Oprah
Down Under
Smashwords Edition
by Brian Lawrenson
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Title: Oprah Down Under
Author: Brian Lawrenson. © 2011 Brian Lawrenson.
Smashwords Photo Edition ISBN: 978-1-921814-53-2
Published: January 2011
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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OPRAH DOWN UNDER
When Oprah Winfrey’s visited Australia in December 2010, she brought 302 of her audience members with her plus a 198 member, professional production and film crew. Her 10 day visit was shrouded in secrecy and every event was carefully stage-managed. The Australian press and fans were left guessing as to where she’d be next. This is the story of what she did while she was in Australia.
But she knew where she was going and the element of surprise enabled her to add the title of “Queen of the Surprise” to her already long list of titles. Her Harpo team produced and filmed two concerts and with her supporters they produced another two from the footage shot in Australia. The shows were beamed to her 55 million loyal fans and national TV audiences in 145 countries, starting in mid-January.
Her visit was packed with excitement and eagerly followed by her fans. So what’s the real story behind her visit. Only snippets of what they experienced have been released to the press. The visit was a huge success and thousands of Aussies became Oprah fans. So sit back, relax and enjoy a journey that for many of her supporters was a dream come true.
Back in September 2010, Oprah kicked off her 25th season as a talk show host. She has decided that this is to be her last in the current format , so she wanted the series to end with the biggest celebration ever. That’s a tall order, as she already had had so many huge dramatic show highlights.
She ‘d taken audiences away before. The first time in 1994. In fact, her shows often have huge giveaways. She even gave everybody in the audience a small car at one of her shows. But for the end her final season, she wanted something that would top all that. The visit Down Under was it.
To a specially selected audience of her most loyal and most deserving fans, from the Oprah Winfrey Show, she announced that she was taking them with her on an experience of a lifetime. All expenses paid. After teasing them with a the names of a number of places she announced. “We’re going to Australia”.
The audience went wild. Jumping, dancing in the aisles, shouting, yahooing, embracing each other, tears, laughter and gasps - it was mass hysteria. The audience was totally out of control with joy.
Once Oprah regained control she was able to tell them that they would spend eight days in Australia on an all expenses paid trip. Wow.
As the applause died down, the back of the set parted and a model of a Qantas jet aircraft appeared and a troop of Akubra wearing staff from Tourism Australia, carrying large Australian flags, strode onto the stage. From the cockpit, stepped, movie star, John Travolta. John is a qualified Qantas pilot and an icon for the airline. Qantas is Australia’s national flag carrier.
A banner was unfolded, saying “The Ultimate Australia Adventure”
Tourism Australia boss, Andrew McEvoy, welcomed the guests and told them that they would by flying to Sydney from Los Angeles on a brand new Qantas A380 aircraft. Qantas is Australia’s leading airline with connections around the world. They would be arriving in Sydney on Tuesday 7th December, 2010.
ABOUT HER AUDIENCE
There were 302 audience members chosen for the trip from the The Oprah Winfrey Show.
They came from 38 states, 13 from Canada and one from Jamaica.
The group was made up of 242 woman and 60 men and included 48 couples. Their ages ranged from 17 to 75. 200 of the group had not been out of America before and soon would need their first passports. Only a handful of the audience had visited Australia previously.
Upon arriving on December 7th, the group was broken up and taken to 25 different destinations in Australia on fully escorted mini-tours. They were reunited again on 11th December in time for the Grand Welcome hosted by the Premier of the state of New South Wales (NSW), Kristina Keneally.
They returned to the USA on 15th December.
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But to better understand their travels, first a little geography of Australia:
Australia is the world’s smallest continent as it is surrounded by oceans. It is located in the southern hemisphere which means that its summer is December to February and winter June thru August.
It is slightly smaller than mainland USA with an area of 7,686,850 square kilometres (2,967,909 square miles). The distance East to West is very similar to the USA. Australia is divided into six States and two Territories.
Australia has a population of 20.8 million which is 1/14 of the population of the USA.
The biggest city in Australia is Sydney (Los Angeles) with a population of over 4 million. It is the capital of the state of New South Wales (NSW). Melbourne (San Francisco), is the second largest city and capital of the state of Victoria. Brisbane (San Diego) is the next largest and is the capital of the state of Queensland. The USA cities show in brackets are similar latitudes north of the equator to the Australian cities.
The state of South Australia, which is famous for its wine areas sits between the smallest state Victoria, and the largest state, West Australia.
You’ll find a full description of the destinations that the audience members visited at the end of this book. The key centres are shown on the following Map.
TUESDAY 7th December
At 8.49 am, the first of two Qantas 747s touched down at Sydney airport after a thirteen hour flight from Los Angeles. A second flight arrived about an hour later. They both delivered Oprah’s audience, a stream of excited and enthusiastic Americans, Canadians and one Jamaican. And with them came 198 production crew members, called team Harpo, that supported the filming of Oprah’s travels and events in Australia.
The excitement of their arrival lacked the hysteria associated with Winfrey's announcement of their trip Down Under, but some audience members spoke to the media covering their arrival, despite being asked not to stop and talk to reporters. When asked, did they know where they were going, one replied, “We haven’t been told yet”.
Many of the audience members said they had never before travelled overseas.
Carrying bright red Qantas bags filled with give-away goodies, with cameras clicking madly, they were welcomed by a crowd of Australian Oprah fans and officials from Tourism Australia. Included in the bags were copies of the Lonely Planet guidebook to Australia. As they were shepherded through the arrival area onto their coaches, a number said they knew little about Australia. One asked if it was possible to buy a kangaroo to take home with her.
Many had come prepared with various Australian flags and pictures of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. One carried a sign reading "Australia - here we come".
One said that, contrary to the rumours, John Travolta had not flown with them. Another asked, “It’s Tuesday! Hey, where did Monday go?” Travellers loose a day when travelling from the USA to Australia because they cross the international date line, another fan explained.
A man from Detroit, said he was so grateful for the opportunity to travel to Australia. "That I was selected to do something such as this, I would have never thought little bitty ol' me would ever have this opportunity," he said. He’d recently been laid off and had had other difficulties in his life and concluded, “So we had all of that happen and then I got notification that I was selected to go on the Oprah show. Now I’m here!"
An Oprah crew member, who asked not to be named, said there was a lot of excitement on the plane. “Right now, they are probably the most excited people there are on the planet," he said.
In a nice touch, the audience members each were presented with a Motorola mobile phone and international connections provided by Telstra, the national communications provider. They could ring home, for free.
From the airport, the arrivals were ferried by coach to their inner-Sydney hotel where they were welcomed by both the tourism staff but were met by members of the Aboriginal community performing a traditional dance of welcome.
They were told that after their excursions to the separate Australian destinations, the audience members would reunite for a further two tapings of the Oprah Winfrey Show at the Sydney Opera House on December 14th. These programs were shown in the US and Australia in mid January.
When asked about her expectations of being reunited with Oprah, one of the members responded, "She's such a dynamic individual, not only to the United States but worldwide. She's made such an impression, and it's just evident in the way we are being treated here”.
Coined the "Ultimate Australia Adventure", their trip offered a taste of the Australian way of life, with everything from surfing lessons to nature walks, snorkelling and beachside barbecues.
The itinerary was revealed in a briefing shortly after they had booked into their hotel. They were staying at the downtown InterContinental Hotel which has been named as the official accommodation for the “Oprah’s Ultimate Australia Adventure”. Oprah, her party, audience members and the 198 member security, film and production crew, filled the hotel.
Later in their first day in Sydney, some of the audience members choose to enjoy some walking and cycling around the Opera House environments. In the afternoon, they joined the others as they took a ferry across the harbour to Taronga Zoo. This was their first taste of Australia and its unique wildlife. A number got to pat a koala, which is a small grey “bear” that lives in the tree tops. We’ll meet more koalas later.
Taronga Zoo is a large site spread along the harbour shoreline. It features a wonderful selection of Australian and international animals including lions, apes, tigers, giraffes, elephants and marine animals. One of the most popular areas for tourists is an enclosure with koalas that tourists can pet. Having your photo taken with one is a “must do”.
The following day the audience members were split into separate groups and each group went off on their own mini tour of Australia. One group started its tour by heading west of Sydney to a National Park called the Blue Mountains. The second group were coached north along Highway 1 (which is a highway that circles Australia broadly following the coastline) to sample the wines in the Hunter Valley and the third group flew to Byron Bay which is on the north coast of the state of New South Wales - NSW. There, they enjoyed rainforest walks, surfing lessons and kayaking with the local dolphins.
WEDNESDAY 8th December
Oprah’s $42 million Bombardier Global Express XRS private jet touched down at Cairn’s International Airport on Wednesday morning, and it was boarded by Australian Customs officials.
Later, Oprah apologised to fans who had been waiting at the airport hoping to get a glimpse of her. They cleared customs and her private jet, after refuelling, flew on to land at the only airport on Hamilton Island. Hamilton Island is located off the Queensland coast within the Whitsunday Islands; a group of 74 islands. The islands form part of the Great Barrier Reef which is a chain of 3,000 islands, 1,000 miles long, some up to 100 miles of the coast.
Here, she was met by a small group of fans and transferred to the exclusive Qualia Resort, which is situated on the secluded northern-most tip of Hamilton Island at the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a truly special place where everything has been meticulously planned to relax the mind yet completely spoil the senses. Time unravels in the exquisitely appointed pavilions that offer picture perfect views over the aqua -blue water surrounding Hamilton Island. This is the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef, at its best.
Later, with her lifetime friend, Gayle King, Oprah drove a golf buggy to see parts of the island. It isn’t large and there isn’t much vehicular traffic on Hamilton Island. She was followed by a bevy of security men in their carts. Some Oprah fans had got the word that she was coming and over 100 of them grouped around her buggy offering words of welcome. The first stop on the island was a visit to the Hamilton Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Here, more fans were waiting screaming out “Oprah, Oprah”. The Premier of the state of Queensland, Anna Bligh, was waiting to welcome her. She and Oprah chatted and held hands as they toured the wildlife sanctuary. Afterwards Premier Bligh described her as ”very warm, very excited and very humble to be here”.
Australian Koala
Oprah, dressed in a bright yellow top, was able to hold an 18 month old koala, named Elvis. Elvis was one of the youngest koalas in the wildlife park and had been reared since birth to be handled by humans. It takes time and a lot of perseverance to train koalas to accept humans. Koalas eat only eucalyptus leaves from gum trees. This is also how they obtain their nourishment. They don’t drink water. They spend their life in the treetops and during the day can be seen asleep in the fork of a branch of a tree. They are nocturnal.
Gayle was given a female koala named Phoebe to hold and there is a wonderful photo of her and the koala now proudly displayed on her website. The official party were a little embarrassed when Oprah and her party watches as Elvis and Phoebe got a little friendly. Oprah quipped, “He wants it now. Look his pennie is out”. Everyone laughed. Its not often that people come across a pair of copulating koalas high in a gum tree. It is laughed off as being very Australian. But it was a moment that Oprah will remember.
Further on she is shown a group of dingoes, which are native wild dogs.
The wildlife park visit was followed by a helicopter flight out over the Whitsunday Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. These islands, most of which are uninhabited, often have inviting sandy beaches, are covered with dense scrub and fringed by palm trees. Above, the sky was a clear Queensland blue. Contrasted by the clarity of the azure water, the green oasis dots made a setting for picture perfect photography. Brad, the pilot, flew her over an island that was formed in the shape of a heart. Oprah was impressed and just loved the contrasting colours of the ocean, the coral and the sandy reefs some with waves breaking over them.
Later in the afternoon, the helicopter landed on spectacular Whitehaven Beach where Oprah and her 92 audience members and other fans were treated to a beach BBQ prepared by the world famous Australian chef, Curtis Stone. Curtis and his team had worked since 4.00 am to transport the huge quantity of food, ice, and equipment to this completely remote beach.
It was to be a BBQ that everyone that attended would always remember. Oprah’s arrival was spectacular with her audience members assembled on the beach, not knowing about her arrival until she stepped out of the helicopter, after it had landed on the beach. They were already excited but were overjoyed to see her. Stepping forward, Curtis Stone, welcomed Oprah, ”Welcome, to our beach party”.
Billed as “Putting a Shrimp on the BBQ”, the celebrity chef, served up lobsters, prawns, mud-crabs with tropical fruit and vegetables. In Australia the term “shrimp” isn’t commonly used. Australians call them prawns and they are very popular in Australia especially in the summer.
The mainly female audience were surprised by a group of young men in board shorts carrying platters of seafood came ashore from the ocean. As the young, attractive bear-breasted youngsters circulated, offering food and drink, they chatted with the guests. Afterwards they were declared a hit with the ladies. But the event was also special for some of Oprah’s fans. Brandi from Missouri had never been in the sea before and for her this would we a “first”. And what a beautiful location for this her first experience - one she’ll always remember. “The best bit was feeling the sand on my feet”, Brandi exclaimed.
As Oprah and her followers sat on the white powder beach enjoying the delicious seafood and Australian white wines, a singing group called The Ten Tenors sang Waltzing Matilda and What a Wonderful World, in the background.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
As the sun sank lower on the horizon, it was a truly magical setting. Oprah was introduced to a newly developed cocktail, called Have-O, that had been created in her honour. Afterwards, she and the audience members were returned to the stunning Qualia Resort.
During their stay on the Great Ocean Reef, a number of the members of Oprah’s audience went out with Gayle King to the Reef World Pontoon, where they tried their hand at both scuba diving and snorkelling. They looked delightful in their yellow, light blue and green swimming outfits. It was jetty fish season so they needed to wear the protective suits. The highlight was when Blake, in his scuba outfit, got to ask his fiancé to marry him. Pretty unique - only on the Oprah show. She said, yes. More cheers, hugs and tears.
In an interview with the local The Courier Mail newspaper later, Oprah said, “It is such a long trip but it is worth it. Everything is just so gorgeous. I just love it”.
THURSDAY 9th December
Oprah flew to Uluru in the Northern Territory, arriving about 1.30 pm. Outside the temperature had reached 35 degrees (95 o F). The Ayers Rock Airport is a 20 minutes drive from the huge monolithic rock called Uluru.
As she came off the aircraft, braving the heat in a pair of tan slacks, an Akubra hat and an orange and white patterned shirt that beautifully matched the hue of the Red Centre, she was introduced to the technique of “the great Aussie salute” - swatting the flies to keep them away from her face. She very quickly learned this new “skill” and was soon able to manage it with a smile.
As with her earlier stop at Hamilton Island, her audience members came first. A group of 12 of them had arrived independently at the airport and they had no idea they would be greeted by their mentor in a grand surprise that was filmed and featured in the Oprah Winfrey's Show. The audience were outfitted with R M Williams outfits, blue denim shirts, cream slacks and matching Akubra hats. With her centre stage, and the outline of Uluru as a backdrop, the group made the perfect picture setting. The film crews, ignoring the flies and the by now 40 degree (104 o F) temperatures, worked overtime. The crew had already been filming at the location for a number of days.
The Akubra hat is an Australian institution. They are a bush hat and part of Australian culture. The name comes from an Aboriginal word for head covering. Akubra's are made from rabbit fur felt and have wide brims. They most commonly worn by farmers, graziers, horsemen and stockmen in rural Australia.
Later, Oprah toured Uluru by helicopter with Malandirri McCarthy, the Northern Territories Minister for Tourism, acting as a guide. It was an all girl trip. The Minister explained the many features of Uluru and the Olgas (the indigenous name Kata Tjuta). Later, back on the ground, Oprah visited the Uluru National Park and did the Kuniya Walk meeting a number of Anangu tribal elders. This is one of four walk that visitors can do when visiting Uluru. Oprah expressed her interest in aboriginal culture and was particularly pleased to have had the opportunity to meet four of the traditional land owners. As they spoke the local language, a translator assisted. Afterwards, Oprah and her group watched the Imma dance which was performed by the dance group of local indigenous people. This dance was performed by the woman of the local communities during the Opening of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. They wear interesting white painted designs on their bare breasts. Later, there were comments by the people at the meeting, expressing surprise at Oprah’s knowledge and interest in Aboriginal affairs.