To start, zero of the thousands of audience members (6,000 at each taping) walked away empty-handed. The first audience received Oprah-engraved necklaces with pearls from the northwest coast of Australia. One necklace costs $450 AUD a pop (retail price). See the necklace here.
The second audience got a different necklace: white gold with seven diamonds forming the shape of an "O" (keep in mind that the majority of the people there were women).I didn't find a link to that one.
Oprah also surprised the Anderson family with a check for $250,000 and X-Box Consoles for the kids. Christian, the father, has been suffering with liver and bowel cancer for the last year.
The final gift (that I heard about) included $1 million worth of laptops AND a visit from Jay -Z for an underprivileged school.
Scheduled famous guests from the show included Russell Crowe, Bindi, Terri and Robert Irwin (remember Steve Irwin?), Jay-Z, Bon Jovi, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Olivia Newton-John and John Foreman.
Hugh Jackman actually got injured during his stage-worthy entry to the second show. He came in abseiling on a rope over the audience and onto the stage, but he didn't break on his rope hard enough. He hit a light and cut his eye. It sounds bad, but he should be okay. You can watch the footage and read more about that here (and find other links about the show).
I'm pretty sure that this is a wrap-up with the Oprah stuff now, but there may be more to report. We shall see.
In my closing remarks, I want you all to know that Oprah LOVES Australia. If you haven't been here before, then COME HERE! Don't come just because Oprah loves it, but come because it's amazing. There will be so many good things to see when the shows air. There will be specials on Oprah and her 302 American guests traveling around the country AND the two Oprah House episodes. Lots to look forward to!