Guys, in case you didn't know, Oprah is on her way to this spectacular country/continent! Her 300 excited guests arrived this morning, and she will be here tomorrow. Parts of their week-long itinerary were leaked, so without further ado, here is what we can expect from their much publicized visit (that is expected to bring in $47 billion of revenue for the tourism industry):
Tuesday, 7/12: Guests arrive in Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport and check into hotel
Walking/biking tours of city
Evening Sydney Harbour cruise to Taronga Zoo (the best way to reach this zoo from the city is via a ferry. The zoo is on a hill, and you either take a bus or a gondola to get to the entrance. Al and I went there when he took me to Sydney for my 23rd birthday.)
Wednesday, 8/12: Oprah touches ground in Australia. At this point, the guests break up into three groups. From Wednesday to Friday, they go to one of three places:
-The Blue Mountains, which are east of Sydney. The group will stay in the luxurious Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
-Wine tasting in Hunter Valley, which is south of Sydney.
-Byron Bay, which is north of Sydney. It's near the New South Wales/Queensland border on the beach. Guests there will enjoy walks through the rainforest, surfing and swimming/kayaking with dolphins.
Saturday, 11/12: Guests are back in Sydney for a welcoming party in the Royal Botanic Gardens (near the Opera House)
-The Blue Mountains, which are east of Sydney. The group will stay in the luxurious Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
-Wine tasting in Hunter Valley, which is south of Sydney.
-Byron Bay, which is north of Sydney. It's near the New South Wales/Queensland border on the beach. Guests there will enjoy walks through the rainforest, surfing and swimming/kayaking with dolphins.
Saturday, 11/12: Guests are back in Sydney for a welcoming party in the Royal Botanic Gardens (near the Opera House)
Sunday, 12/12: Harbour Bridge Climb with Oprah! This involves putting on a suit and strapping yourself in climbing gear. You go all the way to the top of the bridge. Normal people pay about $250 to do this, but I'm sure Oprah and her friends won't have to.
Visit Bondi Beach (Sydney's famous beach, pronounced bond-eye) and meet the cast of Bondi Rescue (a reality show about lifeguards at Bondi).
Monday, 13/12: various activities in city (not detailed)
Tuesday, 14/12: Filming of Oprah's shows at the Opera House.
Source
Tuesday, 14/12: Filming of Oprah's shows at the Opera House.
Source
I believe the guests go home the next day. I'm still a bit confused, because I heard on the news last week that they'd be visiting every state and territory. Maybe they meant that Oprah would stay back and visit them later? Or maybe there was some miscommunication with the information.
All in all, I think it's great that they're coming here. It's bringing so much good publicity to Australia. I do, however, wish that they would step out of New South Wales. There is so much more to Australia than Sydney and its surrounds. I'm not dissing Sydney; it takes my breath away every time that I go there. There are just so many spectacular things to see, such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Ocean Road, Uluru (Ayer's Rock), the gazillions of national parks, Atherton Tablelands, the world-famous Barossa Valley, gorgeous and green Tasmania and so on. However, I also realize that the guests have a short amount of time there. When you don't have a lot of time, you don't want to jump around from place to place.
Either way, it seems that the majority welcomes these visitors with open arms. As an American living in Australia, I couldn't be more thrilled.
**Update** This is NOT the real itinerary. Everything is correct up to Taronga Zoo and the groups splitting up. Past that, nobody knows where the groups are going! There is a lot of speculation, but we won't know who is right until we actually see it.
All in all, I think it's great that they're coming here. It's bringing so much good publicity to Australia. I do, however, wish that they would step out of New South Wales. There is so much more to Australia than Sydney and its surrounds. I'm not dissing Sydney; it takes my breath away every time that I go there. There are just so many spectacular things to see, such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Ocean Road, Uluru (Ayer's Rock), the gazillions of national parks, Atherton Tablelands, the world-famous Barossa Valley, gorgeous and green Tasmania and so on. However, I also realize that the guests have a short amount of time there. When you don't have a lot of time, you don't want to jump around from place to place.
Either way, it seems that the majority welcomes these visitors with open arms. As an American living in Australia, I couldn't be more thrilled.
**Update** This is NOT the real itinerary. Everything is correct up to Taronga Zoo and the groups splitting up. Past that, nobody knows where the groups are going! There is a lot of speculation, but we won't know who is right until we actually see it.
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