 years old resting on stilts. These homes were being placed on brand-new foundations. How cool would it be to live in one of these retro homes that LOOKED like it was 100 years old (because it was!) but had a brand new engine (foundation) under the hood!
Possibly the highlight of my non-racing entertainment agenda for this trip to Australia was coming up. A few days ago, I bought a ticket to the Mary Poppins theatrical production at the Lyric Theater in South Brisbane. I got one of the last seats in the center section and just six rows from the stage.
Carol and I saw three Broadway productions in New York City about 10 days ago. We see a lot of live theater and I’ve probably seen 30-40 shows and maybe more in New York City.
I think that qualifies me to be a more than knowledgeable theatergoer. When I say that the Australian production of Mary Poppins was as good as or better than just about every New York Broadway show I’ve seen I think that is saying something.
The Lyric Theater was nearly new and huge. Having a seat so close to the actors was nice as well. They say it doesn’t cost too much more to go first class and generally that’s true…but not always. The above photo rivals my photo with Andrew as the favorite of the trip but still comes in second!
Following the play, I left the theater on a warm summer night in Brisbane. The South Bank area where the theater complex is located was busy with tourists. Even later into the evening people were just relaxing and enjoying the ambiance of the city of Brisbane and especially the South Bank area.
I had my eye on taking a ride on the “Wheel of Brisbane”. This is one of those huge Ferris wheel-type operations that you see in many big worldwide cities.
The sign said they would be operating until 10 p.m. That being the case I walked around and took a few photographs here and there and showed up at 9:30 p.m. Just at that moment they were closing their shades to the ticket office for the night. I was shut out. There would be no Wheel of Brisbane for me.
With that being the case, I made my way back to the Marriott hotel and prepared for tomorrow’s flights. I’ll be flying from Brisbane down to Sydney, changing planes, and making the five-hour flight from Sydney to Perth, Western Australia. There I will begin Part 2 of my two-part Christmas/New Year’s Australian holiday adventure.
